BinTex

Version 0.4
Released: April 16, 2006

Programmed by Arushan

Contact: oneforaru@gmail.com
Only for suggestions and comments, I will not answer any editing questions.
Do not publish this email address in a public location!

Questions: 
Visit one of the following forums for your BinTex related questions:
http://www.nfscars.net/forum
http://discussion.nd4spdworld.com
http://forum.nfsunlimited.net

Introduction

This program will let you open up Textures.bin, Vinyls.bin, and any other textures and export the texture data as Direct Draw Surface (DDS) files. It also allows you to import DDS files back into the BIN file.

You can only replace an existing texture, you CANNOT add a texture! When playing online, the other players will see the original texture, not your edited texture.

New features in BinTex 0.4:

  • Preview of textures within BinTex
  • Ability to open/save NFSU XBOX texture files (not tested fully)
  • Support for NFSU2 and NFSMW textures (export only, no import)
  • Built-in palette fixing tool for switching Red and Blue channels

There are two executable provided with this version of BinTex:

  • bintex.exe - the fully functional version with the new Preview feature.
  • bintex_ndx.exe - the same version without the Preview feature.
On certain systems, bintex.exe may fail to load due to graphics card incompatibilities. In that case, please use bintex_ndx.exe.

Please see Usage Help in this document for information on how to use BinTex.

Requirements

VB6 Runtimes
You most likely have them already. If the program does not run or gives an error message about MSVBVM60.DLL, download this from Microsoft's website and install it: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?releaseid=28337

Microsoft DirectX 8.1 or newer
http://www.microsoft.com/directx

Other Required Files (download and install if asked)
MSCOMCTL.OCX -- http://oedit.nd4spdworld.com/misc/MSCOMCTL.zip

Usage Help
Frequently Asked Questions
The latest version of the FAQ is available at: http://discussion.nd4spdworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=1740. Read this first before asking any questions, as most of your questions may already be answered.

Installing Vinyls

  1. Download the vinyl and extract it.
  2. There will usually be a readme.txt file, open it and read it.
  3. Open BinTex
  4. Load the proper VINYLS.BIN file from your NFSU installation folder. The readme or the website you downloaded it from usually will have the information on which car the vinyl is for.
  5. Select a appropriate entry for the vinyl. The readme may have a recommended slot to use. If you don't know what you are doing, use the recommended one!. 
  6. Click on Texture->Import, and select the DDS file for the vinyl. (There are two DDS files, use the one WITHOUT the mask in the name)
  7. Repeat 5 and 6 for the MASK DDS.
  8. Click on File->Save.
  9. Run the game.

Creating Your Own Vinyls

Tools required: 

Adobe Photoshop (or Jasc Paint Shop Pro). These programs are not free although a 30 day trial version is available. You may also use any other texture editing program that supports DDS textures. For Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro, you need to download the DDS plugin from http://developer.nvidia.com/object/nv_texture_tools.html.

To edit the DDS Files (Adobe Photoshop 7/8):

Download the Photoshop 7 DDS plugin at the nVidia site above and install it (also install the DLLs if required). Export a texture from BinTex and open it with Photoshop. (Say No when it asks about loading MipMaps). Edit the texture as required, and save. If you Save As (and a dialog comes asking for DDS settings), remember to select the proper format as stated by BinTex, and also set MIP maps
to "Generate MIP maps". You can import the DDS back using BinTex.

Some not-so-obvious formats:

  • P8 = palette ARGB (256 colors) / 8 bit index
  • A8R8G8B8 = 8:8:8:8 ARGB (32 bit)

Note that all newly created textures must have the same dimensions and format as the texture in the BIN file.

Special Notes on Vinyls (Adobe Photoshop 7/8):

For each vinyl, there are two files -- The actual vinyl and a mask.

For editing the actual vinyl, use the Eyedropper Tool to select shades of the red, green and blue color and use those colors. You do not have to use the exact color. As long as you use a color with the following 
Hue (shown as H in the Color Picker) for each shade, it's fine:

  • Red: Hue=0 degrees
  • Green: Hue=120 degrees
  • Blue: Hue=240 degrees

Each color (red/green/blue) corresponds to a selectable color in the game.

For editing the mask, after editing the vinyl (and saving it), create a duplicate of the image by going to Image->Duplicate. Go to Image->Adjustments->Desaturate. Then go to Image->Adjustments->
Auto Contrast. This is your mask image. Select all of it, and copy it, then paste it over the original mask dds, flatten it (CTRL+E) and save that (don't save the duplicate). The mask tells NFSU to display a certain 
portion of the image and not others (the white area will be visible, the black areas will not be visible). When saving, remember to pick the 8bit palette format!

Special Notes On Unique Vinyls (Adobe Photoshop 7/8):

Unlike normal vinyls, unique vinyls may use colors other than red, green, and blue. However, due to a format difference for the texture palette in the DDS files, the red and blue color channels are swapped. This needs to be fixed by one of the following methods:

With Photoshop:

  1. On the menu, go to Image->Mode->Adjustments->Channel Mixer
  2. Choose Red as the output channel. In the source channel, enter 0% for Red and 100% for Blue.
  3. Choose Blue as the output channel. In the source channel, enter 0% for Blue and 100% for Red.
  4. Click on OK

Using BinTex:

  1. Select the texture entry and import the texture
  2. Click on Tools->Fix Palette (Red <-> Blue)

Known Editing Tutorials in Existance

Decals: http://discussion.nd4spdworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=1808
Neon: http://forum.nfsunlimited.net/viewtopic.php?t=1563
Tire Texture: http://forum.nfsunlimited.net/viewtopic.php?t=1599
Vinyls: http://forum.nfsunlimited.net/viewtopic.php?t=1157

Legal Trademarks
EA GAMES, the EA GAMES logo, Electronic Arts. and Need For Speed Underground are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Microsoft, DirectX, and XBOX are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Adobe, and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

Any other trademarks hereby depicted are properties of their respective owners.

Disclaimer
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE MAY THE PROGRAMMER(S) OF THIS SOFTWARE BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABLITY TO USE THIS SOFTWARE. 

USE THIS SOFTWARE AT YOUR OWN RISK!