SSE Texture Compression and You. [Skyrim SE Edition]

[lordjoseph7]

Not everyone is a redditor, so here you go, have a read please:

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/skyrimmods/comments/5h6c0p/texture_compression_and_you_skyrim_se_edition/

 

TL;DR

 

Ditch DXT5 and start using Linear BC7 for your textures, it is basically equivalent to uncompressed textures quality but DXT5 files size. Your textures/normal maps should no longer be DXT5 for Skyrim SE, the difference is night and day.

 

If you want technical details you should also read the comments in the post I linked, Skyrim community-technical geniuses share their wisdom there.

Edited December 9, 2016 by lordjoseph7

[thumbincubation]

Very interesting. I've never done anything with high quality, but with SE, I was hoping to give it a shot. This will help immensely. Thank you.

[crazylion]

That sounds promising. Will use it immediately

Thanks for shareing this here

CL

[Vyxenne]

Ditch DXT5 and start using Linear BC7 for your textures, it is basically equivalent to uncompressed textures quality but DXT5 files size. Your textures/normal maps should no longer be DXT5 for Skyrim SE, the difference is night and day.

I'm using GIMP 2.0 for SSE textures and I don't have a BC7 option or anything labeled "Linear." I also have Photoshop CS2 and my dds plugin for that doesn't have BC7 or "Linear" either. So I've been saving my stuff uncompressed (with mipmaps) for best quality. At the risk of necro-ing the thread :cool: can anyone point me to a plugin or whatever else I can get for GIMP 2 that will help me save textures in BC7 format? Thanks.

[nightscrawl]

One important thing to know is that you don't need to bother converting your images if you don't have the source files. If you saved the working document from when you made the mod and now re-save in BC7 format, or have uncompressed versions lying around, that is fine and great. Re-saving a DXT1 or DXT5 image that has already been compressed will do nothing because that image information has been lost in the previous compression.

 

 

 

Ditch DXT5 and start using Linear BC7 for your textures, it is basically equivalent to uncompressed textures quality but DXT5 files size. Your textures/normal maps should no longer be DXT5 for Skyrim SE, the difference is night and day.

I'm using GIMP 2.0 for SSE textures and I don't have a BC7 option or anything labeled "Linear." I also have Photoshop CS2 and my dds plugin for that doesn't have BC7 or "Linear" either. So I've been saving my stuff uncompressed (with mipmaps) for best quality. At the risk of necro-ing the thread :cool: can anyone point me to a plugin or whatever else I can get for GIMP 2 that will help me save textures in BC7 format? Thanks.

 

 

As far as I know, the plugin discussed -- Intel Texture Works -- is only available for PS CS6+. If you want to use BC7, you will have to find another tool, like this one, to convert your images. It's a bit of a pain, but it works.

[Vyxenne]

OK, well, since I can't do BC7, what should I be using? My plugin will let me do anything from DXT1 through DXT5. I prefer quality to saving disk space or tweaking load times- which is why I've been saving them uncompressed.

 

And no, I don't have source files- I'm just recoloring some clothes for my own use, and neither PS nor GIMP tells me what compression (if any) the dds files I'm loading (to recolor them) are currently saved with. Thanks.

[crazylion]

HI

Quick anwer - Dxt1 is mostly used for enviroment maps and low quality maps, Dxt3 usually for all diffuse maps and Dxt5 for normal maps.
quality as you expected is lowest with dxt1 but dxt 3 and 5 are the same execept of their alpha channel.

If you need more details check this Article out
​also this tool can help you to see what texture uses which compression DDSViewer

CL

[nightscrawl]

OK, well, since I can't do BC7, what should I be using? My plugin will let me do anything from DXT1 through DXT5. I prefer quality to saving disk space or tweaking load times- which is why I've been saving them uncompressed.

 

And no, I don't have source files- I'm just recoloring some clothes for my own use, and neither PS nor GIMP tells me what compression (if any) the dds files I'm loading (to recolor them) are currently saved with. Thanks.

 

If you don't have the plugin to make BC7, you won't have able to load them and view them, either. That means any dds you are able to currently open in PS or Gimp will be DXT1 or 5.

 

If an image has an alpha channel, even if it's white, that is DXT5. If there is no alpha channel, it's DXT1.

[crazylion]

That means any dds you are able to currently open in PS or Gimp will be DXT1 or 5.

 

If an image has an alpha channel, even if it's white, that is DXT5. If there is no alpha channel, it's DXT1.

 

Sorry but what you said there is not entirely correct

You can open Dxt1, Dxt1a(has 1bit alpha channel) Dxt3 and Dxt5

also if an image has an black/white Alpha channel Dxt3 can be used to save resources, Dxt5 makes only sense if you have a grayscale/complex Alpha channel or an Normal map

Yes Dxt5 has less artifacts then Dxt3 but keep in mind that the file will be bigger in size (x4times)

 

CL

[nightscrawl]

 

That means any dds you are able to currently open in PS or Gimp will be DXT1 or 5.

 

If an image has an alpha channel, even if it's white, that is DXT5. If there is no alpha channel, it's DXT1.

 

Sorry but what you said there is not entirely correct

You can open Dxt1, Dxt1a(has 1bit alpha channel) Dxt3 and Dxt5

also if an image has an black/white Alpha channel Dxt3 can be used to save resources, Dxt5 makes only sense if you have a grayscale/complex Alpha channel or an Normal map

Yes Dxt5 has less artifacts then Dxt3 but keep in mind that the file will be bigger in size (x4times)

 

CL

 

While that may be true factually, it's been my experience that modders primarily save with DXT1 or 5. I have another program that allows me to view image types. I don't think I've ever run across anyone saving anything with DXT1a or DXT3. This applies to the default images used in both versions of Skyrim as well: if it has an alpha channel, whether that is a complex grayscale or just dual black and white, it's DXT5; if it doesn't it's DXT1.

 

It's the difference between what can be done and what is done by the majority of people making mods, and even by the developers themselves.