alpha map problem

[shifty157]

Im having a problem. Whenever i save a new texture the alpha map will not show up in game. The .dds settings are correct as i never change them. When i check the skin using the .dds thumbnail viewer the alphamaps are applied making the correct selections clear so i assume photoshop is saving the file correctly. When i get in game however the alpha maps are not applied but only the ones for textures which i just editted and saved. Older textures are still displayed correctly. Something happened between yesterday and today and im not sure what.

[Lentonius]

hmm, well, the only thing that may be the problem is the dds settings, but if you have not changed them i have no idea. maybe in the alpha settings it has been reset maybe...

[Ciaran]

Have you used patterns when editing the texture? I´ve had problems whenever I did. A possible solution is to edit the messed-up file again, replacing the alpha channels (which are messed up) with a working version from a backup. A bit cumbersome, not to mention annoying, but it works, for me at least.
I don´t know if this problem appears (and the same solution applies) when you use the nVidia dds plugin, so far I´ve opened the files with dtxbmp

[shifty157]

Now I am getting an error message when i go to save my texture saying "there are too many channels to export (5)". The error comes up after i press the save button and before the DDS settings screen comes on and it wont allow me to save anything at all. I have no idea why it should be doing this now when it was working fine only a day ago.

[hoggy]

Try opening a texture that works, cut and paste the texture and the alpha channel of your broken texture into it and then save it as the name of the broken texture?

[shifty157]

Thats what i did try to do and i got the "there are too many channels to export (5)" error. The 5 its referring to are the five different channels. RGB, red, green, blue, and Alpha 1. I deleted the alpha channel and the file saved fine and it displays in game normally. But i need the alpha channel.

At this rate i may be forced to reinstall.

[shifty157]

Nobody has any idea?

[Lusted]

Are you saving it as DDS DXT5 type texture?

[shifty157]

Are you saving it as DDS DXT5 type texture?

Yes. Although if i try to save the texture with an alpha channel i cant even get to the DDS settings screen before i get the error.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Hey, I just had that problem too. First time I've ever seen it. I was just exporting a simple battlefield banner. What I did then was (even though the file was saved as a psd with multiple layers) save it first (as psd) and then merge all my layers. Then, I tried saving it again as the tga.dds file, and it worked fine, with no problem. I dunno what happened - I changed absolutely no settings though.

[shifty157]

Thanks. Ill try that out quick and see what happens.

edit

Nothing new. Photoshop allows me to save the file as a DDS but the alpha channels do not show in game. But tha alpha channel is being saved with the file because it shows up perfectly fine when i reopen the texture.

What is the alpha channel named in your textures? It is 'Alpha 1' in mine. Or maybe im just looking at things that dont even matter.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Ok, I have a file with this exact same problem right now. I'll keep trying to figure it out. No way we can't get around this though. :grin:

edit: another poster on another forum replies with this solution: "A mi me pasa lo mismo, no te preocupes, tiene facil solucion: guardalo como .tga, abre el tga y lo guardas como .dds"

Translation: It happens to me the same way, but don't worry, it has an easy solution: save it like tga, open the tga and save it like dds.

I tried this and it works with me.

[shifty157]

Ok ill try this as well. But its late now. Ill get back to you tomorrow.

[Ciaran]

If that doesn´t work you might want to try a different tool. I´ve made good experience with dtxbmp, which you can get here: http://fly.to/mwgfx#

It´s a bit more cumbersome than using the dds plugin, but I found it worked without troubles - apart from those described above.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Were you able to get past this problem shifty?

[shifty157]

No sorry. Ive been busy the past day or two and i havent had a chance to try out the new solution. I hope ill get to it tonight although i cant say whether i will or not. Ill post what happens (either way) when i do try it out.

Thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it.

[shifty157]

Nope. Nothing.

Oh well. It doesnt matter. Ill just have someone else properly save the files when im done with them. Its not like i cant continue modeling.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

You can send any of the EB ones to me at wilusa@yahoo.com - and I'll try saving them, and then if I'm successful I can send them back to you.