Follow the simple steps below to create your own texture for Shepard's bedside cabin photo.
Background[]
Before preparing any new texture, it's imperative to know certain properties of the vanilla version. In our case, the cabin photo:
- Uses DXT1 compression
- Has mipmaps.
- Is 256x256px in size, with a black bar on the right that's 85px wide.
If you use a texture larger than 256x256px, the black bar should stay proportionate (170px, 255px, etc). A replacement texture larger than 1024x1024 is unnecessary, considering the size of the photo in game.
Required Programs[]
- Photo Editor (Paint.NET, GIMP, Photoshop)
- ME3Explorer or Texmod
Instructions[]
Replacement cabin photo texture with proper appearance
This tutorial will assume you're using Paint.NET for editing.
- Download and install Paint.NET. Open the program when finished.
- Go to File > New.
- Create either a 512×512px canvas, or a 1024×1024px canvas. Keep the resolution set at 96px/in.
- Use the Bucket Tool to fill the white canvas with black fill. Black color should be selected by default.
- Open your desired image in Paint.NET or another photo-editing program.
- Edit as you desire, but the final image must be either 342×512 OR 684×1024. (vertical rectangle)
- Copy and paste the finished image into the square, black canvas you created. Use the 342×512 size for the 512-square canvas, the 684×1024 size for the 1024-square canvas.
- The image should by default be placed to the far left, so there is a black bar to the right. If the image isn’t placed there, use your arrow keys or mouse to relocate it.
- Go to File > Save As.
- Give your image a name and select “DirectDrawSurface (DDS)” from the “Save As Image Type” dropdown menu. Then click “Save”.
- Now select the appropriate texture parameters: DXT1, Range Fit, Perceptual, Generate Mip Maps, Super Sampling. Click “Ok”.
- Click “Flatten” when the following window pops up.
That's it! The DDS file can be loaded into TPF Tools and either installed directly into the game, or bundled into a TPF for use with Texmod. More advanced users may prefer to permanently applied it via Texplorer.
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This tutorial has been adapted from the original by giftfish, as posted on the ThaneMOD website. |