reducing mod size

[dose]

Hey guy's!! I finally finished my new mod "OLD SCRAP YARD"
A kind of rusty and wooden style.
here's the problem:

I will use this mod in a future project but the mod is more than 40 mb.
i would like to know if there's a way to shrink some of the dds.
I saw in a Mod somewhere that all the S.dds and N.dds was a small cube
(colored white for the "N.dds" and colored gray for the S.dds)
with a file size of less than 350 ko.Only the D.dds was more than 3mb each.
so at the end it cuts in half the size of the mod.

I took all the S.dds and the N.dds from the mod and copy them in my zip/mod.
the only problem that I see is that THE LIGHT ON THE BLOCS ARE SEPARATED IN 2 (pale and dark light) and this only
at DAY TIME (see the a screenshot)

Q: Do I have to put the S.dds the color of the D.dds of the bloc ?
Thanks !
************************************************
the 41 mb mod here:
the test rpg here:

[popgun]

Hi,



Not sure about shrinking the files but the Dark Light thing is the shadow bug.
Go to Hawkgers 'Editing Textures' video here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLCfZcSvzOo&feature=player_embedded
Scroll to 7:02 and watch how to kill it.

[HawkGer]

Don't follow my advice in the video, it's not the best method.
Written in Trunks post...he has the same problem:

heh...not much time. You need to copy the contents of the red channel, cut the red channel (have it all black), and then create an alpha channel where you paste the data into from the red channel. should work then

[HawkGer]

God damn, why can't I edit my posts in this forum anymore... :huh:
Well anyway, I looked at your files and you seem to already have cut the red channel but didn't paste it into the alpha channel (of course I meant of the normal textures in my last post). So you probably have to start from the diffuse textures again. Or do you take the textures from the other mod anyway? Maybe resizing the textures yourself would be better....
Btw. half of the files in your mod really aren't needed. At least some of the normal/specular textures. If you look at most mods they will have a lot less files.

[trunks_11]

I think to understand you better, i have to use ps too. So first i have to understand how to open these dds. files in ps cs5 extended. I downloaded nvidia, but how to install^^

[dose]

God damn, why can't I edit my posts in this forum anymore... :huh:
Well anyway, I looked at your files and you seem to already have cut the red channel but didn't paste it into the alpha channel (of course I meant of the normal textures in my last post). So you probably have to start from the diffuse textures again. Or do you take the textures from the other mod anyway? Maybe resizing the textures yourself would be better....
Btw. half of the files in your mod really aren't needed. At least some of the normal/specular textures. If you look at most mods they will have a lot less files.

Thanks guy's, and as you Think Hawk, I allready knew about the red channel and paste into the alpha channel and blackout the red/c.
And i think your are right about having to much specular.

I will have to check on an other mod in the list of this forum to know which one i will take out of my zip.
And for your question,No, I don't take texture from other mods, I only download a small mod to know how they can make it small like this
and took the s.dds and the N.dds.
I have make some textures and took some from "other games , with 3d ripper DX:)

is this the way we make .dds into a mod:?
I will take all my D.dds and ; will make N and S from them directly by reducing the original size into a 16x16 size and without changing nothing.

But hawk, when you made your Mods , how do make your Normal and specular ?
Do you start as i said with your D.dds ?

Because :
I get my Specular only by changing the "Exposure"(in PS) of the D.dds.
it's like getting more details and darker them at the same time.
Secondly I get the N.dds With the D.dds by Adding Normalmapfilter (from NVIDIA) and the red channel blackout+ copytheredchannel into alpha .
Of course the :
D.dds is at "DXt1 1bit alpha"
S.dds is at "DXt5 interpolate alpha (generate mipmaps = all or 9)
N.dds is at "DXT5 interpolate alpha (generate mipmaps = all or 9)

am I doing something wrong ?

*********************************************
@ trunks_11

-you should download NVIDIA from this site.
It's an .EXE so it should install itself.
-If you only have de plugin (normal map filter.8bf) it goes here :
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS5\Plug-ins\Filters

hope it help!


My god I love this forum !!! Thanks !!! please never close this forum !

[HawkGer]

For speculars, I always just renamed the D.dds on my desktop to S.dds. So it's basically the same file. Diffuse textures don't need any alpha channel I think. And for speculars it's not necessary either (not recommended though) so just duplicating the D.dds worked for me. I made most of my mods in one week so that was a very quick way to do it. Normal textures is the same as you said. Start with the D.dds and then apply normal filter + the things I said. I never reduced any files so can't help you there.

[trunks_11]

It doesn

[HawkGer]

There is no other dds plugin for PS I think. Don't know what causes your problem. Are you sure you have installed the plugin in the correct PS directory? Tried to google your problem?....

[trunks_11]

I tried a lot downloads of nvidia. Now i tried to open not the 64bit version, but it is also not there. Can you send me just the direct download link that i need? thx

[HawkGer]

I only know the "download current version" version from here: NVIDIA Plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop (Normal/Cube Maps, DDS)

[trunks_11]

thats the one i tried both version

• Download Current Version (8.23.1101)
• Download Legacy Version (7.83.0628)

But they don

[dose]

I will do better;)

Watch my video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY9h1grQy2c

the links are in the description.

[trunks_11]

Google Error

Not Found
The requested URL /tools/texturetools/Photoshop_Plugins_8.23.1101.1715.exe was not found on this server.




8|

[trunks_11]

I downloaded a 64 Bit version and i have a 64 bit version of photoshop cs 5 extended.... But now i caan

[dose]

Ok, I've just found a Post on a forum about the plugin here and
it seem that This "Normal Map filter WON'T work on Vista 64 bit version ;(
they even ask you to downgrade to CS 2 0R 3 BECAUSE THE NON-COMPATIBILITIES.

But scrolling down the page I found this

The plugin should work in 32 bit versions of Photoshop in Vista 64, but was not compiled for 64 bit versions.

For the normal map filter, I am told that xNormal has a version for CS 64 bit, but I have not tried it.


http://www.xnormal.net/1.aspx

so, maybe you could found an alternate of this plugin

Good luck !

Google is your best friend

ask your question:

[trunks_11]

? I have Windows 7 and i have the 64bit and the 32 bit version, that means i have to try^^

[DarkRiver]

Okay, two things. The DDS plugin does not work in the 64-bit version of PS, just start the 32-bit and it will work.

And back on the original topic, maybe you can try using jpg or png images instead of dds? the size of jpg and png is a lot smaller, and the D and N files will work. Not sure about the S files though.

Try it, and let me know.

[popgun]

Since I first looked at this thread, I've been having a play!
For every *D.dds file I've made for my new Cardboard Mod (due shortly, stay tuned) I've halved the size of the (specular) *S.dds and (normal) *N.dds file.
So if the *D.dds is 1024x1024, the other two are 512x512pixels or even smaller. This has takes the whole mod size down from around 37MB to around 24MB, a BIG saving.
Whats the bad bit then?. Well the shine and the bump mapping look slightly 'rougher'. But its not really noticeable as you drive around, unless your looking for it, and even then it's quite a nice effect.
It's well worth doing.

[trunks_11]

After i searched and installed it on a normal photoshop version it didn

[dose]

@POPGUN

Thanks for this advise, i will do my s.dds files reduce half-size .
I was already doing that with advertising panels.