[Guide] Finding Armor DDS Files & Their Corresponding Sets

Klaries · 03/01/2011, 09:20

Disclaimer: I wrote this at 1am and sleepy, so I didn't put forth a massive effort to make it look super organized or pretty...pleasedon'thurtme.
oh, and forgive any typos

Note: This was written under the pretext that you have already extracted your "Character" folder from the saf using

Note 2: This isn't a guide on how to actually recolor or otherwise edit anything. I have a big comprehensive one in the making, but if you want to learn the general ropes of recoloring armor, I'mma point you in the direction of

Now, most of us have seen and/or experienced the nightmare that is shifting through texture files after extracting them. However, once you learn how to determine what the piece is by the filename instead of having to look at them, it gets easier. And that is what this here is for!

Armor texture files go something like...
elwm_torso0082.dds, dewf_lower009.dds, etc. etc. etc.
These actually do break down into something easier to understand. Instead of looking at these filenames as just a name or simply "wtf is this?", you'll make things easier on yourself by looking at them as:

race | gender | class | armor piece | armor model set

A complete list of the first chunk of the filename and what they mean:

Spoiler

As for the armor pieces, they are pretty self-explanatory.
-Boots/Walker (boot)
-Gauntlet/Muffler (hand)
-Helmet/Cap (helmet)
-Pants/Leggings (lower)
-Armor/Protector (torso)

This turns "elwm_torso0082" into "elf woman mage armor #82" and "dewf_lower009" into "deatheater woman fighter leggings #9".
Or simply "female mage armor #21" and "female warrior/guardian leggings #9".

So now you know what the first part of the filenames tell you. As for those numbers at the end...those are what will tell you which armor set the texture belongs to.
In this spoiler tag, you will find a complete table of each number and which set it corresponds to for each class.
Keep the race/gender/class part of the filename in mind while looking at these.

Spoiler

#	Warrior/Guardian	Hunter/Assassin	Pagan/Oracle	Fighter/Defender	Ranger/Archer	Mage/Priest
001	none	none	none	none	none	none
002	Steel	Pelt	Toga	Copper	Cloth	Cotton
003	Chain-Steel	Brutal	Blitz	Bronze	Leather	Dendron
004	Scale	Hive	Metrin	Metal	Hard Leather	Quine
005	Axo	Lusco	Hearth	Plate	Terra	Tathar
006	Anga	Terron	Morcelle	Mirage	Unicorn	Loxe
007	Legion	Ysilom	Serche	Sylma	Ebony	Willarin
008	Mithril	Tatoram	Syron	Mithril	Freya	Sephiroth
009	Adamas	Python	Hermit	Adamas	Dragon	Anor
0010	Ignota	Comination	Nascor	Vallum	Celeritas	Medicus
0011	Ferox	Deprimo	Scholar	Justia	Secor	Decoris
0041	Metal	Doublehide	Blacksap	Bluemetal	Spring	Sap
0051	Legendary Axo	Legendary Lusco	Legendary Hearth	Legendary Plate	Legendary Terra	Legendary Tathar
0061	Legendary Anga	Legendary Terron	Legendary Morcelle	Legendary Mirage	Legendary Unicorn	Legendary Loxe
0062	Fury	Greengol	Shaige	Jewel	Ive	Selva
0071	Suitroom	Trompe	Nevel	Porche	Portuba	Fiddess
0072	Goddess Mithril	Goddess Tatoram	Goddess Syron	Goddess Mithril	Goddess Freya	Goddess Sephiroth
0081	Legendary Mithril	Legendary Tatoram	Legendary Syron	Legendary Mithril	Legendary Freya	Legendary Sephiroth
0082	Goddess Adamas	Goddess Python	Goddess Hermit	Goddess Adamas	Goddess Dragon	Goddess Anor
0091	Legendary Adamas	Legendary Python	Legendary Syron	Legendary Adamas	Legendary Dragon	Legendary Anor
0092	Ohgerton	Teneran	Treffers	Daynorth	Raffinert	Ophiston

Note: Helmets do not exist for models #001-#005. Otherwise, they should still line up accordingly with the rest of the pattern. Helmet 006 for mages for example, is still the Loxe helmet.
When dealing with lvl15 helmets, they are technically #006 because they share the same model and texture with the lvl30 helmets.
This means you cannot simply edit a Loxe helmet and import without also changing the Quine helmet - further work is required to change one without changing the other.

So at the end of the day, this all comes down to "elwm_torso0082" and "dewf_lower009" being Goddess Anor Armor for female elves and Adamas Leggings for female deatheaters respectively.

I realize this may seem horribly insignificant in some points of view...in fact it hardly matters at all if you're not looking to recolor anything. BUT hopefully it could make some people's lives easier~

* thanks to -Infamy-, castor4878, and Abrasive for providing/reminding me of additional details

-Infamy- · 03/01/2011, 11:13

You should note that the helms do not follow that same pattern.

Awaken

Klaries · 03/01/2011, 11:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by -Infamy-

You should note that the helms do not follow that same pattern.

Awaken

They do to a certain degree, seeing as helmet006 matches up with the rest of the 006 sets, helmet007 with the 007 sets, etc. so things still line up. You do make a point though; I'll edit my post accordingly, thanks.

Klaries · 03/01/2011, 23:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by castor4878

Btw Klaries, I had read several posts regarding how people "created [...] the method" of putting a zero into the NVidia image options dialog ... I failed to read anything related to how that (horrible to say the least) plug-in works.
For what I saw, during the loading, the actual format of file is lost (shaiya uses DXT3 & DXT5)

I agree, it does seem to strip the file of its format during loading. I believe that all these settings (DXT3/DXT5, MIP maps, etc.) are restored during the saving process if the correct format is selected from the menu - so far saving as DXT3 with Explicit Alpha works just fine...although for all I know it could be "just good enough" rather than ideal. I'm not completely sure.
By no means am I an expert with the Nvidia DDS plugin, so at most this is just an educated guess. If you have any further insight, let me know and I can investigate this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by castor4878

the alpha channel (half of the file content) is lost - PS does not have a alpha layer for the pict; during saving, these is apparently no (understandable) way to control luminance or alpha info.

I've not managed to find a proper way to go about managing luminance, so I'm not sure I can help you there.
However, in all but a handful of cases that I've been working with, the alpha is preserved. It is not treated as a layer, but rather as a channel.

I've played around with the alpha channel on multiple occassions, and it does make an impact on the texture's appearance in game after being saved and imported, so I can only assume that it is preserved and works properly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by castor4878

So: do you know any other softwares to edit DDS files w/o these defaults?
does PS CS5 have native & better support of DDS?
Thanks for any tip.

CS5 cannot open DDS files without the Nvidia plugin; nothing native there. ~~Nvidia's is also the only DDS plugin that I have found, unfortunately.~~ I lied - never mind that comment. See Allandrios's post here, lol.

I have used both PS 7 and PS CS5 when dealing with DDS files...there is no notable difference in supportability.

You make very valid points as well. I'll edit the original post accordingly, ty.

~~Alladrios~~ · 03/01/2011, 23:25

I have found a software allowing DDS convertion. You can turn your DDSs into PSDs for example wich is very usefull.

I have tested it and it worked fine. I have no clue though on what the impact is on the texture itself however i can say for sure the result is worth it.

Thank you all for your great contributions.

Linxis172 · 03/02/2011, 00:20

Thanks Alladrios, now i might be able to use GIMP to edit

which im much more pro at.

KozzieH · 08/15/2011, 11:16

Ohoh .. make me a black colorful armor for orc o.o with Rapture>;3 RAWR!

ShaiyaOmega · 08/15/2011, 17:24

Troll Much? but i guess it Needed the Bumps this is a very Useful Tutorial

Bаne · 08/15/2011, 19:01

Can't belive I missed this, if I can get Klara, and Byter's permission, I could merge there thread's and sticky it as a SUPER GUIDE for photoshop.