Targetware: 3D Dev Guide

Using Multiple Skins

This applies as much to 2D artists as to 3D artists, but it's good to have an understanding of how to organize the skin files for your models.

The Targetware engine allows for an unlimited number of 'skins' to be used with each 3D object. The player might select the skin he/she prefers, or it might be set in advance by the scenario being flown. A skin is a texture file that replaces the default texture file associated with an object. It allows you to make one 3D model have several different marking schemes.

Skins are controlled via .SKN text descriptor files. Here is an example of a .SKN file:

The comment lines (starting with #...) are optional, but highly desirous. You may know exactly what that skin is, but not everyone will, and even you might forget in the future. Put down an appropriate amount of information so everyone knows how to use the skin file in scenarios.

The [Skin] section lets you specify a name, and the number of textures you want to swap out.

For each [Texture n] section, specify the original texture file, and the name of the file you want to replace it with. Notice the replacement file in this example is in a 'skn' subdirectory. Using a subdirectory keeps all the skin textures together in one place, and not floating all over the plane's main directory.

2.81 Skin File Naming Conventions (Target Rabaul)

• Skin files (xxxx.skn) must start with 'skn_'. All lowercase, no spaces in the file name.
   
• Skin files (xxxx.skn) must be in the plane's main directory in order to be seen by the game.
   
• Name your skin files with the variant, if any. "skn_f4u1a_xxx" etc.
   
• For the actual name of the skin file, try to make it describe the unit, and if necessary, the time/place. 'skn_f4u1_vmf213.skn", "skn_21_zuikaku_1942.skn", etc. This makes it MUCH easier on the scenario editor to pick the right skin just by looking at the file directory, without having to open 10 different skin files to find the right one.- Skin textures should all be located in a subfolder that starts with 'skn'. This keeps skin folders and files together.
   
• Skin texture folders should be broken up by plane variant. If you only have one plane variant in the model folder, then just name it "skn". If you have several variants co-existing in the 3D model directory, then you need a separate skin folder for each. For example, "skn_f4u1", "skn_f4u1a", "skn_f4u1d", etc, might be used in the Corsair directory.
   
• Inside the subfolders, the names of the actual skin texture files are not that important, as long as they are correctly linked to in the xxxx.skn file. It probably makes sense to name them something similar to the .skn file for convenience's sake, but it's not absolutely necessary.