[ETS2 & ATS] Paint Job Packer - Lightweight mod making tool [Windows/macOS/Linux]

Forum rules
SCS as a company do not wish to have paid mods on this forum. While we understand that not all paid mods use the Intellectual Property of other companies/people, it is very hard to moderate what is and isn't acceptable when money is involved. There are also concerns that it could look unfavorable to potential work partners going forward if SCS allow mods that may potentially use unlicensed branding.
Posting in the Mods forum (ATS and ETS2) is restricted to sharing free-to-the-public mods and providing support for mods. For more details, please check the Forum Rules.
sako123
Posts: 6
Joined: 17 Jul 2016 07:18

Re: [ETS 2 & ATS] Paint Job Packer - Lightweight mod making tool [Windows/macOS/Linux]

#201 Post by sako123 » 29 Mar 2022 23:21

Carsmaniac wrote: 16 Feb 2022 07:40 @Mooncake_ Yes it's totally possible, just a little bit fiddly! You need to rearrange some of the lines in the .sii files, which are text files, and duplicate/edit some .tobj files, which you'll need a hex editor for. Since it's a bit tricky the first time you do it, I'll walk you through splitting the main and side mirrors on the Scania R. Once you get the hang of it it's pretty straightforward, and you should be able to split up any grouped parts you like on any truck. You'll need a text editor (Notepad is okay, but I prefer to use Notepad++) and a hex editor (HxD is perfect for this).

Don't mind the long post, the whole process takes under a minute once you know how it works, I've just explained it in detail so that you can easily follow along :)

First you'll need to split up the accessories in the .sii file(s), which are in def/vehicle/truck/<truck name>/paint_job/accessory. Inside that folder there will either be a file for each cabin (if your mod uses split paint jobs) or a single file (if you're not using split paint jobs, or if your mod only supports the largest cabin).

If there are multiple files you'll need to change them all, but they're all identical, so you can just copy-paste them once you're finished and change the file name :)

[ external image ]

Inside each .sii, the parts are arranged in different groups. The Mirrors group looks like this in my example:

[ external image ]

To move the side mirrors to their own group, you'll need to make a new group, then move the corresponding acc_list line(s) to it.

At the bottom of the file make a new accessory group (you can copy-paste one of the existing ones to get the formatting right), increment the .ovr number so it's one higher than the previous group, and change the .tobj path. In this case, since the previous group is .ovr11 I numbered it .ovr12, and I set the path to a new .tobj called "Side Mirror.tobj" (which doesn't exist yet, we'll get to it). I also pasted the s_mirror line from the Mirrors group down to this one, and removed it from its original group. Note the position of the double } and make sure that it's below your new group.

[ external image ]

Once that's done you're finished with the .sii file and can save & close. If you have multiple, you can copy-paste the one you just changed and replace all the others with it.

Now we can do the .tobj part, which is a little more tricky. Go to vehicle/truck/upgrade/paintjob/<paint job name>/<truck name> and you'll see all the .tobj and .dds files there.

[ external image ]

Duplicate one of the existing .tobj files and rename it to the name you chose in the .sii file, "Side Mirror.tobj" in my case. Do the same for one of the .dds files, giving it the same name.

[ external image ]

Open the new .tobj file in a hex editor, and you'll see a bunch of numbers and letters on the left, and some text on the right. Each pair of characters on the left corresponds to a character on the right, for example "2F" on the left is "/" on the right, "76" is "v", etc. The first three lines have some info about how the texture is loaded by the game, and we mostly don't need to worry about them. The fourth line and below contains a path to a .dds, which is your texture.

[ external image ]

What you need to do is edit the path so it points to your new .dds, so "Side Mirror.dds" instead of "Mirrors.dds" in my case. With HxD, you can just put your cursor on the right and type it out.

There's also a single byte (pair of characters) on the left that stores the length of your .dds path, in hex, which I've put a green box around. After you've changed your .dds path, you'll need to update this byte with the length of your new path. The good thing about using HxD is it tells you the length in hex when you highlight some text. You can see in the example below that when I highlight my .dds path on the right, it says in the bottom bar that the length is "4C", and I've updated the length byte to reflect that.

[ external image ]

Don't worry about text turning red, in HxD that just means you've edited it.

Just make sure that you're replacing the length byte instead of typing before it, you can see in my example that I replaced "48" with "4C". If your .dds path on the right starts with "." instead of "/" that means you've just added text instead of replacing it, which will cause errors in-game. If that happens, just ctrl-z and try again. The best way to make sure you're replacing the byte is to highlight it on the left then type in your new value.

And then you're done :)

Sorry this post was so long-winded, it's a pretty simple process once you're used to it, but a bit hard to explain in a forum post. Hopefully it all made sense, and let me know if you need any more help!
hi can somebody help I don't know what I've done so I tried to do this that I have replied too but for some reason that I have followed the steps but I think I missed something because now my game crashes everytime I pick the skin can somebody help me please I'm trying to separate the mirrors so they don't look the same so the camera mirrors and the normal mirrors have a different style but it crashs my game now
[ external image ]
anaxiis
Posts: 8
Joined: 25 Apr 2021 19:59

Re: [ETS 2 & ATS] Paint Job Packer - Lightweight mod making tool [Windows/macOS/Linux]

#202 Post by anaxiis » 05 Apr 2022 15:07

I've noticed a few issues with the templates for Gloover's TGX, the cabin templates look to be outdated, because it's missing parts on there compared to the template included in the TGX mod. Also there are only Cabin & Sideskirt templates when I generate with Paintjob Packer, however there are many more parts in the templates Gloover has provided such as lightbox, window decals, sideskirts for different chassis & more. Will there be an update in the future to add these into PJP?
ericd22b
Posts: 7
Joined: 19 Apr 2022 13:09

Re: [ETS 2 & ATS] Paint Job Packer - Lightweight mod making tool [Windows/macOS/Linux]

#204 Post by ericd22b » 19 Apr 2022 13:15

Hi dont know if im being silly but how do I make your templates show up in picker im just getting the white box
User avatar
LucasVanDerSpin
Posts: 300
Joined: 08 Jul 2021 14:56
Location: Nederland
Contact:

Re: [ETS 2 & ATS] Paint Job Packer - Lightweight mod making tool [Windows/macOS/Linux]

#205 Post by LucasVanDerSpin » 19 Apr 2022 20:15

Hello @Carsmaniac

Does anyone know how to make two skins for one truck in one mod?
I mean, for example, the same skin for the Scania Streamline truck. One white, the other green. One combo skin, two skins for one truck. And two different pictures when choosing a skin (top left).

Can someone explain to me?

Thank you in advance and best regards.
Lucas
I am asking for respect and understanding for everyone :roll:
User avatar
DAFmanXFE6
Posts: 469
Joined: 18 Dec 2015 12:24

Re: [ETS 2 & ATS] Paint Job Packer - Lightweight mod making tool [Windows/macOS/Linux]

#206 Post by DAFmanXFE6 » 22 Apr 2022 07:10

Hi Lucas,

1. If you’re doing two different cabs on the streamline then in the packer you options bottom left in the packer program, select “separate cab” or something and you can then choose the next option you want.
2. If it’s 2 paint jobs for the same cab then you need to make 2 different paint jobs in this program, then I would use the “mod merge” tool to join the two mods to make one scs file - remember to give the paint jobs different names
[ external image ][ external image ]

When in doubt... Ask m1keY!
User avatar
LucasVanDerSpin
Posts: 300
Joined: 08 Jul 2021 14:56
Location: Nederland
Contact:

Re: [ETS 2 & ATS] Paint Job Packer - Lightweight mod making tool [Windows/macOS/Linux]

#207 Post by LucasVanDerSpin » 23 Apr 2022 09:46

Hey @DAFmanXFE6

I mean option number 2.
So one combo skin, that is green and white painting (Streamline - Wallenborn) for this trailer painting.
@Carsmaniac also does such painting.

Just as? In one file. Same name of course.
Attachments
Screenshot_20220423-114545_Gallery.jpg
I am asking for respect and understanding for everyone :roll:
Mesu
Posts: 21
Joined: 04 Jul 2021 08:37

Re: [ETS 2 & ATS] Paint Job Packer - Lightweight mod making tool [Windows/macOS/Linux]

#208 Post by Mesu » 23 Apr 2022 13:14

@LucasVanDerSpin Actually doing two versions of the same skin is easy. You just need to do two different skins with Paintjob Packer. Make sure you use different mod names and internal names because you don't want to replace anything.

Aftrer that you just move folders def, material and vehicle to another skin folder. Now you have two versions of the same skin.

(Been made it by myself few times.)

You can find the instructions also from Carsmaniac's video (starting from 13:05):

https://youtu.be/HJV8_X3P9k8?t=785
User avatar
ThunderSky
Posts: 763
Joined: 20 Feb 2017 14:19

Re: [ETS 2 & ATS] Paint Job Packer - Lightweight mod making tool [Windows/macOS/Linux]

#209 Post by ThunderSky » 25 Apr 2022 19:34

Anyone know why is giving me this error? Solved in case someone has the same problem: viewtopic.php?t=310089
[ external image ]
Polomrtvola
Posts: 1
Joined: 26 Apr 2022 15:54

Re: [ETS 2 & ATS] Paint Job Packer - Lightweight mod making tool [Windows/macOS/Linux]

#210 Post by Polomrtvola » 26 Apr 2022 15:57

Hello,
I have encountered an issue where packer doesn't run on macOS 11.3.1. I tried running it on both my Intel-based iMac and my MacBook with a Silicon chip. The application is opening for some time and then just crashes. Does anyone have any fix?
Post Reply

Return to “Skins”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests