Edit Freeway Signs

[JamieEC]

I would like to edit the freeway signs files. I notice this was done with the Real California Architecture mod. Can anyone offer any guidance on this? It looks like the files are not simple texture files, they are models which are made up of part of a texture, which contains all the characters.
Thanks in advance

[a63nt-5m1th]

@JamieEC
You can access the textures inside a '.ydr' &/or '.ydd' by right-clicking it/them in OpenIV & selecting 'Export to openFormats (.odr/.odd)'.
It will create a folder & '.odr/.odd' file of the same name as the '.ydr/.ydd'.
Textures will be inside the folder/s. Access, edit & save them etc.
Drag & drop '.odr/.odd' file back into OpenIV to recreate the '.ydr/.ydd'

Just so you know, a '.ydd' is just a collection of '.ydr's all in the same file. Once a '.ydd' is exported to openFormats ('.odd') you can edit the individual ('.odr'/texture) files within the folder structure.

[JohnFromGWN]

@JamieEC
To add to what guru @a63nt-5m1th explained, you may also find street signs (or other textures) in ytd files. For example to add to the immersion/realism of the French Riviera mod, I changed a street sign with direction to Liberty City (or was it Los Santos?) to Paris - which I felt made it more authentic. There were actually a few identical textures, in different ytd files, that needed editing and replace (or import).

[JohnFromGWN]

@JamieEC said in Edit Freeway Signs:

It looks like the files are not simple texture files, they are models which are made up of part of a texture,

I think most files are simply textures. Exception example would be the Hollywood replacement for Vinewood mega sign which is made up of 3D models AFAIK.

[JamieEC]

@a63nt-5m1th what software would you recommend to use to edit it once I export it? I was using Blender and couldn't get it to load

[JohnFromGWN]

@JamieEC blender is not an image editor. Use whatever bitmap software you have, mspaint, paint.net, gimp, photoshop. If you have dds files use paint.net or photoshop with intel plugin.

[JamieEC]

@JohnFromGWN wow that French Riviera mod looks amazing! will have to give it a go.

[JohnFromGWN]

@JamieEC it is cool but two caveats.
First it is unstable, which is why i have it in its own mod folder.
Secondly the ocean waves will overlap onto the road which i fix using a line of script.

[JamieEC]

@JohnFromGWN Okay, so I have exported like this. In this instance I was using fwy_02_fwysign_text_026.ydr. I can import this into blender, however the texture is stored in fwy_02_signs.ytd which gives me the texture containing the characters for the font. If you export both of these you will see what I mean. I am struggling on how to a. add this texture onto the model in blender and b. edit the model in blender

[JohnFromGWN]

@JamieEC I'm not sure what you're trying to do. If you just want to replace textures blender does not come into the picture. You export the textures using OpenIV, you edit the textures in an image editor, you import the edited textures back using OpenIV. No blender.

When bringing the images back into OpenIV, you can use Import if the file names are the same, use Replace if the file names are different.

[JamieEC]

@JohnFromGWN Im trying to edit the content of the signs. The texture is not changed the model is. I am looking for guidance on how to change this model. I dont see what I am missing. When I open the files in OpenIV it is the correct file.

[JamieEC]

@JohnFromGWN I will send some screenshots tomorrow

[JohnFromGWN]

@JamieEC I'm sorry but I can't help you with modelling questions - no expertise - but I don't see how that has anything to do with changing road signs. The process does not involve models, just textures, except (in the rare occasion) of models such as the Vinewood (Hollywood) sign.

[a63nt-5m1th]

@JamieEC
This probably won't be much help.
Looks like the letters might be mapped to the model in some way (but as you've probably noticed, don't display in 3DS Max/Blender etc when you load up the model).
The polygon Elements of the model correspond to the size of the letter they are using anyway, & there's no real reason to do that unless you are mapping it to something of that size &/or shape (capital 'E' & lower case 'l' (L) etc).

I have no idea what method is used to do that (I haven't done any UV mapping or anything like that in 3DS Max yet). You need someone who knows Blender/3DS Max etc & can explain the possible methods that could have been used (there may be more than one way of doing it etc).

There are only 2 materials in 'fwy_02_fwysign_text_026.ydr'. The one using 'fwy_rsn_mjg_hgdalphabet4096_dm' is set as a 'distance_map' which may or may not have something to do with displaying the letters directly.

Edit:

Dragging & dropping the 'fwy_rsn_mjg_hgdalphabet4096_dm' texture onto the model in 3DS Max seems to indicate it is indeed mapped using some method:

[JamieEC]

@a63nt-5m1th Wow thanks so much for the guide! I will take a look at what you have shown and see how I get on with it. Not done 3d modeling before.

[JamieEC]

@a63nt-5m1th I have tried this since, dragging the texture over doesn't seem to do anything.
All I did was import the model and drag over the texture, did you do anything else?
Edit: I had the render mode set incorrectly.
Thanks

[a63nt-5m1th]

@JamieEC
This might help you out a bit, hopefully (just figured it out myself, so don't know everything involved, but should help you to some degree at least ).

In 3DS MAX, drag the 'fwy_rsn_mjg_hgdalphabet4096_dm' etc texture on to the model as you did before & then go:

Example ('fwy_02_fwysign_text_026.odr'):

• In the main 3DS Max window, select a letter area (both parts) using Ctrl+Left Mouse Click () & it will be selected/highlighted in the UV Editor window also ():

• Then in the UV Editor window, use the arrows to move the selected rectangle area to a new position:

• In the main 3DS Max window you should be able to see the letters being moved about as you reposition the highlighted rectangle in the UV Editor window:

After you move all the letters to the ones you want, it should just be a matter of exporting the model as normal using GIMS Evo ('Export' button) & checking it functions correctly/letters are changed & in the correct positions etc.

Any issues you encounter can be tackled one by one. 3DS Max isn't the most intuitive program I've ever used, but generally, that's because it's so capable of doing a lot of things. Just takes a bit of time to get used to it/learn everything you need to know etc. I can probably help out with most of the basics at least

[bandkarde3]

I will take a look at what you have shown and see how I get on with it. Not done 3d modeling before.