GIMP 2.6.8 / Layers / And Me

[McHub532]

1. Okay so I download and install GIMP 2.6.8

2. I go to File -> Open -> I find in the SH5 directory: various_books_posters_maps.dds

3. Now what? I see a grey/white checker board and I removed it (probably wasn't supposed to but didn't know what to do).

4. Ah, I see some pictures... I do my best to figure out their sizes and then go on my laptop and find a picture.. resize it to exactly the same size as the picture in the opened dds file.

5. I cut out the picture in the dds file and paste my new picture in exactly where the old one was..

6. I try and save it and it's got issues with layers not being all lined up or something.. confusing.. sort of lost.

Can someone give me a simple step-by-step example of how to open up a dds file with GIMP 2.6.8 (I have the patch thingie that lets me open dds files) and modify the SH5 dds file and then save it properly so it will then work in the game?

Thank you so much. I have been going through GIMP tutorials on their website and just am not finding anything that will help me; or is too complex for me to understand.

Whomever is helpful and generous, I thank you in advance. There are lots of us I think that would dabble and develop modding skills if we could just brake into something small and simple like this and start the learning process.

Thank YOU !!

[Ailantd]

Originally Posted by McHub532

1. Okay so I download and install GIMP 2.6.8

2. I go to File -> Open -> I find in the SH5 directory: various_books_posters_maps.dds

3. Now what? I see a grey/white checker board and I removed it (probably wasn't supposed to but didn't know what to do).

4. Ah, I see some pictures... I do my best to figure out their sizes and then go on my laptop and find a picture.. resize it to exactly the same size as the picture in the opened dds file.

5. I cut out the picture in the dds file and paste my new picture in exactly where the old one was..

6. I try and save it and it's got issues with layers not being all lined up or something.. confusing.. sort of lost.

Can someone give me a simple step-by-step example of how to open up a dds file with GIMP 2.6.8 (I have the patch thingie that lets me open dds files) and modify the SH5 dds file and then save it properly so it will then work in the game?

Thank you so much. I have been going through GIMP tutorials on their website and just am not finding anything that will help me; or is too complex for me to understand.

Whomever is helpful and generous, I thank you in advance. There are lots of us I think that would dabble and develop modding skills if we could just brake into something small and simple like this and start the learning process.

Thank YOU !!

Hi,
I´m not in gimp world, but the grey/white checker board is the representation of alpha channel ( pixels where the image is transparent ), so you should not remove that if you want to conserve the alpha. Usually the alpha channel is represented by a black/white image in one of the channels, where black is transparent and white is solid, but some programs, gimp may be one of them, use instead that checker visualization mode. Where you see the checker pattern you will see transparent in game. In gimp you may use the eraser tool over a 100% solid picture to obtain the alpha, but not sure about this.
For dds also it is important to save them in right format, wich are a lot of them, but i dont know how the gimp interface to save dds works.

Regards.

[mobucks]

look for something like "merge layers" after you pasted. should be under the layers tab. when you save you may be asked if you want some sort of compression, uncheck that box then save. I use DXTbmp to open TGA files and then send them to GIMP to edit, this preserves the alpha layer which you dont want to mess with (i think).

but try opening in gimp directly first. i dont want to confuse you. BTW im quite new with gimp i just started using it like 3 days ago to mod some skins for resident evil 4.

edit:
o crap ur talking about .dds files.. not tga. well the merge thing should still be what you want to do.

Just keep in mind when using software like this whenever you paste something into an image it is only adding a layer so you can move it/modify it without it being in the original image untill you "merge" the layers. this makes it possible to be working on a whole load of different parts (layers) of the image individually so you can mess with each without interfereing with other layers.

[McHub532]

Okay.. so here was my attempt.

I know it is wrong and I know it was wrong when I was doing it but I worked on it an hour and have no idea how to do this correctly.

dds has it's pictures in several layers (like transparent sheets).. one layer is Picture X with only red colors, one layer is Picture X with only Green colors, one layer is Picture X with only Blue Colors.. and then it has this Alpha Layer on top of it all that everyone says don't mess with it.

I was able to cut/paste my own picture over top of one of the layers. But obviously I don't know what I was doing.

How do you select the various layers, how do you put your picture where it needs to be in each layer?

Everyone just says: Load up Gimp, it works great.

Um.. yeah. But what the hell do I do when I get Gimp open?

I will use smaller words: I have no idea what the hell I am doing. Please help with something beyond: I can do it, why can't you.

Thanks

[SeaWolf U-57]

open the DDS.file you want to change in Gimp.
open the picture you have resized as a layer and place it on the DDS picture.
once you have it where you want it click the Image tab and then Merge visible layers
pick the middle option then you can save it

[McHub532]

Originally Posted by SeaWolf U-57

open the DDS.file you want to change in Gimp.
open the picture you have resized as a layer and place it on the DDS picture.
once you have it where you want it click the Image tab and then Merge visible layers
then you can save it

Thank you SeaWolf.

I'll try that again. Get back to you in one hour. Hopefully I'll still be sane.

..
..
Attempt #12

[McHub532]

SeaWolf...

How do I look at the different layers?

Can there be completely different pictures on each layer or are they always the same picture but just the different colors of the same picture?

Right now I'm trying to edit Pinup.dds and it has 9 layers. How can see what all the layers look like? Can I put several different pictures in; overlapping each of these layers?

[McHub532]

Originally Posted by SeaWolf U-57

open the DDS.file you want to change in Gimp.
open the picture you have resized as a layer and place it on the DDS picture.
once you have it where you want it click the Image tab and then Merge visible layers
pick the middle option then you can save it

I have looked at the image properties and see the one I am modifying is 256 x 364 pixels. I have got another picture and made it exactly the same size. I pasted it over top of the other picture.

Image Tab
.... The Merge visible layers option is not highlighted; I can't click it.

[McHub532]

So.. I fart around and I think I figured it out.

I had to "Anchor Layer"

Then it let me "Merge Visible Layers"

[McHub532]

Bah, still won't let me save the file. It gives me this:

DDS: It appears your image may be a volume map,
but not all layers are the same size, thus a volume
map cannot be written.

The picture I pasted IS exactly the same size though. Any ideas what I should do?

[McHub532]

Well... so I fiddle
undo
fiddle
undo
fiddle
undo
fiddle
undo.....

for an hour

I don't know if this is the best way, the easiest way or even the correct way but it worked.

Step by Step what I did:

1. Open GIMP 2.6.8
2. Open File -> pinup.dds
3. Open Another GIMP Window and go fetch a picture on my hard drive.
4. On pinup.dds I press Image Tab -> Image Properties and get the pixel size of the original file.
5. Back to my new picture and I crop and shrink until it is exactly the same size as the original file.
6. Select new picture, copy.
7. Go back to the pinup.dds, Edit -> Paste
8. This puts my new picture over top of the old pinup.dds perfectly.

Now.. where all the craziness came and what I figured out:

9. Windows Tab
10. Dockable Dialogs Option
11. Layers Option
12. A pop up window appears
13. It shows all the various layers in the dds file. I clicked the eyeball (view) and the chain (link) icons to activate everything on all layers.
14. I check the small box at the top of the pop up window for 'lock alpha channel'.
15. Now.. ignoring that popup window now.
16. Image Tab of Gimp
17. Merge Visible Layers Option
18. File Tab of Gimp
19. Save Option

it worked.... good heavens I feel like I've accomplished something huge here. Heh

[SeaWolf U-57]

Sorry was out
ok glad you got it going
the way I said above should have worked Unless you just opened the new image
you wanted to add and not opened it as a layer
there is an option in the file tab "open as layer"
if you did it this way as soon as you placed it you should of been able to merge the new layer

[McHub532]

Originally Posted by SeaWolf U-57

Sorry was out
ok glad you got it going
the way I said above should have worked Unless you just opened the new image
you wanted to add and not opened it as a layer
there is an option in the file tab "open as layer"
if you did it this way as soon as you placed it you should of been able to merge the new layer

Ah, I see how I strayed from your path now then.

[mobucks]

thanks seawolf. that info helps me as well.