TABLE OF CONTENTS
Installation
Getting Started
Uninstallation
Importing/Exporting Tutorial
In-Depth Description
Settings
Texture Viewer
Model Viewer
Modifying Civilian Cars
INSTALLATION
GETTING STARTED
To install Driver Texture Editor V2.0, you need to extract all of the files located in the .ZIP file that has been provided for you. Extract the contents from the "Driver Texture Editor" to anywhere on your hard drive. After you have finished extracting all of the files, the next step is to run the Driver Texture Editor for the first time. Get yourself used to the layout, and try opening some levels and using the all new 3D feature, which allows you to view models in real-time. You will only have to navigate to the level directory once, as it saves the directory in the settings file.
UNINSTALLING
Since the Driver Texture Editor does not install any registry entries, uninstalling is as easy as deleting the files. There is no uninstallation program.
IMPORTING/EXPORTING TUTORIAL
New to DTE? Don't know what to do? Follow this simple tutorial, and you'll be on your way to becoming an awesome texture modder!
STEP 1: EXPORTING THE ORIGINAL IMAGE
In order to start texture modding, you will need to export one of Driver's original textures, which can be found in every .LEV file. Let's do something simple, like replace a car texture. Open Miami_01.LEV, and look for Texture 74. Now, go to Image --> Export. It will ask you where to save it. Save it anywhere you want.
STEP 2: IMPORTING THE NEW IMAGE
After you have the image exported, open it up in your favorite photo editing program - like Photoshop. Once you're done messing around with the image save it as a 24-bit bitmap. Go back to the DTE, make sure you still have Texture 74 selected, and go to Image --> Import. Select your modified image, and DTE will import the new image almost instantly.
STEP 3: SAVING THE LEVEL
There is just one more step! After you have finished modifying the level, go to File --> Save. You're done! You have successfully modified a Driver level! Give yourself a pat on the back for your hard effort.
Tutorial written by Dr. Doom of Driver Madness
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION
SETTINGS
You can access the settings by going to View-->Settings. There are four settings you can change: Fast Quit, Invert Y Rotation, Invert Y Panning, and Invert X Panning. The last three deal with movement in the model viewer. Fast Quit prevents the program from asking "Really Quit?", but does not prevent it from asking "Quit without saving?". You can also change these settings by editing the settings.ini file, which is located in the Driver Texture Editor/2.0A folder. You will see various settings inside:
- fast_quit - The program quits without prompting the user
- invert_yrot - Inverts 3D Y-Rotation
- invert_ypos - Inverts 3D Y-Panning
- invert_xpos - Inverts 3D X-Panning
- theme - Defines what theme is loaded
And then some other ones:
- lev_directory - Default directory for Driver Levels
- d3d_directory - Default directory Driver Palettes
- export_directory - Default directory for Exported Images
- import_directory - Default directory Imported Images
You can edit these to your liking. Be sure you follow the rules as to how they work, so if for example you want to make fast_quit enabled, you would change the 0 to 1, instead of No to Yes.
TEXTURE VIEWER
There are two texture viewers, the group viewer and the individual texture viewer. The individual viewer is more of a novelty at the moment however, as you can not import or export in this mode.
Individual Viewer
This mode separates the texture groups into their individual textures. You can see the names of these textures in the side panel. Since there are so many names, there is a searchbox above the list to use. You must have your mouse hovering over it to type. You can search again with the same search criteria by pressing enter again; it will turn red when there are no more entries.
Group Viewer
This is the mode you must use for importing and exporting. You can change the size of the images by holding ctrl and scrolling the mouse wheel. By double-clicking an image you can open a full-size version. On images using multiple palettes, you can select the different palettes by using the up and down arrow keys. After selecting an image, a menu labeled "Image" will appear at the top. From this menu you can export or import the image.
Exporting
Images can be exported as 24-bit and 8-bit. 8-bit images are exported by selecting that option from the drop down list when saving. The program saves the last directory you saved in, so you only have to navigate there once.
Importing
Importing has been improved greatly from the last version. You can now import 24-bit and 8-bit images to any image. When importing 24-bit images into an 8-bit group, a palette is generated using the NEUQUANT algorithm. This produces very good results. When importing to an image that uses multiple palettes, you be prompted to select some textures.You must select all images using the current palette, not just the ones you are importing. Although civ-cars work in this same way, there are certain steps that must be taken. For modifying the civ cars, see Modifying Civilian Cars
MODEL VIEWER
New to this version is an integrated model viewer. This is useful when modifying textures as you don't have to start the game to see changes. You can select models from the list on the right of the screen, and there is also a searchbox like in the individual texture viewer. After selecting a model you can rotate around it by clicking and dragging with the mouse. You can also pan by holding ctrl and clicking with the mouse. If the controls feel odd to you, you may want to try inverting them in the settings. A useful feature when viewing texture groups is the ability to see all models using that texture. This can be done by using View->Models Using This Tex. When in this mode a checkbox labeled "Flash Texture" appears, which makes it easy to see where the texture is actually used.
MODIFYING CIVILIAN CARS
The civ-cars use only one image for all colors, all that is changed is the palette. This causes the need for a special way of modifying them. A good image 8-bit editor is always suggested, especially one that can edit palettes. Some programs may call them color tables as well.
- Export the image as either 24 or 8-bit. If you choose 24-bit, the palette will be lost and will be regenerated, and make it harder to edit later. It is suggested that you export as 8-bit for this reason.
- Edit the image using a good editor. When changing the body of the cars, try using a color not used by any of the bumpers or windows (anything you want to stay the same across images).
- Import the image again. You must select all the images for that palette, not just ones you edited.
- Export the same image AS 8-BIT. You will need to modify only the palette in order to preserve the image. This allows it to still work with the palette you previously imported.
- Edit the palette colors so that the body color changes. This may be the most time consuming part. Do NOT change the actual image.
- Import the image to the next spot, choose the same images as you did when first importing it.
- Repeat 5 and 6 for all civ-car colors.