Mars colonisation mod (WIP)

[Iridescent Rain]

I noticed the missing "/"s a second ago and fixed it (and then ran back here to see whether anybody had posted anything, hahaha). Thanks, though. It probably won't be often that I discover something on my own, so I'm really happy I have you to help me out!

 

[Iridescent Rain]

Does anyone know where the feature textures can be found (they're not in the same directory as the terrain and natural-wonder textures) and/or where the terrains and features are mapped to the right texture files? I'd like to know exactly what the oasis and jungle texture files are called and also map the grassland terrain to the snow terrain art.

 

[Nutty]

Does anyone know where the feature textures can be found

They're in the FPKs. You'll need to use Dragon UnPACKer (a third party tool) or the script in Nexus (part of the CiV SDK) to unpack them.

Features aren't just textures, they're textured 3D models.

• OASIS
  oasis_diff.dds for the trees
  oasis_snap_decal_?.dds for the ground:
  _d = base diffuse texture
  _h = height map texture
  _s = specular texture (i.e., shininess)
• JUNGLE
  jungle_<continent>.dds for the trees
  jungle_overlay_<continent>.dds for the ground.

Because the trees are using building shaders, you can just make a copy of blank_texture.dds (a transparent 4x4 texture) and make copies for oasis_diff.dds, and the 4 jungle_<continent>.dds files; then add them all to the mod, VFS=true (this will "overwrite" the originals as far as the game is concerned). The trees should then be invisible, and you only have to deal with the ground textures.

 

[Iridescent Rain]

Excellent! Thanks so much! You, sir, have been of invaluable help to me.

I've found the FPKs and extracted the files using Macapaka. My only problem now is how to edit .gr2 files; every website says to use Granny 3D, but is it possible to do this with some free application which runs on Mac?

 

[Lord Tirian]

Excellent! Thanks so much! You, sir, have been of invaluable help to me.

I've found the FPKs and extracted the files using Macapaka. My only problem now is how to edit .gr2 files; every website says to use Granny 3D, but is it possible to do this with some free application which runs on Mac?

There isn't any, gr2 is a proprietary format, there isn't a free dedicated editor for it.

We do have Deliverator's Nexus Buddy 2 which can export gr2 files into something readable by Blender (which is free and runs on a Mac) and back, but it's for Windows only, I'm afraid.

 

[Nutty]

If you use the technique I describe, you shouldn't need to edit the .gr2s. As for the jungle especially, where an edited version woukdn't work without requiring manual copying of files to the application folder.

 

[Iridescent Rain]

There isn't any, gr2 is a proprietary format, there isn't a free dedicated editor for it.

We do have Deliverator's Nexus Buddy 2 which can export gr2 files into something readable by Blender (which is free and runs on a Mac) and back, but it's for Windows only, I'm afraid.

Grrr... Thanks for letting me know. I'll have to find a way around that, then.

If you use the technique I describe, you shouldn't need to edit the .gr2s. As for the jungle especially, where an edited version woukdn't work without requiring manual copying of files to the application folder.

I did as you suggested for the terrain features (jungle, etc), but apparently the natural-wonder textures are in gr2 format, not in dds format. I'd like to edit the Barringer Crater texture to make it redder so it'll fit in with the rest of the terrain. (Then again, I suppose I could turn jungle into crater instead of having craters as natural wonders..)

 

[Iridescent Rain]

Never mind; I managed to find dds files to recolour for the crater. I was being too impatient.

I'm having trouble changing the oasis graphics (except strategic-view). I've edited four oasis textures:

• oasis_diff.dds
• oasis_snap_decal_d.dds
• oasis_snap_decal_h.dds
• oasis_snap_decal_s.dds

I'm attaching a zip file which contains the oasis files and a screenshot which shows the original oasis texture in-game.

I'm also having trouble with the strategic-view textures. Oddly enough, all the features and hills and mountains show up perfectly; it's just the terrain types (grassland, plains, desert, tundra) which refuse to do so. I'm attaching a zip file which contains the strategic-view terrain textures and a screenshot of the strategic view in-game.

I'm also experiencing an odd glitch (or making a really strange mistake which I can't pin down for the life of me) concerning the marsh textures. I've replaced every continent's marsh texture with an identical file, yet marshes look different on different continents. I'm attaching two screenshots which show marshes on different continents; the first shows the changed texture, while the second shows the original one.

Finally, I can't get the minimap to display properly. I replaced the minimapgrass.dds file with a recoloured one, but I'm still getting the original one in-game (should be red, is green). I'm attaching the new minimapgrass.dds file and a screenshot of the minimap in-game.

EDIT: Just wanted to say that I've checked about four times whether I loaded all the .dds files in the .modinfo file (I did; I also checked that the path to each file was correct). I have no idea what's causing the above issues.

 

[Iridescent Rain]

After a real-life break, I finally got marshes to look the same on every continent; the other problems are still there, though.

 

[Nutty]

It sounds like the minimap may be one of the textures that aren't directly moddable. You would have to use one of the manual copying methods I mentioned in post #23.

As for the strategic view icons, you could try checking the Reload Strategic View button in the mod's properties, and change the references in the ArtDefine_StrategicView table to different filenames.

In general, if you want help debugging, it makes life a million times easier for us if you attach your mod (just the mod, not the ModBuddy project).