MM2X Forum

Hello. I'm gonna showing you to change sky textures in MM1 with ones of MM2 as it is requested by NotoriousA. Read carefully and follow step-by-step.

1) You need Tex Manager to view and convert .tex files from MM2 which you can get it here and you also need 7-zip to extract it. Get it here.

2) After downloading Tex Manager, open it with 7-Zip if you've installed it and extract the file in archive to your Midtown Madness 2 directory.

3) You need DeAR2 to extract the folders from .ar files to get all the needed files. Click here to get it. You need WinRAR to open the archive. Download WinRAR 32-Bit version here and WinRAR 64-bit version here.

4) After Downloading DeAR2, open it with WinRAR and extract "deAR2.exe" to your Midtown Madness 2 Directory.

5) Now open DeAR2 and click and browse and locate the file mm2tex.ar. Then click on List files and click on select all then click on extract then it will start extracting the folder to your directory. After you've got the texture folder, Close DeAR2. (You can also extract the other MM2 .ar files with it).



6) After you're done extracting the texture folder then open Tex Manager and locate your Midtown Madness 2 directory then locate the texture folder inside it. You'll see just three files inside it not all. On the below bar of extension, remove the dot between the stars. It must be two stars there like **.



7) Start finding the textures with the help of preview of tex files.(It will take much time to you find it so you go to extreme down but not too extreme). After choosing the texture, click on convert to TGA and save it anywhere but all textures should be in same folder which will make you easier to find. Convert the textures which you want one-by-one. (Some of the textures are already in MM1).



8) Now you've got the texture as the image but you need Photoshop to open, edit and re-convert them into .dds files.(I'm using Photoshop CS5) Sorry because I can't provide link to these big programs like Photoshop.

9) You need .dds plugin for exporting the files as .dds. Get it here. (Choose 32-Bit or 64-Bit which your system contains).

10) Open Photoshop and import the converted texture to it. Go on the top toolbar and click on Image>Image Rotation and click on Flip Canvas Vertical.



11) You need .dds plugin for exporting the files as .dds. Get it here. (Choose 32-Bit or 64-Bit which your system contains).

12) [OPTIONAL STEP] If you want to edit something in it's colour or anything then you can edit it but don't mess-up anything with brush. You can edit it's brightness, darkness or other statics. If you edited something wrong with a brush it will look weird if you play game it in game and draw lines of end of texture.

13) Now go to File>Save As. Name the file and in Format, choose D3D/DDS (*.DDS;*.DDS) and click on save.



14) After you will click save, A dialog appear. It is the important to follow the steps in dialog box. It must be "5.6.5 RGB 16 bpp | unsigned". Make sure that you have checked "Save Flipped Vertically" and make sure that you've checked " No MIP maps". After doing all this, Click on save.



15) After saving it as .dds file, locate it and rename it with one of the MM1 texture you want. Here is list of MM1 textures .dds names which you should rename.

SKY_MC.DDS - Clear Morning
SKY_MF.DDS - Cloudy Morning
SKY_MR.DDS - Rainy Morning
SKY_MS.DDS - Snowy Morning
SKY_NC.DDS - Clear Noon
SKY_NF.DDS - Cloudy Noon
SKY_NR.DDS - Rainy Noon
SKY_NS.DDS - Snowy Noon
SKY_SC.DDS - Clear Evening
SKY_SF.DDS - Cloudy Evening
SKY_SR.DDS - Rainy Evening
SKY_SS.DDS - Snowy Evening
SKY_DC.DDS - Clear Night
SKY_DF.DDS - Cloudy Night
SKY_DR.DDS - Rainy Night
SKY_DS.DDS - Snowy Night

Renaming to the file depends on what type of the texture is. I'll rename it to SKY_MC.DDS because the texture is of a Rainy Morning.



You've got the texture to replace ready. You should create .ar archive for it.

Creating .ar archive

I highly recommend you to use VCK to create .ar archives because I use it and I found it easier.
Download VCK + BAT + CMD here.

After Downloading it, Open it with WinRAR and extract it anywhere. Go inside it and open shop folder. You'll see many folders inside it. Copy the renamed .dds file to tex16o folder.

After doing all this, the final step comes and now you've to go back and open cmd and type run.bat !!!filename and hit ENTER.



After making .ar archive. Go back and go inside build folder. You'll see your .ar archive there. Copy the archive and paste it to your MM1 directory.



RESULTS!!!!



Hope you understand the steps and hope it would be helpful for you. I would like to thank _DB_

Thanks, although for Step 12. How am I going to make custom sky textures then?

Thanks, although for Step 12. How am I going to make custom sky textures then?

Good luck for making a custom texture but remember that you've to make it a tile. It must be 256 x 256 of resolution. Brightness and other parts of the tile must be same or adjoining or the texture will look weird.

This is when I tried a custom texture.



Hope you understand.

Very well made tutorial, good work.
The first steps are kinda overexplained, the reader is supposed to already know how do those things. Also, it's not forced the extracting of those tools executables from their archives to the MM2 folder, they can be placed where you want on the system.
Isn't obviously needed extract all the more than 4000 files of the MM2 textures .ar file, it's enough select and extract only the skies ones, it's enough easy seek them from their file names.
For the flipping edit, open the .tga files in Photoshop or similar program and do the vertical flipping manually and to each of them, after this edit to save all the files. Successively, to convert from TGA format to DDS format, is quicker, because done in batch, use the DDS Converted 2.1 program, get it here. But, for first thing there's to see if the DDS format converting done with this program can be done with the same settings as that plugin, at least to get the same result in-game.

Although, which DSS Read Properties should I use to open the DDS Files??

Very good tutorial, now I start to try to do it myself, but I have a question. What heaven can be modified to my liking?

I tried to do this, but it doesn't replace the sky.

Although, which DSS Read Properties should I use to open the DDS Files??

In Tex Manager, Just browse it. In Photoshop, Just drag it.

Very good tutorial, now I start to try to do it myself, but I have a question. What heaven can be modified to my liking?

Sorry but I don't understand.

I tried to do this, but it doesn't replace the sky.

You've to rename the texture correctly in correct folder or you've setted wrong dimensions of texture. It must be 256 x 256. To reset the dimensions of texture in photoshop, go to Image>Image Size and uncheck Constrain Proportions. In document size, set resolution to 72(optional) and type in width and height both to 256 and it must be in pixel then press Ok. Or maybe you've putted the texture file to wrong folder. The folder you've to put the texture is tex16o.

Very well made tutorial, good work.
The first steps are kinda overexplained, the reader is supposed to already know how do those things. Also, it's not forced the extracting of those tools executables from their archives to the MM2 folder, they can be placed where you want on the system.
Isn't obviously needed extract all the more than 4000 files of the MM2 textures .ar file, it's enough select and extract only the skies ones, it's enough easy seek them from their file names.
For the flipping edit, open the .tga files in Photoshop or similar program and do the vertical flipping manually and to each of them, after this edit to save all the files. Successively, to convert from TGA format to DDS format, is quicker, because done in batch, use the DDS Converted 2.1 program, get it here. But, for first thing there's to see if the DDS format converting done with this program can be done with the same settings as that plugin, at least to get the same result in-game.

Sorry about that but I used Tex Manager because my photoshop didn't opened .tga files. I over explained first steps because I wanted to explain each and every thing so everybody can understand to use it. I already have all the sky textures extracted. I first vertically flipped it in photoshop for optional step to edit the texture and I didn't knew that there is a DDS Converted program. Thanks for telling all this. I'll keep all in the mind.

Nice tutorial!

What I want is to change the textures of sky according to my taste.

Already done mine! By the way, how do you add fog?

Already done mine! By the way, how do you add fog?

There is a file named lightning.csv locate in tune folder. Open it with Microsoft Excel. To increase density of fog, decrease the fog end. You will also need to edit the fog color. You can edit them in Fog R, Fog B, Fog G. This is Red Green Blue color in fog. You can get the color values of RGB in paint.net or photoshop.

I'm impressed, very nice tutorial. It's well written, and very beginner friendly.
You continue to impress me with your knowlage of game modding, especially considering how you have been doing it for less than a year (if I remember right).

Thanks DB, I got this knowledge by you and yes, Not an entire year passed from I'm playing multiplayer and modding. I started youtube from 30 april in 2012. I first played multiplayer about in starting may and got MM2 in june. Started knowing inside the MM1, changing cars etc. type simple things. Then I got much experience of it from you, Robin and many experienced people. I would like to thank you all.

Glad I can help.