Making Textures For NTBI Vehicles
These are instructions on how to make textures for NTBI vehicles.
Templates
Themes require a template. You can always find the template on page 1 of Web Config (if the vehicle supports it) under the Custom tab for themes. Otherwise, templates are available in the manual. For TPF trucks, templates are available here.
Download the PSD (if you use GIMP and an XCF file is available, download that instead) and save it to your computer. Note that Photoshop Elements does not support PSDs with layers; you must use a full version of Photoshop.
Side door decals do not require a template on mesh vehicles. On sculpted vehicles, templates are usually found in the manual notecard, but this guide does not address setting up sculpted vehicle decals.
Local Textures
All Second Life viewer should support local textures (including the LL "vanilla" viewer). Local textures allow you to apply a texture to an object without actually uploading it and paying L$10, but only you will be able to view it. Additionally, local textures update instantly, so you can view your changes almost immediately after saving to the file.
First, visit an NTBI Distribution Terminal in-world (one is available at the Astaro store in Prototype) and get a copy of the free Texture Grabber tool. (Alternatively, if you know how to script, just use llGetTexture.)
Open up Photoshop, start designing your theme, and save as a JPG when you are ready to preview it. Make sure you save as the maximum quality.
Rez the Texture Grabber and select a colored face. Go to "Local" in the texture picker, select a file, and apply it. Then, touch that face. You will be given the UUID of your local texture in chat. Use this UUID in a custom theme field for the vehicle you're working on.
Now, when you save to that file (overwrite) with changes, they will appear on the vehicle almost immediately without any upload costs. This lets you preview it in realtime. You only need to use the Texture Grabber once; once it's shown on the vehicle, you do not need to do anything else.
Make sure you upload the JPG files when you are done and apply them to the vehicle! If you distribute the theme with the local texture UUIDs, nobody else will be able to view it.
