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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#1 Old 20th Feb 2017 at 12:34 PM
Default No way to edit mask textures
Hi,

I've got a bit of a problem here. I can't do anything with masks, because all the software that should allow me to woork with them has grown a bit mouldy.

There's S3PE, which is the only one that doesn't crash - thank god - but it's allergic to colour channels and only exports one of them. It only exports the Red channel. Works fine on all my textures, except the ones where the channels actually matter.
Then there's TSRW, which had some problems with The Matrix or something and crashes whenever I load anything. "Out of bounds", it says. Matrix array out of bounds or whatever. Not exactly my kind of computer-related guff. Either way, I used to have this old version from 2012, pre-TS4, that worked perfectly fine. But that was on another PC entirely.
And then there's also CTU, which just crashes when I ask it to do something useful. So literally just me, if I were a piece of software.

So that sucks. Any solutions anywhere by anyone for anything? Anythanks.

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Alchemist
#2 Old 23rd Feb 2017 at 6:49 PM
When you say "mask", do you mean the DDS image that controls the channels?

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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#3 Old 24th Feb 2017 at 9:49 PM
Quote: Originally posted by sweetdevil
When you say "mask", do you mean the DDS image that controls the channels?

Yes. Yup.

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Alchemist
#4 Old 24th Feb 2017 at 10:05 PM
Hmm, the only way I'm getting S3PE to export a mask with only the Red channel, is by selecting only the Red channel in the preview pane, then right-clicking on the _IMG resource and selecting "Save Image". Are you doing this?

If not, what software are you using to open the DDS files? There are DDS plugins for NVIDIA and GIMP. I don't think you can see channels properly without them.

Can't help you with TSRW as I'm not too familiar with it, but do you have the right framework version for CTU? Does it return any error messages? If it refuses to work with a particular item, try cloning it. This has helped me in the past.

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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#5 Old 25th Feb 2017 at 1:18 AM
Quote: Originally posted by sweetdevil
Hmm, the only way I'm getting S3PE to export a mask with only the Red channel, is by selecting only the Red channel in the preview pane, then right-clicking on the _IMG resource and selecting "Save Image". Are you doing this?

Oh wait, I think you're also supposed to tick Invert. It's showing all channels for me now.

EDIT: Nope, doesn't work either. Still only getting the Red channel.

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Alchemist
#6 Old 25th Feb 2017 at 9:04 AM
Checking "Invert" just shows you the image with or without transparency. If your object has 3 channels (no alpha), the Inverted version will be completely transparent. If the object has 4 channels (with alpha), the regular version will show only the alpha channel, while the Inverted one will display the other channels, with the alpha portion transparent.

Ruling out the obvious too: does your object have only one channel?

Here are two masks: one has 3 channels, the other has 4. Can you see all the channels in them? http://simfileshare.net/download/185944/

Can you describe what you're trying to do and post a screenshot of your S3PE window, with the mask _IMG selected?

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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#7 Old 25th Feb 2017 at 5:22 PM
So the mask has 4 channels, and both my file and your example only show the Red channel.

Here it is in S3PE:


And in GIMP:

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Site Helper
#8 Old 25th Feb 2017 at 6:07 PM
Have you tried Texture Tweaker? It's just as up to date as s3pe.


http://www.simlogical.com/ContentUp...s/625/index.htm

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Alchemist
#9 Old 25th Feb 2017 at 6:42 PM
Your first pic looks as it should in S3PE. You're using the women's tuxedo from the Store, right? That's how it looks in S3PE with the Alpha channel enabled. The Red channel is actually completely filled and should show up as white in the Channels panel.

Do you have the DDS plugins for Gimp installed? You can get them here, and this post explains how to install them.

Can you paint anything on the Green and Blue channels? It's hard to tell from the small thumbnails but they look empty.

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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#10 Old 25th Feb 2017 at 6:54 PM Last edited by GrijzePilion : 25th Feb 2017 at 7:25 PM.
Yeah, I'm using the three-piece suit, "Danger Darling" as a base. I'm trying to make it, you know, not suck. Because it sucks. And yeah, I'm importing it as a DDS, DXT5, generated mipmaps. As is expected.

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Instructor
#11 Old 26th Feb 2017 at 12:43 AM
It seems like the problem lies with GIMP and not S3PE?
I do get the same result with GIMP as you, but with Photoshop, I can actually see the RGB channels, not just the visible part of the alpha. I don't normally use GIMP, so I don't know the program that well and can't give you a solution, as much as a work-around...

With the mask you want to edit opened in GIMP, here is what I found while browsing:
1) Go to Layer > Mask > Add Layer Mask. Select "Transfer Layer's Alpha Channel."
2) Go to Layer > Mask > Show Layer Mask.
3) Select all, copy. Make a new file, paste to the new file. Save the new file, close the new file.
4) Go to Layer > Mask > Delete Layer Mask. You now should have an image with no transparency.
5) Edit the image to your liking.
6) Open the file where you saved the original alpha, select all, and copy.
7) On your edited image, go to Layer > Mask > Add Layer Mask. It does not matter which mode you choose.
8) Go to Layer > Mask > Show Layer Mask.
9) Paste into the layer mask. Press CTRL+H to anchor your paste.
10) Go to Layer > Mask > Apply Layer Mask. The image should look very transparent again.
11) Save.

You can also do a bit of what sweetdevil mentionned:
1) In S3PE, select only "Alpha" and "Invert".
2) Right-click > "Save Image..."
4) In GIMP, open this image and add a layer that's all white underneath. Fusion layers. And you'll have your Alpha ready.
3) Back to S3PE, do the same while having "Red", "Green", "Blue" selected. You'll have your RGB channels.
4) Edit those images to your liking, I suppose. And copy the Alpha you prepared previously.
5) Follow steps 7-11 above to add your Alpha back to the RGB image you edited.

This seems like a lot of steps, right?
I don't know if someone who's more familiar with GIMP has a better idea.
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