Reskinning Help

GN1996

Not a real user title.
Hi all,

I have several things I am trying to reskin but I'm having trouble. Every time I open an asset's texture file and save it, then commit the asset, I am given the error message that the texture file cannot be read. I am using Paint.NET to do my repaints.

GN1996
 
KUID number.

<kuid:101046:101168>
<kuid2:243294:1299:2> <---This one has its texture files in the rear drive wheels bogey.

I would also like to know what I need to reskin the TS12 built-in Auran ATSF set. T have big plans for them if I can figure it out.

Thanks,

GN1996
 
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I tried to clone the ATSF baggage car and then committed it. It told me it could not load any of the texture files. So with that, what if I were to create whole new texture files and configure the cars to load those?
 
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You should start here;

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~villaump/pevsoft.htm

Download, install, read directions and learn how to use PM2IM, Images2TGA, and Trainz mesh viewer.

PM2IM cures the obsolete PM file by making an IM file, also strips bad textures from the mesh if it's faulty. Images2TGA will create a whatever.texture.txt and whatever.tga file from the whatever.texture file, which fixes the "whatever.texture could not be loaded" error. Also;

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Trainz/Basic_Reskinning_for_beginners

Basic how to tool.

While I was away I downloaded USRA 2-8-8-2 TS12,<kuid2:243294:1299:2> and CMO UP 2-Bay Cyl Cvd Hopper #15005 DES,<kuid:101046:101168>

I don't see any errors in either one, and when I clone them I get no errors. Are you possibly cloning the dependencies too? If you are, that might cause problems for built in dependencies, but unless you're intending to reskin the bogeys to make them rusty then redirect your clone of the loco to the new rusty bogeys it's not necessary or desirable to clone dependencies.
 
I already have the programs you listed above, so that's a good start. I read that link's content and see where I get with that. And in regards to the two assets I'm trying to reskin, I only cloned them and none of the dependencies. They do not become faulty until I open and save a texture file for one of them, but that should go away if I do what you have instructed with Images2TGA.

Thanks,

GN1996
 
This is the message I get when I open texture file on the 2 bay hopper, save it with OR without changes, and then commit the asset:

Error: Unable to load source texture 'hash-f0\copytempsrcx340255x59\hopper art cmo-up.convert-tex' in subst 'local'


The mallet was the first time I saw this issue appear, but on my first reskins I did not get a message like this. I had reskinned JoshEH's GP30 and never had any trouble.

EDIT
It turns out that when I turn the "compressed" option off, the issue goes a way (at least on the 2 bay hopper. Haven't tried the mallet yet.) but this significantly enlarges the texture file size. Is there a way around this?
 
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Trainz don't like compressed TGA files, so whatever image editor you use has to save them as uncompressed. Reducing the size of the image to 50% will make the file size smaller, but doesn't really do anything for performance. If you're planning to upload it, or really really hurting for hard drive space, you could experiment with sharpening the image, reduce the size to 50%, and see how much quality you lose in the process. One of those things where common sense applies, the side hood of a diesel with a lot of door detail or a tender with a lot of rivet detail a 1024x1024 or even 2048x2048 image size makes sense. For something like a coupler or handrails that skin with a single solid color it's silly to use anything larger than 128x128. Save a copy of the TGA, try reducing the size, and restore the backup copy if text, logos, and detail become fuzzy in the smaller size. Quality versus download size is always a judgement call.
 
Thanks for all the help Sniper and Jacob, it is very much appreciated. I will try to get these skins done and see if I can get permission from the authors to upload them some time soon. I still wish I was able to clone and reskin the built-in ATSF cars though...

Thanks again,

GN1996
 
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Well, let's walk through this using the built in ATSF SS Baggage Car,<kuid:-1:100159>

That one is a build 2.9, so the simplest way to fix all the missing obsolete whatever tags is to open it in content creator, find the tags it's complaining about and click the X button to delete each one if it doesn't do it automatically. For this one the obsolete tag was deleted and the required category-class ZX was added automatically so all I had to do was save and exit content creator.

52007330.jpg


First two are fixed automatically by opening in content creator and saving, the missing texture.txt error is what you fix with Images2TGA - it's unaware that built in content compiles whatever.texture.txt and whatever.tga into a single whatever.texture file, so it can't find the actual filename it's looking for and sulks. For non-built in content the compiled whatever.texture files are not used, so once Images2TGA decompiles it into the whatever.texture.txt and whatever.tga files, commiting automatically deletes the original whatever.texture file.

30877976.jpg


If it's set up correctly, right click and select Open With, choose Images2TGA.bat, and it should do the rest automagically. Not working for me right now, possibly because I'm running this copy of TS12 from the F drive. So do it manually, open for edit in explorer, select each whatever.texture file, open with Images2TGA;

21608570.jpg


Then Save As, and it will create the whatever.texture.txt and whatever.tga file. Do that for all of them including the shadow.texture if the automatic bat fails. Should end up with something like this in the explorer window;

57430890.jpg


Provided you don't have pretty pictures with file extensions hidden, if you're gonna hack files you really should change that;

http://www.trainsim.com/vbts/showthread.php?304396-Windows-Explorer-for-dummies

Because it's a whole lot easier to tell the difference between whatever.texture and whatever.texture.txt if you're looking at actual filenames with the extension not hidden.

After that edit, commit, check for errors.
 
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Thanks a bundle. I can't wait to try this and see if it works. If it does, that would make me really happy.

GN1996
 
Works for me, if any part of it don't work for you just post where and when it went sour and we'll examine that part in more detail.
 
Yay, I didn't screw something up in that process, lol. I did get this to work. Thank you so much. Now I just need to see if I can get permission to upload and then I will start reskinning.

Thanks,

GN1996
 
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