GTL Skinning & Standalone Guide

Since the RSC runs so slow most of the time, I thought it would be a good idea to make a Sim Junkies Skinning Guide:

Tools Needed:
a PSD file reader (photoshop, paintshop pro, etc...)
Geditor get it here
Car Templates get them here
DDS plugin get it here
Decrypted Car Files get them here
RAD Video Tools get it here
Fraps get it here

Tools that make it easier:
Carview get it here
Car x-files get them here

Process:
First thing you do is make copies of the TEX.gtl and ULTRA_TEX.gtl files and move them to an easy access place (maybe My Documents area). Then change the extension from gtl to gtr.(Tip: I has been brought to my attention that you can open gtl files without renaming them by rightclicking the file and selecting "open with/geditor", thanks Banger) Now open each one up and make a note of the DXT level and the exact naming of the files for future referance. (Tip: body1 files are either DXT1 or DXT3 most of the time, windows are always DXT5.)

Now open the template up in your painting program. Create your paint job using different layers if possible, this way you don't messup the template. (Tip: make the wire frame layer viewable while painting. makes placement of lines and etc... easier.)


(Tip: if you have carview open up the program and load up the x-file. go back to your paint program and save your template as a bitmap (bmp) over the body1 file. then in carview goto file/reload texture.)


Once your car is painted, it's time to save it in DDS format. goto file/save as.. and make sure you name it correctly and save it as a DDS file.


This should bring up a nvidia utility. make sure you save the body as the correct DXT level.

Once it's saved, your skin is done. Place the new DDS file in the file of the car you wish to repaint.(Tip: if you get the too many channels to export error when trying to save as a DDS, flatten the image and try again.)

Making a Car Standalone:
This process is somewhat more complcated than just making a skin.

Skin your car like listed above, but instead of saving of saving the file with the exact same name as the car you wish to replace, change the number(ex: 883_FORD_FALCON_BODY1.dds to 884_FORD_FALCON_BODY1.dds).

From the gtl files you have open in geditor, export the cockpit files and renumber them as well (ex: 883_FORD_FALCON_CPIT01.DDS to 884_FORD_FALCON_CPIT01.DDS). Once this has been done for all the body, cockpit, and windows files, it's time to repackage them in to gtl files. Import all the DDS files needed for the TEX.gtl, ULTRA_TEX.gtl, and CPIT_ULTRA_TEX.gtl files using the gtl files you got from the game as a guide. Each file should look something like this in geditor:





Remember once you have packed the file in geditor, you need to change the extension back to gtl.

Now you need to use the icon template. once your icon is painted, size it to a 70 by 66 pixals and save it as a tga. Make sure you also make a grayed out version for the disabled icon.

Now for the CAR file, download an already standalone car of the model your making. Make a copy of it's car file and open up the copy in notepad. Edit the following lines:

883 - TC - Ford F, Simulation to "your car number" - TC - Ford F, Simulation
Number=883 to Number="your car number"
Team="Eva Racing" to Team="your team name"
Driver="David Banta" to Driver="drivers name"
Value=883 to Value="what ever value you want"

Save the car file as a .CAR file not a txt file

Now place all these files in a folder with the car number, make sure all files are correctly named using original cars as your guide.


Place your new folder in the corect section in gtl and your done, enjoy your new car.

Making the .bik video preview can be troublesome. Once your car is done, take it for a drive. Then load up Fraps (can be loaded anytime, but for those with limited hardware resources may not want it on when driving), check that you are recording at 25 frames per second. Then startup the replay of youjust driving the car. Capture a 10 to 15 second video of your car (probably on a straightaway). Once this is done, your done with GTL and Fraps, you can close them. Next open up Rad video tools and select the video you just made with fraps.


First click the "File Info" button and check it's resolution. Make a note of it and remember you want a video with the size of 268x147. Then click on the "Convert File" button, you should get a menu like this:

The best method i have used from this point on this to set the scale to 268x201 and setting the crop to 268x147 (as in the picture above). Really all you can do is play with the options here until your happy with it. Once this is done, use the file you just outputed and click "Bink It". Here is what the screen will look like:

Notice, you can Name your .bik file here, and the options in the "Convert File" section are mostly here too. Once you know you perferred setting, you can just skip the convert file process. Once you have everything set how you want it, just click the "Bink" button, then place the file in your cars folder and boom, your done. On a side note, i would aim for a bink video with the size of 2 MB or less. Is will save on server space and allow for faster downloads. For further space savings, instead of making a video, take a screen shot using F12 and edit it to size in Photoshop and save as a .bmp file. Then load it up in RAD video tools and bink it. A .bik file of a screen shot is only 36 KB where a video is 2 MB. The savings is huge.

I would like to thank NiTrO over at the RSC for his great collection of skinning and standalone guides for GTR and Banger at the Sim Junkies Forum for finding the binking software and explaining how it works. Also I would like to thank all the file hosters that make this possible.