How to add skins to ships?

I'm just trying to use different skins for the Soldati class destroyer in the WDAD mod (I think it is the same one as in OM), but I can't make them work.

I've added a few TGA files for the Soldati I found in a SH3 download, renamed accordingly as I've seen in other similar ships, modified the Roster entry with dates and frequencies, but no success at all. I also tried to convert the textures to DDS format, but that didn't work.

I'd like to get the Soldati's show different liveries, because it is the only Italian destroyer I can use to escort convoys in the Mediterranean, and it's boring to see them always with the same look. I've tried to use the search, but I didn't get many useful results.

Any ideas?

Cheers

A bump to attract somebody's attention

Hi JL,

I think you need to work on the .DDS files. If you use photoshop there is a add on here from Nvidia

http://developer.nvidia.com/object/texture_tools.html

I do believe there are other graphics apps that handle dds files, gimp I think.

There is also a little viewer called WTV that I would recommend at Nvidia.

sid

[tater]

The skins are a major pain in the ass. The best way-assuming the z sorting can be figured out-is to export the ship model, and rebuild the image map so that you can really work on it properly.

Originally Posted by sidslotm

Hi JL,

I think you need to work on the .DDS files. If you use photoshop there is a add on here from Nvidia

http://developer.nvidia.com/object/texture_tools.html

I do believe there are other graphics apps that handle dds files, gimp I think.

There is also a little viewer called WTV that I would recommend at Nvidia.

sid

Perhaps the problem is that this SH3 ships work with TGA files only, and not DDS, and because of that they don't swap skins as the SH4 models. Am I wrong?

I'm quite used to work with .dds texture files from the Flight Simulator series. I usually convert them to BMP, do whatever I have to change on them and get them back to dds.

Originally Posted by tater

The skins are a major pain in the ass. The best way-assuming the z sorting can be figured out-is to export the ship model, and rebuild the image map so that you can really work on it properly.

Sorry? That sounds like Chinese to me .

This is what I did. I prepared a JSGME-ready pack with the files: the skins in a data/sea/ndd_soldati, and then the edited roster file for the ship in data/roster/italian/sea/.

The roster file looks like this:

[UnitClass]
ClassName=DDSoldati
UnitType=4
AppearanceDate=19380101
DisappearanceDate=19490221
DisplayName=IT DD Soldati

[Texture 1]
TextureName=data/Sea/NDD_Soldati/NDD_Soldati_T01.tga
StartDate=19380101
EndDate=19410220
Frequency=1

[Texture 2]
TextureName=data/Sea/NDD_Soldati/NDD_Soldati_T02.tga
StartDate=19410221
EndDate=19490221
Frequency=1

[Texture 3]
TextureName=data/Sea/NDD_Soldati/NDD_Soldati_T03.tga
StartDate=19410221
EndDate=19490221
Frequency=1

..

up to 10 different textures. I activate it after the main MOD, and the paths are OK because JSGME warns me that filer and folders are going to be overwritten. But then inside the game I always see the same skin for all of them, no matter what date.

What is wrong then?

[tater]

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=173358

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=126436

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=145555

I think I've finally solved the enigma... I thought about it after reading some of the links tater posted.

The pack I took the skins from (NYGM, by the way) had a different NDD soldati.dat file, despite the same name as the one in WDAD or OM. The 3D model is the same, but seems like the way it handle the textures is different. I added that .dat to the pack with the textures and... voilá, in the first mission I loaded there were four destroyers with 2 different textures .

[NavalSquirrel]

Is there still a dds plug in for gimp? I click on the link mentioned in one of the linked threads but its not there anymore. When I try to use paint.net the bloody thing is transparent. Help! Thank you all

[NavalSquirrel]

Ok I give up. Gimp made me damn near punch my computer. I installed the dds plug in and it still wouldnt open the bloody file. It keeps showing up transparent on paint.net so Im all out of ideas.

This program that I usually used for Combat Flight Simulator 2 opens .dds files. You can use it to convert from .dds to .TGA or .BMP and the opposite. Once converted, you could use any paint program with it.

It also handles the alpha channels.

http://www.btinternet.com/~mnwright/programs/dxtbmp.htm

[LtzS_Petersen]

You must extract the dds plugin in the Plugin Folder of Gimp. Than it works fine.
But skinning is not so comfortable like in IL2 for instance. It is more a Collection of Textures than a Skin.