What kind of software do I need?
- Thread starter burcham8
- Start date
I am assuming that you want to re size textures so assuming that you want to take a .bmp file that is 2048 and make it 1024 here is how I would do it.
The first piece of software you need is Martin Wrights DXTBmp
http://www.btinternet.com/~mnwright/
You only really need this if the image editing software you are using does not recognize the file type of .bmp. Take the time to read the help section it explains a little about the different types of .bmp files.
The second software I use is Gimp. Gimp is a image editing software very similar to Photoshop but without the associated cost.
www.gimp.org
You can get the Windows installer here http://www.gimp.org/downloads/
If Gimp will open the .bmp file then just go to image\scale Image and resize from 2048 to 1024 and save.
If Gimp can not open the file open it with DXTBmp. Go to preferences in DXTBmp and set the preferred editor as Gimp. Then send the image to Gimp for editing. Follow the instructions to resize in Gimnp. Save your chagnes. go back to DXTBmp and Image\reload after edit. Then save as the same name.
The first piece of software you need is Martin Wrights DXTBmp
http://www.btinternet.com/~mnwright/
You only really need this if the image editing software you are using does not recognize the file type of .bmp. Take the time to read the help section it explains a little about the different types of .bmp files.
The second software I use is Gimp. Gimp is a image editing software very similar to Photoshop but without the associated cost.
www.gimp.org
You can get the Windows installer here http://www.gimp.org/downloads/
If Gimp will open the .bmp file then just go to image\scale Image and resize from 2048 to 1024 and save.
If Gimp can not open the file open it with DXTBmp. Go to preferences in DXTBmp and set the preferred editor as Gimp. Then send the image to Gimp for editing. Follow the instructions to resize in Gimnp. Save your chagnes. go back to DXTBmp and Image\reload after edit. Then save as the same name.
Mick
SOH-CM-2024
You want to start and finish in DXTbmp because even if the files are in a format recognized by ordinary image processing programs (i.e., 256 color or 32-bit,) if you change the files directly in your image program you'll lose the alpha channel.
So open the texture file in DXTbmp, set DXTbmp to use the image processing program of you choice, reduce the file size, then save through DXTbmp to preserve the alpha channel. (You don't have to shrink the alpha channel; that will happen when you shrink the main texture file.)
It doesn't matter what program you use to do the work. If you don't have anything more sophisticated, Microsoft Paint can do the job. Other programs may (or may not) do a better job of retaining image quality when you reduce the file size.
When you install DXTbmp you can select what program it should use to open texture files. I believe Paint is the default.
If you're just getting DXTbmp for the fist time, don't forget to also grab the related dll files from Martin's site, or else DXTbmp won't work.
In Paint all you have to do is open the texture file, and on the Image menu select Stretch/Skew, then horizontal 50% and vertical 50% and save the changes.
If the textures you're working with don't have an alpha channel it's still a good idea to work in DXTbmp, because then you can be sure that your saved files are in a format recognized by FS. Otherwise, for example, you might open a 32-bit texture file and reduce its size, but when you save it your image program would save it in 24 bit format, which would look the same to you but be invisible to FS.
This is all a lot easier to do than it is to write about!.
So open the texture file in DXTbmp, set DXTbmp to use the image processing program of you choice, reduce the file size, then save through DXTbmp to preserve the alpha channel. (You don't have to shrink the alpha channel; that will happen when you shrink the main texture file.)
It doesn't matter what program you use to do the work. If you don't have anything more sophisticated, Microsoft Paint can do the job. Other programs may (or may not) do a better job of retaining image quality when you reduce the file size.
When you install DXTbmp you can select what program it should use to open texture files. I believe Paint is the default.
If you're just getting DXTbmp for the fist time, don't forget to also grab the related dll files from Martin's site, or else DXTbmp won't work.
In Paint all you have to do is open the texture file, and on the Image menu select Stretch/Skew, then horizontal 50% and vertical 50% and save the changes.
If the textures you're working with don't have an alpha channel it's still a good idea to work in DXTbmp, because then you can be sure that your saved files are in a format recognized by FS. Otherwise, for example, you might open a 32-bit texture file and reduce its size, but when you save it your image program would save it in 24 bit format, which would look the same to you but be invisible to FS.
This is all a lot easier to do than it is to write about!.
Mick
SOH-CM-2024
I use MS Paint for the things it can handle, which is just about anything that doesn't require shaded or blended color demarcations, or very fine detail. I like Paint because of its simplicity. I use Paint Shop Pro 7 for things that Paint can't handle well. I've only barely scratched the surface of what PSP7 is capable of, but I really like it and I'm sure I'd like it even more if I ever had the time to really learn it. Some of my paint jobs are completely or almost completely done in Paint, others mainly in PSP7. I also have PSP10 but I don't like it much, so I only use it if I have to open a file that someone else created in a later version of PSP and it won't open in PSP7. Other paints are done mostly in PSP7. Once in a while a task comes up that can be done most easily in Sierra Snapshot Express or in Adobe Photo Deluxe, and on occasion I use Microsoft Photo Editor for certain tasks.
I should say that those are the programs I used to use, since I've been hammered so relentlessly by demands on my time and attention that I've been forced out of the FS hobby. I don't paint planes or do any kind of development work and I don't fly at all any more. I still download planes and scenery that interest me but I don't have time to install anything; the downloads just sit in a folder for possible future use. I follow this forum, though less faithfully than I used to, to stay in touch with the folks who post here, and in the hope that some day I might have the time to get back into the hobby.
My development partner, David Wooster, is in a similar situation. Some months ago we abandoned the project we were working on because we weren't making any progress, and trying to make time for it when neither of us could spare the time was just too stressful and working under those conditions just wasn't any fun. Not to mention that it made no sense to spend time and effort working on planes or scenery that we never got a chance to use.
I hope to get back into the hobby some day, and so does David, but it won't be any time in the foreseeable future. Maybe in year or two...
I should say that those are the programs I used to use, since I've been hammered so relentlessly by demands on my time and attention that I've been forced out of the FS hobby. I don't paint planes or do any kind of development work and I don't fly at all any more. I still download planes and scenery that interest me but I don't have time to install anything; the downloads just sit in a folder for possible future use. I follow this forum, though less faithfully than I used to, to stay in touch with the folks who post here, and in the hope that some day I might have the time to get back into the hobby.
My development partner, David Wooster, is in a similar situation. Some months ago we abandoned the project we were working on because we weren't making any progress, and trying to make time for it when neither of us could spare the time was just too stressful and working under those conditions just wasn't any fun. Not to mention that it made no sense to spend time and effort working on planes or scenery that we never got a chance to use.
I hope to get back into the hobby some day, and so does David, but it won't be any time in the foreseeable future. Maybe in year or two...
This is what you need... http://www.irfanview.com/
Irfanview is a free software that can convert big batches of textures to loads of different formats. You can simply select the content of a whole folder and resize the textures from 2048 to 1024 as an example... instead of loading each bmp file into photoshop, gimp, paint etc and convert them. Much faster and comfortable =)
Irfanview is a free software that can convert big batches of textures to loads of different formats. You can simply select the content of a whole folder and resize the textures from 2048 to 1024 as an example... instead of loading each bmp file into photoshop, gimp, paint etc and convert them. Much faster and comfortable =)
