BCMM

Star Trek : Bridge Commander - NiMultiTextureProperty

NiMultiTextureProperty

Cordanilus – NifBible 2026

Currently, only the basics are known about this property in nifskope. The newer versions will describe the slots as follows:

  • Base
  • Dark
  • Detail
  • Gloss
  • Glow

This is not so, in BC’s nif version 3.x

It is time to redefine some of the properties that is used in the NetImmerse Format that is used in Star Trek : Bridge Commander.

Anyone who has tried to configure the slots will always find out that the 5th slot always crashes the game. Not much other information is known.

I am here to change all of that and try to elucidate details with whatever testing that has been conducted up to date.

The following few pages will show the different textures used in a testing sphere that was created for this purpose and clarify new definitions of the Texture Slots.

NiTextureProperty – NiImage – Base_glow.tga

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2

NiMultiTextureProperty

Slot 1 – Decal #1

  • This is not exactly like a Decal Map. The major difference remains in the texture applied therein.
  • White = Decal texture not visible and the texture in the NiTextureProperty will show.
  • Black = Black.
  • The darker the color, the more the original texture is obscured.
  • Does not use the Alpha Channel in the texture

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Slot 2 – Decal #2

  • Everything is the same as Decal #1

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Slot 3 – Specular

  • This map can be turned on and off from the Main Menu configuration, the same way as the “_spec” or “_specular”.
  • Does not use the Alpha Channel in the texture.

5

Slot 4 – Glow

  • This glow can be turned on and off from the Main Menu configuration, the same way as the “_glow”. The “Enhanced Glows” do not affect the Multi Texture map slots.
  • Does not use the Alpha Channel in the texture.

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Slot 5 – Always crashes the game

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Above is a screenshot with all the texture slots filled. The Vox generation is currently off, therefore the “_glows” are not available. The red lettering is the Multi Texture Glow slot being used. You cannot see the “_spec” or “_speculars” since they are not enabled.

The black lettering “NiMultiTexture…” was changed to “Decal Layer 2”.

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Here you can see the silver letters “NiMu…” written backwards are the speculars defined in the multi texture. The glow slot in the multi texture is also used, but you can see that it does not use the “Enhanced Glows” function even though they are turned on. The bright yellow/green lettering “NiTextureProperty glow” is the result of the texture being “Base_glow.tga” and that the VOX is enabled.

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You can see on the Eclipse Class ship in the image, the decal layer does overlap the original texture when any section of the texture is white. Does not use any Alpha Channel in the texture. I was testing to see if this layer had any emmisive properties or used a glow at all.

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Using a texture I had created for testing the NiAlphaProperty configurations, you can see how the different colors affect the original texture underneath. The lighter colors on top of the black lines are the “_spec” that are enabled (VOX is on).

The left side of the image, you can see a small area that is the original texture. This part of the texture is white which allows 100% visibility of the underlying texture.

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Using this Decal layer, it would appear that the Bump Mapping is enabled but this is misleading due to the nature of the layer. Using a copy of the original texture, the emboss function was used and modified to give a pseudo bump mapping appearance.

Each of the Decal layers can overlap but they can also cancel each other out.

Along with the 4 texture slots of the NiMultiTextureProperty, you can use the NiTextureProperty in conjunction with the specular map that is enabled through the game engine. 6 maps used in total for each section that uses this.

Example:

NiTextureProperty – NiImage = Base_glow.tga (+ Base_spec.tga)

Game enabled glows + speculars from “Scripts/Ships/Ship.py

NiMultiTextureProperty

  • Slot 1 = Decal1.tga
  • Slot 2 = Decal2.tga
  • Slot 3 = Specular.tga
  • Slot 4 = Glow.tga

Installing the NiMultiTextureProperty

  • Right click on the NiTriShape
  • Select Node
  • Select Attach Property

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  • A new window will appear
  • Select NiMultiTextureProperty

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Below are images that show how the NiMultiTextureProperty should be configured:

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Create your own NiImages and link them to the “Image” value cell. In this example, the NiImage is the 18th number in the hierarchy.

The results can only be seen within Bridge Commander and not by the MPE or Nifskope.

Testing will continue on the NiMultiTextureProperty as all its functions have not been attempted and documented.

This is a short example of the NIF Bible being worked on.

Thank you for reading.

All testing was conducted with the Bridge Commander Maelstrom Mod and created with Nifskope version 0.9.8

~ Cordanilus