What in general is the best way of modifying an item's graphics files please? I've managed to find out that TSC has graphics files in .TgPcDx format which I believe is a proprietary Railworks format. I believe the first step is to convert these to a .dds file (DirectDraw Surface). Then you manipulate the .dds file, then you covert it back to .TgPcDx. Is this correct? My immediate need is to make the 'soft shadow' under a wagon less dark and opaque. What tools do you recommend for the the conversion to/from .DDS and what tool is good for doing the graphical edits? Can I use mainstream graphics packages for this? Thanks
The DDS-TgPcDx conversion tool of choice is RSBinTool. For then altering the image, use Paint.net, Gimp or Photoshop. https://rail-sim.de/forum/filebase/entry/97-rsbintool-v-20130222/
torfmeister, thanks. I've downloaded RsBinTool and Paint.NET and done my first lightening of the soft shadow texture, so there isn't a dense pool of black under the wagon. One thing I've noticed is that the soft shadow locally disappears where rays of direct sun fall on it. Is this the expected behaviour of an underbody soft shadow in TSC?
I don't know. You can check how other locos behave with different shadow quality settings (though I think the softshadow has nothing to do with this setting, as it's a texture.) It should always be drawn imho.
Here's the process I use. You can pause the video at any point to see what's happening, or what software I am using. I've only just uploaded it, so 1440P may not be available straight away, so if you can't see clearly, come back in a bit when it's finished processing. You can also send the alpha channel to photoshop via DXTBmp via the alpha menu at the top.
Because I use Paint Shop Pro (X9 presently) and the Nvidia DDS plugin no longer works for PSP I also use DXTBMP, bloody brilliant piece of software and have been editing .DDS files for over a decade right back to UKTS (UK Truck Simulator) and ETS (the first one) days, it's been with me right through all the SCS games and Farming Sim games and now TS.
Yes, forgot to mention, you will need to make sure that the graphics software you use is capable of loading DDS files. There's a plug in for Photoshop available, and also Paint.net accepts them natively if I recall.
I'm using RSBinTool, open TgPcDx, Export DDS. Then load that into Paint.net (you need BoltBait's awesome free plugin pack for the transparency.dll to manipulate alpha channels). Save (auto mipmap generating), import back to RSBinTool and save as TgPcDx again.
It sets the level of transparency of a texture/object. If you were making a green tinted window for example, you would make the green texture for it, then set the transparency using an alpha channel. They are usually a separate channel from the usual RGB channels, and are usually a greyscale channel. So you'd make the alpha channel a shade of grey to set the level of transparency you desire. You can also use it to add dirt of scratches to the surface, and these marks can work alongside the RGB channels. So if you wanted a splash of blood from a bird strike on your glass, you would set the colour using the RGB channels and draw the splatter, and then copy the pattern to the alpha channel, and set a level of grey to make it as opaque as you wanted.
Yeah, I'm using it to fix cab windows that are too intransparent, just adjust the alpha channel and save (in the correct format, which RSBinTool shows, some must be DXT5, some ARGB uncompressed - some engines provide two variants of texture files (.nm uncompressed, .nmc compressed for lower quality settings)
