Playing around with wanting a more realistic terrain paint on my mountains, I found a simple way to have some added textures.First I use Gimp, it's free and you can use the '.DDS' plug-in which you need.Check online for some free seamless terrain or landscaping textures in .jpg or .png format.Save them to a folder on your desktop.1. Open the .jpg texture in Gimp. 2. Click on 'Image', then 'Scale Image'Resize it to 1024x1024 pixels and click 'Scale'. 3. Click File, then Save As4. Down at the bottom it says 'Select File Type' (by extension)Click on the ' .dds Image'Now we choose to save it in the folder where all the default textures are...5. Browse for your Documents Folder/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3 Create a World Tool/User Tool Data/Source TexturesNow click 'Save'A box pops up and the settings should be... Compression -none Format - RGBA8 Generate Mipmaps - checkedThen click 'OK' and that's it.Now you can go into your Create a World and when you go to paint, click Add Layer and Click on the texture you want and try it out.Works great.You can also create your own textures and just create a blank 1024x1024 and save it the same way.By saving it in the RGBA8 format I believe keeps each textures size a little bigger than I'd like, but it seems more standard for patterns so that's why I went with it, plus the quality is great.Here's a link to Gimp - http://www.gimp.org/downloads/Here's the link for the 'DDS Gimp Plugin'http://nifelheim.dyndns.org/~cocidius/dds/#downloadHere's one free seamless texture link; PS...you do not need the 'Genetica Viewer' (click on the one you want, click preview and right click and save as, the .jpg)http://www.spiralgraphics.biz/packs/browse.htm

Thanks Jericosan! This is very helpful, I'm bookmarking :-)

Sorry but some of them instruction I would disagree with:-2. Click on 'Image', then 'Scale Image'Resize it to 1024x1024 pixels and click 'Scale'. Thou 1024x1024 is a good size to have if your going to use that texture a great deal, but you should be very aware of the total KB size of the pic file you will be useing. Most 1024x1024 size texture will be about 1200kb-2200kb each. this will be added to the total download size. Thou I'm not saying that there is nothing wrong with that size pic, but if you use a large amount of them, your setting yourself up for a massive uploaded world and long loading times. What I would do is consider smaller size files for less detailed area's of your world. For example say you where building a snow world, you might have one large 1024x1024 file for the main snow, but you might use 2-4 dirty snow textures that will only be 256x256 size, they do not need to be that big, if you find that size to be a little crap then increase to 512x512 size.Just remember thou, what you add, will increase the size of the upload and loading.5. Browse for your Documents Folder/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3 Create a World Tool/User Tool Data/Source TexturesNow click 'Save'A box pops up and the settings should be...Compression -noneFormat - RGBA8Generate Mipmaps - checked I'm not sure where you came up with them settings, I've found the following settings to be the best:-Compression -BC3/DX5Format - (Greyed out)Generate Mipmaps -(Greyed out)I've been using them setting since the days of the sims 2, when I was building glass tiles etc, I recommend that you compression be BC3/DX5, this will lower kb ratio of the texture, which should increase loading time, infact you will not go far wrong going into Documents Folder/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3 Create a World Tool/User Tool Data/Source Textures and save all the EA textures to this format and watch your world spin with joy. :wink: saving it in the RGBA8 format I believe keeps each textures size a little bigger than I'd like, but it seems more standard for patterns so that's why I went with it, plus the quality is great.Here's my test with a pic to show you the diffrance the good and bad of each format, I used the same 1024x1024 sea blue jpg file one save in DX5 format and the other RGBA8, the size diffrance was big:-DX5 version was 1025kbRGBA8 version was 5462kbThis is the picsIn game I did notice that the dx5 format was sharper and looked better close up, thou the RGBA8 looked better when I used another texture on top of the texture.The big crunch in all of this is that Dx5 is 1025kb, you can have 5 textures in your game for the same price as one RGBA8 format file.I've currently got 135 textures in my source textures, many I've made myself and 75 of them are less than 172kb, Ive got loads of small 256x256 texture that will do the same job as a large texture file, I would consider taking this method than trying to go with extra large files that will sooner or later make you pay for them, with a increase in loading times.Anyway thats my 10 pence worth, sorry for intrupt, I just felt it was a little wrong of me not to say something about this. If your intrested I can package up my texture files, I can upload them for you and test on how they look yourself.

Thanks for all the info about the different formats, I'm no expert. The only reason I used the RGBA8 format was because that is what I was familiar with some work I did before. Plus, I did try a couple of other formats, and after testing them they didn't work at all. As far as the size, I went by the default game terrains, they are done in 1024x1024 at 72 dpi. If you check their properties some were 10.mb!'s :shock:I will definitely check out your suggestion on the different format hoping to keep quality and get the size down would be great.

Thanks for the info guys it will be very useful to this "world building newbie" ;0)

The Easy Way to Create Terrain Textures

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auntielynds
16 years ago
I did the .dds plugin, and I'm not even sure I did it right, but it seems to work. I remember the instructions were very frustrating. I ended up just putting the whole file I downloaded into the directory it says in the read me file. I get an error message every time I save as a .dds, but it still works.

I agree we need a complete tutorial on the subject from someone who really knows what they are talking about. Maybe we can talk Watercat into doing one.
Jack_Woods1
16 years ago
Here is the DDS Plug-in Download & Installation tutorial for you :)
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/0/196896.page#2396201
Jack_Woods1
16 years ago
Double post, oops
clawsywp
16 years ago
Thank You for this!

It would be good if this was stickied at the top
Traijan
15 years ago
MATZ wrote:
insted of Gimp, can you use photoshop?

You can use whatever graphics editor that you are comfortable to use as long as it has the capabilities to do what is needed. Since Photoshop is generally considered the upper echelon of graphics editors, I'd assume that it has all the capabilities that anybody around here could ever want or need. So, I'd say dig around your filters and see if it already has installed what you need, if not most other graphics editing filters and plugins generally take after Photoshops, (i.e. the other graphics editors use the same format that photo shop uses so as to be compatible, example, I can use many if not most plugins made for photoshop in Paintshop Pro X3)

Gime is just a free editor so everybody can afford it.
akillercancan
15 years ago
The DDS Gimp Plugin isn't working. I've tried it with all the browsers I have on my computer (Mozilla, Internet Explorer and Safari) and they all tell me that the internet connection isn't working properly or my firewall is blocking the webpage. But it's lying to me!
Kawwah
15 years ago
This dosnt work for me. Nothing shows up in CAW, and I have followed the guide. When I try to save it in the Sourcetextures folder, I get a error message in Gimp every time.
dramaqueenlp
14 years ago
RubyRedDragon wrote:
YAYYYYY!!! im so happy!! i was working on this for HOURS trying to find a way to save the file as a .dds or a .pga and nothing was working!! then i came across this and the saving part wasnt exactly the same, (because there was no option to save a file as a .dds in the GIMP software i installed) but i saved it as a pga and everything else worked!! im so happy thank u!!!

There is no option to save as a .dds unless you download and install the plugin for whichever program you use (gimp in your case).
MsPrissySim
13 years ago
Jericosan wrote:
....

Here's one free seamless texture link; PS...you do not need the 'Genetica Viewer' (click on the one you want, click preview and right click and save as, the .jpg)
http://www.spiralgraphics.biz/packs/browse.htm

Thanks for the link above. I spotted several textures I could use in creating my world. But I now have a question concerning them:

Now that I have a few saved, WHERE do I put them to get them in CAW so I can start using them?? Do I have to change them in any way?

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The Easy Way to Create Terrain Textures

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The Easy Way to Create Terrain Textures

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