Skin Making

[Kînnjax]

Hello,

Due to odd circumstances I now need to learn how to make a skin. Yep, a skin, and to specify a STAR WARS: Battlefront skin. I'll need to know how to draw one, how to view it, how to make it into a file that I can use in-game and so on. I've looked here and there for some tips and downloaded the SWBF1 Mod Tooltips, but that was useless.

And so this is why I ask here; could anyone aid me?

[MileHighGuy]

the skins are tga files you open with gimp or paint.net.


here is a basic tutorial on how to make a custom side so you can see them ingame. but really all you had to do was search because there are dozens of tutorials.

you have to download the swbf mod tools (bfbuilder) and the bfbulder_pro.hta.

bfbuilder should be here: C:\bfbuilder

bfbuilder_pro.hta should be placed inside it

then with bfbuilder, open bfbuilder_pro.hta,  make a new project by pressing project> new project. once that is created, with the same project open go to sides > import retail side.

then open you project's data<yourname> (the name you chose when creating the project)  folder and go to sides> the side's solder (rep for republic for example) > msh. the skins are the tga files, usually with a similar name as their model (msh) files. edit the tga file now. save or export (depending on the program) as a tga with RLE compression OFF.

then go to you projects data<yourname>  folder again, go to common, go to scripts, and open the script that pertains to the era that your imported side was in (c - clone wars, a - galactic civil war). Open these .lua files with notepad. find the place where your side is loaded in, for example ReadDataFile("SIDE\\imp.lvl" , change that to ReadDataFile("dc:SIDE\\imp.lvl"). this tells the map to load from your copy of the side rather than the game's.

then you can go back to the bfbuilder_pro.hta choose your project, and munge it.  your map is in bfbuilder/addon. move it to the game's addon folder and you're done. play to test.

or you can download the swbf msh viewer and once you've made a new skin you can select the model it goes with to view it.

[Kînnjax]

They must be poorly named, well hidden or I'm just lost, I couldn't find a thing in here - and honestly, files are all over the place and there's no search engine either...

Um, you lost me immediately. I don't have a project because I don't know where to start..?!? And what's BFBuilder.hta?

- Thanks for the quick response, by the way.

Also, do I actually have to create a map to simply make a skin?!
And it seems that when I go to edit, it tells me that I need SWBF installed for Zero editor to work... I have SWBF installed.

[MileHighGuy]

well if you download bfbuilder  the .hta is right there in the main folder. you DONT need to use zeroeditor, I didn't mention it at all for that reason. just use the default map that your project has. I told you how to make a project.

There is a search tool right under the banner of the site.

sounds like you need this for the mapping (even though you don't need to map to make a skin): http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=20

EDIT: actually you need bfbuilder pro to import retail side, if not then you just have to copy them from the asset folder manually.. here that is http://www.secretsociety.com/forum/downloads/BF1/BFBuilderProWIP030605.zip


have you seen the ultimate how to thread?

http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?topic=3615.0

[Gold Man]

I myself have minimal experience in skinning, but perhaps I can be of some use here.

You don't entirely need BFBuilder actually (though it may be helpful in testing out the skins), all I used for my skins were GIMP, the MSH viewer, and the side.lvl builder. I don't remember the links exactly, but I know Shazam helped me out when I was skinning, so you could ask him for the download links. Or, you could just hunt in the downloads for the MSH viewer and side.lvl builder.

Anyways, what I would do was take the .tga file, open it in GIMP, do my modifications, save it, and then look at it in the MSH viewer. Once I had my skins finished (and to my liking from the MSH viewer), I simply compiled them with the side.lvl builder, and plopped them into my game to test them out. Granted my skin making experience is quite minimal, but that's what I did.

Anyways, I think I made a thread about my skinning problems a while back, there might be some stuff there to help you out. If not, I'd advise asking Shazam, or some other modder on the forum for help.

That may not have helped at all, but I felt like adding my two cents to this.

[MileHighGuy]

I myself have minimal experience in skinning, but perhaps I can be of some use here.

You don't entirely need BFBuilder

The mod tools, or BFBuilder folder, contains all the assets from the game. You need this.  the BFBuilder.hta (or rather bfbuilder_pro.hta). is the tool to help you start new projects. please do not confuse the two for rick here. side lvl builders may be a bit complicated for rick since most of the tutorials are for bfbuilder.

if you do not want to test your skins ingame, use the swbf msh viewer

[Gold Man]

The mod tools, or BFBuilder folder, contains all the assets from the game. You need this.  the BFBuilder.hta is the tool to help you start new projects. please do not confuse the two for rick here. side lvl builders may be a bit complicated for rick since most of the tutorials are for bfbuilder.

if you do not want to test your skins ingame, use the swbf msh viewer

As I said,

I myself have minimal experience in skinning,

I apologize for misinformation. I just always used the lvl builder and MSH viewer when I did my skins.

[Kînnjax]

Ah, thank you for the best of PC fix, that got things moving along! However, I followed the thread link you game me, thank you again, for the Ultimate, and I read =GS='s skin stuff and got completely lost. What on Earth is he talking about a toolbox?! And I'm not installing Gimp when Paint works just fine. I hate how Gimp then defaults everything to it, its madness.

Retail side, what does that mean?

And so, I open the file, Test1, with BFBuilder, and it opens up a Zero Editor doohickee, I cannot find the "Create New Side" anywhere... this is just, so pathetic, I'm sure, in your eyes...

Also, I tried to open the mshViewer and it would give me an error sign.

[MileHighGuy]

I updated the first post, it might make it easier for you. retail side is the sides that came with the game

[Kînnjax]

Alright, so I did manage to find the Side stuff, thank you! However, when you then tell me find a TGA file, there isn't any unless I look into the MSH folder, and then, there's HUNDREDS of them, and they're either vehicles and views from the vehicles or arms (I presume the arms you see when you're in disgusting 1st person).

And as an example of when I go to edit (I just tried click Edit on any random TGA file, I get things like this:    %./(34$.0#/0'23&34$23%13%14$13%13%33%... so... yikes!

Also, how do you save and export at the same time? And I can't export anything unless it's been zipped, too.

[MileHighGuy]

You have to open tga files with gimp or paint.net (not crappy ms paint). text editors wont work.

an example of a unit texture would be imp_inf_trooper.tga

imp = imperial

inf = infantry

trooper = stormtrooper

what i meant by save/ export is that some programs will ask you to export as a tga and some will just let you save. Gimp for example only lets you save in its .xcf format.

[Led]

Rick, you need to do something called "munging a side".

As milehighguy mentioned, there are short cut "toolboxes" and the full mod tools.  If you are only interested in skins, I might differ from milehigh in that a side level toolbox might be easier for you.

Phobos put this one together
http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=553

Here is how you use it:

download and uncompress it. (it is in RAR format)
get into the folders
you will see ALL, IMP, CIS, REP and some other things.

make your way into this folder
Side.lvl Builders-fromToolbox4b\Side.lvl Builders\REP\Sides\REP\MSH

you will see a lot of TGA files.  These are the files you want to edit.
Use some paint program (gimp is free) and edit this file:
rep_inf_pilot.tga

this is for the clone pilot.  Paint away.  Notice however that different parts of the clone are in different spots in the file.  It like his skin has been peeled off and layed flat, but not to scale.  The hard part of skinning is getting to know where the flat bits get curved to the model.

I made an edit and put it as an attachment. 

The is the really really important part:
when you are done editing, be sure to save  the file with RLE compression turned off



now get here
Side.lvl Builders-fromToolbox4b\Side.lvl Builders\REP
and double click on Munge_REP.bat

Your new rep.lvl file will be placed here:
Side.lvl Builders-fromToolbox4b\Side.lvl Builders\REP\_LVL_PC\SIDE

Back up your originals, and put this in the appropriate game folder.





Here is the result (tiny blue on chest)

[Kînnjax]

Alrighty, thank you both, kindly - I will try both methods and hopefully one will work!
Either way, I'll report on my situation of success or failure here, just to let you all know - again, thanks!