[Wanderer]

Just a check.. you did install the Irfanview plugin pack which enables DDS support too?

[taylor]

I thought only Geforce 6k and up could use dds...

No, even the old TNT cards can use DDS.  All that's needed is support for the extension in the drivers, it's not really hardware specific.  About the only time that you don't get support for compressed DDS is when the driver maker couldn't, or didn't want to, pay the required license fees for the compression IP.

[Mustang19]

Hmmm... don't remember installing any IrfanView plugins. But why would that prevent DDS textures from appearing in the game?

[Mr_Maniac]

@taylor: Sure that the TNT can use DDS?
Okay... Maybe Software-Driven (I don't know how to call it)... But AFAIK the Graphics-Card itself can't handle them. But GeForce cards DO have support for compressed textures, AFAIK...
(More precisely - out of my mind, so it can be wrong: nVidia-Cards before the GeForce Series shouldn't be able to use compressed Textures directly out of memory)...
I just looked into wikipedia, but I didn't find anything about this... But the "Texture Compression" Article only mentions GeForce 1-4 at one point (that they handled some compression methods with "low precision" and that this can cause "banding" on gradients...)

[taylor]

@taylor: Sure that the TNT can use DDS?

I remember seeing it before, but it has been a while.  I think that you are right though, it was a software thing, and probably not even on Windows.

From the NVIDIA site it says that the NV1x and above cards supported texture compression, which makes it GeForce 256 (the first of the GeForce line, just after the TNT2) and newer cards.  That is what should support it natively anyway.  And there were of course the S3 cards which were competing with the TNT which did have compression support though (obviously, there is a reason it's called "S3TC" ).

[nubbles526]

Badly enough, I tried on top graphic cards. Still no DDS. Kind of disappointing, since I bought them tottally new, and spent like 2 days installing them.

Doesn't mattter anymore, I am a bit tired after all this.

But how do work DDS converter 2? I can't press the convert button. Can someone give me a screenshot guide?

And lastly, if DDS takes up more space than pcx or tga, why bother use them?

[taylor]

Badly enough, I tried on top graphic cards. Still no DDS. Kind of disappointing, since I bought them tottally new, and spent like 2 days installing them.

Run a debug build and post your fs2_open.log file.  If it's not loading the DDS files for some reason then it will say why in the log.

And lastly, if DDS takes up more space than pcx or tga, why bother use them?

DDS is at least 1/2 the size of PCX, and between 1/4 and 1/6 the size of TGA.  In other words, if you convert to TGA then it's going to take a minimum of 4 times the amount of memory that it would otherwise.  That's why we use compressed DDS.

[nubbles526]

DDS is at least 1/2 the size of PCX, and between 1/4 and 1/6 the size of TGA.  In other words, if you convert to TGA then it's going to take a minimum of 4 times the amount of memory that it would otherwise.  That's why we use compressed DDS.
[/quote]

But the modder must know that not all GFX cards can run them...and my hard drive is 275GB, only used 75GB

Anyways, gonna try debug

[taylor]

But the modder must know that not all GFX cards can run them...and my hard drive is 275GB, only used 75GB

It has nothing to do with hard drive space, it's memory usage that's important.  Using uncompressed textures for something like the mediavps would likely require a video card with at least 512meg of video memory, and probably more.

And any video card that can handle FSO should be able to handle compressed DDS.  It's more likely that you'll have a video card that supports compressed DDS, but can't run FSO.  This isn't some new technology, it's something like 8-9 years old now, and in wide-spread use.  And every GeForce series card has support for compressed DDS, so your video card is more than capable of using them.

[nubbles526]

But the modder must know that not all GFX cards can run them...and my hard drive is 275GB, only used 75GB

It has nothing to do with hard drive space, it's memory usage that's important.  Using uncompressed textures for something like the mediavps would likely require a video card with at least 512meg of video memory, and probably more.

And any video card that can handle FSO should be able to handle compressed DDS.  It's more likely that you'll have a video card that supports compressed DDS, but can't run FSO.  This isn't some new technology, it's something like 8-9 years old now, and in wide-spread use.  And every GeForce series card has support for compressed DDS, so your video card is more than capable of using them.

I see where you're getting to alright...

And my Fs_open 3.6.9 debug just keeps crashing. With and without dds.

But the good news is, it works inside no debug. Full textures now. My friend just turned on a command saying "Accept DDS". However, this code didn't come into account with FREDOpen.

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