Help with skinning - GIMP

[sturmkraehe]

Question: I am about to follow the step-by-step instructions of http://riseofflight....p?f=112&t=17463 but are stuck with the step asking me to load an existing skin to the GXTBmp in order to export the alpha layer to a bmp file. The issue is that I cannot find any stock skins in the appropriate skin folders of the game installation folder. Some would like to share some advice?

 

I am also confused with how to convert the gimp image to a file that is accepted by the game / viewer. 

 

I have the dds plugin but the guy from the rof gimp tutorial said it is rubbish. What to do?

[Stab/ZG26-Ruhland]

The RoF-GIMP tutorial is partially rubbish in my opinion. Well-ment, but didn´t work for BoS the way it was explained and I found it very hard to read (and I am speaking german AND english fluently).

 

Try this:

 

1. Get GIMP 2.8

 

2. Get GIMP-DDS for your system

 

3. Copy the dds.exe into the appropriate GIMP folder like C:\Program Files\GIMP 2\lib\gimp\2.0\plug-ins

 

4. Open the dev-template with GIMP

 

5. After you painted your skin, hit "CTRL+M" to merge the layers (you can find it on the top bar under "image")

 

6. Choose to crop the image to the bottom layer and to delete all invisible layers

 

7.  Now you have a single layer. Now go to "layer" (at the top bar), then to "mask" and then click on "add layer mask"

 

8.  Click on "channel" and choose "Alpha 1". Apply. Now the image should be nearly transparent. When you can see two small images next to each other in the layers window on the right, everything is fine (it is the skin next to the added alpha layer)

 

10. Export it into a .dds file with the following settings: "BC3 / DXT5" and "generate mipmaps"

 

11. Done. Drag the created .dds file into the BoS skins folder: C:\Il-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad\data\graphics\skins

 

If that doesn´t work for you, I´ll write a detailed tutorial with pictures.

 

PS: I am using the german version of GIMP, so maybe my translations don´t match the english version exactly.

Edited December 27, 2014 by Stab/ZG26-Ruhland

[sturmkraehe]

Thanks Ruhland. I manage to go through all your steps but in the end I have a grey skin and the insignia just like a watermark shown. In the preview of gimp the image is semi-transparent.

 

[sturmkraehe]

I think I found out myself. I went to channel on the layer panel and made the alpha channel visible before I merged the layers and continued as you described.

[Superluminal]

Get this one,its free and easy to make skins with.

http://www.techspot.com/downloads/3689-adobe-photoshop-cs2.html

 

Then download and install nvidia texture tool so you can save as dds.

https://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-texture-tools-adobe-photoshop

 

Loosely tutorial.

 

Open the psd , paint in the appropriate layers and save it as psd. When you want to check it out in the skinvviewer just go to layers and then flatten image. Then save as 109myskin as an example, choose D3D/DDS and then you choose DXT5 and hit save. Now you just put the dds file into the right skinfolder ,open skinviewer up and check out your masterpiece. 

Edited December 27, 2014 by Superluminal

[AndyJWest]

....download and install nvidia texture tool so you can save as dds.

https://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-texture-tools-adobe-photoshop

 

I can't get the DDS save plugin to work - possibly because I've got an AMD graphics card, and the plugin is Nvidia?

[6./ZG26_5tuka]

Alternatively you can right click on your skin layer -> "Add layer mask" -> "Chose form Alpha Channel" and you're done. You dont have to mess with the alpha / colour channels unless you want to

[sturmkraehe]

I have now the problem that when I export it as dds BC3 / DXT5 I get the error message by gimp that it cannot compress xdfjkwfkhgsl (the rest is unreadable since the message disappears so quickly).

 

When I load it in the skin viewer I get the message that it is too big but then it shows after a while. Same when I load it in game. What to do?