DDS Exporting Tutorial

DDS (DirectDraw Surface) is the file format used for importing textures to SimCityPak.

DDS Plugins
Download: Texture Tools for Photoshop

Download: DDS Plugin on GIMP.org

See also: DDS Plugins

Exporting for DDS File Format (Photoshop)
Exporting a file to DDS format is the same process as exporting to another file format, with a few extra options. Before you can export from Photoshop to DDS, you must install the NVIDIA Texture Tools plugin (linked above).

Process

 * 1) Prepare your file for export
 * 2) this includes saving backups, final preparations, etc
 * 3) Navigate to File > Save As... (or Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + S)
 * 4) Name your file, select your destination, select DDS from the file types dropdown menu
 * 5) Required Settings (for SimCityPak) :
 * 6) DTX5 ARGB - 8bpp | interpolated alpha
 * 7) 2D Texture
 * 8) Check Generate Mipmaps
 * 9) Image Options > Compression Quality > Highest
 * 10) Click "Save" to save your file

Conclusion
This will leave you with a DDS texture file, including alpha channel and mipmaps. Now your image is ready for importing into SimCityPak.