ALL OFFSETS ARE PAL
1a) Find an unused DXT2/3 bitmap which is the size of the texture you want to be tranluscent in the Bitmaps Folder of HMTv3 and extract it
OR
1b) If the texture you want to be translucent is a DXT2/3 then extract it
2) Open the bitmap in Photoshop using the DDS plugin
3) Edit the RGB channels to show the picture/pattern/colour you want the shader to show [e.g. purple with orange spots]
4) Copy the RGB image onto the alpha channel of the bitmap
5) Adjust the contrast/brightness of the alpha layer [this will affect how translucent the image is [black is solid, white is totally transparent] ]
6) Save the bitmap as in DXT3 (explicit alpha) format
7) Inject it over the top of the original bitmap from 1) using HMT
Close HMT9) Now in a hex editor open up the map and go to the offset for the bitmap relating to the shader you want to use [see NOTE 1] and change it to the code [xx xx xx 80] of the bitmap you injected in 7)
10) Still in the hex editor go to the offset for the shader for the model/wall you want to apply the new shader to and change it to the code for the new shader [e.g. if you wanted to change the "warthog hull" shader to the "powerup glass" shader you would go to "0x2831b7c" and change the value there to "C4 7A 95 80"]
11) Save, close and FTP the map to your Xbox
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There are limitations to this: you can only have as many translucent surfaces as there are DXT2/3 shaders [see NOTE 2] [unless you can duplicate shaders], and when you edit a shader it also [obviously] affects the object it was originally acting on, e.g. "powerup glass" [active camoflage] is used on the active camoflage item [not MC], so if you edit that then the item will look strange, but you can find ways round this [e.g. in this case swap offset for "powerup glass" [active camoflage] and swap it for "powerup glass" [overshield]. Also it is not [yet] possible to edit the properties of shaders, so if a shader gives a "flat" effect it is not possible to make it look "bumpy".
NOTE 1
Most/All shaders have a bitmap which goes with them. The best way to think of a object is as a projector: the shader is the light source, the RGB channels of the bitmap are like a colour filter, the alpha channel is like a cardboard cut out and what you see on the screen is like the image on the wall. So on the wall appears a colour image in the shape created by the cardboard cut out.
The shader/bitmap pairs I have found so far are:
> powerup glass/powerups [for overshield and active camoflage]
> needler ammo crystal/needler ammo
> sr ammo clear/sr ammo
> warthog windshield/warthog reflection mask (?)
> needler luminous/glass (?)
These can be found quite easily by extracting the shader (recursive) with HMT.
NOTE 2
Not all shaders can produce a translucent effect. Some shaders, those linked with DXT1 bitmaps, are unable to do this. They can either be totally visable or totally invisible dependant on whether the alpha channel of their bitmap is white or black respectively. Even if you were to relink so that the shader was linked to a DXT2/3 bitmap they cannot give a transluceny effect. Other shaders, those linked with DXT2/3 bitmaps are capable of producing any degree of translucency, depending on the alpha channel of their bitmap.
Known DXT1 shader types:
> model shaders
> transparency varient shaders
> transparency shaders [some]
Known DXT2/3 shader types:
> glass shaders
> transparency shaders [most]
> environment shaders [more complex than simple DXT2/3 types]
Plasma shaders are another type, unknown at the moment.
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This was written about 2 months ago and also I cannot guarantee that this is all correct, this is just what I have learnt/deduced for myself.
Using tools such as HHT and HMT you will probably be able to duplicate DXT2/3 shaders in order to create more translucent surfaces per level.
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Below is a sample of what you can do, I admit not a very good sample but you get the idea.
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alpha112
Thanks to:
stunna
MonoxideC (HMT)
BOLL (offset lists)