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Old 11-03-20, 02:44   #1
Danath
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Lightbulb Dxtre3D - Definitive way to avoid the TR2/1 texture limit

Hello!

Today i want to present you the definitive way to avoid hitting the texture limit in your TR2 custom level, or TR1 level if you are brave enough to make it ( we need more of those! ).
Credit should go to thewolf, he is the one who discovered this method, i'm only passing the knowledge around. Thank you so much, thewolf!

The way is to not texture your level within Dxtre3D, but use a program named RView instead. You can get it here -> RView download link

Long post ahead!

Before beginning, vital info

Before using RView to texture the level, you need to check that everything works the way you want, all objects and their textures, statics, triggers, etc. Make sure everything is working perfectly.
You can still place objects, triggers and statics after using RView, but test all objects and triggers first!
Changing the objects or statics in your base level file ( .tr2 ) after saving in RView can result in a change in textures/texture order for the level file and ruin your whole texturing done. Objects like levers could get screwed so beware.

RView will place your room light values and bulbs when you open it for the first time. As soon as you save in Rview , changes made in light in Dxtre3d won't appear anymore.

RView uses the .MSH custom file format. It contains the data for the vertex table, rectangles, triangles, textures, lights and zones for all rooms in the level.
RView will always save these things. Changes made in Dxtre3D to one of these parameters won't show up in Rview.
You can still change the lighting in Rview afterwards but it's better to know which ambient you want to go before you head to Rview so you can select the proper light value for each room. Fading and blinking lights can't be selected in RView , you have to do them in Dxtre3d before!

Textures to place for your level will only appear in the list in RView if you have placed them in Dxtre3D before. You have to create an extra room and place all textures you want in it. Like this: ( images courtesy of thewolf )





You can't select only a part of a texture in RView, you have to place them in your room aswell. Also mirrored ones. You can rotate textures in RView.
If you have transparent textures place them as transparent in your room. Animated sets must be created in Dxtre3D as well, i'm unsure if they need to be placed as well ( more on that later ).

If you place portals in Dxtre3D, the textures tiles will disappear and it means you can't place your textures on them in RView, for example water surfaces. So make sure you still have the white ( untextured ) tiles on your transparent surfaces in Dxtre3D or you can't texture them in RView afterwards.

You need to untexture your rooms in Dxtre3D beforehand. If you have trouble finding an untextured surface, just create a new room and copy ( Ctrl+LClick ) that texture, then start applying it to the rooms. After untexturing every room, save a copy of the project file so you are safe if something goes wrong. Build the level as normal, since RView works on .tr2 files.

Applying the textures

Open RView. Load your compiled level by going to File->Open. Select your level.

You will see it in Wireframe mode, like this ( click for large view ):



In the Controls miniwindow, chose "Textured" to start placing your textures.
Select them with LClick in the pannel, apply with LClick on any surface. Alt+LClick rotates the texture.

The program camera works like in Dxtre. RClick and moving the mouse rotates the view, Shift+RClick+moving the mouse pans the view. Ctrl+RClick and moving up/down zooms in/out.

You can change the room by selecting it in the first list in the Controls miniwindow, and a neighbor room as well with the second list. After selecting the one you want to work on, click on the "Center" button to center the camera on it.

Thankfully the main window on RView can be resized for comfort, unlike in Dxtre that is a fixed size.

Animated Texture placement

Go to Textures-> Animated Textures on the main menu. This window will pop up:



LClick on the Sample view, that will select the first frame of the animation.
In order to select a different animation frame, go to the bottom of the texture window, where the selected one is, and change the number:



That will let you make smooth transitions from one sector to the next.

After texturing in RView

After you are finished texturing your level in Rview, select File->Save as MSH in the main menu. This is needed to compile the level in Dxtre, save the mesh in a folder of your choice.

Then in Dxtre, open your untextured project. Go to File->Build Level ( or press F10 ) and in the compile window, select the .msh you saved in RView:



Then click on Build Level as usual. That's it! Now you can have your level perfectly textured.
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