Problem with Skinning

**RTW King** · 08-22-2005, 19:10

I've been using Photoshop to skin. First few went fine, but when I changed Barb Standard Bearers hair to red, when I tested his flag had a black outline around it making it square shaped. I changed Woad Warriors skin colour, and now their shield has a black outline making it square shaped. Does anyone know why this is?

**Epistolary Richard** · 08-22-2005, 19:37

Sounds like you're saving them in the wrong format and you're losing the transparencies. Check out this tute:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=50445

**Bwian** · 08-22-2005, 20:39

When you are saving DDS files, make sure you have not got the 'ignore alpha' option checked.

**RTW King** · 08-22-2005, 21:06

Its saving it as DXT1 RGB (No Alpha)

What should it be saved as?

**Epistolary Richard** · 08-22-2005, 21:54

Originally Posted by Epistolary Richard

Check out this tute:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=50445

This thing that I posted, this is called a link. They're a really really useful way of navigating around the internet. You can tell it's a link because it's underlined and it goes a different colour when you put the mouse over it (though, be warned, that's not always the case

). What you do, is put your mouse over the 'link' and click the left mouse button. You'll find it goes to another 'webpage' entirely, where you could have found the following:

-Save format DXT 5 ARGB (Interpolated Alpha)
-2D Texture
-Use existing MIP maps

Welcome to the internet

**RTW King** · 08-22-2005, 22:14

Yeah yeah OK I get the point Epistolary R. I'm just tired first day back at school after the summer holidays

**edyzmedieval** · 08-22-2005, 22:18

You poor soul!!!
I still have 3 more weeks :D But it's the start for me also.

Anyways, back to topic.
Thanks Epistolary Richard. I needed it also!

**RTW King** · 08-22-2005, 23:21

Found problem, my brother changed save game type for skinning for Halo. I didn't see the save type had changed when I went to save my RTW unit, so it was saved as the wrong type. In the guide though, it says this mucks up all the skins. So I tryed a completely new skin, and saved it the way I should, but in game the skins were all in the wrong position. Does this mean I can never skin again for RTW because of my brother?

**Bwian** · 08-22-2005, 23:49

It would only muck up the skin you saved. Because it discards all the alpha channel data, you lose the transparency stuff, which is why the shields grew a 'square' outline. There is no way to get this back .... you have to re-create the alpha channel from scratch ( or from the stock skin assuming you didn't over-write it )

The reason the tutorial says it mucks up 'all' the skins is because these selections remain as you left them. If someone changes the setting, it stays changed until you put it back, so you have to make sure it is correct EVERY time you save a skin.

If your next skin was 'all in the wrong position' this points to you using a skin on a model it was never designed to be used on. Make sure you start off with the right skin for the model, or this will keep happening ( and it's not down to the settings in your pain program either..so don;t worry about that! ) The model mesh 'knows' where it will get it's texture sections from. If you change that, the game engine will not follow what you do..it will just get it;s texture from where it wants to. To change that requires 3DS MAx, and the ability to UV map.