TTS Tip of the Day: Color tints and transparency
Matt Wolfe
Tabletop Simulator is a powerful and sometimes frustrating platform. With that power comes some complexity and a lot of features that may not be obvious. This series highlights some features in TTS that you may or may not be familiar with.
TTS has the ability to add a color tint to objects. For objects that are a solid color model, such as the built-in blocks or pawn objects, the color tint affects the color of the entire object. For other types of objects that are not a solid color, such as the built-in Piecepack pieces, the color tint affects just some of the object. To change the color tint, right-click on the object and select Color Tint.
You can also set the alpha channel on an object, which is what controls the opacity of the object. The default is 255, or fully visible. If you set it to 0 (zero), that will make the object invisible! (Note that the alpha channel doesn't affect cards, tiles, and probably some other object types.) If you set the alpha channel to any other number, your object will have a semi-transparent look. To set the alpha channel, right-click on the object and select Color Tint. Set the A field to the value you want and click Apply.
So why would you want to make an object invisible or semi-transparent? I do it mainly for visual appeal. I like using the wooden bowls as a container for objects that don't need the functions of a bag, but I don't like the color of the bowls when they are on a board. So to simulate an analog board that has a space for resources, I'll put a bowl there for organizational purposes but set the alpha channel to 0 so it is invisible and doesn't visually block the board. I'm there are some other creative use cases for making an object invisible!
TTS has the ability to add a color tint to objects. For objects that are a solid color model, such as the built-in blocks or pawn objects, the color tint affects the color of the entire object. For other types of objects that are not a solid color, such as the built-in Piecepack pieces, the color tint affects just some of the object. To change the color tint, right-click on the object and select Color Tint.
You can also set the alpha channel on an object, which is what controls the opacity of the object. The default is 255, or fully visible. If you set it to 0 (zero), that will make the object invisible! (Note that the alpha channel doesn't affect cards, tiles, and probably some other object types.) If you set the alpha channel to any other number, your object will have a semi-transparent look. To set the alpha channel, right-click on the object and select Color Tint. Set the A field to the value you want and click Apply.
So why would you want to make an object invisible or semi-transparent? I do it mainly for visual appeal. I like using the wooden bowls as a container for objects that don't need the functions of a bag, but I don't like the color of the bowls when they are on a board. So to simulate an analog board that has a space for resources, I'll put a bowl there for organizational purposes but set the alpha channel to 0 so it is invisible and doesn't visually block the board. I'm there are some other creative use cases for making an object invisible!