DCS Skins - Any guides on how to make/modify?

I don't want to do anything complicated. I just want to take a blank Spitfire skin and put a particular squadrons markings on it (NOT for repackaging under my name. Just for a picture)

I downloaded a skin with an unmarked camouflaged spit and after a bit of amateur bodging managed to put the markings on but when I look at it, it has had different markings added over the top of mine.

Included with the skin was a file consisting of just images of letters of the alphabet on an invisible background and I am assuming that something in description.lua is specifying what letters to put on the fuselage but I can't see how just by looking at it. Is there a guide describing how it works?

Here is what is in 'description.lua' and the letters are in 'Sky Codes' (white) & 'Night Serials' (black)

livery = {

{"SpitfireIX", 0 ,"SpitfireIX_Blank",false};

{"SpitfireIX", 1 ,"SpitfireIX_NMtest",false};

{"SpitfireIX", 2 ,"SpitfireIX_SPEC",false};

 

{"NUMBER_L_0", 0 ,"SpitfireIX_Blank",false};

{"NUMBER_L_0", 2 ,"SpitfireIX_SPEC",false};

{"NUMBER_L_0", DECAL ,"Sky Codes",false};

{"NUMBER_L_00", 0 ,"SpitfireIX_Blank",false};

{"NUMBER_L_00", 2 ,"SpitfireIX_SPEC",false};

{"NUMBER_L_00", DECAL ,"Sky Codes",false};

{"NUMBER_L_000", 0 ,"SpitfireIX_Blank",false};

{"NUMBER_L_000", 2 ,"SpitfireIX_SPEC",false};

{"NUMBER_L_000", DECAL ,"Sky Codes",false};

 

{"NUMBER_L_F3_0", 0 ,"SpitfireIX_Blank",false};

{"NUMBER_L_F3_0", 2 ,"SpitfireIX_SPEC",false};

{"NUMBER_L_F3_0", DECAL ,"Night Serials",false};

{"NUMBER_L_F3_00", 0 ,"SpitfireIX_Blank",false};

{"NUMBER_L_F3_00", 2 ,"SpitfireIX_SPEC",false};

{"NUMBER_L_F3_00", DECAL ,"Night Serials",false};

{"NUMBER_L_F3_000", 0 ,"SpitfireIX_Blank",false};

{"NUMBER_L_F3_000", 2 ,"SpitfireIX_SPEC",false};

{"NUMBER_L_F3_000", DECAL ,"Night Serials",false};

{"NUMBER_L_F3_N", 0, "SpitfireIX_Blank", false};

{"NUMBER_L_F3_N", 2, "SpitfireIX_SPEC", false};

{"NUMBER_L_F3_N", DECAL ,"Night Serials",false};

{"NUMBER_L_F3_NN", 0, "SpitfireIX_Blank", false};

{"NUMBER_L_F3_NN", 2, "SpitfireIX_SPEC", false};

{"NUMBER_L_F3_NN", DECAL ,"Night Serials",false};

 

{"NUMBER_R_0", 0 ,"SpitfireIX_Blank",false};

{"NUMBER_R_0", 2 ,"SpitfireIX_SPEC",false};

{"NUMBER_R_0", DECAL ,"Sky Codes",false};

{"NUMBER_R_00", 0 ,"SpitfireIX_Blank",false};

{"NUMBER_R_00", 2 ,"SpitfireIX_SPEC",false};

{"NUMBER_R_00", DECAL ,"Sky Codes",false};

{"NUMBER_R_000", 0 ,"SpitfireIX_Blank",false};

{"NUMBER_R_000", 2 ,"SpitfireIX_SPEC",false};

{"NUMBER_R_000", DECAL ,"Sky Codes",false};

 

{"NUMBER_R_F3_0", 0 ,"SpitfireIX_Blank",false};

{"NUMBER_R_F3_0", 2 ,"SpitfireIX_SPEC",false};

{"NUMBER_R_F3_0", DECAL ,"Night Serials",false};

{"NUMBER_R_F3_00", 0 ,"SpitfireIX_Blank",false};

{"NUMBER_R_F3_00", 2 ,"SpitfireIX_SPEC",false};

{"NUMBER_R_F3_00", DECAL ,"Night Serials",false};

{"NUMBER_R_F3_000", 0 ,"SpitfireIX_Blank",false};

{"NUMBER_R_F3_000", 2 ,"SpitfireIX_SPEC",false};

{"NUMBER_R_F3_000", DECAL ,"Night Serials",false};

{"NUMBER_R_F3_N", 0, "SpitfireIX_Blank", false};

{"NUMBER_R_F3_N", 2, "SpitfireIX_SPEC", false};

{"NUMBER_R_F3_N", DECAL ,"Night Serials",false};

{"NUMBER_R_F3_NN", 0, "SpitfireIX_Blank", false};

{"NUMBER_R_F3_NN", 2, "SpitfireIX_SPEC", false};

{"NUMBER_R_F3_NN", DECAL ,"Night Serials",false};

 

{"pilot_RAF", 0, "pilot_raf", false};

{"pilot_RAF", 1, "pilot_raf_nm", true};

{"pilot_RAF", 2, "pilot_raf_spec", true};

{"pilot_RAF_helmet", 0, "pilot_raf_helmet", false};

{"pilot_RAF_helmet", 1, "pilot_raf_helmet_nm", true};

{"pilot_RAF_helmet", 2, "pilot_raf_helmet_spec", false};

{"pilot_RAF_helmet_glass", 0, "pilot_raf_helmet_glass", true};

{"pilot_RAF_parachute", 0, "pilot_p51_parachute", true};

 

}

name = "RAF Day Fighter"

countries = {"UK",}

Thats interesting. I am getting into this skin modifying myself and for what I understand, whats happening to you is that you have the DECALS in FALSE and therefore the code needs a DECALS .dds to be in the actual skin folder.

Let me know if this is the case and if not we can look more into it.

cheers.

What it seems to be doing is taking whatever is in the 'Tail #' field in Mission Editor and using the letters in 'Sky Codes.DDS' to write that on the fuselage. That would be fine if you wanted to have the code 'US L' around the roundels to show a 56 squadron plane but the problem is that it also adds that code to the tail serial number using 'Night Serial.DDS' eg 'MHUSL'

I suspect it should be taking the serial number from somewhere else or maybe taking the squadron Code from somewhere else but I cannot see where as there is only one box in Mission Editor. Perhaps One is supposed to be hard coded on the skin and only one generated from the contents of that box?

No, I think it is in the Alpha Channel of the DECAL skin, check that with DXTBMP

No it is not hard coded. Add three planes and type 100 into the box and you will get planes with 100, 101, 102 on the side. You can put text in the box but I have not checked to see if USL becomes USL, USM, USN.

Answered elsewhere. It seems that what you do is type in the three letter squadron code followed by the serial number EG. USRMH101 This puts US R around the roundel and the serial MH101 by the tail.