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| Using TC2 | Step-by-Step |
Step-by-Step
First Time When you first run Texture Convertor 2, you will be asked to "Set Preferences". The specific preferences required are the folders to save converted textures and MAT (Material Preset) files to during the conversion render process. By default, the "Create MAT pose" option is unchecked, so you only need to specify the "Texture Map Folder". Click on the box to browse to the folder of your choice. If you are requiring MAT files to be created, check the "Create MAT pose" box. You will now need to specify the format (Poser or DAZ Studio) and the fodler to save the MAT file in. If you select the Poser format, this folder should be in the Poser "Runtime\Libraries\Poses" tree. If you select the DAZ Studio format, this folder should be in the DAZ Studio "Content" tree. More information about the configuration settings can be found on the Using TC2 page. Selecting the Figures The process to set up a texture conversion is pretty simple. First we select our "Source Figure". This is the figure that has the textures we want to convert. The various plugins are categorized into groups to make them easy to locate. Once you have selected the "Source Figure", you will notice an [info] button appears next to the figure name. Clicking on this button will display information about the selected plugin. You will also notice that the focus box has now moved to the "Target Figure" section. This is the figure we'd like to convert the source textures to. Only figures compatible to the selected "Source Figure" will appear in the list. Some plugins are bi-directional (you can convert to and from them eg. Victoria 3 Plugin) and some plugins are uni-directional (you can only use them as a source or target depending on the plugin eg. Tattoo Plugins, Second Life Avatar Plugin). Once you have selected the "Target Figure", you will notice an [info] button appears next to the figure name. Clicking on this button will display information about the selected plugin. Selecting the Source Textures Focus is now moved to the "Source Figures" section. Here is where you need to specify the actualy texture maps to convert. Depending on the plugin type, you may have the option to [browse] to a MAT (Material Preset) file. Using this method speeds up the process of selecting the texture files, as they are all automatically read from the selected MAT file. Once the references have been successfully read in, you will be given a report of how many were extracted. If you get an error that no textures were found, make sure that the MAT file you select is for the selected "Source Figure". The texture references are extracted based on matching material groups, so you cannot automatically extract texture references from a MAT file that doesn't belong to the selected "Source Figure". If multiple texture references (eg. bump, diffuse and opacity textures) are found for a specific material, a [..] button will appear next to the texture reference. Click this button to select the correct texture map to convert. Selecting textures by browsing to a MAT file is only possible if you actually have a MAT file containing references to the textures you wish to convert. The other way of loading the textures to convert is by manually browsing to them. Texture Convertor 2 gives you a list of the required texture maps based on the selected "Source Figure". To select a texture map, simply click on the text box next to it's name. The name of the texture you are browsing for will appear in the title of the browse window. You can now preview each texture map by clicking the [preview] button next to the texture map. Conversion Options Read more about the conversion options on the Using TC2 page. Conversion Process Once Texture Convertor 2 has all the required information, you can sit back and let it do it's magic. The render screen will give you live updates on what it's doing, and a preview of the texture being created. Render times are dependent on the preferences you have chosen. Higher resolutions and higher quality result in slower render times. At the end of the render, you will be given a report telling you how long the render took, where the texture files were saved (selected by you in the config screen) and where (if selected) the MAT file was created. Click [done] to go back to the render options screen. |
