Tutorialshttp://cit.gg/index.php?topic=16712.0 - This explains how to make paintjobs, which is useful to make your car shaders.
How to test your shader on GTA default cars with paintjob:To be 100% sure that you'll spend your money in a good way, I suggest you to use cars that have paintjobs or CIT's server mods. Those I listed are the most common. To test your shader on a car with paintjob:
> open gta3.img with an img editor
> search for paintjob files (example: in case of sultan search
sultan1.txd)
> open the file with TXD Workshop
> change the default image with the image you made
> add everything back to img file and test it in server
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@Weston Show content
How to test your shader on CIT's modded vehicles:CIT added mods on some vehicles to change their appearance. They're suitable to have own shader because mod creators are obliged to provide all necessary textures inside txd file. It'll be hard for you to test a shader on a CIT mod because server resets any modified files every time you login. That's why I created something useful for you, I added a script inside downloadable files in main topic. You'll have to grab it into MTA resources in order to be able to start it in a local server or Map Editor.
> download vehicle mod files from the topic above
> unzip the rar file
> open
TXD file with TXD Workshop
> change the default texture (you'll obviously recognize the image) with the image you made
> save the txd file
> drag the folder into MTA resources folder
C:\Program Files (x86)\MTA San Andreas 1.4\server\mods\deathmatch\resources> start MTA
> open map editor and once it's opened, press F8 and type
start VehMod> spawn an Infernus and if you did everything correctly, you'll see your shader applied and you'll be able to test it
> repeat everything until you're satisfied of your work
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@Weston Show content
Editing normal vehicles:All remaining cars have a layer used by game to give that dust effect when cars are "dirty" which is called
vehiclegrunge256. Vehiclegrunge texture is applied in a totally random way. You can't determine which part of texture is bonnet or trunk and which is applied on doors. Nobody forbids you to add a shader on this layer, but it must be a generic shader like a camouflage texture or something repeated.
Steps to test:
1. Go to
C:\Program Files (x86)\GTA San Andreas\models\generic2. Open
vehicle.txd 3. Put the image you want as shader on
vehiclegrunge2564. Test ingame
Basically every vehicle will have that image, it's because you edited the dust layer. In this way you'll be able to choose the vehicle it fits the most, including patriots and other vehicles. Remember to make a backup.
Video guide by
@Weston Show content