Question about file types in RTW

[Dead Moroz]

What are .cas and .tga.dds files? How they can be edited?

[Bwian]

Not sure about CAS files, but .TGA is a standard graphic file format. Photoshop or Paintshop Pro should open them fine. Failing that, try Irfanview. It's free and should let you view and convert.

.DDS is another graphics format. There is a plugin available from Nvidia that works for Photoshop and allows you to use the various DDS types. There are several offering different levels of compression and depending on what sort of alpha channel support you need.

Personally, I am more interested in seeing if there are any breakthroughs on the 3D mesh side of things :) Thats what I know best...and I would LOVE to pur some new models in this game!!!

This is just BEGGING for a Middle Earth mod, or a fantasy one.

[Dead Moroz]

Thank you for answer, Bwian .

And welcome to Org!

Another my question (a bit stupid maybe): what files in RTW are 3D model's files? Tga's (and dds?) are textures for 3D models, right?

[Bwian]

They could be textures for 3D models.... or they could be 2D menus, unit pictures...that sort of thing.

It's unlikely that the 3D models will be in an easy to read format, and will probably be encoded into some form of propriatary format. The thing will need some kind of a model converter I expect...

[Duke John]

From viewing at the content of a CAS file I think that a CAS file contains the model of an unit; the geometry, the skeleton and which texture it uses.

The animation of the skeleton and thus the model is probably in other files as they seem to be universal; an infantry model can be made cavalry etc.

I believe that CA will release a tool that lets us probably convert CAS files for the use within 3D modelling programs like 3D Studio.

The DDS file is also pretty new to me, but I think I figured it out. It's a compressed TGA file, but with a twist. The R:TW engine uses several skintextures for units. As the camera zooms out it uses textures with lesser resolution with the goal of lessening memory usage. You can open a TGA.DDS skin and depending on some choices you can actually see the different resolutions in one image. I don't know if that makes sense, but it all comes down to memory management.

[Bwian]

DDS is getting a lot more common. I have met it in several other places.

There are various compression rates, depending on the alpha contect required. They range from DXT1 through to 5. They include mip-mapping, which is pretty much essential these days. It allows different levels of mesh detail to use essentially the same mapping co-ords, but calculated on the fly by the rendering engine. This is where you view the multiple reduced size images that display when you allow the mip-mapping to be fully displayed.

They also offer a file size benefit over TGA or BMP files.

Games like UT2004 use them a lot, since for that game, the efficient use of memory ios essential for online play.

Also...I hope that CA do make a tool available! I am just itching to throw together some fantasy units :) I liked the idea of a fantasy mod for MTw, but always felt that the limitations of the sprites were just not going to make it possible. With proper 3D meshes, there is a whole lot more you can do :D

Have 3DS Max... will model ;)