While there is a .dds plugin for photoshop I cannot reccomend that since Photoshop is an extremelly pricey tool for the average, non professional, not using it for profit, gamer. Unless you can do what you need with the trial version. If that is the case, by all means go for it. PS is an excellent program.

There is a version of .dds that works with GIMP, apparently it is included with GIMP latest version. I'm not using GIMP currently, so can't verify for you. But in any case people in the GIMP forums can probably help you with that if needed.

Yeah that's accurate(As I believe I said on Discord at some point, this is my main program for image touch ups these days cause it's very easy on resources. It's also close to PSP 7.0 in functionality and might superseed it within a couple of years. Has active community and its own plugins and brushes filters etc). If you happen to have Paint Shop Pro(ver 7 I think was a giveaway 1-2 decades ago so maybe you do), it obviously can use PS plugins too(at least for those versions, not sure if the newer ones do as well I'll check when I re-install my 2023 version, but I think I remember it still does, sometimes with workarounds).

Usually when it is searched for it provides a similar answer: Paint Shop Pro supports a variety of file formats, but by default, it doesn’t natively open DDS files. However, you can use a plugin to enable DDS support in Paint Shop Pro. Here are a couple of options:

1. NVIDIA Texture Tools for Adobe Photoshop (DDS Plugin):

   • This plugin was originally designed for Photoshop, but it can also work with Paint Shop Pro.
   • Make sure you have Paint Shop Pro 7 or later.
   • Under File → Preferences → File Locations, select the “plug-in-filters” tab.
   • Set Folder 1 to: C:\Program Files\Jasc Software Inc\Paint Shop Pro 7\Plug-ins.
   • Restart Paint Shop Pro and open a DDS file1.

2. DDS FileType Plus for Paint.NET:

   • Although this plugin is primarily for Paint.NET, it can also be used with Paint Shop Pro.
   • It allows you to open and save DDS files with some of the formats introduced in DirectX 10 and later.
   • Compatibility: Paint.NET 5.0+.
   • If you need features from a newer version, you can still install the plugin2.

Remember that GIMP (a free image editing software) natively supports DDS files, so that’s another option if you encounter any issues with the above methods3. Happy modding! 🎨✨

Update: In fact, I checked and you can get past versions of PSP in this page(imo PSP 7.04 which was an anniversary edition might be the best of these. Used to come with Animation Shop which was a basic but usefull tool for simple animating. Btw, there was a patch that improved it to .05 or even 7.08 not sure if this exists any longer. Search for it though.). Paint Shop Pro 4.12 and 7.04 and 8.1 and 9.01 | Windows 11 Forum (elevenforum.com)

I've only been using Paint.net perso. It's been more then enough for my limited needs throughout the years !