Add Texture Guidelines

Asset/Art/dds/texture_guidelines.md

@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+# Texture Guidelines
+
+In *Generals Zero Hour*, there are several variations of textures adapted to different seasons, weather conditions,
+times of day, and more. Each variation is updated accordingly, and the suffixes in the DDS filenames indicate the type
+and condition of the texture.
+
+## Texture Naming Structure
+
+>[!TIP]
+> the `_en` and `_rn` textures invalid because 99% of textures with these suffixes do not have proper night lighting but
+> are simply darkened versions of the base texture. They only increase the brightness from `_dn` to `_en`.
+
+### Summer Textures
+
+- `<none>`: Pristine texture.
+- `_d`: Damaged texture.
+- `_e`: Really Damaged texture.
+- `_r`: Rubble texture.
+- `_g`: Garrison texture.
+- `_dg`: Damaged Garrison texture.
+
+### Winter Textures
+
+- `_s`: Pristine Snow texture.
+- `_ds`: Damaged Snow texture.
+- `_es`: Really Damaged Snow texture.
+- `_rs`: Rubble Snow texture.
+- `_sg`: Snow Garrison texture.
+- `_dsg`: Damaged Snow Garrison texture.
+
+### Summer Night Textures
+
+- `_n`: Night texture.
+- `_dn`: Damaged Night texture.
+- `_en`: Invalid texture, to be removed with Mod Builder.
+- `_rn`: Invalid texture, to be removed with Mod Builder.
+- `_ng`: Night Garrison texture.
+- `_dng`: Damaged Night Garrison texture.
+
+### Winter Night Textures
+
+- `_sn`: Snow Night texture.
+- `_dsn`: Damaged Snow Night texture.
+- `_esn`: Invalid texture, to be removed with Mod Builder.
+- `_rsn`: Invalid texture, to be removed with Mod Builder.
+- `_sng`: Snow Night Garrison texture.
+- `_dsng`: Damaged Snow Night Garrison texture.
+
+## Vehicle Texture Variations
+
+- `<none>`: Pristine vehicle texture.
+- `_d`: Damaged vehicle texture.
+- `_d1`: Wrecked vehicle texture.
+
+## PSD Layer Naming Conventions
+
+- If the Background layer is flattened, then it is the original retail texture (DDS) in best discovered quality.
+- If the bottom layer is not the original retail texture (DDS), then it has a name that represents the source texture
+  name in sufficient detail. That can be a DDS or TGA or a processed (AI upscale) texture, for example
+  `cbcnvstr01_s.dds realesr-general-wdn-x4v3`. Or a "merged" aka composited PSD image of the same (and never another!)
+  texture set, for example `cbcnvstr01 merged`.
+- If PSD textures are modified, then their edits need to move to lower order textures that use higher order merged
+  textures (Pristine -> Damages, Summer -> Winter, ...).
+- Layer & Group names are lower case and use common keywords such as "damage", "light", "barricades", "snow", or any
+  other name that gives it meaning.
+- Layer & Group names may end on a texture variant suffix (`_d`, `_g`, `_e`, ...) which helps to identify the origin
+  texture variant.
+- Layers & Groups can be copied to other texture variants and are expected to be identical if they share the same name
+  within the same texture set.
+- Groups meant to be used to assemble an alpha channel are named `_alpha` and will be hidden before saving the image
+  file.
+
+## Working with Textures
+
+1. **Editing Software**: Use software like **Photoshop**, **GIMP**, or **Paint.NET** for editing DDS
+   textures.
+
+2. **PSD**: When working with **PSD** files, maintain an organized layer structure and use clear names for each texture
+   variant (e.g., `_d`, `_g`). Layers with an alpha channel should be named `_alpha` and hidden before saving the file.
+
+3. **Saving and Conversion**: After editing, textures should not be manually exported as DDS files. This should be
+handled automatically by the build pipeline using Mod Builder to ensure optimal quality and file size.

Asset/_Navbar.md

@@ -6,8 +6,7 @@
   - Models
     - W3D
   - Textures
-    - TGA
-    - DDS
+    - [Texture Guidelines](Art/dds/texture_guidelines.md)
 - Audio & Video
   - WAV
   - BIK