Replace a texture

Replace one texture

Start with a working model or world and a known diffuse texture that it already uses. This guide converts an edited image to DDS and packages it under the existing texture name.

Find the right texture

Use Project → Dependencies to follow the model's material reference to its texture. Keep a copy of the original. If it is packed in a ZFS archive, extract it first.

Use an image editor for the artwork. Keep the original dimensions and alpha channel for this first exercise. Save the edited image as PNG in an art folder outside the mod, using the intended basename. For example, example_d.png converts to example_d.dds.

Convert it

1. Open Assets → Textures & Images → Texture Manager.
2. Under Single File Source, click Browse and choose the edited PNG.
3. Set Output Format to .dds.
4. Set Compression to DXT1 for an opaque diffuse texture, or DXT5 if it needs a smooth alpha channel. Auto chooses based on alpha detection.
5. Turn Gen Mipmaps on.
6. Set Rescale if > : to Disabled to preserve the source dimensions.
7. Leave Create Emissive, Create Specular and Smart Normal off for this exercise.
8. Leave Overwrite Existing off for the first conversion.
9. Click Process Single File and read the log.

The DDS is written beside the source PNG. The batch output-folder field does not select the destination for Process Single File. If that DDS already exists and overwriting is off, the log reports that it was skipped.

Put it into the mod

1. Copy the new DDS into the working mod folder, replacing the intended local texture if one exists.
2. Match the filename used by the material. Keep the original basename if this is an existing texture replacement.
3. Run validation, rebuild the dependency graph, and test in game.
4. Check the surface nearby and at a distance. For transparent textures, check the edges and alpha too.

This replaces every surface that resolves to that texture name. Giving a unit its own material and texture is a separate workflow.

The verification converted test images to DXT1 and DXT5. A 64 × 64 source with mipmaps produced seven mip levels, down to 1 × 1.

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