Talk:Alpha
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My mistake with the combine forcefields.--TheJ89 21:31, 16 Jul 2005 (PDT)
- What you say? --Andreasen 14:08, 15 Nov 2006 (PST)
I can't get Photoshop to save my Targa with several layers, meaning I can't make alpha Targa. Can it REALLY be done, and if so, how? --Andreasen 14:08, 15 Nov 2006 (PST)
- Its not layers, its a channel. I forget photoshops ahndeling of it, but theres eithier the RGB channel, you need to then add an Alpha Channel and paint in that. -OR- it will take it form the transparency of the only layer you have. --Angry Beaver 16:04, 15 Nov 2006 (PST)
- Ah, thank you. That might explain it. You see, I have Photoshop Elements, and Photoshop Elements only seem to be able to handle layers, and not channels. Do you know any picture editors that one can use for free that can handle alpha targas? --Andreasen 05:27, 16 Nov 2006 (PST)
- GIMP should be able to handle it. I'm not sure, I use Painshop Pro. Are you sure you can't just create a transparent image, an image without a background, or delete the background layer? —Kateye 09:37, 16 Nov 2006 (PST)
- Oh, you're right: You can apparently create a NEW layer, then choose transparency for it, press <Delete> to delete the contents, and then remove the first (background) layer. You can then paint a texture on this new transparent layer. You can even use brushes with different Opacity settings (with 1% as minimum Opacity). Strange, because the pages I read told me that alpha could only be simulated in Photoshop Elements. I'll test it and see if the transparency saves correctly. (Photoshop has apparently been known not to handle especially targa alpha.) --Andreasen 11:15, 16 Nov 2006 (PST)
- You'd be surprised how often the pages found for Google can be wrong. It's infuriating. Those of us who know the "right" way don't realize that an article needs to be said, or we're not on the boards where the question is asked. I have some horror stories about methods people have suggested and I found on Google, most of which were broken, hugely long and broken, hugely long and a backward compatibility nightmare, and all of which tend to be replaced by a single line of code. </Tangent> Anyway, be sure to actually test the texture in-game, as I was frustrated for a while by the fact that the texture viewer I was using didn't show the transparency. It wasn't until I actually just tried it that I realized it had been working all along. Although personally I've found PNGs to be better for saving, then convert the PNG into a TGA or use a texture tool that can import PNGs. —Kateye 11:36, 16 Nov 2006 (PST)
- Oh, you're right: You can apparently create a NEW layer, then choose transparency for it, press <Delete> to delete the contents, and then remove the first (background) layer. You can then paint a texture on this new transparent layer. You can even use brushes with different Opacity settings (with 1% as minimum Opacity). Strange, because the pages I read told me that alpha could only be simulated in Photoshop Elements. I'll test it and see if the transparency saves correctly. (Photoshop has apparently been known not to handle especially targa alpha.) --Andreasen 11:15, 16 Nov 2006 (PST)
- GIMP should be able to handle it. I'm not sure, I use Painshop Pro. Are you sure you can't just create a transparent image, an image without a background, or delete the background layer? —Kateye 09:37, 16 Nov 2006 (PST)
- Ah, thank you. That might explain it. You see, I have Photoshop Elements, and Photoshop Elements only seem to be able to handle layers, and not channels. Do you know any picture editors that one can use for free that can handle alpha targas? --Andreasen 05:27, 16 Nov 2006 (PST)