So, I'm in the process of making some newer weapon models (and matching inventory icons) for my PW, and I've come across an inconvenience that I think one or more of the programming geniuses around here might be able to help with. Simply put, a default .dds version of an inventory icon (or any other image) will override a .tga version held in either the override folder or a hak file.
Currently, if one wishes to convert a .tga image into a NWN-compatible .dds image, one needs to vertically flip the image (using something like Photoshop or TGAFlipper), then use DDSTools (a command line program) to convert it into a proper .dds for NWN. This is workable for one or two images, but is a huge time-sink when one has a pile of hundreds of inventory icons to convert.
Yes, you can use TGAFlipper to do a mass/batch flip of .tga images. And you can write two batch files to a) get a list of files in a directory and then
instruct DDSTools to run once for every single file in that directory. However, not everyone knows how to write batch files, and TGAFlipper deletes the original files when flipping (requiring the user to remember to make a backup every time).
---------------------
My idea: a brand new, stand-alone program that correctly converts a .tga into a .dds for NWN, without having to first flip the image, and without having to use a command line or batch file. Basically, a program where you can either a) browse to set source and target directories for conversion or
just drag and drop one or more .tga files and it/they will be converted to .dds in the same directory.
If the same program were capable of converting .dds to .tga, instead of producing 10 .tga versions of the image, it could produce just the largest (highest resolution) version found within the .dds. Seriously, does anyone ever use the lower-sized versions produced by DDSTools? I usually get my .dds to .tga conversion one file at a time using NWN Explorer Reborn (that, too, is limited to one conversion at a time).
I'd write this program if I could (for both Windows and Linux, and call it "
The NWN TGA/DDS Headache Cure"), but my programming knowledge right now is limited to html, nwscript, and the barest notion of copy & paste for batch files.
'>
If someone takes this on, you can be sure I'll be promoting the resulting software on neverwinternights.info, calling into the NWN Podcast, linking on Facebook, and anywhere else I happen to post about NWN custom content.
