Ship graphic editing?

[X]

So I wanted to add a decal or two to my ship, but no matter what I do I never seem to be able to get it right. Is there some kind of trick or editing program that I need?

I've got most of it down, make a copy of the original graphic, alter the ship's data in the plist slightly, and alter the copy with the image. The problem is that I can't seem to get the placement and lighting right.

The decal in question is this:

[Smivs]

Hi X,
Firstly, what image editing software are you using? You'll need something that can handle layers. I use Gimp which is both excellent and FREE!
I wonder (when you talk about lighting) whether you are not trying to do too much at once.
Using Gimp or similar, apply your decal (maybe just one to start with) to the base texture. The decal should be on a seperate layer to the texture. Save this as a .png file but leave the editor open. If it's an OXP ship, rename the original texture (or move it somewhere safe) and put the new texture ( the .png file) into the Textures folder and give it the original texture's name. This way you won't need to mess with the shipdata.plist. Start the game (holding down the 'Shift' key) and launch your ship. Have a look at it, and if the decal needs moving, go back to the editor, move the decal a bit and repeat until you get it right.
This is not the 'technically correct' way to do this, but it's quick and easy and doesn't require any other software, OXPs or anything.
See how you get on this far, and let us know.
Or follow the (probably better) advice someone else will probably post below!

[DaddyHoggy]

So I wanted to add a decal or two to my ship, but no matter what I do I never seem to be able to get it right. Is there some kind of trick or editing program that I need?

I've got most of it down, make a copy of the original graphic, alter the ship's data in the plist slightly, and alter the copy with the image. The problem is that I can't seem to get the placement and lighting right.

The decal in question is this:

Are you trying add the decal directly to a single texture (like the one the ship already uses) and its the placement or orientation that's causing you problems?

Or are you trying to use the shader code to add a hi-res decal as Griff has done with his ships?

If it is the former and it's not obvious from the current ship texture how to orientate and position your decal then I could make a suggestion on how I did it: Initially, create a plain white texture and divide it in to four quadrants with thick black lines - then put the numbers 1 to 4 in to (the centre of) each quadrant. Rename the real ship texture to temporarily be something else and your test texture to the name of the texture the ship currently uses. Restart the game with the shift key held down (to flush the cache and therefore reload your ship texture) - look at your ship - where are the different quadrants - how are they displaced - which way round are the numbers - what size are they, etc... This way you'll have some kind of clue to how the original texture is folded up around the 3D model.

The latter will require someone with more expertise than I...

I hope that helps!