Dxt5 format compresses textures to 8 bits per pixel, and is widely supported on pc, console and windows phone platforms. Upload permission you can upload this file to other sites but you must. Dxt5 is the recommended dds format for alphamasked transparency textures, though dxt3 and dxt1,1bit alpha also work. This exporter combines four texture tools in a single plugin and standalone application, including flexible and. Nwnee will render bc1dxt1,bc2 dxt3 and bc3 dxt5 textures with and without a alpha that are exported from the gimp plugin. Dds can contain a compressed image in one of three compression schemes. You only have a few alpha levels to work with dxt5. A good thread explaining texture optimization skyrim mods.
Dds converter 2 at oblivion nexus mods and community. Dds converter i havent tested directly, but it was the source of the problems that caused me to investigate this issue in the first place. I used to use dxt3 in some cases but it was pointed out to me by other artists on nexus that i should always save as dxt5. Use dxt3 compression only if your image has a complex alpha channel with rapid changes, and dxt5 produces noticeable artifacts. Convert photoshop files to oblivion dds textures note. Try both dxt3 and dxt5 and see what the results arebetter still post the screen caps of just the.
Another possibility is to create a separate window or glass texture for example. Other users assets all the assets in this file belong to the author, or are from freetouse modders resources. Dds direct draw surface is an image file format, rather like a container for storing image data compressed using one of the dxt codecs. Flash storage is any type of drive, repository or system that uses flash memory to keep data for an extended period of time. Robert baslers blog dxt texture compression in 2018. In directx 10 it is known as block compression and comes in five basic flavors. The choice of modes allows for fast decoding by the hardware with the quality level selected or adapted according to. Exporting will let you save your work as an image file. There is no need for textures to be dxt5 as it will take up useless space.
Optimizertextures and ddsopt i assume compresses dxt5 down to dxt1. Hi folks, id like to texture some models with the original bioware textures so the objets blend perfectly into the scene, but unfortunately ive been unable so far to convert their dds either with photoshop with the nvidia plugins or various dds converters i found on the web. Ok, so after trying a few tools and compression methods, it seems dxt1 works just fine in dxtbmp and convimx. You can use the original image size or select change width and height option and enter your image size. S3 texture compression s3tc sometimes also called dxtn or dxtc is a group of related lossy texture compression algorithms originally developed by iourcha et al. Converting dxt5 to dxt3 is usually not a very good idea, especially if the original artist is using the alpha channel for shine or transparency. Since the dds textures are preflipped vertically the cpu doesnt have to waste time flipping em before being sent to the video card. We choose the type of dxtc compression based on the suffix of the file. The dxt5 formats differs from the dxt3 format in the way the alpha information is. Use dxt1 when your image contains no alpha information, or when the alpha is just a sharp mask and a noblend attribute prevents color bleed near the edges of the image. Dds file using dxt1, dxt2, dxt5 or ati 3dc compression schemas. What would happen if i installed an aircraft with 32bit textures. Is there really a big difference between 4096 and 2048 res textures.
I have to say i think the results are far better than the dds plugin from nvidia. Dxtviewer handles the following s3tc compression formats. This article discusses how texture compression affects your textures. The bc6h format can select different encoding modes for each 4x4 pixel block. This format can store uncompressed and compressed pixel formats, and is the preferred file format for storing dxtn compressed data. Dxt5 saves it with a compressed but higher quality alpha channel the file size is the same for both formats. Opened up my photoshop elements 10 and it said i needed to download a app feature called directplay. Hi, ive been thinking of downloading a continental express erj145 from avsim and i want to know whats the difference between dxt3 and 32bit textures. Dxtviewer is a free compressed textures viewer using opengl for accelerated rendering. Will the textures not load up and become dull and gray if i do that. What is texture compression all images that are used for 3d modeling in xplane become textures on the video card. Jul 19, 20 well, by principle, this batch script is nothing new as batch scripts calling imagetool to convert texture files have been around since fs9.
Dxt5 compresses the alpha using a compression scheme similar to dxt1. Dxt1 files use half the vram of dxt3dxt5, offering an 8. Dxt2 and dxt3 collectively also known as block compression 2 or bc2 converts 16 input pixels corresponding to a 4x4 pixel block into 128 bits of output, consisting of 64 bits of alpha channel data 4 bits for each pixel followed by 64 bits of color data, encoded the same way as dxt1 with the exception that the 4 color version of the dxt1 algorithm is always used instead of. Here is some sample code that shows how to access the different mipmap levels in an array of textures, using the new headers. A good thread explaining texture optimization skyrim. Is there a tool that can automatically detect when there is complete white alpha in dxt3 5 dds and mass convert them to dxt1. Cant compress a runtime loaded png texture to dxt1. The dxt compression format can be stored inside many container files like dds, vtf, etc. Supports block compression 1, 2 and 3 dxt15 works in node and in browsers with typed array support. If you convert them to dds format, you will compress them more and create visual artifacts, which can be seen as pixelated blocks in the textures. This exporter combines four texture tools in a single plugin and standalone application, including flexible and powerful.
However, dxt3 is supported by the regular dxtn block compressor. You can open dxt1, dxt1ahas 1bit alpha channel dxt3 and dxt5. Any advice on how to go about t his would be great. Dds type, you have a choice of selecting dtx1, dxt3, or dxt5 format. Optimizer textures ordenador at skyrim nexus mods and. Regarding martigen mentioning the ati compressonator. Steam community guide using dds textures in gimp 2. The alpha data is stored as 2 8bit alpha values, alpha0 and alpha1, followed by a 48bit unsigned integer that describes how to combine these two reference alpha values to achieve the final alpha value.
Programming guide for dds win32 apps microsoft docs. A compressed texture is a texture that has been specially encoded to reduce the amount of vram it requires. When exporting, replace the original file unless you want to save it somewhere else like if you opened a vanilla race skin texture to edit it for a custom race. Also double check your rig is set to go by running. Click choose files button to select multiple files on your computer. Dds format on photoshop yeah well heres my problem, when i go into sims 4 studios s4s and try to open one my hair files, it opens up the save as panel. Convert bioware dds to tgapngwhatever beamdog forums. For example, you may choose the compression type dxt1, dxt3 ou dxt5, or else the number of mipmaps. Note i do not know that if these files go directly to the video memory, but if they do. Although the compression for dxt3 and dxt5 are identical, dxt5 has a better algorithim and therefore less artifacting when uncompressed.
An example using decodedxt with parse dds to decode the first mipmap texture of a dds file using a dxt format. An faq on dds files for windows users textures celestia. Dxt is easy to use but provides some weird compression artefacts, so a good understanding of how it works is very useful for both artists and graphics programmers. Because the alpha information is stored in 4 bit, the smallest step in the alpha value that can be stored is 16. Page 1 of 2 4096 vs 2048, dxt5 vs dxt1, optimizer vs ddsopt posted in ddsopt support. Furthermore, dxtviewer allows to load usual image formats such as jpg, bmp, tga, png or gif. The method of compression is strikingly similar to the previously published color cell compression, which is in turn an adaptation of block truncation. Great compression, and uses 14 of the texture ram of lossless formats. You will only need to use these formats if you are a saving a cloud map because cloud maps use the alpha channel to define the transparent sections of the map.
This one, is a bit more than just a conversion script though. Dxt3 s 4bpp fixed alpha sucks verses dxt5 alpha blocks, so i dont see this as a bug deal. This means that very smooth transitions in the alpha channel can not be stored in the dxt3 format. Dds files direct draw surface files are used for the textures in nwn2. Dxt3 saves the file with an uncompressed lower quality alpha channel. Jan 09, 2012 dxt5 is also bettter than dxt3 and saves typically result in exactly the same file size. Technical details the directdraw surface format is useful for storing graphical textures and cubic. Texture block compression in direct3d 11 win32 apps. Whats the difference between dxt3 and 32bit textures. Dds is the abbreviation of directdraw surface, it is a image compression format directx texture compression, referred dxtc. Since dxt is a lossy compression, it generally is best from a quality standpoint to use dxt1 if there is no alpha and dxt5 if there is. Texture compression will reduce visual quality, but. It is designed to facilitate the handling of large media environments with physical interfaces, realtime motion graphics, audio and video that can interact with many users simultaneously. We use dxt5 because it yields cleaner masking and edge quality for things like plant fronds and grass.
The original codecs were created by s3 graphics, but many nonencumbered alternatives exist now. Online image converter to dds free online converter. The quality is just godawful, in some parts it almost feels like the texture is lower resolution than it really is because entire 4x4 blocks share the same color for no particular reason, and its not even. Dxt viewer opengl compressed textures viewer dds dxt1 dxt3. If an alpha channel is a requirement, then youll have to decide if you want to use dxt3 or dxt5.
This set of tools is available at the following address. Nvidia texture tools exporter the nvidia texture tools exporter allows users to create highly compressed texture files that stay small both on disk and in memory directly from image sources using nvidias cudaaccelerated texture tools 3. Risk management is the process of identifying, assessing and controlling threats to an organizations capital and earnings. Dxt1 vs dxt5 general mass effect 3 discussion the nexus. Dword fourcharacter codes for specifying compressed or custom formats. This is unfortunate, it basically makes xnconvertnconvert useless for converting to dds, as a developer will always want to select the optimum pixel format based on the source material. Also if an image has an blackwhite alpha channel dxt3 can be used to save resources, dxt5 makes only sense if you have a grayscalecomplex 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. Use dxt5 in all cases its an improved format over the older dxt3, the quality is better and the file size is the same.
A total of 14 different encoding modes are available, each with slightly different tradeoffs in the resulting visual quality of the displayed texture. In basic terms, dxt3 textures are not quite as good a quality as 32 bit textures, but dxt3 textures are much better for performance and typically load faster. Browse to the dds files, select one or more and click the convert button. Dxt viewer opengl compressed textures viewer dds dxt1. Doubleclick the icon on your desktop called dds converter 2 2. Now, this format is widely supported by the majority of 3d graphics hardware, and be used in many 3d software and 3d games. Perfect texture format dds vs tga vs png spring rts engine.
Bitmaps in dxt1, dxt3 or dxt5 format have already been compressed. Nov 03, 2018 dds converter i havent tested directly, but it was the source of the problems that caused me to investigate this issue in the first place. Yo, just recently i got back into modding and now i feel like tackling an issue ive had to deal with for quite some time. Where dxt3 and dxt5 differ is how the alpha chunk is compressed. Low levels of loss in rgb channel, only supports 1bit alpha. Dds microsoft direct draw surface format introduction the directdraw surface container file format uses the filename extension dds, is a microsoft format for storing data compressed with the proprietary s3 texture compression s3tc algorithm, which can be decompressed in hardware by gpus. There are three kinds dxtc formats available, includes dxt1, dxt3 and dxt5. Most armor and weapons use dxt5 format with mipmaps. I saw the comparison image on optimizers nexus page. Dds files and dxt compression modelling, unwrapping. The image must be a valid texture size to start with, and if you load a dds file up as the reference, it must be dxt1, dxt3 or dxt5 compressed. Aces recommends using dds dxt5 format for best performance and quality. Dxt3 and dxt5, both looking the same as my previous post, no matter which program i used. Im trying to maximize quality on 2gb vram but i have a few questions.
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