MSFS Doubt with texturing blender mesh and export to msfs 2020

[conradf104]

Hi all ,
I’m learning to model and export to msfs 2020 from blender 2.91 . I’m a bit in confusion with the right workflow. I need your help. I try to explain how could be my workflow for that I have seen looking some YouTube videos and my different test for what I have understood

- make a mesh like an hangar
- create for example three materials with three different textures
- Add the materials to the mesh with the relative UV for each parts ( example wall, windows, roof )
- export to msfs the mesh with a only one texture

now the dubt :
1) I want to use Pbr materials so I need to search for each texture , diffuse, normal , roughness, ambient occlusion , metallic ( right ? )
2) now I need to apply these maps with the node in shading for each materials ?
3) After that I need to use the bake option in blender to create the final texture with a new UV for the entire mesh.
4) I delete the three materials and I put in my mesh a new blender material with activating the option “ msfs parameters” and “msfs standard “ so I add my baked albedo texture in the material panel
5) now I bake the Normal map and add This also.
6) bake the other maps so to create for example in Photoshop the RGB map so to add this also ?
7) finally export ?
I tryed some test but I notice a loss of texture details and all seems a bit complicated And I don’t know if it’s right or there is something else To do.

hope your help
Many thanks.

 

[MisterMarsch]

Hi all ,
I’m learning to model and export to msfs 2020 from blender 2.91 . I’m a bit in confusion with the right workflow. I need your help. I try to explain how could be my workflow for that I have seen looking some YouTube videos and my different test for what I have understood

- make a mesh like an hangar
- create for example three materials with three different textures
- Add the materials to the mesh with the relative UV for each parts ( example wall, windows, roof )
- export to msfs the mesh with a only one texture

now the dubt :
1) I want to use Pbr materials so I need to search for each texture , diffuse, normal , roughness, ambient occlusion , metallic ( right ? )
2) now I need to apply these maps with the node in shading for each materials ?
3) After that I need to use the bake option in blender to create the final texture with a new UV for the entire mesh.
4) I delete the three materials and I put in my mesh a new blender material with activating the option “ msfs parameters” and “msfs standard “ so I add my baked albedo texture in the material panel
5) now I bake the Normal map and add This also.
6) bake the other maps so to create for example in Photoshop the RGB map so to add this also ?
7) finally export ?
I tryed some test but I notice a loss of texture details and all seems a bit complicated And I don’t know if it’s right or there is something else To do.

hope your help
Many thanks.

Hello, i up on the same problem. Tried different workflows and ended up with the same like yours. At the end, my textures are washed out etc. I have checked several texturing maps from orbx, gaya, aerosoft etc. and they all have big building on one map and their textures are pretty solid with only a litte loss of quality. Still don’t know how they do it. I have so much fun in modelling but i‘ve been a bit frustrated now because the texturing part is hell.
Sorry that i can‘t help you.

 

[sleepy_t]

I did not bake for my EDWF scenery. Just put in the textures for the materials. I didn't unwrap the whole object and bake (only for objects farther party where I didn't mind the washed out textures). Just apply your textures to parts, make a cube projection of the faces with this material and scale the UV accordingly, tiling etc. Then export to MSFS. Looks great, with nice details.

1K textures is more than sufficient. When you reuse your textures, for example in combination with the tint for coloring, it results in small package sizes with great detail. And using MSFS decals you can even project dirt, leaks etc on the surfaces without adding much geometry.

This method is great for airfields that are not that huge, I didn't notice any performance issues. You might run into fps problems at very crowded areas or huge airports, because your graphics card needs more cycles for rendering more textures. But for my places it's unbeatable in terms of resolution and quality.

 

[sal1800]

When you're baking the textures from Blender, are you selecting the correct bake type for each map? The diffuse texture should be baked with the diffuse bake type and so on. I think the default bake type is combined which includes Blender's lighting into the baked texture so it won't look like the original.
I guess also, make sure the baked texture resolution is what you want.

The typical PBR workflow nowadays uses Substance Painter, Armor Paint or Quixel Mixer to combine the materials into the final maps. I know this is one more application and workflow to learn, but they are pretty powerful.

 

[Pyscen]

The OP can use procedural textures. That means using 1 model to map out or create the textures through Blender, which is node base. From there, the uv layout and textures will need to be saved out accordingly. This is time comsuming but rewarding, because once the materials are created, they can be reused quickly.