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:

-----------------------

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.

[Dol Guldur]

Mak,

What version of PSP do you have? Nvidia changed their plug-in (last year I think) which is not very backward compatible with PSP. I had to hunt down the previous version to get it to work in PSP (I have 7).

[Makanyane]

My version is PaintShopPro 5 (not sure they had heard of .dds then, LOL). I'm not worried about getting mine working as have PS Elements for editing .dds - would be useful to know to advise anyone else though - when I get over lazy phase I'll try and research that. (or do you remember link to old version?)

[Dol Guldur]

No, it was on some old private texture tutorial site - but I have the file (it's just one file) so point anyone my way if they cannot get the current one to work.

[Melea Lord]

Sorry, are you saying that I'll need GIMP to edit the cards or the units themselves. I'm only interested in the cards. I'll go download GIMP. I can't open the TGA files currently.

There are so many versions!

I download version 2. I now have a txt document, three WinRAR Archives and something else. What on earth do I do with them? I cant' find anything to do with installation.

[Makanyane]

You can use GIMP to edit the unit cards (it won't open models).

On your download check if there is a setup application inside any of the rar files, if not:
I think some versions of GIMP might come without installer, try getting it from here: http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html
you'd need GIMP for windows (assuming you are on windows) and the run-time thingy - they come as applications you just double click to install.

I just finally installed it from there - thought I should finally look at the program, it definitely opens tga's and looks like it has lot of other features. Err, you are going to need to find someone that's been using it for a while to answer any more complicated questions though
....and you will need the help files as well (at bottom of page I linked to)

[Melea Lord]

What file type should I select?

[Makanyane]

eh, what, where?

do you mean the file associations it asks about? You don't have to select anything there - though if you don't have anything else that opens .tga's you may as well associate them. If you don't associate anything you just open program and browse for the file you want to in file - open, menu.

[Melea Lord]

I have just opened a Pontus Chariot for the Parthians. I'm trying to change the colour of the robes over the horses.

1) I can't select the robes but bits of them. This also selects bit elsewhere. Bit harrassing.

2) How do I turn it pink? There's pattern (orange) BG colour (White) and FG colour (Black). None are pink.

[Makanyane]

1) you might not need to select bits, just make sure you only use the 1pixel sized brush - though 'select contiguous regions' tool (looks like magic wand) works for me, you may just need to adjust its threshold

2) to change colour double left click on the foreground colour box (black) and
that will bring up colour selection panel - click around in that till you have the colour you want.

You'll probably need to experiment to see which brush type, hard edged or feathered you use, and on some other settings, using overlay rather than normal for brush might work. Otherwise you may need to keep selecting different shades of the pink and alter .tga one pixel at a time to keep 3d shadowed effect. If you open one of the Parthian tga's at same time you can pick up colours from that using the 'pick colours from image' tool (on top line looks like eye dropper).

[Melea Lord]

What do you mean by foreground? What black box? You mean FG?? Found it!