[GUIDE] How to Create Custom Weapon Textures
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 3:22 am
Required Programs
- Image editing software such as MSPaint.
- An online tool or a program that can convert white BGs to transparent (optional but still provided).
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Downloads
== This is no longer needed for Steam release version (1.0.0.0.e and up), and newer operating systems. ==
== If you are using a pre-release copy of SFD, this will still be required. ==
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== This is no longer needed for Steam release version (1.0.0.0.e and up), and newer operating systems. ==
== If you are using a pre-release copy of SFD, this will still be required. ==
► Show Spoiler
== This is no longer needed for Steam release version (1.0.0.0.e and up), and newer operating systems. ==
== If you are using a pre-release copy of SFD, this will still be required. ==
► Show Spoiler
Step #3: Editing the .PNG Files
There's not much to this step since it heavily relies upon your artistic vision. I'll go through the generic texture editing process and touch on some technical aspects required to make the textures look and work properly.
The .PNG files you obtained in step #2 are now ready to be tinkered with; they're 32x32 sprites (smaller sprites for magazines and misc items) named in a certain pattern corresponding to the sprite's "role" in-game. Here's a list of some of the more common "roles" you'll encounter:
- WeaponD.png - Drawn. The sprite you see when the weapon is equipped/held and is also shown when hipfiring.
- WeaponDReload.png - Weapon is Drawn and being Reloaded. The sprite you see when you reload the weapon (usually WeaponD.png without its magazine).
- WeaponM.png - Model(?). The sprite you see when:
a) the weapon is dropped out of a supply crate;
b) you drop the weapon on the ground;
c) the weapon is inside your hotbar. - WeaponS.png - Sheathed. The sprite you see when a different weapon is equipped and the modded one is sheathed on your fighter's back.
- WeaponH.png - Holster. The holster of the weapon shown on the fighter whenever the weapon inside it is being held (equipped).
- WeaponThrowing.png - Throw mode toggled. The sprite used when the fighter holds the weapon out in order to throw it. Usually WeaponM.png tilted 90° to the left or right.
- MeleeDebris1.png / MeleeDebris2.png - The sprites of a broken melee weapon. Usually two broken halves.
- EquipmentT.png - Thrown. The sprite of a primed piece of equipment. Also used when simply holding the item, similarly to WeaponM.png.
- MagWeapon.png - Magazine. The sprite of the weapon magazine, should match the one shown in WeaponD.png since it drops to the ground upon reloading.
- WeaponD.png
- WeaponDReload.png
- WeaponS.png
- WeaponM.png
- WeaponThrowing.png
- MagWeapon.png
To prevent that, manually change every pixel that's not part of the sprite/around the sprite to be transparent via the Magic Wand tool or the Eraser tool if you're using paint.NET. Here's a short tutorial explaining how to do it.
Alternatively, change the pixels you want to be transparent to Magenta. I would not recommend doing that because it strains your eyes over a period of time and looks bad in image previews, but the game will read that color as if it were transparent in a case where you do not want to use external tools or software to make them so yourself.
Another key thing to note is the position of the weapon model inside the sprite itself. You may wonder why the model isn't centered or isn't clipped to one of the corners of the 32x32 sprite, and may want to change it so your texture set looks more organized or becomes easier to edit. The position of the weapon inside the sprite sheet plays a significant role and shouldn't be changed unless you know the sprite needs spacing adjustments beforehand.
Imagine your in-game fighter standing in the background of the sprite holding the weapon. It will (hopefully) help you visualize where the texture should be positioned and adjust its height/length accordingly. If you'd rather play it safe don't delete the old model when you create a new one (assuming you're not simply recoloring the original texture); draw it below/above the original, or on a separate draft file. When you're done, simply replace the old texture with the new one, trying to put the corners of the new weapon right on top of the old one (using the weapon's trigger guard or stock placement as guidelines).
Test the textures in-game - if the model is too high/low or is placed too far to the right/left of the character, go back to your sprite and move it one pixel in any direction at a time until you get a satisfactory result. Trial and error are key here, so don't get discouraged if each "simple" change is taking as much as a full hour of your time. You'll get used to it and perfect your technique as long as you attempt doing it enough.
Remember: saving files with MS Paint will always convert transparent backgrounds to white, unless they're Magenta.
== This is no longer needed for Steam release version (1.0.0.0.e and up), and newer operating systems. ==
== If you are using a pre-release copy of SFD, this will still be required. ==
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Step #5: Applying the Textures or Using A Backup
Perhaps the most crucial step in finalizing texture creation, you are now required to imitate the path of each texture file from the game directory inside its sister directory, C: \ Users \ YOURNAME \ Documents \ Superfighters Deluxe. In the actual game, all sprites are found under a folder named Content, that hosts Data, that hosts Images, and then sub-folders for each type of entity, aptly named Weapons, Objects etc. You will be making a copy of this path.
And so, in C: \ Users \ YOURNAME \ Documents \ Superfighters Deluxe, extend the directory by making these new folders under it:
\ Content \ Data \ Images \ Weapons
Then, make a folder for the items you modified, e.g Rifles, Handgun, Melee etc. The respective .png files will go inside their respective folders where they are found in the original game directory. For example, a modified M16 texture will go inside Content \ Data \ Images \ Weapons \ Rifles, a modified Grenades texture will go into Content \ Data \ Images \ Weapons \ Thrown, weapon magazines will go into Content \ Data \ Images \ Weapons \ Other etc.
If you no longer wish to use custom textures, replace or remove the individual files you created, or delete the custom folders altogether. The game will always read custom files under the Documents directory first, there is no way to toggle between default and custom textures in-game.
== For Pre-Release versions (1.0.2c and down), and older operating systems: ==
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- Original tutorial thread created by Mr.Foster on the old forums. Link:
http://mythologicinteractive.com/forum/ ... IC_ID=1976 - Shark's video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhr9jF74gUA - WinRAR (property of Rarlab) downloaded from here:
http://www.win-rar.com/predownload.html - Microsoft Visual C# 2010 Express (property of Microsoft) downloaded from here:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3061 ... ad-manager - Microsoft XNA Game Studio 4.0 (property of Microsoft) downloaded from here:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/downloa ... x?id=23714 - Paint.NET (property of dotPDN) downloaded from here:
http://www.getpaint.net/download.html#download