How to Merge Equipment Icon FIles in GIMP | S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl - v5 tutorial

Post tutorial Report RSS How to Merge Equipment Icon FIles in GIMP | S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl - v5

This is a tutorial/guide on how to merge those pesky "ui_icon_equipment.dds" files that some mods throw at you.

Posted by RedCopperWire on Jun 19th, 2024 - Intermediate Textures

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INTRODUCTION:
[Tested/meant for Windows OS.]
Here is a short and detailed tutorial/guide I threw together to hopefully help prevent someone from suffering the same (and continuing) headache I had to go through to find all this! This is just a .txt (text) file I threw together to help a guy out. No big files or anything crazy in the .zip file. I've included a number of links inside the archived .txt file to various resources I used to help make this tutorial possible. The tutorial is formatted best in the .txt file. You can read it here or download from below. The link is at the very bottom just above the CREDITS section.
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PLEASE NOTE:
This is my first time uploading anything to ModDB so tell me what to improve for next time.

CHANGELOG:

v5. - Reupload
v4. - Added ModDB file download link.
v3. - Changed the preview picture.
v2. - Uploaded the correct .zip file to the article.
v1. - Uploaded the article with the wrong .zip file accidentally on first submission to ModDB.

TUTORIAL:

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Created: 9:02 PM 5/3/2024
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| Merging "ui_icon_eqipment.dds" files | - | GIMP version: 2.10.36 |
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TIPS:

-FILES:

1. GIMP may not like having to search for files (look through x-number of folders to find your file), so I suggest moving or (my favorite option) making a copy of the file you intend to edit onto your desktop for (temporary) easy access and to make it easy on the GIMP software.
--- *You can remove the file from your desktop after you're finished.*

-SAVING:
1. When finished with editing, select the "Save as..." option when completed.
--- "Save as..." = (Shift+ctrl+s)

2. This will create a copy of the finished work as a ".xcf" file that GIMP likes to use.
--- ***This is your hard copy.***

3. After making your new ".xcf" file, select the "Export as..." option.
--- "Export as..." = (Shift+ctrl+e)

4. You will have the option to "compress" the file. I advise against this as it may lead to complications. (This has happened to me in my limited experience using GIMP.) So unless compression is required, you don't need it.
--- *Warning: This will result in having a larger file size.*

END OF TIPS

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BASICS:

1. The game (S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl) uses ".dds" files for the storage of textures.
--- *S.T.A.L.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl will be abbreviated as either "ShOC" or "SOC" from this point forward.*

2. To find the "ui_icon_eqipment.dds" file the mod(s) require, they are located here:
--- a. "...\S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl\gamedata\textures\ui"

3. SOC views ".dds" files in a grid format.

4. The game looks into the config files to see where the icon(s) are located for the items in the game.
--- The way that works is it is formatted like so:
------ inv_grid_x: # - (position X in the texture file) - [left to right] < + >
----- -inv_grid_y: # - (position Y in the texture file) - [up to down] \/ + /\
This tells ShOC where the icons are, and what to display for the in-game item in your inventory. How you find this is you find the upper left corner of the icon in the grid, and you find the (x,y) coordinates for the grid squares that touch the corner square.
~~My apologies for the poor formating of the graph. I'm still learning how to use the ModDB textboxe(s).~~
--- Example of a 2x2 icon:
------ [1] = First/Identifying grid square for icon.
------ [2] = Second grid square the icon is residing in.
------ [3] = Third grid square the icon is residing in.
------ [4] = Fourth grid square the icon is residing in.
------ (X) = Identifying grid square for config "x" value.
------ (Y) = Identifying grid square for config "y" value.

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ---------------
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; |............|
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; |............|
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; |....(Y)....|
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; |............|
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; -----------------------------------------
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; |............|...........|............|
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; |............|...........|............|
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; |....(X)....|....[1]....|....[2]....|
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; |............|...........|............|
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; -----------------------------------------
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; |............|...........|
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; |............|...........|
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; |....[3]....|....[4]....|
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; |............|...........|
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ---------------------------

5. Every 50x50px (pixel) square in the texture file means "1" value in the config
--- 50x50px = 1

6. In GIMP, you can have a grid overlay onscreen by listening to the following instructions.
Instructions:
--- a. Click the "Edit" button.
Found on the Top Bar.
---- b. Click the "Preferences" option.
--- c. Expand the "Enter Default Image" menu.
--- d. Enter the "Default Grid" sub-menu.
--- e. Make it look like this:
------ ea. Spacing
-------------- -Horizontal ------ Vertical
--------------- [50.00] ----------- [50.00] ------ Pixels
--------------- [0.167] ----------- [0.167] ------ [in \/]
------------ eaa. It is set as "[in \/]" by default.
--- f.Exit Preferences.
--- g. Click "View"
--- h. Click the empty box near "Show Grid" to enable/disable the grid.
--- ha. While we're here, may as well do the same to "Snap to Grid."
------ haa. I don't (truly) understand the reasoning behind this but in most guides I've seen they enable this.
--- i. Enjoy the Grid.

7. The "Grid Overlay" is invaluable to merging icons.

8. All icons *must* be within (no further) than a set amount of boxes for default in-game UI.
a. Weapons: 6x2
b. Armors: 2x3
c. Artifacts: 1x1
d. Most items: 2x2, 2x1, 1x1, etc

END OF BASICS

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MERGING:

1. Find the "rectangle select tool."
--- Found in the upper left hand corner
------ or
--- Use the "R" key to quick-select it.

2. Select the correct layer the icon you want is in.

3. "Circle" the icon using the "rectangle select tool."

4. Cut the desired icon from the layer.
--- (ctrl+x)

5. Select the layer you want the desired icon to move to

6. Remove the undesired/old icon with the "Delete" key.
--- Again; ONLY by using the "Delete" key.

7. On the layer you removed the old icon, Paste the new icon in.
--- (ctrl+v)

8. The icon should now be outlined in white and in a "floating layer" state.

9. While in a "floating layer" state, it is movable until you "anchor" it.

10. To "anchor" an item, you must move your mouse away from the item, and click once you see your cursor change into an anchor
------ or
---- R.Click the "Floating Layer" section as I've come to calling it and click the Anchor option.

11. You've now moved/merged icons to a different .dds file.

12. To save/export the finished file once completed with your changes, refer to the TIPS section.

13. Congratulations! You now know how to merge ui_icon_eqipment.dds texture files for ShOC!

END OF MERGING

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RESOURCES:

1. Find the GIMP software here:
Gimp.org

2. A "Guide to Modding S.T.A.L.K.E.R." site that's (mostly) outdated and filled with dead links:
Sdk.stalker-game.com

3. A guide that explains how to do things with a YouTube video linked with it:
Gamebanana.com

4. The YouTube video mentioned above:
Youtube.com

END OF RESOURCES

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CREDITS:

1. User "RedCopperWire" on ModDB:
Moddb.com

END OF CREDITS

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DOWNLOAD:
Download the win.rar archive (the link is below), unzip it to where you want it (I suggest into "Documents"), and then you do the rest.

How_To_Merge_Icon_Files_In_GIMPv2.10.36.zip - ModDB
How_To_Merge_Icon_Files_In_GIMPv2.10.36.zip - Mega.nz

CREDITS:
Guide created by:
--- RedCopperWire
Preview Image designed/created by:
--- GIMP

**Disclaimer:**
All included resources belong to their rightful owners.
--- The only credit I take is for collecting the information and making this tutorial with such.
If you run into problems or issues, please let me know.