Lets learn: How to do simple modifications to unit cards!

[Melea Lord]

I'm fed up with my Parthian Chariot with the Pontus' Blue. How do I simply change its colour to the Parthian colour theme? I have many others like this:

Greek, Macedon, Thracian chariots look like seleucid
Seleucid ballista looks like greek
Armenian, Pontus elephant looks like a Parthian elephant
Scythian elephant look like merc large eliphant
and others

I'm just starting so I won't know what tools to use, what this means and what tha means okey? Thanks.

[Makanyane]

First of all if a unit card already exists for one of the other factions that looks the way you want it, you can just copy it into your factions folder (re-naming it if necessary if unit has slightly different name).

Otherwise could you say what graphic editing software you already have? (or if you are likely to buy any) There's not much point having people explain how to do something in PhotoShop etc if you don't have access to it.

[Melea Lord]

That's the point, I don't know what graphic software I need, probably don't have as I have never skinned before.

It LOOKS like it but the COLOURS are wrong. I made the pontus chariot available to the Parthians nad gave them the pontus unit card but that means the unit card will have a blue chariot and not a pink one. So that's why I need to skin. Okey?

[Makanyane]

Umm, skinning and making /editing unit cards are two different things - which can need different software.

Skinning is changing the appearance of the texture file which 'clothes' the model you see in the game in the battle map. Those files are saved as .tga.dds files and a special plug-in from nvidia or a converter is needed to access them. PhotoShop, PhotoShop Elements, GIMP (which is freeware), and I think later versions of PaintShopPro should be able to use the plug-in (not 100% sure on PaintShopPro as my old version definitely doesn't).

There is a guide to skinning with PhotoShop here:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=66957
most of that will apply to PS Elements as well which is cheaper version. Elements has a replace colour function which is quite handy for doing quick bodge jobs to change colours of bits of skins without losing existing textures.

GIMP is meant to be quite good (and obviously free is good, LOL) but I haven't used it so can't advise.

The unit cards (the small icons you see at the bottom of the battle menu - in recruit queues etc) have to be changed separately. They are normal .tga files so are easier to find an editor for. You can just manually paint over the bits of 'wrong' colour, or depending on program try replace colour and various shadowing options to maintain shape. The 'proper' way of doing unit cards is to make a render from the 3d model using the new skin, but the software normally used for that is 3Dmax which costs about £3000, there was a free 3d program which might be able to do that (but not make new model for game) I'm not sure if it's still around - perhaps someone else could advise on that.

[Melea Lord]

Wow, this is quite complex. I'm not talking about the units themselves but just the unit cards and the pictures on the units info screen. I beleive that's this part of what u said:

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The unit cards (the small icons you see at the bottom of the battle menu - in recruit queues etc) have to be changed separately. They are normal .tga files so are easier to find an editor for. You can just manually paint over the bits of 'wrong' colour, or depending on program try replace colour and various shadowing options to maintain shape.

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This is what I'm interested in. What editor should I use/can you point me to a tut specifically for this?

EDIT: Found something: https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=51373

A bit vague though. The link to Vercingetorix's X-pak isn't working. I'll search for it tommorrow (It being 11 o'clock by my watch and midnight by this one.)

[Makanyane]

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/downl...?do=file&id=43
should be current link to the x-pak extractor

the tutorial you found is for PhotoShop but some things will be same for other programs. Make sure you have unpacked to get access to file you want to change, experiment with whatever graphics programs you already have on computer, then if you are stuck come back again.