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This may fall under the "Duh, where the *#$%@*!! have you been?" files, but it may help some of those new to reskinning.Here's a tip for shaded windows wit 1024x1024 textures.You made you PSP/Photoshop/Paint file changes and saved it as a TGA file right?TGAtool can't convert 1024 textures right? MakeACE directly from the saved TGA makes the windows crystal clear.Here's a trick I found to get dirty windows (other than not cleaning them...but that's another story) - Convert your 1024x1024 textures with MakeACEWin. Now you should have crystal clear windows in MSTS. Open your ace file with TGA tool and edit the alpha channel/trans file to change the black window areas to a lighter shade (from TGA tool). ****Save it from TGA tool as a TGA file**** Open up MakeACEWin and convert back to your ACE file.Tada! You should have dirty windows!Hopefully this tip will be of use to some folks.Gary
What I’ve done to create dirty windows….,Just copy a real window, preferably one that has a lot of reflection, into the window area of your ace file. If you have several windows…, flip it, invert it, reverse it, etc, etc…, At this point it won’t look like much…, but when the unit is moving in the sim…., the effect is great.
Slight clarification....TgaTool2 can (and does) create 1024x1024 textures with the later versions of Makeace. Only the initial "out of the box" makeace won`t create large or non-square ace files.However....all the versions of Makeace.exe will only create +trans ACE files for images bigger than 512x512 so you will end up with completely clear windows. Only MakeaceWin will let you create 1024x1024 32 bit Ace files.So the suggested method above is necessary if you want 1024x1024x32 (create/modify in TgaTool2, save as Targa, use MakeAceWin on the Targa to create your Ace).Trainsim does have a problem with 32 bit textures. The alpha will display correctly but the visible part appears as lower quality than when you do the same texture as 24 bit (or even as +trans). It almost looks like it converts the colour-part to 16 bit wmen a full alpha is involved.
