How to make your own loading screens
Making a screen in Photoshop
Start of by making a new image, make it 1024x1024. Now, go to View -> New Guide... and use the input Horizontal and Position: 768px. This will make a horizonal line at 768 pixels (d'uh), everything beneath this line will not be visible on the loadscreen (you can use this spot for copyright or autor info stuff).
Now, let your imagination do its job, but keep in mind that on the right side, about in the middle, there will be some white text when loading!
After your setesfied with your screen, you will need to save your work as a .DDS file. To do this, you need a plugin for Photoshop, wich you can get at nVidias developer site, right here: http://developer.nvidia.com/object/n...ure_tools.html (find DDS Photoshop Plug-in, and read how to install the plugin)
Ok, now save your work as a .PSD file, so you have a layered verson of it in case of later use, after you saved go to Layer -> Flatten Image (this will make you image only one layer). File -> Save As... (Ctrl+Shift+S), and chose DDS. I'm no expert in these plugin, but leave everything except Save Format at default, and I guess everything will be ok! Set the Save Format to DXT5 ARGB (Interpolated Alpha) and 2D Texture, save, close it, and dont save your .PSD! Cause then you will loose you layered version!
Close Photoshop...
Importing your screen to UnrealEd (make a .UTX)
First you need to open the texture browser (View -> Show Texture Browser), and then click File -> Import... (in the Textures window that is). Here, the inputs are; Package, this is the name of your .UTX file (e.g myloadscreens), Group, this is the group for your textures, you can make one clan_loadscreens and one personal_loadscreens if you like, but its only for organisation, last there is Name, and I hope you guessed what that is (e.g myloadscreen_01)!
Now your texture should apear in the Textures window, with you filename, groupname, and... name! What we now need to do, is define this as a interface (HUD) texture. This will prevent it from beeing effected by the texture settings ingame, like when you have at Lowest, the loadscreen will get completly messed up and unreadable (if you have some text on it). To do this you need to right-click on you texture, select Properties, now press "+" on Texture and set LODSet to LODSET_Interface.
Now do this to all your screens, save the file, and close UnrealEd!
Editing the .INI file
Open the file in you System folder by the name user.ini, and find where it says:
[GUI2K4.UT2K4ServerLoading]
Backgrounds=2k4Menus.Loading.loadingscreen1
Backgrounds=2k4Menus.Loading.loadingscreen2
Backgrounds=2k4Menus.Loading.loadingscreen2
Backgrounds=2k4Menus.Loading.loadingscreen4
(press Ctrl+F to seach)
Now, add the strings with your textures like this:
Backgrounds=filename.group.texturename
If you used the names in the excamples I stated earlyer, it whould look something like this:
Backgrounds=myloadscreens.personal_loadscreens.myl oadscreen_01
Make sure you add all your screens, you can also erase the default ones if your tired of them, save and close the file.
Now, fire up the game!
:up:
Making a screen in Photoshop
Start of by making a new image, make it 1024x1024. Now, go to View -> New Guide... and use the input Horizontal and Position: 768px. This will make a horizonal line at 768 pixels (d'uh), everything beneath this line will not be visible on the loadscreen (you can use this spot for copyright or autor info stuff).
Now, let your imagination do its job, but keep in mind that on the right side, about in the middle, there will be some white text when loading!
After your setesfied with your screen, you will need to save your work as a .DDS file. To do this, you need a plugin for Photoshop, wich you can get at nVidias developer site, right here: http://developer.nvidia.com/object/n...ure_tools.html (find DDS Photoshop Plug-in, and read how to install the plugin)
Ok, now save your work as a .PSD file, so you have a layered verson of it in case of later use, after you saved go to Layer -> Flatten Image (this will make you image only one layer). File -> Save As... (Ctrl+Shift+S), and chose DDS. I'm no expert in these plugin, but leave everything except Save Format at default, and I guess everything will be ok! Set the Save Format to DXT5 ARGB (Interpolated Alpha) and 2D Texture, save, close it, and dont save your .PSD! Cause then you will loose you layered version!
Close Photoshop...
Importing your screen to UnrealEd (make a .UTX)
First you need to open the texture browser (View -> Show Texture Browser), and then click File -> Import... (in the Textures window that is). Here, the inputs are; Package, this is the name of your .UTX file (e.g myloadscreens), Group, this is the group for your textures, you can make one clan_loadscreens and one personal_loadscreens if you like, but its only for organisation, last there is Name, and I hope you guessed what that is (e.g myloadscreen_01)!
Now your texture should apear in the Textures window, with you filename, groupname, and... name! What we now need to do, is define this as a interface (HUD) texture. This will prevent it from beeing effected by the texture settings ingame, like when you have at Lowest, the loadscreen will get completly messed up and unreadable (if you have some text on it). To do this you need to right-click on you texture, select Properties, now press "+" on Texture and set LODSet to LODSET_Interface.
Now do this to all your screens, save the file, and close UnrealEd!
Editing the .INI file
Open the file in you System folder by the name user.ini, and find where it says:
[GUI2K4.UT2K4ServerLoading]
Backgrounds=2k4Menus.Loading.loadingscreen1
Backgrounds=2k4Menus.Loading.loadingscreen2
Backgrounds=2k4Menus.Loading.loadingscreen2
Backgrounds=2k4Menus.Loading.loadingscreen4
(press Ctrl+F to seach)
Now, add the strings with your textures like this:
Backgrounds=filename.group.texturename
If you used the names in the excamples I stated earlyer, it whould look something like this:
Backgrounds=myloadscreens.personal_loadscreens.myl oadscreen_01
Make sure you add all your screens, you can also erase the default ones if your tired of them, save and close the file.
Now, fire up the game!
:up:
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