Absolute Annihilation 2.11 graphical discussion

submarine · Post by **submarine** » 03 Jul 2006, 22:34

I thought it would be a good idea to start a seperate thread for discussions which are not related to balancing issues but graphical stuff...

one suggestion/question:
would it be possible to make a mutator which removes those (imho) extremly ugly ground decals from all factories but still remain compatible with "normal" aa? i dont know if missing ground decals would cause sync errors

i just think these grey "basements" look so damn ugly, especially on maps like green comte catcher or river dale. (i wish spring devs had never implemented that *g*)

or make a mutator where they are trasparent...

Post by **jcnossen** » 03 Jul 2006, 22:49

IMO, they can look nice if done with proper alpha blending. This thread shows some nice screenshots of them, where they really improve the looks of the unit.

NOiZE · Post by **NOiZE** » 03 Jul 2006, 22:49

Just tested with AA2.11 and everybody can have his/her own custom build decals and it won't desync the game!!!

How does it work:

make a /unittextures/in your TASPRING root like:

C:\Program Files\TASpring\unittextures\

Extract

asphalt512.dds
asphalt512c.dds

from the AAS_Base.sdz and put them in that dir

Edit them with photoshop and you're done!

unpossible you care to release yours?

Zenka · Post by **Zenka** » 03 Jul 2006, 23:43

The ground decals doesn;t bug me.
The current model of the commanders are. They are really to low-poli and there are better around. what gives?

unpossible · Post by **unpossible** » 03 Jul 2006, 23:45

NOiZE wrote:Just tested with AA2.11 and everybody can have his/her own custom build decals and it won't desync the game!!!

How does it work:

make a /unittextures/in your TASPRING root like:

C:\Program Files\TASpring\unittextures\

Extract

asphalt512.dds
asphalt512c.dds

from the AAS_Base.sdz and put them in that dir

Edit them with photoshop and you're done!

unpossible you care to release yours?

ok, sure
only thing is the sizes might not be optimal. did caydr shrink them a little in the latest version (from the huge sizes they were to start)?

EDIT:
I forgot, these would need to be .dds files and they spring won't let them be transparent.
I used .tgas to get the tranparency, so new unit fbis are needed to tell the units to have the correct decals. this desynchs the game...assuming only if ppl don't both have the fbis

it's ok for single player, and i assume it will work online if both players have it...but it's easy to forget about it and desynch the game
.
probably not worth bothering with unit caydr switches to using .tgas for all the trouble/whining it will cause

Neddie · Post by **Neddie** » 04 Jul 2006, 01:17

We can have custom ground decals!? I have some very interesting ideas....

Caydr · Post by **Caydr** » 04 Jul 2006, 01:34

TGA is virtually uncompressed and inefficient. DXT3 DDS is a much more practical format.

Min3mat · Post by **Min3mat** » 04 Jul 2006, 03:05

you can have NON-TRANSPARENT custom ground decals unless Caydr changes the format from .tga to .dds (or the other way around)
read the posts before asking? X)

unpossible · Post by **unpossible** » 04 Jul 2006, 09:28

Min3mat wrote:you can have NON-TRANSPARENT custom ground decals unless Caydr changes the format from .tga to .dds (or the other way around)
read the posts before asking? X)

what you talking aboot williss?

NOiZE · Post by **NOiZE** » 04 Jul 2006, 10:34

unpossible wrote:EDIT:
I forgot, these would need to be .dds files and they spring won't let them be transparent.
I used .tgas to get the tranparency, so new unit fbis are needed to tell the units to have the correct decals. this desynchs the game...assuming only if ppl don't both have the fbis

it's ok for single player, and i assume it will work online if both players have it...but it's easy to forget about it and desynch the game
.
probably not worth bothering with unit caydr switches to using .tgas for all the trouble/whining it will cause

Making dds's from tga's isn't that hard... Post the tga's and i'll see what i can do.

Comp1337 · Post by **Comp1337** » 04 Jul 2006, 10:37

Problem is he wants transparecy, and he cant get that on .dds.

NOiZE · Post by **NOiZE** » 04 Jul 2006, 10:42

transparcy works fine on dds.

Comp1337 · Post by **Comp1337** » 04 Jul 2006, 10:43

err.. Not for spring AFAIK, this discussion went on in unpossibles thread, and thats the reason he made .tgas.

unpossible · Post by **unpossible** » 04 Jul 2006, 11:00

NOiZE wrote:
unpossible wrote:EDIT:
I forgot, these would need to be .dds files and they spring won't let them be transparent.
I used .tgas to get the tranparency, so new unit fbis are needed to tell the units to have the correct decals. this desynchs the game...assuming only if ppl don't both have the fbis

it's ok for single player, and i assume it will work online if both players have it...but it's easy to forget about it and desynch the game
.
probably not worth bothering with unit caydr switches to using .tgas for all the trouble/whining it will cause
Making dds's from tga's isn't that hard... Post the tga's and i'll see what i can do.

making the .tgas isn't the problem: they work fine. it's the fact that you have to play a different version of the mod to use them

NOiZE · Post by **NOiZE** » 04 Jul 2006, 11:09

CONVERT THE TGA"S to DDS

and it will work!

unpossible · Post by **unpossible** » 04 Jul 2006, 11:17

NOiZE wrote:CONVERT THE TGA"S to DDS

and it will work!

ok, first you make a patch so that spring will let .dds use transparencies... look at the fiddling with baseplate decals thread in the art/modelling forum (linked at the top here). transparencies in dds just come out white in spring.

edit: did you mistake politeness for not understanding? I'll switch to flame mode

NOiZE · Post by **NOiZE** » 04 Jul 2006, 11:20

unpossible wrote:
NOiZE wrote:CONVERT THE TGA"S to DDS

and it will work!
ok, first you make a patch so that spring will let .dds use transparencies... look at the fiddling with baseplate decals thread in the art/modelling forum (linked at the top here). transparencies in dds just come out white in spring.

edit: did you mistake politeness for not understanding? I'll switch to flame mode

The current AA ones have transparencies and are dds and work fine!!
Just release the tga's and i'll fix them up for you if you want!

unpossible · Post by **unpossible** » 04 Jul 2006, 11:26

ok...i believe you

what program do i need to use to get the tranaprency to work? GIMP didn't play ball when i tried

NOiZE · Post by **NOiZE** » 04 Jul 2006, 11:32

Photoshop

unpossible · Post by **unpossible** » 04 Jul 2006, 11:50

ok, they're up on FU now
This replaces the decals used under the factories in AA with metal ones. Doesn't cause desynchs

props to Noize for helping get it releasable!

linky
http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=3625
thread linky:
http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=5532

and they even overlap/tile nicely

Spring RTS Engine

Absolute Annihilation 2.11 graphical discussion

Absolute Annihilation 2.11 graphical discussion