Universal Forum Archive

What steps do I need to follow when creating my own skins? I'm pretty handy with digital art and image editors, so I just need to know what needs to be done to make it work.

Make your texture images (or edit existing ones), save em out with a new name in either .jpg or .bmp format (Jpg preferred as they're smaller files for your players to download), then select the new textures from the server panel.

E.g. Say you've want to edit the texture on your vehicle 2..
On your server, go to Tools -> Model Selector.
Click 'Vehicle 2' on the list on the left.
At the top it'll tell you what the name of the texture that is currently being used (and the folder its stored in). (It'll be in Data/Models/Vhcls/ by default)

Edit that texture in your paint prog, and save it out with a new, unique name
(.e.g Data/Models/Vhcls/onionvehicle2.jpg )

Go back to the model selector, refresh the directory list (button at the bottom), then select your new texture from the file list.

Next time you join the world the client will download and display your new vehicle 2 texture.

Same sorta process applies for changing textures on building models, except you do it from the Tools -> Buildings Editor menu and use the 'Change Model' button at the bottom right.

( Note also that a whole new system for assigning models and textures to everything on your world is currently under construction - in a future version the whole process will become much simpler, allowing you to preview and upload changes to your server from within the game.)

Ah, so no need to try to visualize unfolding the model, like back-wards origami?

I did wonder if that's what you meant instead :)

If you want to re-skin existing models:

a) if the existing skin is any good you might just be able to identify which bits are which, and paint over them. Then see Mit's reply.

b) if it's not clear, you'll need a way to generate the texture coordinate (UV map) bitmap template out of the existing model, which is going to require exporting the model from the Model Converter into .3ds format, then importing it into some modelling program, and using that to export the template etc for that model. Paint on it, then see Mit's reply :)

c) Or if you're interested in reskinning something I made (anything on the model library, for example), I can just send you the template.

d) If you have a new model, or a model that hasn't been mapped, then yeh - you'll need to do the origami magic.

f

Thanks. I'm not creating any new models, that's beyond my expertise, so yeah, I'm just reskinning models. I dunno if any of the ones are yours, I first have to pick out the ones I want to reskin.

Okay, Zar's site is missing some skins, so could you send me the templates for the ostrich and the monkey?

its missing some?
it should have the skins for all the models on it unless otherwise specified.

Nah, when I click the skin icons for the ostrich and the monkey, it gives me a 404 Error: File Not Found.

hmm...i might have forgotten to fix them when i moved the site to the new host.
i'll take a look at them now and fix them if needed.

ok fixed the ostrich, monkey, and a bunch of other animals. the links were pointing to .bmp files when the textures are .jpg files. sorry it took a day, i got distracted from reading the forums and helping somebody on zoric and forgot about it. then had to work today