Transfer of LithTech engine DTX texture files meta-information
For now support added for information reading and transfering for DTX v1, DTX v2 versions of the textures. And DTX v1.5 version (Kiss: Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child) for information reading only. Also alpha image extraction is available for DTX v1 and DTX v1.5 (DTX v2 doesn't need that, there is a converter from DTX v2 to TGA with alpha layer).
The idea of transfering is to transfer all the embedded meta information of DTX textures (Flags, Surface Types, Details Scales, Command strings etc) from one DTX file to another, except for Width, Height and BPP.
The main reason was: I was doing upscale pack for NOLF1 and needed to replace original textures with thousands of upscaled textured, which were batch converted from tga by dtxutil program. This way game was lacking detail textures, environment textures etc cause all this information was stored in original DTX files. So I wrote a python script to extract this information from original files and write into upscaled files. Because of dtxutil always use 32-Bit as image format - BPP information is not transfered.
DO NOT TRANSFER INFORMATION BETWEEN DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE FILES (from DTX v2 to DTX v1 and so on)!!!
You can read more about this format and ways of modding LithTech engine games in these two articles:
https://www.moddb.com/members/akven/tutorials/upscaling-lithtech-engine-games
https://www.moddb.com/mods/blood-ii-the-chosen-upscale-pack/tutorials/upscaling-lithtech-10-engine-games
python.exe main.py
-h, --help Show help message
-i INPUT, --input INPUT Path to the DTX we want to read
-r, --read Print DTX Meta information into console, requires --input option
-t TABLE, --table TABLE Write DTX Meta information into CSV table, requires --input option
-o OUTPUT, --output OUTPUT Path to the DTX we want to transfer meta-information to. We do not use --read or --table arguments with --output
Example
Reading meta information
python.exe main.py --input "C:\Textures\Example.DTX" --read
Writing meta information from several files to one CSV table (it will insert new rows into existing file or create new if there is none)
python.exe main.py --input "C:\Textures\Example1.DTX" --table "C:\NOLF\out.csv"
python.exe main.py --input "C:\Textures\Example2.DTX" --table "C:\NOLF\out.csv"
python.exe main.py --input "C:\Textures\Example3.DTX" --table "C:\NOLF\out.csv"
Transfering meta information between files
python.exe main.py --input "C:\Textures\Example1.DTX" --output "C:\Textures-Upscaled\Example1.DTX"
I also wrote a second script to extract alpha layer (first mipmap of it) from DTX v1 / DTX v1.5 files. DTX v1 / DTX v1.5 is an old format with all textures being paletted 8-bit images and alpha being stored inside DTX file. And none of existing editors supports this alpha viewing or extraction. So this script parse DTX file and write raw alpha image bytes into new file.
Alpha data itself is stored as 4-bit (16 colors) grayscale image where every nibble contains number of color from the grayscale palette. Fox example, 4x4 pixels image would be stored as 16 nibbles. Also, for some reason DTX store this nibbles in reverted order so script will swap them for graphics editors to be able to work with this files. For example, the raw data of FA 18 would be saved by script as AF 81.
Another example of 4x4 image in raw format
FD EF CC DD FE 15 16 17 converted by script would be DF FE CC DD EF 51 61 71 and being interpreted as actual pixels in rows would be:
D F F E
C C D D
E F 5 1
6 1 7 1
python.exe dtx1-alpha.py --input CALEB1.dtx --output CALEB1.raw
You'll get your raw pixel data, but you can't work with it, because now you need to convert this data into actual image. I used portable ImageMagick (https://imagemagick.org/script/download.php) for this. You'll need to know the exact size of the image you'll convert, so I suggest you use 010 Editor template for this to look into DTX file or use DTX-Meta-Transfer script with read or table arguments.
convert.exe -size 256x256 -depth 4 gray:CALEB1.raw CALEB1.png
Notes on importing DTX v1 / DTX v1.5 Alpha back to DEDIT (Level editor for LithTech 1.0 or LithTech 1.5)
Alpha image is extracted as 4-bit image but for level editor to be able to use it its needs to be 8-bit paletted PCX with only 16 colors used upon importing. If you will create actual 4-bit image - DEDIT won't work with it.
We'll use ImageMagick for this. I suggest we have 24-bit PNG as source. We'll convert it to 16 colors and use custom 16 colors grayscale palette. I put this 4bit.png into github for use, just don't forget to download it (it's just a 16x1 image with colors from 000000 to FFFFFF in a row).
Example of this 4-bit palette
Converting 24-bit PNG into 8-bit paletted PCX with custom 4-bit palette
convert.exe -type Grayscale -colorspace gray +dither -remap 4bit.png PALMTREEM-alpha.png PALMTREEM-alpha.pcx
This is an example of actual 8-bit PCX palette in file we created that will be imported by DEDIT without errors. All your real data needs to be represented by those 16 colors, everything else will be unused by DEDIT.
Alternative method
I found an alternative method for editing which will create less human errors upon hand editing the files. Just use this palette
It's stored in file 8bit.act. So if you need to edit your alpha images after they were converted from 24-bit PNG into 8-bit PCX - apply this palette first. This way you will get rid of cases when transparent (black) color occasionally was set to any other black color indexes upon editing. Engine do not check if your image grayscale or not - it just waits for paletted 8bit image.
In Blood 2 (based on LithTech 1.0) there were 5 textures in really old format, maybe even not used by the engine anymore (CRATE1.DTX, GRYCRET1.DTX, METAL1.DTX, ORGBRIKB.DTX, DULL1_TRANS.DTX). In this format there is no palette information and image is stored just as 8-bit indexes to be used with external master palette. DEDIT do not understands this format, so there was no way to open them and look what inside. They even don't have any specific DTX meta in them. Using research file (https://github.com/AkvenJan/DTX-Meta-Transfer/blob/main/research/DTX-LithTech1.0%20Master%20Palette.bt) from Amphos from LithFAQ discord I wrote a script to extract raw image from this files.
python.exe dtx1-mpalette.py --input CRATE1.dtx --output CRATE1.raw
You'll get your raw pixel data, but you can't work with it, because now you need to convert this data into actual image. I used portable ImageMagick (https://imagemagick.org/script/download.php) for this. You'll need to know the exact size of the image you'll convert, so I suggest you use 010 Editor template for this to look into DTX file.
convert.exe -size 128x128 -depth 8 gray:CRATE1.raw CRATE1.png
This way you'll get grayscale image. In Blood 2 expansion I found file TEXTURES_AO/MASTERPAL.DTX. And when I converted it to png, extracted it's palette and used it on DTX v1 master palette image - I get valid color image. For example (original grayscale texture and colored with master palette):
CRATE1.DTX 
DTX
https://github.com/jsj2008/lithtech/blob/master/tools/shared/engine/dtxmgr.h
I took research file for general DTX v1 from here
https://github.com/Five-Damned-Dollarz/DTXTool/blob/main/research/DTX_Lithtech_texture_template.bt
Research on rare DTX v1 with Master Palette by Amphos from LithFAQ discord server
Research on DAT files for various versions of LithTech engine for 010 Editor
https://github.com/haekb/godot-dat-reader/tree/master/Research
Predefined Surface Types for various games (I also trying to put Surface Flags Types into research folder)
NOLF
https://github.com/jsj2008/lithtech/blob/master/NOLF/Shared/SurfaceDefs.h
https://github.com/AkvenJan/DTX-Meta-Transfer/blob/main/research/NOLF-Surface.TXT
Other games
https://github.com/jsj2008/lithtech/blob/master/Blood2/Shared/SharedDefs.h
https://github.com/jsj2008/lithtech/blob/master/FEAR/Shared/SurfaceDefs.h
https://github.com/jsj2008/lithtech/blob/master/NOLF2/Shared/SurfaceDefs.h
https://github.com/jsj2008/lithtech/blob/master/Shogo/Shared/SurfaceTypes.h
Lithtech 1.0 (DAT v56), uses DTX v1
Shogo: Mobile Armor Division
Blood II: The Chosen
Kiss Psycho Circus (Custom 1.5) (DAT v127), uses DTX v1.5
KISS: Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child
Lithtech 1.5 (DAT v66), uses DTX v2
The engine is 1.5 but textures and levels are packed as LithTech 2x resourсes
Might and Magic IX
Lithtech 2.x (DAT v66), uses DTX v2
NOLF1
Sanity: Aiken's Artifact
Legends of Might and Magic
Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza
Lithtech PS2 (LTB v66)
NOLF1 (PS2)
Lithtech Talon (DAT v70), uses DTX v2
Aliens versus Predator 2
Lithtech Jupiter (DAT v85), uses DTX v2
No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way
Tron 2.0
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault