Modding art
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Hi,
Inspired by this mod, Franklin's real life posters (which I didn't actually install), I was thinking I'd give such modding a try too.
Perusing OpenIV, I noticed there are .ytd files, which appear to contain the graphics (png) files. Their format confuses me a bit, though. From what I can tell, they appear to be compound images of sorts (containing bump map and specular map variations of the image too).
So, what is the best way to edit/create these .ytd files?
Thanks.
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@TobsiCred Thank you kindly for your awesome advice!
I think I can take it from here!
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@TobsiCred said in Modding art:
many lazy people use png and replace the existing dds. they never heard about mipmaps and stuff like that
When you import a PNG/JPG/BMP etc... into a ytd file through OpenIV, it converts it to a DDS file and creates the mipmaps for it based on the standard mipmaps per resolution settings. So you can export from OpenIV as a PNG, edit it, import it back in and it will do all the conversion for you... it really is very beginner friendly.
You don't actually need a plugin for your paint app unless you want/need more control over what gets created.
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@TobsiCred said in Modding art:
agree, BUT the mipmaps like i said are sometimes not correct it makes mipmap5 instead of 1.
I am curious why you say that. It is a very rare situation that a texture only requires a single mipmap.
Generating the correct number of mipmaps, means that any beginner has to have a fundamental understanding of what mipmaps do and why they have the number that they have. If they use a plugin, you can pretty much guarantee that they'll click "Generate all mipmaps", which means it will be no different to what OpenIV will do when you import a PNG. I just think it's dangerous to say, that using DDS files will make things correct, because that's not guaranteed if you output them incorrectly.
If you output a DDS file with too few mipmaps, you will get issues with texture corruption at certain distances or with off-centre camera angles. You can see my comment on this mod that reflects that https://www.gta5-mods.com/vehicles/ferrari-488-speedster-concept-2016-hq-replace-speedster When you moved the camera sideways, the badge corrupted, because 1 mipmap wasn't enough.
The worst case scenario with more mipmaps, is slightly larger texture sizes in memory. So does that mean you are reducing the number of mipmaps because of memory limitations in ZModeler?
I don't want to seem like I am being argumentative, I just think there is information in this discussion that is helpful for people to understand what mipmaps are and why we have them. I mean I am sat here looking at what might be classed as a "high-spec" vehicle, and it has a 64x64 spec texture with 7 mipmaps and a 2048x2048 livery texture with just 4. That's not correct by any standards... then again, it also has a 512x512 texture for a screwhead... which is quite frankly ridiculous.
I also don't chance to have many art discussions and as an artist, I feel like I am missing out on the good stuff sometimes.
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@TobsiCred said in Modding art:
@meimeiriver you didnt have to create a ytd. just extract one from ingame, rename it what you want. delete or replace content inside. the images inside arent png, they are dds. you can use any graphic program with dds support/plugin to change them or create them. for example Photoshop and gimp got a plugin for that. many lazy people use png and replace the existing dds. they never heard about mipmaps and stuff like that and thats how their mods look like
"such modding a try" yes thats the easiest way to mod, just replacing some textures. so its good for beginning, oh wait i forgot menyoo "mods" this crap mods even lil childs can do in 3min as you can see on the main site
I only now got around to working on this.
And I have to say, it's extremely easy. I got the Photoshop dds plugin, and it can create the mipmaps perfecty. Then I found out OpenIV can make them for you automagically; so this was even more easier than I thought. My home is now adorned with many great pieces of art!One thing baffles me, though. For instance, there a file called v_24_txd+hi.ytd, and it contains, for one, a medium 512x515 mipmap. There's also another file, called v_24_txd.ytd, which contains the same image, only at 256x256. That really makes no sense to me. I mean, what are the mipmaps for then?! The smallest image in the 512x515 mipmap is already 4x4 (!) pixels! What ungodly crappy computer must someone posseses to need an even smaller version of the image than 4x4?!
Seriously, when would the system ever even use the 256x256 mipmap, when the 512x515 mipmap already contains the smallest conceivable image?! Does not compute.
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@meimeiriver When the texture quality is set to low, maybe?
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@meimeiriver Your top level textures are intended for different levels of detail. A mipmap that exists as a component of those top level textures is not accessible as a resource outside the use of that texture.
So you can't say, we'll use this mipmap from this texture, to fit on this image. That mipmap only becomes active under certain viewing conditions, where the gpu requires an alternative texture to meet those conditions. It could be angle of view, distance from the camera etc...
If you have two levels of detail, for high and low spec computers, you have to provide the alternate top-level textures that have their own set of mipmaps.
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@AHK1221 said in Modding art:
@meimeiriver When the texture quality is set to low, maybe?
Why, that's my point exactly: the 512x512 mipmap already contains the smallest possible version of the art (at 4x4 pixels). Why would you ever need something even smaller?
Come to think of it, the game just has to load the entire texture into memory (regardless of what small portion is being displayed). So, LOL, I guess I just answered my own question. Nevermind then.
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Mipmaps also work on a top-down basis, so if you limit the number of mipmaps, you reduce the number of lower resolution versions.
That's why in some instances, you can get away with using smaller amounts, simply because you wouldn't be able to get into a viewing position that would require the smaller mipmaps to be used. Like car seats, or dashboards for instance... you would rarely see them from long distance, so you omit those lower level mipmaps.
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@LeeC2202 Thanks. Didn't know you could actually skip a few.
But yeah, I can see now you'd want a smaller base image, under certain circumstances.
