[QJ-6811]

I think @pwillard is right, I have also seen several times in .s files that this is indicated with a link to .ACE or .DDS
I don't think the problem is that ORMG can open a .DSS or .ACE, but rather the link the .S makes to which file/texture?
At least at that time I had to specify the correct "<name>.ace" or "<name>.dss" in the .s file, to show the correct textures in OR.
OK, it's been a while, maybe something has changed in OR or ORMG in the meantime? (doesn't make sense to me anyway).

More hobby time in a few days, let's try it out...

[QJ-6811]

Weter, on 24 October 2023 - 12:32 PM, said:

So, using *.tga sources will be okay, but combining two separate files by TGATool2a directly (transparency mask and image itself) is potentially problematic?

@Weter: Correct, at least if you adjust the "Alpha Mask" and save again in Tgatool. Adjusting the texture does not cause any problems. Importing a new .tga and exporting to .Ace is going well. :)

[QJ-6811]

As @Steved pointed out last time, nowadays an .ace is indeed overwritten by a .dds (?)

As a test I made two nameplates, "Amsterdam" to an .ace, "London" to a .dds

In ShapeViewer, 'Amsterdam.ace' is overwritten by 'London.dds'
 ShapeViewer.jpg (108.7K)
Number of downloads: 1

In TSRE you still see the actual links, so Amsterdam and London.
 TSRE.jpg (159.07K)
Number of downloads: 0

In OR the .ace is now also overwritten by a .dss (so Amsterdam becomes London)(no longer an option)
 OR-2023-03-06.jpg (190.13K)
Number of downloads: 0

In an older release (if the .dss option is "off" of course) you will again see Amsterdam and London, i.e. the actual link.
 OR-2020.jpg (144.76K)
Number of downloads: 0


OK, it works the way it works...... :) Not logical and certainly not "purely configure the codec", but it will bother you less because 99.9% of the time a different file name is used.
A nice "fact" if you are looking for problems why something is not working. :(

[pwillard]

Well, clearly, the DDS/ACE solution is not designed for the "I don't have a plan or a workflow" types of people. You should always know if you want content to be using ACE or DDS and you should be setting up the .S file to match. Otherwise, you are just letting someone else decide for you and it might not be what you want.

DDS completely eliminates the hassle of ACE and related TGA files... so for me, the decision is easy.

[Weter]

By the way, the reason, forced me to edit *.ace-s with transparency (success less, exporting/importing alpha and image separately - exactly as Roger have described above) the last time, was phenomenon, that ORTS doesn't want to process tri-state controls, where frames are being arranged vertically (or horizontally - I've forgotten already) and specifying frames (1 3) or (3 1) does nothing.

[Weter]

Today, I've played with making clock needles for cab clock.
My discoveries: making *.tga-files, 32 bit depth should be chosen (3x8 for colors plus 8 for alpha)
Making transparency mask could be used, but mask then should be inverted, and then, I haven't any success, merging edited mask with base image into new *.ace: alpha then is totally maximal every time (white field)
Compression could be used, for large images, as a cab front view, but dithering gives grainy image, though 5times smaller, so it better to turn off in my case.