Finding and removing a transparency from a .dds texture in GIMP?

[FastestDogInTheDistrict]

Your help is needed, people! http://www.loverslab.com/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.png

 

I am currently re-working my town guards mod, and am changing the guards' uniforms to the heavier sleeved version. Via the CK, I have worked-out how to re-direct the game to the required meshes, and this works fine for Stormcloak guards.

 

However, when for example Whiterun guards are edited in this way, a transparency becomes apparent on the texture, and part of the Stormcloak blue is shown around the bottom of the "skirt". See the area circled in this pic -

 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee515/FastestDogSkyrimPics/enb2013_6_6_8_43_42JPEG_zpsaed51c70.jpg

 

 

 

Now, the Whiterun guard uniform .dds file itself clearly shows the missing area as being both present and (presumably) visible -

 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee515/FastestDogSkyrimPics/UntitledJPEG_zps6052bbc4.jpg

 

 

*For reference - texture shown is the 2048 x 2048 version from the HDDLC1.

 

Something is stopping it from displaying in-game, and I am thinking it may be a transparency, but I cannot find it to remove it! I have tried Layer=>Transparency=>Remove Alpha Channel - but this simply turns the sleeves white. I have tried Layer=>Transparency=>Threshold Alpha=>move slider to 255, but this seems to have the same effect. http://www.loverslab.com/public/style_emoticons/default/huh.png

 

 

 

[Seren4XX]

For the alpha transparency to work the mesh you're trying to apply it to has to support it. I know you're editing vanilla meshes, which can be hard to support in combination with potential armor replacers, but here's how to fix it in NifSkope:

 

1. Open up the mesh in Nifskope.
2. In the 3D-view click on the mesh piece you wish to have an alpha property.
3. Right-click on the node that got selected in the list on the left ("Block List").
4. Choose Node->Attach Property->NiAlphaProperty.
5. Click on the new NiAlphaProperty.
6. In the "Block Details" list below, change the "Flags" value from 237 to 4844.
7. Set the treshold from 0 to a higher number. The range is 0-255, and 128 is a good place to start off with.

I hope this'll help. :smile:

[CaBaL120]

better to not change nif settings...compatibility....

 

anyway :to remove transparencies in gimp (i never used much...and not installed on this pc... trying to use memory)

go to the Channels tab ,should be the red green blue icon on the right in your stamp, isolate alpha channel so that it's the only one selected , close the small eyes on red green and blue too so you can actually see what happens on alpha .... fill alpha with BLACK ...if i remember correctly alpha in gimp is inverted which means full black =100% visible texture, full white = transparent (invisible) texture ...

if black does not work... try to fill alpha with full white (maybe i do not remember well)

 

when it's done ... buy photoshop :)

kidding... hope it helps

[FastestDogInTheDistrict]

For the alpha transparency to work the mesh you're trying to apply it to has to support it. I know you're editing vanilla meshes, which can be hard to support in combination with potential armor replacers, but here's how to fix it in NifSkope:

 

1. Open up the mesh in Nifskope.
2. In the 3D-view click on the mesh piece you wish to have an alpha property.
3. Right-click on the node that got selected in the list on the left ("Block List").
4. Choose Node->Attach Property->NiAlphaProperty.
5. Click on the new NiAlphaProperty.
6. In the "Block Details" list below, change the "Flags" value from 237 to 4844.
7. Set the treshold from 0 to a higher number. The range is 0-255, and 128 is a good place to start off with.

I hope this'll help. :smile:

 

 

better to not change nif settings...compatibility....

 

anyway :to remove transparencies in gimp (i never used much...and not installed on this pc... trying to use memory)

go to the Channels tab ,should be the red green blue icon on the right in your stamp, isolate alpha channel so that it's the only one selected , close the small eyes on red green and blue too so you can actually see what happens on alpha .... fill alpha with BLACK ...if i remember correctly alpha in gimp is inverted which means full black =100% visible texture, full white = transparent (invisible) texture ...

if black does not work... try to fill alpha with full white (maybe i do not remember well)

 

when it's done ... buy photoshop :smile:

kidding... hope it helps

 

 

 

I shall try both of these, and report back on what I find out - thanks so much guys!! :happy:

[FastestDogInTheDistrict]

Problem solved! YAY! http://www.loverslab.com/public/style_emoticons/default/laugh.png

 

False alarm - it was not actually due to the transparency on the texture. That transparency is/was applied by Bethesda for some other reason, and does not cause the problem I was seeing. The problem shown in the above pics was in fact due to the model trying to use different textures for the _0 and _1 variants, with the result being that both textures were being accessed at once. This is very easy to fix in the CK, and simply involved me correctly directing both the _0 and _1 models to use the *same* texture. Problem solved, and now I can finish my new guards overhaul! WOOHOO! http://www.loverslab.com/public/style_emoticons/default/happy.png

 

Many thanks Seren and Cabal for your help - even though this turned out not to be the issue I originally thought it might be, it really did help me narrow-down what exactly was going on. When I removed the transparency (in fact using the "Anti-Erase" option in the end, after trying these as well), I could see that I was looking in the wrong place, and went straight to the source of the problem and was able to fix it! Thanks again! :sweat: