Retexuring ArmA BIS units? Tutorial?

[timo9988 0]

Hi,

as we have seen the first community reskinded ArmA units I'

d like to know if there is some kind of tutorial for that subject?

Timo

[hoz 0]

Moving to A & M Discussion.

[Clavicula_nox4817 0]

Not much of a tutorial and I'm still learning myself, but you need either Kegety's tools or Elitness to unpack the characters.pbo from the Addons folder, then I would use the .paa plugin that comes with KEgety's tools to interface the image format with photoshop.

After that, you open up the colormap, which is the files that end in a _co, do your changes, repack the .pbo and put it in the addons folder.

I highly suggest making copies of the original .pbos, as well as all the files your going to edit before you edit them. I would also suggest making different saves of what your going to change in increments incase you botch something and don't want to have to start all over again.

Retex isn't hard, it's when you want to make things seperate that will give you nightmares.

[bugkill 7]

yeah, just messing around to get the hang of it. i'm gonna give my SF units some unit patches, so you can have the different look of the soldiers.

this was just a test and i'm gonna make a better patch to fit the model.

[bugkill 7]

here is some pics of some testing i've been doing. i just wanted to add a mixture of different units by using armpatches:

SF Recon:

[Do not holink images greater than 100kb]http://Do not holink images greater than 100kb.photobucket.com/albums/v495/bugkill/armed%20assault/arma2006-12-0913-39-55-36.jpg[/Do not holink images greater than 100kb]

82nd Airborne (former SF operator):

[Do not holink images greater than 100kb]http://Do not holink images greater than 100kb.photobucket.com/albums/v495/bugkill/armed%20assault/arma2006-12-0823-36-20-94.jpg[/Do not holink images greater than 100kb]

82nd airborne infantryman:

[Do not holink images greater than 100kb]http://Do not holink images greater than 100kb.photobucket.com/albums/v495/bugkill/armed%20assault/arma2006-12-0823-31-04-22.jpg[/Do not holink images greater than 100kb]

SF operator:

[Do not holink images greater than 100kb]http://Do not holink images greater than 100kb.photobucket.com/albums/v495/bugkill/armed%20assault/arma2006-12-0823-34-06-16.jpg[/Do not holink images greater than 100kb]

ranger combat patch:

.[Do not holink images greater than 100kb]http://Do not holink images greater than 100kb.photobucket.com/albums/v495/bugkill/armed%20assault/arma2006-12-0912-26-54-57.jpg[/Do not holink images greater than 100kb]

i only did this to give the units more of a different look and i wish that someone can model some SF units with some mich 2001 helmets

[bugkill 7]

some more

[Do not holink images greater than 100kb]http://Do not holink images greater than 100kb.photobucket.com/albums/v495/bugkill/armed%20assault/arma2006-12-0912-33-09-52.jpg[/Do not holink images greater than 100kb]

[Do not holink images greater than 100kb]http://Do not holink images greater than 100kb.photobucket.com/albums/v495/bugkill/armed%20assault/arma2006-12-0912-27-48-02.jpg[/Do not holink images greater than 100kb]

[Do not holink images greater than 100kb]http://Do not holink images greater than 100kb.photobucket.com/albums/v495/bugkill/armed%20assault/arma2006-12-0912-25-16-19.jpg[/Do not holink images greater than 100kb]

[bugkill 7]

the problem i have is that BIS did not make the acu's correct. they forgot the arm pockets and i had to rely on "sewn" on patches. gonna look for some textures that have pockets and see if i can correct this problem.

[Clavicula_nox4817 0]

Man, someone who left group and went to 82nd..sucks to be him!

Unit patches is what I'v been doing, and I noticed that the models and units that use certian textures are scattered around. I wanted to give all the SF units the SF patch and tab, but unfortunately other non-SF guys use the same texture. Here is what I have come up with so far:

Officer, Crewman, Medic and Team Leader use US_Soldieracu_co.paa

Grenadier uses US_ohrn_spec_one_co.paa

SF Saboteur 1 & 2, SF Recon and Sniper uses US_soldier_spec_two_holster_co.paa

SF Assault, Squad Leader, Machinegunner, and Engineer uses US_soldier_spec_two_co.paa

SF Marksman, Rifleman use us_soldieracu_ohrnute_co.paa

AT specialist and AA Specialist use us_soldier_spec_one_co.paa

What I need to know now, is what units use what molle and equipment textures. I have my USASOC guys in their own sperate class in the editor right now, and I'm planning on getting to work on some different units too.

*edit*

Heres a couple pics from my WIP "Me" uniform. I want to find better res pictures of the ranger, sapper, and airborne tabs and until I find a cable for my camera I'm going to have to rely on the internet. I also need to maybe do some more re-sizing on my combat patch and reverse the dragon. I also cannot for the life of me find a picture of Sew On BDU E-5 rank for the IBA.

[bugkill 7]

here ya go

http://www.militaryclothing.com/IBS....07.html

and here is an update of the SF recon:

[img/]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/bugkill/armed%20assault/arma2006-12-0917-30-24-71.jpg[/img]

and the SF operator was reassigned back to group:

[img/]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/bugkill/armed%20assault/arma2006-12-0918-00-47-71.jpg[/img]

he was in 1st ranger batt. prior to selection:

[img/]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/bugkill/armed%20assault/arma2006-12-0918-00-57-97.jpg[/img]

gotta work on those pockets, not good enough for me and i will try to get a new camo for the SF recon helmet.

[Clavicula_nox4817 0]

Yeah, that is the site I'v been using, oh well I'll work on it some more. What are you doing that preserves the quality of the image so well? Or is it just my graphic settings? I'm set on medium at 1024 x 768 I believe.

I noticed on your WIP pocket that you had the full color flag, I see that snagged your eye too.

Any idea on which classes associate with what equip colormaps? I just haven't taken the time to test those out.

*edit*

Well, to help my tabs I'm just using larger pictures of the tabs, though the Sapper looks a little different, I guess because of the lighting from the image.

[bugkill 7]

you want to resize the image first and then copy and paste. it is a little trial and error, but it works. 1) you copy and paste to see how big/small the actual patch is on the .paa file (which is in tga format). 2) if not the right size, press "undo paste", go back to the tab/patch .tga and resize the image (the patch file, not the .paa). 3) just keep repeating those steps until you are satisfied with the results.

the deal with the full color flag is one that you and i are very familiar with (i served in spec ops also ). i have no problem with the subdued patch (we had both of them), but the color flag was used most often, unless at night (we switched to the IR flag).

i'm thinking of just making these forces all conventional because some of the infantry units share the same files of the SF units. i'm thinking about cracking open the marpat addon (for personal use) and use them as my SF unit, just gotta change the textures.

edit* you want to go ahead and convert all those us.soldieracu.os, etc. files to .tga, better that way. i have made various soldiers with different combat patches and tabs. that is why i'm not going to mix up the SF units, just gonna make them infantry from the 82nd (i served there and i chose them over the 101st, i thought my time in the eight deuce was better ) and they will have different combat patches (more realistic).

[Clavicula_nox4817 0]

Yeah, cracking open the MARPAT is how I was able to do my USASOC guys. Before you spend 2 days pulling your hair out like I did, grab a good hex editor with a search function because you have to change the path the .p3d file uses to associate the textures with. The path you change also has to be the exact number of characters including the filename. I suggest just making a .pbo with the same number of characters as HEP_MarpatWod.

Turns out my textures were fine, I just had the game on too low of a detail to appreciate it.

The 18th Corps patch being distorted by the arm is still bothering me, I'm not sure if I should just leave it or move the patch up. If I move it up, it lessens the amount of space I have to change the flag over.

I have a 1 pixel width black outline along the SOC patch because in my lower settings it helped it stand out more, I'll see about adjusting that..maybe.

I've only been in SOC since October. Before that I was in a pogue ass unit on Bragg that I doubt you've heard of, 35th Signal Bde. That place is bad from Bde down. Imagine being an E-4 with 2 tabs more than almost anyone else in your brigade, and one of the few who earned your CAB from actual combat as opposed to mortars or pretend writeups, and every damn day is the same garbage BS. When I made 5, I tried helping out with a MOUT range, mainly because 1.) Ranger Q and 2.) I did *real* MOUT almost everyday for a year while the rest of 35th sat and rotted at Victory, but this garbage E-7 tells me I don't know what I'm talking about because I'm a Sergeant and he's a Sergeant First Class who had never deployed before.

Yeah, that was the total attitude of 35th. Since being in SOC...everything is different. I have soldiers under me that I am totally responsible for, and it's great and they're great. Before, I couldn't do anything, I had soldiers because they had to give them to me. Our Cdr subverted the NCO support chain and micro-managed everything and the 1SG let him! Crazy...

Oh, our uniform standards are sooooo different, and that appeals to me. I don't wear ACUs too often, and when we deploy they're not our uniform which I am so happy about. SOC was the greatest thing to happen in my military career.

[bugkill 7]

, yeah, i heard of 35th sig. and i'm glad i never went over there. i felt the same way you did when i got to group. i was in the 82nd (325th AIR), 101st (502nd INF), NATO, 1AD, and then SFG.

getting my ass to group was the best ticket as far as being in a tactical unit (can't beat the netherlands). i got there and i thought that us support guys would not be doing the "team" guy shit, boy was i wrong! i never did so much firing in my life (even when i was infantry) and i got to receive some kick ass training.

i just ETS and now i'm in the guard (back in the infantry). i could not get my CAB for iraq (2003) because at the time it did not exist (i did raids and patrols because of my past experience in the infantry) and they want all these BS docs in order to get it. it was over two years ago and most of the people have moved on, no way i can get witness statements.

oh, well! when i saw knuckleheads getting it for getting mortared and never leaving the FOB, i just said "screw it". ooops, sorry if i got off topic.

EDIT*

i plan on making some SOF operators wearing the desert flight suit when i crack open the marpat guys. i think that would look better given the fact the acu's are jacked in this game. who in the hell did BIS consult for this game. should have talked to me and others on this forum about this stuff.

[Clavicula_nox4817 0]

Yeah, it was rough for me to get my CAB. It took the BG of a Guard BCT that I was attached to to convince LtGen Vines that he should just go ahead and sign off on it. I have such a soft spot in my heart for the Guard, in 05 the Guard I worked with were the most competent and motivated soldiers I worked with that year.Somehow maintaing the perfect balance between Missions First and Soldiers First, I honestly believe that Gen Collins was the reason behind that.

I never heard a single person say one negative thing about Gen Collins, and he was always there. He would eat meals with junior enlisted, and honestly remember things about them. I think he knew almost every soldier/nco/officer on our FOB. The force protection on the FOB, the 2/11th ACR didn't have enough guys for the area so they ended up tapping volunteers from support to fill out strenght requirements. My team was an ad-hoc thing of some infantry, cav, signal, med,quartermaster and engineers.

When we had taken some casualties from our group, Gen Collins went out and found everybody and talked with us and kinda calmed us down and stuff and helped put things in perspective. The 155th engineers ran a sapper course before it became a DA approved school and we all went through it, DA ended up authorising it a few months after that, and Gen Collins was the leading force behind us getting our tabs. Absolutely an amazing officer.

You know, civilians will never understand this stuff. THey'll never understand how you would die next to someone wearing your patch, but you might never spend a minute of your free time with them. When all this is over and done for me, I'm going to miss it.

*edit*

Yeah, giving the SF guys the flightsuits is a good idea, except we can't change models right now until the tools are released...also..the pilots are wearing IBAs!!!!

[bugkill 7]

Quote[/b] ]Yeah, giving the SF guys the flightsuits is a good idea, except we can't change models right now until the tools are released...also..the pilots are wearing IBAs!!!!  

yeah, i was laughing my ass off when i saw that. i can't believe that after vbs1, they would showcase such bad unit uniforms and gear.

i was mainly talking about the camo and hopefully it can pass as a flightsuit

[Clavicula_nox4817 0]

Well, if it was just changed to a lighter tan color it should work, right? The helmet could be gimped by making it the coverless color of a regular kevlar or ACH or something. The subdued flag patch could be put center of the vest and the blood type could be on one of the shoulders or something.

[bugkill 7]

exactly

EDIT*

looking at making this:

[img/]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/bugkill/real%20world/040617m7371b0027vb.jpg[/img]

[Clavicula_nox4817 0]

Just did rank on the IBA, you have to be careful on placement otherwise the folds of the arms will distort it. Still could'nt find any sew on BDU rank.

[hoz 0]

Bugkill, respect the 100kb limit on the forum images.

[bugkill 7]

rgr , keep forgetting.

[Clavicula_nox4817 0]

my USASOC guys are now 100% standalone, I just finished the last little obstacle.

[bugkill 7]

cool, hope to see pics. i'm going to wait on some modding tools. it just does not look right for my tastes and we need to see some models that feature better gear and is more in tune with what operators really wear.

[Clavicula_nox4817 0]

Here's some pictures of my uniform.

Can't decide on what to put on the back, I have a couple decals made. Just can't decide.

This is what I'm settling on, it looks better when the light is on it: