First approach on skins

[[JG2]R7_Blackadder]

I still don't have the access but I downloaded already the client and noticed i can see the 109 & LaGG skins.

 

Has anybody started having a deeper look onto these ?

[Zwoop]

I make a test for one of the skins, but game doesn't accept it. Maybe reason was DDS-settings when saving skin?

Today I start making finnish LG-1, but don't know is there any sense doing it yet. We need layers with shadows rivets, dirt and etc...

Of course base paint can be done in advance.

Edited November 23, 2013 by Zwoop

[[JG2]R7_Blackadder]

I had an idea about a Finnish 109 myself

[ImPeRaToR]

They won't work because mods on mode does not work yet.

[Bearcat]

I don't think that is it. I think you will need a template with the Alpha layers. When I tried it I noticed that the skin I made was half the size of the other skins that show up in the sim.

[boot_Hardy]

It's just the way you save the *.dds - The final size depends on settings. Alpha channel must be also included, it seems it contains the specular info in this particular engine, which is nice.

 

In order to keep all the information needed, chose DXT3 ARGB 8 bpp | explicit alpha and tick 'generate mipmaps'. This way, it will have the correct size and it will work OK in the game (I tried quickly.)

 

The plugin you need for working with this file format is made by nVidia:

 

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

 

Having said that, will the official PSD templates become available?

Edited November 23, 2013 by Robo

[Zwoop]

When I tried it I noticed that the skin I made was half the size of the other skins that show up in the sim.

 

Same happened here!

[Zwoop]

Thanks for the dds-tips!

EDIT: yep, the file size seems to be same as original with those settings.

 

 

Having said that, will the official PSD templates become available?

 

Templates will be published later:

 

5. Of course skinning will be a big part of BOS. In ROF we took skinning to a whole new level with providing detailed templates and official skin packs etc. I don't think much will change in this department.

 

Source

Edited November 23, 2013 by Zwoop

[boot_Hardy]

Cheers for the info Zwoop! 

 

Also, when editing an existing file, make sure to pick Load using default sizes (in Adobe Photoshop).

[Zwoop]

NP!

 

BTW, did you try modified skin in game this week? Does it work?

[ImPeRaToR]

I don't think that is it. I think you will need a template with the Alpha layers. When I tried it I noticed that the skin I made was half the size of the other skins that show up in the sim.

No that's not the problem, alpha channel is part of the dds file.

 

I made hundreds of skins for this engine, I have some experience with it

 

NP!

 

BTW, did you try modified skin in game this week? Does it work?

No, as I was saying you need mods on mode because mods off won't allow you to load non-whitelisted skins, or replacing whitelisted skins.

Edited November 23, 2013 by ImPeRaToR

[=IRFC=Tunes]

In this case, Imp is definitely right.

[Bearcat]

No that's not the problem, alpha channel is part of the dds file.

 

I made hundreds of skins for this engine, I have some experience with it

 

 

No, as I was saying you need mods on mode because mods off won't allow you to load non-whitelisted skins, or replacing whitelisted skins.

 

Oh Ok .. I was thinking about the skins in WoP .. Those templates had a separate alpha layer.

[ImPeRaToR]

The alpha channel is part of the dds file and the templates. If your DDS filesize is too small you probably used the wrong export settings. Not sure if the same settings still apply to BOS but these are the correct ones for ROF:

[SOLIDKREATE]

I tried and failed, LOL. 'Mods Off Mode' is set so even if you do it right it won't work. In the mean time we do now know how big your skin templates can be. Nothing is really stopping us from making skins now. We just have to wait until later to post them.

 

I'm sure they will release the skin tools soon. I know they are like us and are just itching to create content!

[[JG2]R7_Blackadder]

Would be an imperative addon for such a game.

[=IRFC=Tunes]

Well played, Blackadder, well played.

[Pierre64]

[LSoW/1-FLiP-]

No, as I was saying you need mods on mode because mods off won't allow you to load non-whitelisted skins, or replacing whitelisted skins.

 

nope. you can use your own skins, although "MODS OFF" mode... take a look at this post

http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/2102-post-your-screenshots-vids-here/?p=58760

 

 

It's just the way you save the *.dds - The final size depends on settings. Alpha channel must be also included, it seems it contains the specular info in this particular engine, which is nice.

 

In order to keep all the information needed, chose DXT3 ARGB 8 bpp | explicit alpha and tick 'generate mipmaps'. This way, it will have the correct size and it will work OK in the game (I tried quickly.)

 

dds-format settings:

 

Flags: 0x000A1007

        DDSD_CAPS

        DDSD_PIXELFORMAT

        DDSD_WIDTH

        DDSD_HEIGHT

        DDSD_LINEARSIZE

        DDSD_MIPMAPCOUNT

Height: 2048

Width: 2048

Depth: 0

Linear size: 4194304

Mipmap count: 12

Pixel Format:

        Flags: 0x00000004

                DDPF_FOURCC

        FourCC: 'DXT5'

        Bit count: 0

        Red mask: 0x00000000

        Green mask: 0x00000000

        Blue mask: 0x00000000

        Alpha mask: 0x00000000

Caps:

        Caps 1: 0x00401008

                DDSCAPS_COMPLEX

                DDSCAPS_TEXTURE

                DDSCAPS_MIPMAP

        Caps 2: 0x00000000

        Caps 3: 0x00000000

        Caps 4: 0x00000000

[ImPeRaToR]

I tried and failed, LOL. 'Mods Off Mode' is set so even if you do it right it won't work. In the mean time we do now know how big your skin templates can be. Nothing is really stopping us from making skins now. We just have to wait until later to post them.

 

I'm sure they will release the skin tools soon. I know they are like us and are just itching to create content!

especially when the psd files are loaded into the ram and decompressed it is a good thing to have more than 4GB or ram

[ImPeRaToR]

nope. you can use your own skins, although "MODS OFF" mode... take a look at this post

http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/2102-post-your-screenshots-vids-here/?p=58760

 

 

 

dds-format settings:

 

Flags: 0x000A1007

        DDSD_CAPS

        DDSD_PIXELFORMAT

        DDSD_WIDTH

        DDSD_HEIGHT

        DDSD_LINEARSIZE

        DDSD_MIPMAPCOUNT

Height: 2048

Width: 2048

Depth: 0

Linear size: 4194304

Mipmap count: 12

Pixel Format:

        Flags: 0x00000004

                DDPF_FOURCC

        FourCC: 'DXT5'

        Bit count: 0

        Red mask: 0x00000000

        Green mask: 0x00000000

        Blue mask: 0x00000000

        Alpha mask: 0x00000000

Caps:

        Caps 1: 0x00401008

                DDSCAPS_COMPLEX

                DDSCAPS_TEXTURE

                DDSCAPS_MIPMAP

        Caps 2: 0x00000000

        Caps 3: 0x00000000

        Caps 4: 0x00000000

If I am not mistaken that's the same settings I posted above, and it did not allow me to load a new skin file nor replace an existing skin, a window popped up telling me about modified files and file protection.

 

 

it seems it contains the specular info in this particular engine, which is nice.

Yes alpha channel is used for both transparency (yes/no) at the extreme ranges of RGB as well as gloss and reflectiveness of the material, you can read all about it here:

http://de.scribd.com/doc/24610699/ROF-Custom-Skin-Creation-User-Manual-English

 

Things might have changed slightly but I am guessing it will be fairly similar.

[Pierre64]

With update 44, it seems we do not have access to the skins files...

[Pierre64]

2048 x 2048 skins allow nice details

Here, Gordon Gollob's tally roughly applied to ingame "Yellow 8" skin:

 

[Krig]

I'm not sure I'm posting this right.

 

Are we going to have personal skins?

Like, I have one with some marking that's personal to me and you have one that's one of a kind to you so you can id squad members by look.

[ImPeRaToR]

I believe that's the plane Otyg

[Krig]

I believe that's the plane Otyg

Oh that's awesome! time to kiss ass for the wife who works as a graphic designer then

[79_vRAF_Friendly_flyer]

Can anyone who's managed to extract a skin in the proper formate post the file somewhere, or will that be unpopular with the devs?

[JG26_Jobbo_Fett]

Can anyone who's managed to extract a skin in the proper formate post the file somewhere, or will that be unpopular with the devs?

 

I doubt it would be unpopular, last I checked they just said that they were trying to focus on other stuff first before giving us templates.

 

Also, do you guys prefer skins with wear & tear on them or that look newly manufactured?  I ask because I make some skins for 1946 every so often and feel like testing the waters for BoS once skinning becomes an easier process to accomplish

[ImPeRaToR]

Can anyone who's managed to extract a skin in the proper formate post the file somewhere, or will that be unpopular with the devs?

109 and Lagg3 default skins:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32762861/Desktop.7z

[[JG2]R7_Blackadder]

I get 4040 on that link

[79_vRAF_Friendly_flyer]

109 and Lagg3 default skins:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32762861/Desktop.7z

 

Sorry, only getting a Dropbox 404 (I've got dropbox myself, so I don't think it's an compatibility issue).

I doubt it would be unpopular, last I checked they just said that they were trying to focus on other stuff first before giving us templates.

 

Also, do you guys prefer skins with wear & tear on them or that look newly manufactured?  I ask because I make some skins for 1946 every so often and feel like testing the waters for BoS once skinning becomes an easier process to accomplish

 

Both are nice in their own way. I think the Soviet ones will look best with some wear on them though.

[ImPeRaToR]

apparently it takes two hours to upload 6mb Restarted dropbox and it finally finished the upload.

[79_vRAF_Friendly_flyer]

Thanks Imperator!

 

Seems my computer security settings refuses to allow me to install 7z (it's really my "home office PC" I'm using until I can afford to buy a new gaming machine).

 

Would anyone be able to pack these in a more standard format (.zip or .rar)?

Edited December 30, 2013 by 79_vRAF_Friendly_flyer

[ImPeRaToR]

It is an archive, I assumed 7zip was pretty well known by now:

http://www.7-zip.org/

 

when you extract it you get the two dds files which you can then open with photoshop, assuming you have the nividia dds plugins installed:

 

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

[79_vRAF_Friendly_flyer]

Found a way around it eventually, thanks!

 

Now I just need to understand the alpha layer thingy...

[[JG2]R7_Blackadder]

Thanks !

[LLv26_Pihi]

If someone has done finnish skins, i would like to see them... Or even try them... 

Regards,

Pihi

[[JG2]R7_Blackadder]

Imperator are the skins working now or still we have them limited ?

 

I'm asking because I tried one already and didn't worked.

[SR-F_Winger]

I made a first try as well. sadly there is no way that i know of yet that allows us to check the skins on the model.

 

 

[ImPeRaToR]

The_Blackadder" post="72968" timestamp="1388502627"]

 

Imperator are the skins working now or still we have them limited ?

 

I'm asking because I tried one already and didn't worked.

 

afaik it is currently impossible to replace or add new skins in a away that allows us to use them in-game unfortunately. But, you can already build your own skin in PS or get accustomed to the UV map layout if you like.

 

 

also, somebody seems to have broken the quote-function