AC Modding Questions Thread

[AccAkut]

Hi guys,

I'm working on a skin for the Porsche 911 GT3 R 2016 for an upcoming championship in 2018,
I'm using Photoshop to add every decals and colors, and then i use GIMP to export the psd file to the dds file.
But there is something i dont understand, i want to use a metal_detail file for a carbon look fiber with the skin i did.
I can clearly see the skin_00.dds file (exported in DXT5) has some areas that are transparant but when i want to create a preview or even when i drive the car, i dont see the carbon fiber, but a black paint color instead.

PS: I'm not home now so i can't show anything.

If someone could send me to the right direction ?

what dds variant are you exporting in? DXT1 for example has no alpha layer

 

[garyjpaterson]

Hi guys,

I'm working on a skin for the Porsche 911 GT3 R 2016 for an upcoming championship in 2018,
I'm using Photoshop to add every decals and colors, and then i use GIMP to export the psd file to the dds file.
But there is something i dont understand, i want to use a metal_detail file for a carbon look fiber with the skin i did.
I can clearly see the skin_00.dds file (exported in DXT5) has some areas that are transparant but when i want to create a preview or even when i drive the car, i dont see the carbon fiber, but a black paint color instead.

PS: I'm not home now so i can't show anything.

If someone could send me to the right direction ?

Anywhere you want the detail texture to show you need to make sure the alpha channel is black.
Areas (like logos) that you don’t want to show keep the alpha white.

 

[Guillaume Francois]

@AccAkut i'm exporting in DXT5 (with mipmaps, the skin in 2K weight 5.33MB if i'm not wrong)

@garyjpaterson Do you know where i can check / set of the alfa channel ? ( i mean, should i update every layer in photoshop, or i can update the alpha channel in GIMP once the skin is flattened ?

 

[garyjpaterson]

@AccAkut i'm exporting in DXT5 (with mipmaps, the skin in 2K weight 5.33MB if i'm not wrong)

@garyjpaterson Do you know where i can check / set of the alfa channel ? ( i mean, should i update every layer in photoshop, or i can update the alpha channel in GIMP once the skin is flattened ?

Not sure about GIMP but in PS you can select your alpha here:

This is what the texture looks like, showing that the white areas are for logos, black for the detail texture:

 

[Guillaume Francois]

Thanks @garyjpaterson

As soon as i'm home i'll try it.
Hope i'll comme back with a nice screenshot !

 

[Guillaume Francois]

So after 1 hour of trying, i still don't know how to fix this, a shame..
Maybe you know how i can solve this ?

 

[garyjpaterson]

View attachment 227543 View attachment 227544

So after 1 hour of trying, i still don't know how to fix this, a shame..
Maybe you know how i can solve this ?

When you clock on the alpha, make sure the other channels are invisible. Anything you want to be visible on the livery (ie NOT the detail texture), make sure those areas are white on the alpha channel.

I'd open up a skin file of kunos' and see how they did it, should be relatively straightforward to copy what they did.

 

[Guillaume Francois]

I cant' say that i'm very satisfied cause i couldn't get the expected result but well at the moment this one is good enough i guess...

If there is any tutorial that explain step by step how to get the result i'm trying to get, i'm in !

 

[Guillaume Francois]

Ok i guess the error came from using photoshop and gimp, i've installed the nvidia dds plugin and the result is better, but i don't understand why there are still errors tho :/

 

[AlleyViper]

Hi, where exactly you want the carbon weave on the metal_detail.dds file to show through? If you want it on the roof, then you must make a white mask with only the AC logo instead of having that whole roof area in white in the alpha folder.
For the side mirrors, you either paint their whole area in black or white on the alpha channel, depending on what color do you wish them to have.

 

[Guillaume Francois]

Hi @AlleyViper and thanks for the reply

the top is indeed painted in black thats why you can see the white mask, but for the vents upside the front wheels and the mirrors these parts are black in alpha channel.
That's why i don't understand why i got this result in CM and in game :/

 

[AlleyViper]

Oh, sorry, I assumed you wanted black carbon weave to show on the roof. You must also ensure that in the RGB layer there's no red/blue over the vents and the mirrors. And depending on your metal_detail.dds file with carbon mesh (and the way it'll be multiplied by the shader), those areas should be either white or a dark shade (for testing paint a layer bellow everything covering the whole file area in white or in a dark shade of gray to see how it'll behave on those areas). You shouldn't leave your RGB merged area with unpainted parts.

(also, ensure you don't have a kunos Skin_00_MAP.dds on your skin folder from another livery, as they are customized for their respective paintings)

 

[Ghoults]

In gimp:
1. with skin stuff visible, right click on the layers anywhere and select new from visible. This is your skin colors. Hide that layer.
2. make your alpha layers visible so you only have greyscale colors. Black is for metal detail, white is for skin color. Grey is a mix of the two. With all these layers visible, right click on the layers anywhere and select new from visible.
3. you have now have two layers. One for alpha and one for the skin. Now right click on the skin layer you made first and choose "Add layer mask". Choose the first option. Now copy the alpha layer you made in part 2 and paste it on that alpha layer you made.
4. with the skin with the alpha selected go to file>export as and then type skin_00.dds or what you want. Choose compression BC3 / DXT5 and mipmaps: generate mipmaps

 

[NeverKrash]

Is anyone able to locate the Camera Editor since the most recent AC update? I have enable_dev_apps set to 1.

Edit:
By turning on Post Processing Filter in the Visual settings menu, the Camera Editor has returned.

 

[Guillaume Francois]

Hey thanks a 1000 times guys ! i'm more than happy with the result

 

[Rigel]

Does anyone happen to know how to make certain objects or materials not affected by fog? Pretty much what's happening in the Singapore track from ACU.

 

[AccAkut]

Does anyone happen to know how to make certain objects or materials not affected by fog? Pretty much what's happening in the Singapore track from ACU.

View attachment 228046

Maybe with this? eNoZWrite or eOff?

 

[jimclark06]

.i have a question...I wanted to know if there is a way to make bright car lights without having to use a PP filter..
you know that if you turn on the lights of cars without a PP filter you can barely notice that they are on..so as it is a nice effect and I do not like to use a PP filter .. I wanted to know if you can modify any of the game's parameters to simulated more shine in them...

 

[Stereo]

No, disabling PP filters is only provided for compatibility (since some gpus can't do it, or need it off to improve fps). The lights are made bright by the post processing.

 

[jimclark06]

No, disabling PP filters is only provided for compatibility (since some gpus can't do it, or need it off to improve fps). The lights are made bright by the post processing.

thanks for you explanation stereo!..so this effect only works whith pp filter..i have the dude because on a old engine (like rfactor) you can use the lights without problem...