Using the alchemy pack sgFinalizer to rip textures and geometry

[thetommyboy2002]

Holy Crap!
If you have sgFinalizer installed you can open one of our models and export the texture or geometry from it!
I just opened Blaw's first Green Lantern model, exported the texture, set the model to load AN EXTERNAL TEXTURE! and saved it  as a new model. I then edited a moustache onto hal jordans texture and saved that. Now when I open the new igb in the viewer the altered igb loads the external texture, Hal has a 'tache!

Instructions:
Open the igb with the sgFinalizer. (Not every igb will open, probably only the fan made ones made with the compatible exporters that Blaw, myself and Dark Mark use.)
go to the bottom left and look for "externalize images" or "externalize geometries" in the "optimizer pallette" box.
Click on "externalize images" and right click to configure. I set up a "skins" subdirectory, and entered this as the place to save the textures to. Drag the optimizer "externalize images" to the "optimizations to run" box, or just double click it.
NB in the configuration if you put "yes" to "reference external" the texture will be stripped out of the igb, and must be in the same directory as the igb from then on, I think. I havent found out how to get the texture back in yet, so please be cautious and make back ups.
Now run the optimization on the igb.
Remember to "save" the igb, preferably with a new name, just in case.
You should now have the stripped out texture available to edit. Change it and load the igb up again. If you had the "reference external" set to Yes the new texture will load. If not use the traditional methods to insert it into the igb

Now, this obviously opens the doors for people to edit our fan made meshes/skins, really easily, if they have the finalizer.
All you need to do is strip out the texture, then edit it, then rename the igb and save it.
It then works in the viewer, but not, sadly in-game. You'd have to use the traditional methods to poke the texture back into the igb.
But what IS good is you can rip a texture out, alter it, and quickly see how it looks. If you don't like it, change it again and check it out again. Then when happy, poke the texture into the igb, unless we/I find some way of having the game accept the external-texture-igbs.

I have yet to play with externalizing geometry, but it too could be useful.

I was going to post all this publicly but then I thought better of it, because;
1. It opens the door to "kittbashing" of other peoples textures and geometry. I prefer people make their own stuff rather than draw a moustache on mine and then release it as their own. 2. we will likely get bombarded with requests for the alchemy artists pack and it's serial number, and I get the feeling its a bit of a legal grey area, at best, to distribute it nowadays.

So I put this info out there for my fellow admins and moderators first, to see what your opinion is.
I usually favour "share the wealth", and want as many people to be able to create content as easily as possible. But I'd abide by majority decisions here.

[BLaw]

It's a backdoor. I'd advise not to publish it (yet) because people are just too lazy to use texture finder nowadays, that we have to chew everything for them.

Aventureiromax is one of the people that actually makes use of texture finder, on fan-made meshes (my DYI models, superman for example). If he can do it, I can do it, anyone can do it.

On the OTHER hand though, I'm also thinking about just saying yes, because it might make people skin more. So it's kind of a 50/50 thing.

[Tony Stark]

Well... remember how I earlier asked BLaw about the underarm webbing models for Spider-Man? He said he'd let me; the issue is it couldn't be edited; how about we just let them work with the textures themselves? Like we import and export. The only issue is that most skinners like to see their skin on the model while working on it.

[BLaw]

Necro Bump (going through old posts in this section of the forum lol)

I pretty much changed my mind. If they have to use traditional methods to implement the new texture then I'm all for it. I guess I must've skipped reading that part in the past

Everyone (so far) has been asking permissions from original modders and giving credit where it's due. I don't even expect that anyone will just release stuff anymore, been years.

This method might encourage more modders and like Tommy said in the OP: share the wealth.