So i've added my alpha layer and am trying to make my new bitmap. I see some save as options but none of them are .TIFF and when i open it in an editing software it merges them, i don't have photoshop, so if someone can politely tell me how to convert them into the bitmap form it would be greatly appreciated.


GE

Use GIMP?

You use tool....?

EDIT:

I am retarded. Yea either use GIMP, or render it in 3ds
Edited by iHalo on Jul 29, 2011 at 06:25 PM

I don't really feel like downloading another program. I thought i had heard that you could use dxtbmp to make your bitmaps have alphas and still make them into bitmaps

I never heard of dxtbmp at all. What is it?

Saving TIF files in mspaint does not make them lose any quality, however the alpha channels (and any non-RBG channels) are made completely opaque. They will still be there but completely white.

I'm afraid i don't quite understand what your saying. In any program, that doesn't have alpha channel editing abilities, you make a texture and compile it with tool it will have an alpha channel of all white, either that or it's see through, i only know this because if you open a bitmap, that doesn't have an alpha channel, and switch the show alpha channel in the drop down box you'll see it as all white. but i'm trying to make a character that can change colors, so i need to be able to edit the alpha channel...Guess i'll get gimp...Sigh

If the program you were using didn't support saving as tiff, you should be relieved there is a free, better, solution to use than whatever it was you were using.
Edited by Sprinkle on Jul 31, 2011 at 08:19 AM

The program i'm using can save as .TIFF but it can't edit alpha channels like some programs can, so i got dxtbmp and placed my alpha in and later i found out it can't save as .TIFF, and if i reimport it into the program the alpha channel is destroyed

Ok, you obviously need a little help here. First off .bitmap is a compressed proprietary format, and any image can only be compiled into a bitmap format by tool.exe. Second, the format you mostly want to use for all textures is a Targa. DXTBmp can save any opened image as targa, which gives you full alpha channel. From dxtbmp, you can export either the alpha or base layer to any editor to do the editing work also.

Obviously i need help, because i said that at the beginning of this thread, but that's irrelevant. What i'm saying is i have made my textures in an image editing software, that can't edit the alpha channel, and saved them as .TIFF. I then opened dxtbmp and added the alpha channel, that i made separately, and tried to save it but i can't save it as a .TIFF and i thought that tool.exe could only compile your textures into bitmaps if they were in a .TIFF format. So what i'm saying is dxtbmp can't save my textures that i've added the alpha channel to as .TIFF so i tried opening them in an image editing software and saving them again but it took out my alpha channel again.Long story short. i don't have a software that can edit alpha and adding one with dxtbmp makes it so i can't save them as tiff, witch in turn makes it so tool an't compile them.

Well if you're not willing to install GIMP then I guess you're hooped.

Tool should be able to convert just about any image into a bitmap. Have you even tried yet? Other than what i suggested, get Photoshop Elements 6. Great app, and can handle many formats, alpha channels, plus you can get legacy and standard dds plugins to boot!

Okay, let me try this again a different way...I have tried exporting it with all of the options that dxtbmp gives me. None of them can be used with tool.exe because tool.exe can only convert .TIFF image files into bitmap files that halo can use, you with me so far?, i can't re-import it into an editing software because the one i'm using can't support the alpha channel and will merge them, and i can't get photo shop because i am a broke ass kid and gimp is free but my hard drive space isn't. So yeah i thought that using dxtbmp would work for adding alpha channels but i can't save it as a tiff that tool can use to convert into a bitmap, this is what i've been saying the whole time but it's like no one here has ever used dxtbmp before. i need someone that has some experiences with it
Edited by grunt_eater on Aug 1, 2011 at 03:56 PM

What we've ALL been trying to say is that, DON'T USE DTXBmp.

I really don't get what you want us to do for you. I suppose you could use some out-dated software like HMT (halo mapping tools) to inject dds files. Honestly, you shouldn't be that short of hard drive space. Especially considering the price of hard drive storage these days.

i was hoping that someone could come up with a solution for my problem, now my question is what is dxtbmp in the halo ce portion of halomaps.org for if it can't work for halo ce? Next. can someone give me a link to gimp2 for windows 7?
Edited by grunt_eater on Aug 1, 2011 at 07:48 PM

E: Seriously? NO one can give me a link? Does it even exist for win7?
Edited by grunt_eater on Aug 2, 2011 at 10:40 PM