207 replies to this topic

[Murano]

Make sure the plugin (dds.8bi) is in the correct folder. If your Photoshop isn't in English, you have to translate this installation path to your own language and manually move the file dds.8bi there:

C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CSX\plug-ins\file format

For German for example:
C:\Programme\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CSX\Zusatzmodule\Dateiformat

[dutje]

Its in the right place, i even re installed photoshop and the plugin, but still cant save as a .DDS....

[Murano]

D3D/DDS (*.DDS) isn't even in the dropdown list of fileformats in the 'Save as...' dialog? This is odd. :confused: What Photoshop version do you use?

[dutje]

Turned out i had a veeeeeeeeery old version, so got my hands on CS4 extended from my friend, installed it and now i have the option to save as a .DDS file. But now im not sure if i did the steps with the channels right, so am gonna test the pattern in my game and see if its a succes.

[Murano]

Great you solved the DDS issue. :D If you did right with the channels you should see in the Pattern Plugin preview window. But it's of course best to test it out in game. :)

[kittyispretty69]

Please forgive my stupidity but I'm lost. In the tutorial, is splitting the pattern into four layers something you do on your own or something photoshop does for you? And what do you do if you don't want four separate colors to a pattern, but just a texture showing, such as the paint texture in the game? Or if you want just two colors changeable in the pattern, how is that done? I'm sorry, I am just completely confused!:(

[Murano]

kittyispretty69 said:

In the tutorial, is splitting the pattern into four layers something you do on your own or something photoshop does for you?

Splitting up is the wrong word. It's building together the pattern with colors and stencil masks. You have to create each mask on your own. Fig1 is already the merged down pattern what it would look like in game. :)

kittyispretty69 said:

And what do you do if you don't want four separate colors to a pattern, but just a texture showing, such as the paint texture in the game? Or if you want just two colors changeable in the pattern, how is that done?

As far as I know you can't have a 'traditional' texture as a pattern. Even the woods are made of stencil masks, filled with browns in the game. If you want to have two recolorable stencil masks, you just use the Red and the Green channel in the build up of your RGBA stencil mask image and enable in the Pattern Plugin as well only Red and Green.

[Alerek]

MsBarrows said:

It depends on the software you're using - for Photoshop, for example, if I remember correctly what you have to so is go to the channels tab and then alt-click or shift-click or something like that on the channel you want to edit, otherwise it assumes you still want to be in the mode that edits all channels.

WOOOOO THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

(I'm using CS4 by the way, sorry about that)

I can't explain the nightmares I had trying to decipher that. After toying, it seems my big mistake was starting with a transparent background. (I know white is the obvious choice for this, I had it set to transparency for other unrelated reasons.) Once I set the bg layer to white, clicking individual color channels now allows exclusive editing of those channels :D:D:D:D I'm so happy I could cry.

Now to spend more time designing minor aspects of the game than playing it :D

[kittyispretty69]

Murano said:

As far as I know you can't have a 'traditional' texture as a pattern. Even the woods are made of stencil masks, filled with browns in the game. If you want to have two recolorable stencil masks, you just use the Red and the Green channel in the build up of your RGBA stencil mask image and enable in the Pattern Plugin as well only Red and Green.

What I am talking about is the patterns you are are not given the option to pick multiple colors for, like the wood and the paint and some of the fabrics, etc. You only choose a single color in the game when recoloring the pattern but it looks like it has a texture to it. That's what I'm wanting to learn how to make.

[katalina]

I have Paintshop Pro 7 and it will not work for me because it is asking you to put the plugin in the Adobe Photoshop folder. For example= program files/adobe/adobe photoshop/csx/plug-ins/file format. Oh well, guess I will stick to making for the Sims 2.

[DiamondSim]

I have photoshop 7 (yes I know, very old version) so my new 256X256 pixel file just says RGB color--not RGB/8--is this going to be a problem?

[nicketti]

I also have Paint Shop Pro 7. It lets me make the rgb files and layers. It also has the choice of doing raster & vector layers, but psp does not have the dds file save as. So which dds program can I add to make a dds file to plug into the pattern maker? Thank you for your help, you oh so talented genious folk. I am soooo jealous and dumb.

[Murano]

@kittyispretty69
Those woods have a stencil mask in the Red channel which makes the backgroundcolour (which you can't change) see through.


@katalina
I've been told that PSP reads the DDS plugin as well. I'm just not sure at which version this starts working.


@DiamondSim
No, this isn't a problem in this version. :) More recent Photoshop version have 8/16/32 Bit colour to choose. That's why it's important to specify the file as 8 Bit.

@nicketti
For Gimp there's a DDS plugin available.

[DiamondSim]

Thank you! Back to studying and practicing with the tute!

[Thomas|TSR]

If anyone who can would like to write a tutorial for using Paint shop Pro feel free to do so and send it over for publication on the site. I'll award a real good tutorial with a free subscription to the site :)

[openhousejack]

I made a pattern but what showed up is the desaturated version. I still don't know how to make the stencil mask and how to cut and paste each mask to the respective channels. The tutorial I believe is not for begginers like me . Is there any way for a more beginner tutorial about the stencil mask making. I read HP tutorial in Sims wiki, using the adobe illustrator, but it's worst in difficulty it makes my head spin. I'm really trying but not getting anywhere :(

[LD202]

photo shop elemets i have both of the 8.20 and 8.23 one comes up not sure what i am to do with it and i have look on the learning site for tsr tools i download it by i am lost i have tried to follow the lesson but mine dont come up like it does on the site show you help please

[LD202]

i wish the work shop was step by step for new ones like me it would really help it dont show you how to do just bits and pecies i guess it the tacher in me coming out but the work shop just doesnt really explane it well enought for new one

[LD202]

i just download the new one it great for me becasue i am use to working with bmd file or png file do we still have to spilt the channels or not i upload it then tried to install it by downloading it but it failed it upload ok but there said there were nothing in the file help

[MsBarrows]

openhousejack said:

I made a pattern but what showed up is the desaturated version. I still don't know how to make the stencil mask and how to cut and paste each mask to the respective channels. The tutorial I believe is not for beginners like me . Is there any way for a more beginner tutorial about the stencil mask making. I read HP tutorial in Sims wiki, using the adobe illustrator, but it's worst in difficulty it makes my head spin. I'm really trying but not getting anywhere :(

You can get the same effect of pasting each stencil mask to its respective channel by painting your layout in pure shades of red, green, and blue (in RGB codes that would be 255,0,0 for red, 0,255,0 for green, and 0,0,255 for blue). See attached sample image. I've done a simple doodle of a pattern, where the red channel will become the background, the green is some random diagonal squiggles on it, and the blue is some dots. Remember, these aren't what colours they'll be in-game; these are just defining the masks where different colours can be applied. In-game, the end user will decide are colours THEY want this pattern to show up in - such as a white background with light yellow squiggles and pale pink dots, or a black background with electric purple squiggles and lime green dots, or or or...

Vector-based tools like illustrator just make it easier to make fancy patterns. In truth, anyone could sit down with even something as basic as Microsoft Paint and turn out fabulous patterns, once they understand that the image they're making is just a map of the different colour areas (layers), NOT the final in-game appearance.

Attached Files

•  making_masks.jpg   105.43K   114 downloads