AMMS Guidance and Editing - beckabooo/DAV_Modding GitHub Wiki

AMMS_MASK Editing Guide written by Metamancer

Overview

This guide provides an introduction to editing the AMMS_MASK texture file in Dragon Age for The Veilguard. It covers the file's purpose, its components, and instructions on how to adjust it for a specific look, with an example modification to remove a purple tint from metallic armor sections.

What is the AMMS_MASK Texture File?

The AMMS_MASK file is a texture map used in Dragon Age to define the material properties of armor and other assets. It works by assigning different properties to specific channels within the texture.

[!IMPORTANT] It is recommended that you export AMMS_MASK files as .tga from Frosty Editor

Channels Breakdown:

  • Red Channel: Shininess – Determines the specular intensity of the material.
  • Green Channel: Glossiness – Controls how focused or spread out the shine appears.
  • Blue Channel: Metalness – Defines the degree of metallic reflection for the material.
  • Alpha Channel: Emmissive – Used for glowing or emissive effects (if applicable) by industry standard, however in DA:tV mod making, some have found that changing this (the transparency) can directly impact how glossy a texture may appear. Keep this in mind when making edits.

Uses of the AMMS_MASK Texture

The texture allows modders to fine-tune:

  1. Material Appearance: Adjusting metalness or glossiness to create realistic materials such as steel, bronze, or cloth.
  2. Reflective Qualities: Modifying how light interacts with surfaces.
  3. Color Adjustments: Enhancing or suppressing hues caused by material reflections.

Removing the Purple Hue/Tint for a Bronze Metal Look

One common issue is an undesired purple tint on metallic surfaces. The following steps outline how to adjust the AMMS_MASK texture to achieve a true bronze appearance as an example:

  1. Extract the AMMS_MASK File: Use Frosty Editor to locate and extract the AMMS_MASK texture.
  2. Open in an Image Editor: Load the file into an editor that supports RGBA channels (e.g., Photoshop or GIMP).
  3. Adjust the Blue Channel:
    • Reduce the intensity of the blue channel to decrease the metallic purple tint.
    • Fine-tune the green channel to balance glossiness for a bronze-like sheen.
  4. Test Changes:
    • Save and re-import the texture into the game using Frosty Editor.
    • Load the game and check the armor in different lighting conditions.

Image Comparison

Below is an example from the warrior deluxe edition armor AMMS_MASK demonstrating the difference between the modified and vanilla file: amms_comparison-sm

Original Texture (with Purple Tint):

  • Description: The metallic parts of the armor reflect a purple hue, which make the bronze armor recolor (from the BCLR) look red and pink.

Modified Texture (True Bronze Look):

  • Description: The tint has been pushed heavily to green, resulting in a warmer, realistic bronze finish on the actual armor.

More about Materials

This is another explanation of what color channels do what. image