Steps:

     the tools   

     what dtx    

      export      

     artwork     

      import      

      rez-ing      

     posting it   


'office'
[email protected]

  Ok, what we'll do here is make a new skin for that lovely red-head Johnson.
 Without further introductions:
 
 0. Tools needed

  Well, first of all, the game itself with the resources unpacked (meaning you've
 doubleclicked the UNREZ.BAT file) and the tools (DEdit) installed.
  Second of all, you'll need a piece of software that can process and save image
 files under .TGA or .PCX format. I have access to Adobe Photoshop so I'll explain
 how stuff works with that program. Any other editor that meets the .TGA/.PCX 
 requirements will do, so no need to buy Photoshop! Hell, use a free one like some
 versions of PaintShop Pro or The GIMP.


 1. Step one: what textures to export?

  The answer to that questions lies deep within the CHARACTERBUTES.TXT file. So,
 go to the game folder, enter the 'AvP2' folder, enter the 'Attributes' folder
 and open the CHARACTERBUTES.TXT file with NOTEPAD or any other text editor.
  Do a search for the 'Johnson' character:

  
 The character's name is enclosed in square brackets [].

  Because Johnson doesn't seem to have a particular skin, we'll search for her parent,
 which in this case is 'Obrian_AI'.

  

 Going from parent to parent, we finally find 'Obrian', which has some skin files:

  

  Bingo!

 2. Exporting textures and taking some precautions

  Exporting is easy. Open DEdit, and open the AvP2.dep project: File->Open ...   
 an then browse for the AvP2.dep file. Select the 'Textures' tab on the left,
 click on the 'Skins' folder, go 'Characters' -> 'Marine' :

 

  Exporting each texture is easy: right-click on any of them and select 
 'Export TGA file(s)'. Do that for each of the three textures mentioned above.

  The precautions I'm talking about regard the final phase, when you have to
 import back the .TGA files. In order not to overwrite the original files, I usually
 make a new folder in the 'WorldTextures' folder from the 'Textures' tab:

     

  So all the import stuff will take place in that folder.

 3. Picasso is on a rampage!

  That's you.
  Yes, you heard me! That's your job!
  You have the difficult task to modify the exported .TGA files and make an improoved
 skin or, if you're up to it, make a brand new one, from scratch!
 After you've done mutilating poor Johnson, it's time to save your masterpiece.
  One thing needs some atention: the size of the images!
 Johnson's head for example was 256 pixels by 256 (see picture above). Luckily, the .TGA
 has the same size:

 




 



 Not the same thing happened to her torso:

 


  As you can see from this image and the one mentioned at the previous point, her
 torso is twice the size! Although some women would be delighted (and most of the men
 for that matter) it's not good news for a skinner. You have to shrink it down to
 the original size. So, type '256' for width. If 'Constrain Proportions' is checked,
 height will also become 265.
  After checking that all the .TGA files are the right size, save your work.
  In our case, Johnson will get rid of the red shoulder pads and trade'em for some
 green-brown-like ones:

 

  After another quick check, we're ready for the next step: 


 4. Importing back the moddified files 

  And now you'll see the utility of that 'import' folder you've created earlier. So,
 open DEdit, open the AvP2.dep file ( from the File->Open... menu ). Go to the 
 'Textures' tab, open the 'WorldTextures' folder and select our beloved 'import' folder.
  Go in the white space beneath the tabs, right-click and select 'Import TGA files':

 

 Warning! 'Import TGA files' not 'Import MIP TGA files'!

  You'll be presented with an open-file box. Browse to your edited .TGA files,
 select'em all and click 'Open'. The white space will now be 'populated' with
 three new textures.

  Well, that wasn't so hard, was it?


 5. Making the .REZ file 

  Thing is that you can't just publish the .DTX files, you must pack'em into a .REZ file.
  First, go to your game folder and enter the 'Tools' folder. Make here a folder called, say,
 'MyFirstSkin'. In your new folder make another one called 'Skins'. In 'Skins' make a new 
 folder named 'Characters'. In 'Characters' make one named 'Marine'.
 Place here your .DTX files:

 

 Just in case you've forgot, the .DTX files are in the 'import' folder from the 
 'WorldTextures' folder from the 'AvP2' folder from your game directory:

 

  The RUNNER_... files? Well, I don't recall saying that Johnson was my first skin :-)

 So, having our .DTX files in the 'MyFirstSkin' folder, it's hi-time for rez-ing!
  Open the Command Prompt. Go to the game folder, and futrher more, go to the 'Tools'
 folder. After placing yourself there, type:

  lithrez c GreenPads.rez MyFirstSkin

 You can now take the .REZ file, zip it and post it on your web-page ...


 6. Posting the zip file 

  O hell no! This was supposed to be a skinning tutorial, so I'll end it here.
  However, do post some screenshots for your skin: