in-game

[martjuh.denB]

i have a model with skin that i want to bring it in-game

the model is made by myself

if i change the model or make a new one you can see through it

how and where can i change this?

[martjuh.denB]

does the skin has to be .dds or png?

[randomperson139]

I think that the skin can be both .dds and .png

[Newfoundking]

nope, has to be a dds file, png's won't work

[Tim]

PNG does work! You just need to link the file inside the v3o, and there will be no problems.

[Xplorer4x4]

PNG works fine.

[martjuh.denB]

so what do i have to do now?

from bmp to png or dds?

[bennie900]

You can use what ever file format you want! They all work, but PNG, JPEG, BMP etc... files can all be edited easily... DDS 'locks' the file so people have to convert it first but DDS files can only be multiples of 512x512 for example 1024x1024 also works! I do not see the point in DDS files because anyone can still get inside them and edit them.

Hope this helps...

[MikeyPI]

There is a simple purpose behind DDS format, it does not "lock" the file as you say, it in fact is used to compress the file size down, look at a BMP format image file, PNG, and compare it to the DDS format. That is why people opt to use the DDS files, they are much smaller which is a good thing for a mod you intend to distribute.

[Xplorer4x4]

Locking compresses the files even more though just fyi.

[puppysboy222]

Hmm. I have a quick question. All the answers helped alot for me and probably for martjuh, but can you make skins in paint?

[MikeyPI]

Xplorer is correct, it compresses the file size further when you "lock" the file, however, you must wait a little bit longer for the game to "unpack" them when it loads the mods as well, so it's a compromise.

puppy's on a scale of 1-10 MS paint ranks to a -20 or so in usefulness regarding skinning... Even a freeware paint application is vastly superior in it's functions compared to MS paint... To do more advanced things, generally speaking you're going to need a higher grade application (PSP or Photoshop).

[martjuh.denB]

but if i save the skin as bmp you can look through it

[martjuh.denB]

the problem:

[bennie900]

Thats because the faces are the wrong way, you need to select them all and 'flip' them, not sure what 3D aplication you are using, but yeah need to 'flip' them.

[martjuh.denB]

so i have to flip it again?

[martjuh.denB]

i can't get it with zmodeler

can you help me?

[Xplorer4x4]

Hmm. I have a quick question. All the answers helped alot for me and probably for martjuh, but can you make skins in paint?

As mikey said paint sucks but it is possible. You can pick up older versions of Adobe Photoshop, like v 7, for under $100 if i recall correctly.If thats out of your budget, give paint.net a try http://www.getpaint.net/

I personally use photoshop 7. I have tried CS series but I just dont like them as much as 7. The only major advantage of say CS4, is it handles more image formats, and it can even load a 3ds model in 3d. Over all though it just doesnt offer much new to make me want to switch, and thats price aside.

[martjuh.denB]

but i have the skins from a website and i moke it from .GIF to .BMP with GIMP

[Hoppah]

I do not know GIMP, but it might be better to finish the model in your Zmodeler2 first before exporting it to the game.

Maybe post some screenshots of the model in Zmodeler2.

Png, bmp, jpg and dds should all work in Emergency 4 as textures for models.

However, dds has the best compression what might result in a better performance compared to bmp and other formats.

Do not use paint for texturing. If you ever want to be able to make good textures you need to use more professional software.

but if i save the skin as bmp you can look through it

Maybe you saved the bmp including a black alpha channel which makes your model invisible.