New Hope Western Railroad Reskins

[Noel]

I am going to do a slug of reskins for the New Hope Western Railroad. As I get them done, I'll post them here.

[Noel]

I have a slight problem with reflections....
I cannot figure out how to reskin an engine without the glossy look.


How do I fix it so that the gloss does not show up?

[thecanadianrail]

drive them till they get dirty

[MadMike1024]

I have a slight problem with reflections....
I cannot figure out how to reskin an engine without the glossy look.


How do I fix it so that the gloss does not show up?

You need to add an alpha mask. Make it dark grey, (18,18,18) and about 85% density. It will tone the color a bit darker, but the super shiny look will be gone.

[Noel]

How exactly would I do that?
I am using Paint.net.

[PapaXpress]

Download CS2 and use Photoshop. Then you can do anything you need with the alpha channel.

[Noel]

Using CS2 to open .dds files gives me an error: "Photoshop CS2 could no open the file because it is not the right kind of document."

[Chacal]

You need to set a few things up.
Download the dev docs from the RSC support page.
Also download the art plugins. That will let you open ACE files.

For DDS files, if it's not native, you'll find plug-ins all over the net if you Google "photoshop dds", there's even video tutorials on YouTube.

I'll let more experienced people suggest the best solution.

[MadMike1024]

I use dxtbmp to add my alpha channels but it lowers the quality verry slightly, how do i avoid using it?

What editing tool do you use? If you are using any version of Photoshop™ there is a plugin available from the nVidia website that allows you to load, edit, and save .dds files.

Then you can use the RSBin tool from here on RWA (thanks for the updates Papa!) to open a file, convert to .dds, then when your edit is finished, save the .dds file back into the game.

[MadMike1024]

I use Piant.net, it imports and exports dds but doesent show the alpha as a seperate layer so i have to use dxtbmp but it lowers the quality.
I also use cs2 so if it means ditching paint.net i will use cs2 for everything.

i would like to stoo using rs bin tool also, how does everyone else export/import there's?

Since PapaXpress did the updates for RSBin tool, it will handle DTX5 textures without any hassle. I use it all the time, and have for over a year.

[MadMike1024]

Will it export/import textures of 2048x2048 ?

Sure... that's the size I use all the time, far easier to get the detail right.

[MadMike1024]

Wait can we up size smaller maps? I thought that created errors?

Not only that, you can save the larger texture as a .TgPcDx and use it in the game for better resolution on lettering and small details.

[PapaXpress]

Here is a link to the photoshop plugin so it can read/write DDS
https://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-tex ... -photoshop

I have been use this for years as well.

[OlPaint]

I discovered a little quirk in RSBinTool when converting a TgPcDx to a DDS and back again. The "DDSTools" Tab is hiding on the Menu Bar. I found that I needed to open a .TgPcDx file ( infact any tgpcdx file will do ) before the the DDSTools Tab shows. Then the Dropdown will give you options to Export or Import the DDS file for editing in PhotoShop with the NVidia dds Plugin installed. I can thank PapaX for teaching me that Trick of the Trade.

OlPaint