hi there!
now after i got a little familiar with gameguru i would like to do some stuff on my own, own media. and the first thing to do is to understand how DDS files work. f.e. why are there always D, N and S files of a DDS file?
and my biggest question:
i want to edit / open / save DDS files in gimp. i have gimp v2.82 and i installed the normalmap and the DDS converter from this gimp file library. what i really don't undestand: now that i got this running i can open the textures for the comic library in GG, i can open many new media files in DDS but there are many i can't open. Gimp says "file cannot be opened by DDS converter plugin"
the asylum pack also has textures in DDS i can't open.

all the DDS files i tried to open were from the Game Guru directories!

i'm working with gimp for about 2 years now and i'm also a little familiar with it. this 3D texture thing is new to me of course. i didn't modify gimp at all, did nothing strange and didn't install any shady programs. my pc is running very stable actually and gimp never crashes.

i hope you can help me

I always use Paint.net for DDS files...

I save my model UV as PNG file then texture it...
I then make normal map of PNG file with Gimp...
Same for Specular...

Then I load the 3 PNG files into Paint.net and save them as DDS files...

I am no expert just learning like you...

If you try and open .dds files from a standalone build, you could encounter this, as those files are encrypted, and Gimp or any other program should not be able to display them.

Maybe that is what your seeing.

I just opened all the textures from the asylum directory with gimp. They all opened, no problem. Are you sure, like Myke said, you aren't opening them from a compiled game?

hi! i already thought this too so i checked it again yesterday. no i opened them from the directory in game guru (entitybank/buildings/asylum) and i just tried it again, it doesn't work. is there an additional plugin or do i have to copy it somewhere else? actually it works but i can't open most of the files. i never used to have a problem with gimp before
i tried to get help in the gimp forum but i an't enter, they have "massive spam attack"

This is so the shader knows how to use these images.

Commonly you will encounter :

_D for Diffuse map. The basic color and detail of a texture.
_I for Illumination map. Tells the shader which parts are glowing or self-emissive.
_N for Normal map. Tells the shader about the relief of the surface.
_S for Specular map. Tells the shader about how matte or shiny the surface is.

Less commonly you will find:

_Cube for Cube map. This is the image used to simulate reflections on a glossy surface.
_R for Reflectivity mask. Tells the shader which parts are glossy and reflective. Determines how strongly the _cube map appears. This will not always be a separate . DDS. On player weapons, for example, this image is stored in the alpha channel of the _S map.

thanks for the information about this, i hope i will understand this better in teh future
my problem has been solved!!
when i open a DDS file from entitybank\buildings it works. i created custom folders named (f.e.) "01 - BAUSÄTZE"
the Ä and - were the reason why it didn't open!
i copied all media into the folder entitybank\user and it all worked, also the files from the asylum.
now i can try to start learning about how this works.
does anybody know how i can create a texture or paint an x model?

Good, those special characters will get you always. I know its not fair, but, use this victory as an example on naming conventions for use I this program.

yes, i learned something again. i thought this is too absurd but it was the reason

you need to be in a model program and load the model in to put a texture to it if none is there. depending on your program, ie 3d crafter, 3ds max, zbrush, truespace, fragmotion, blender, milkshape etc etc. will determine what you do, some you paint on it like a paint brush onto a 3d surface and then unwrap at the end, or you may have to select the polys by hand and then place them on a texture plane,
think of the map of the world, if you have a 3d world aka a globe how would you flatten it with showing all sides, in an atlas they disect it like an orange.

so there are 2 ways to knowledge, if the model you are asking about has a texture attached then just paint over and you have it easy
if not then you need an 3dart package modelling program as above to then lay it out.

hope this helps

thanks! that's what i want to know, although i don't really understand. i'm trying to learn but i realize that my brain is obviously too small for such things. this is gonna be a hard time for me but i'll still try.
thanks for the help @ all here!

i have downloaded a pool model and when i insert it into GG it has no texture, just red and white pattern. when i put a texture on it the whole object has the texture. everything is concrete even the wooden handrails. how can i "paint" a texture to an X model i already have wich has different types of texture in it?

Hello you ought to have a look at MindTex you can get it on Steam and at the moment it is on a 20% discount at $11.99, it is great if you are not sure what you are doing with the maps and it shows you what the map will look like when all of them are put together.

Yep have to agree ...Great tool at a very low price compared to Crazybump and others