Procedure for skinning windows in GTR2

[Zeno~SPARTA~]

Customising the windows in GTR2

 

Here is a quick step by step guide to customising the car windows in GTR2 using the Ferrari 360 as a guide. It is simple and yet so many of us have cars with opaque windows when viewed from outside. Hopefully using this guide we will be able to customize our windows so that they can be appreciated from inside and out. This is not a photoshop tutorial but I will give some guidance.

 

The tools needed are

 

Photoshop CS2 or CS3

Nvidia plugin for photoshop

Geditor

 

Ideally you would have a template, here I have used one I downloaded from the internet FERRARI_360_WINDOWS.PSD (I will sometimes call it the windows file)

 

 

 

This photo shows the RGB channels

 

 

 

Observation

 

the yellow area is the headlight cover, you can change the colour to suit your needs

 

This photo shows the Alpha 1 channel

 

 

 

Observation

 

In the Alpha 1 channel black is completely transparent and white is completely opaque. As you can see the windows are grey which simulates the translucency of glass. You can play with this to to create the "right" look for your car.

 

I want to add

add Zeno Design to the rear window (I want this to be visible from inside in the rear view mirror)

Match the colour scheme of the visor to the rest of the car

add Ferrari to the sunvisor

add Ferrari to the rear panel

 

To add Zeno Design simply select text and type. When you select another tool the text is finished. There will be a new text layer in the layers section.It is a good idea to rename this to something that will help you find it. Now you can move it and resize it. Now Zeno Design will be visible when outside. Use the magic wand tool (drop the tolerance to 1 or 2) then click on zeno design. A flashing dotted line should surround the words (if it only appears around one word use shift and click on the second word).

 

Now switch to channels and select alpha 1 and deselect RGB The dotted lines should still be there. Using a paint brush paint over the dotted line, dont worry about going over the edge as only the interior of the dotted line will be painted. Now Zeno Design will appear in white on the alpha1 layer. Since whit is opaque it will be visible from inside the car. Turn the RGB back on and the alpha1 off. and switch back to channels

 

Now to add colour to the sun visor

 

You will need to be in the PAINT HERE layer. Use Select and Color Range, A pop up window and a pipette will appear. Click on the white of the sunvisor and click ok in the popup. A flashing dotted line should appear around the visor. You can now simply paint inside the dotted line (remember the paint wont go outside the lines) the colour you wish. My car fades from blue to white so I used the gradient tool within the dotted lines to recreate the desired effect.

 

 

Now to add the Ferrari logo to the sunvisor

 

I used a logo available in our downloads section I simply dragged the layer into the windows file, then transformed it and placed it in the correct location. I dont need to see this from inside the car so there is no need to modify the alpha1 channel

 

Ferrari logo on rear panel

 

I drag the same ferrari logo into the windows file and transform and relocate it. Now right click on the layer and select blending properties. Reduce the opacity to achieve the desired effect (I used 50%). It should look like Ferrari has been painted onto the mesh of the rear panel

 

And here is a modified version

 

 

Now for the important stuff

Save your PSD file

Now go to channels and select RGB AND alpha1, go to layer and select flatten image

Select File Save As

In format select d3d/dds

the file name is xxxxx__FERRARI_360_WINDOWS.DDS (mine is 07007_FERRARI_360_WINDOWS.DDS)

Make sure you have the Alpha channels ticked.

 

you will see this popup

 

 

 

 

 

MAKE SURE YOU SELECT DXT5 (if you select DXT1 your windows will be opaque when viewed from the outside).

then click save

 

Use Geditor to repace the xxxxx_FERRARI_360_WINDOWS.DDS file in tex.gtr and you are ready to view the car

 

 

And here is what it looks like on the car