Spring RTS Engine

So... based on my understanding of what's being discussed here:
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=13255

It seems like one could load a different texture to the surfaces of a s3o model in game.

It would be cool if someone made use of this feature to do one of the following:

Allow people to load up their own custom set of textures without breaking game sync... maybe they just want to have a different skin set... I don't know.

Allow mappers to specify (in a generic interface... basically a lua script in the map that sets a variable that if the user has this gadget installed the preference will be passed) the texture set that the units should display... allowing different camo-for different maps... this could also include a user/prefs option to manually choose these skins for maps that don't support it (old maps).

Another Cool thing would for some mods to acctually have different skins for each team number or ally team number (so for example, you have a team game where players 1,2,3 are on ally team 1 and players 4,5,6, are on ally team, players 1,3,5 are ARM and players 2,4,6 are CORE... you would have a "team" skin-set (for all units in both ARM and CORE factions) that would make all the players on ally team 1 use one skin set (let's say they have a different logo and their shoulder plates are all yellow) and be visually separated from ally team 2 regardless of team-color...)

Or, another cool thing would be to have clan-colors... basically clans could release a texture back of special skins for units that you could then install and it would allow you to see that team's skins when you played against a member (could pick skin based on the first part [eg.] of their username)

a mod could also make use of this functionality to release a series of skins that would look better with different team colors... so if a player chose a color with a certain color range (all red, all blue, all green, all yellwo... etc) it would use a skin that complemented this colour... (for example it would choose the purpleish skin if the player chose a purple-ish color... or a purple-ish skin if the player chose yellow or green (to increase contrast)

Wow... Wall 'o' Text their...

Executive Summary:
SinbadEV Suggests Uses for the Ability to Apply Skins to A Model Using Lua, Including:
- Custom User Chosen Skins
- Map Specified Skins
- Different Skins For Different Teams or Ally Teams
- Clan Skin Packs
- Different Skins for Different Player Colors

teh object that im applying the second texture to in that thread is actually a brand new lua-drawn model piece.

ive had similar thoughts tho Sinbad, esp thinking about s44 type mods, with real(istic) texturing. and have (for ex) desert (brown) temperate (green) and snow/winter (whitewashed)

one other thing that *may* be possible is that you get a lua script to pick 20 random above water pixels, average the colours, and assign the textures based on the results (ie green on small divide, brown on mars, white on the cold place)

*shrug* just a thought.