Some notes on Load Screens which are part of the GUI.
The texture the models uses are prefixed ls_ and are usually .TGA (can be any texture but this retains the maximum quality, eg: DDS files will use the non-downgraded non-mipmapped version).
See loadscreens.2da for how to just simply add additional load screen textures the toolset/game reads. It would be recommended to use DDS for high quality client files, but TGA for the toolset (although the small file, unused by the game, can be safely left as TGA regardless).
Load Screen Model
The set up of the Standard load screens is as follows:
- load_screen.gui, a GFF file. Contains references multiple models and controls their position. It also specifies the location of Tips, area name and description, all of which can be safely removed.
- pnl_loadscreen.mdl contains the mesh(es) with the background image. The models need a bitmap reference to gui_replace01, this means its texture will be replaced with the chosen brackground for the area.
- ctl_loadstatus.mdl contains the animated part of the load screen, with an animation named percentage. Animation will be controlled by the game, if the loading stops, so will the animation.
Both of the mdl files for the load screens can be customized. See std_loadscreens.zip for some extracted standard loadscreens to get started.
The standard pnl_loadscreen.mdl contains two meshes (both holding part of the loading image) plus a large black mesh. Be careful when changing it, as it has a weird uv texture layout and may break old/standard loading screens when altered.
The standard ctl_loadstatus.mdl contains the loading bar (which is an animesh). It can be replaced with any animation/mesh type, even multiple. Do keep in mind the load_screen.gui file determines the position of these models and may need adjustment as well.
Here is an example of an custom pnl_loadscreen.mdl, which displays an image directly (without the need to split it) and covers a whole 1080p display.
Load screens do NOT scale. The mesh (not texture!) must match the desired screen size. A 1080p mesh (not texture!) will only cover a 1080p screen. It will not cover a 4k screen (hence the need for that huge black mesh). Similarly, users with a 720p display will have the image cropped (or rather not fully captured by the camera)
Hardcoded Load Screens
The default hardcoded load screens are for Save and Load can be replaced;
- ls_save.tga
- ls_load.tga
They're the same size as usual large load screens - the smaller version is not needed since it is not toolset selectable.