Hello! I noticed that in the .rcd files for skins, the skin is referred to either a .mas file or .dds file. What is the difference, and which one is preferred? Thanks.
A car's skin starts as a template generally made by whoever made the vehicle. That template file is named like: car_xxxx.psd .psd , stands for Photoshop Document. The skin is created in in programs like Photoshop but a .psd file needs to be saved as a different format for the game. That is the .dds format, DirectDraw Surface. A dds file cannot be edited the way a psd file can so the golden rule of skinning is, save as psd before dds.. Then you can still change it. The game can display the dds of your skin but if you want your custom window banners or helmet etc, you skinned then they all need to be packaged in a mas file. That is where the free tour ends and remember to take your children with you as they are extremely hard to sell are valued many times less than you assume is market value...
@ADSTA everything you've said is correct, however I think he's asking about .dds files vs a .mas file with a .dds inside
Okay. I think I grasping it a little more, so there may be no difference if using a .mas file or a .dds file if I have not skinned custom windows or helmets? Though, is region-colors also included in the .mas file? Hence, I have made my colors a little nicer with the in-game paint-editor, which is automatically available while you are in the tuning window and can be accessible via the internet-browser: http://localhost:5397/carpainteditor/index.html What I mean from the followup question in this comment, is the .mas file required if using custom region-colors?
Yes indeed. The .mas file is made when you "reload" in the garage and includes the .json and the altXX_region.dds along with the altXX.dds files for the skin.
In case you do custom windows or other optional parts, don't forget to add them back to the .mas as when you hit reload, only the main body.dds, .json and region map are added... The mas is especially useful in multiplayer: only one file is transferred. So only your body.dds if you keep your files loose. If you pack them in a .mas file, the whole .mas file will be transferred with all the files inside.
