Microsoft Train Simulator

I have recently obtained the Microsoft Train Simulator out of curiousity to see the difference from the current range of Flight Simulators.

One thing that immediately became apparent was that MS are using a proprietory Graphics format for the various textures annd images. This "ACE" format comes in several different flavours :-

I have extended mwgfx.dll to support all these formats except the compressed version (these appear as White in the above image). This means that all my Graphics programs can be used to view and convert the supported ACE types.

Already DXTBmp allows the easy editing of TGA images with Alpha channel separately editable. With this you can use any paint program to edit both the main image and the Alpha channel. A similar thing can be done using TGATool.

I may extend DXTBmp to directly import ACE files but it can already be done if the latest update of mwgfx.dll is installed. 32 Bit ACE will only be loaded as 24 bit but you can manually add an Alpha channel before saving in TGA format. DXT1A will load with the Transparent areas "pure green" so the "Create Alpha" function will create the correct matching Alpha so you can save in TGA 32bit and use the MS MakeAce utility to convert to a new ACE file after editing.