Skinning Basics

Anything to do with Drakan level editing and modifications, post it here! Also this is the place to tell us about your new levels and get player feedback.
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shoprat
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Skinning Basics

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Skinning Basics

No information about original poster.


Start the Surreal Level Editor

Access the DATABASE option

The database file you want to open is the npc.db found in the NPC folder or the system.db found in the System folder, both located in the Common in Draken in Psygnosis folder. Once loaded, click on the tab named Textures. Hundreds of texture pictures should appear, each with a reference number.

Now, make a copy of the original textures by clicking on FILE in the Database window.
A menu will drop down revealing the option to EXPORT SELECTION. Left click on the texture you want to export, then click this option. Choose a destination somewhere on your computer or floppy disk to receive these. If you don't make a backup of the originals, they will be deleted when replaced and then if you wanted to restore them, you would have to reinstall the entire game.

Next, click on the textures you want to replace. then click the tab named BUILD in the DATABASE window.
Again, a menu drops down. Click the option REPLACE TEXTURE. It's that easy.

When you load the npc,db, three other databases will also load. These are the fx.db, resources.db, and system.db.
Switch to the system.db if you want to change Rynn's skin.

Again, repeat the process as explained above. When you are finished, close the editor by clicking on the X in the upper right hand corner. A window will appear asking you to save the changes to the databases you made. A box with a checkmark should appear next to the name of each database that was altered. Choose to save.

Use any photoshop or paint program to open up the exported textures. Practice altering, for example, the original Rynn leather armor texture bitmap (.bmp) files.

When you are done with a practice session, save save each file with a new name of your own. You can reinstall them back into the databases as explained earlier.

Rule #1 The original textures come out as bitmap files and must go back as bitmap files.

Rule #2 Installed textures must be 64 X 64, 128 X 128, 256 X 256 in pixel size.

Rule #3 You cannot export bitmaps with invisible or nulled colors.
These you will have to enlarge and take a screenshot of. Black portions of texture bitmaps imported back into the database can be made invisible by left clicking on the texture to be altered and clicking the EDIT tab.
Click the PROPERTIES tab of the menu that drops down and a new window will open.
Choose ADD ALPHA MAP, which will be the same bitmap you imported and are currently working on.
CONVERT to 4 bits per pixel (not sure if this is necessary).
ADD COLOR KEY: 0000 (zerozerozero).

It takes practice to get you familiarized with the operation. When you have the editor running and have replaced Rynn's textures, you can immediately check them out to see what they look like.

In the DATABASE window, you have 5 tabs, CLASSES, MODELS, TEXTURES, SOUNDS, and SEQUENCES.
WHEN YOU HAVE THE SYSTEM.DB LOADED, CHOOSE model. You will find Rynn's name.

Click on it and you get 2 options - multiplayer and singleplayer. Choose Singleplayer. You will find various armor options.
To see what Rynn looks like, choose the leather armor option. Another window will open up showing all of Rynn's preprogrammed animations. Choose any, click the START button and you end up with with a 3D model of Rynn that you can view at any angle to see how your progress is going along. This model will look different from Rynn in the game because in the game Rynn is affected by the in game light sources.

Note: Whenever you play the game and try on a suit of armor, Rynn's standard leather armor skin gets completely replaced with the textures used with the other various armors.

Allow me to add one thing.

I had noticed that when using the 8 bits per pixel conversion method, textures with alpha maps were turnig out much brighter that textures without. For example, adding an alpha map to a succubus's upper body caused her skin to be shades brighter that that of her legs, even when the skin colors of both textures were the exact same. This was extemely noticeable while playing the game, but not so apparent when viewing the succubus model in the editor.

I asked why this was happening over at Surreal-News.com Editing Forum and my response from Sageous, one of the original game designers, was that when adding alpha maps in by hand in the manner described in the guide, you should convert to 4 bits per pixel.

I was never exactly sure about the bits per pixel conversion to begin with.

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