Change Scenery

HOW TO CHANGE A SCENERY OBJECT

A Port City Car Co. Project

3 DOWNLOADS REQUIRED FOR THIS TUTORIAL:

MW Graphics - TGATools2 Jasc Software Paint Shop Pro Shape File Manager Download sfm.ZIP

	First, copy the s and sd files to a new folder. Then copy over the .ace file file(s)
	Then rename the s and sd files to a new name, such as PickupAGreen. Likewise the ace to the new name: PickupAGreen.ace.
	Go into the sd file and changed the reference to the new s name.
	Go into the s file, using SFM, and found the reference to the ace file, and changed it to PickupAGreen.ace.
	Now the renamed ace file must be repainted. Easy way is to use the Color Replacer tool in PSP, with a very low tolerance. Sometimes you need to put a selection marquee about a portion of the texture to prevent the Color Replacer from extending too far when you have to raise the tolerance.
	Make a new ref file in the route, - just copy the old Pickup ref, paste, and changed the name of the s and the description to include Green, as above.
	Finally go into the Route Editor, find and placed the new object, and here it is:

HOW TO LIGHTEN OR BRIGHTEN UP THE HEADLIGHTS

The Model A is mostly SolidNorm for a material. The outer cab is AlphaNorm+ and
the inner cab is AlphaNorm-. The Headlights and Taillight are SolidNorm, except that the poly for all of the lenses is SolidBright. In the original ace files, the lens for the headlight is somewhat dark in color,
and does not show up brightly in night views. But the lens for the taillight is lighter in color, and shows up very well at night.

Here is how to lighten up the headlight lens:

	Open PickUpABrown.ace in TGATool2.
	In the Menu, click on Image \| Send Main Image to Editor. Do not close TGATool2.
	In PaintShopPro (PSP), use the Selection Tool \| Circle and select the Headlight lens. You don't need to be too accurate.
	Go to Menu \| Colors \| Adjust \| Gamma Correction and make certain the Link box is checked. Pull the sliders to the right, so that the numbers read 2.40, 2.29, 2.50, or even higher. You will see the lens get much lighter. You can go as high as you wish, and I did one up to 3.00.

	After clicking OK to accept, then do CONTROL + D to get rid of the marquee. Now, File \| Save. Close out of PSP.
	Back in TGATool2, go to Menu \| Export \|Ace (Alpha) - not .dxf. Save in where ever you keep the PickUp files. Use the same file name as the original: PickUpABrown.ace, and overwrite the original. Close TGATool2. Make sure the new ace file is in the SIM, overwriting if necessary.
	Check it out, and the headlights should now be brighter in MSTS.

Here is a photo showing before and after.

Sept. 5, 2004
Paul DeVerter