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FSX SP2 Repaint problem

DaveJH

DaveJH

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unitedkingdom
Hi all fantastic website, hope to be creating some 3D objects with all the info here!

Got a problem with a repaint, ive been repaiting in FS9 for many years but havent had much success with FSX.

The paintkit/aircraft in question is the Feelthere ERJ135LR V2.

I saved them as BMP and DXT3 with a pure white alpha using DXT1 and Photoshop as the editors and all i get is dark planes! :(

Please see attached and hope you can stop me from pulling out what little hair i have left :)
 

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Try to save it as DXT5.



P.S: Why do people always pull out their precious hair? If I'm upset, I usually just bang my fists or head on my desk and go for a cigarette. Works every time. :D
 
oooh i think ive cracked it, there is a flip function in dxt1, i set it to flip bitmap then save as DXT DDS and viola!

Thanks guys will have a fiddle about some more, was easier in FS9 lol Microsoft always fiddling! :)

Dave
 
Actually FSX just offers more possibilities than FS9. If you want to keep models, paints, etc...on a FS9 level, you can safely do so without much more effort. ;)
 
how about all the effort ive had to exert in making a repaint for this plane lol

i tried the same technique on the FSX ifly 737 and its all black and shiny again!

i dont have this problem with FS9 repaints, save as extended 32bit bmp and your done! :)
 
Cheers Tom, already know about the alpha layers.

Im running pure white ones and still get this strange super dark shading on repaints.

On a pure white aircraft with white alphas its still super dark, maybe its a nvidia issue?

I paint the paint in photoshop save as 32bit bitmap then open in DXT1 and flip and save as DXT3 DDS and what you seen in my 1st post is what i get!

I love repainting and get loads of requests but just cant do FSX :(
 
If you are using DXTBMP.exe, don't...

...unless you are using the very latest version, and even then I've never managed to get it to save a valid file... :(

Since you have Photoshop, use the nVidia DDS plugin to do the vert/flip and Save As DDS/DXT5 directly.
 
OK, are you using Martin Wright's Dxtbmp? It would be a good choice. Dxt1 I do not know, if it exists it's not an auspicious monicker, dxt1 being a compression format.

The thing is, analyze the texture of the original model first, using DxtBmp. What does DxtBmp tell you about the format used (see status line)? Next, try to assess what the alpha does - the whites the greys, and the blacks. Although there are standard recommendations for a plane's textures, a modeler can use a variety of material settings including ones that work with "inverses of alpha". The FSX SDK can tell you more about it if you really must know.

Next, try to get your new paint exported with the original alpha, in the same format as used by the original model. again using DxtBmp. If that doesn't work then something is seriously wrong indeed. If it does work then adapt your alpha as needed and you are good. In DxtBmp, never forget to "reload image after editing" (a toolbar option). Make sure your vertical orientation (flip) ís the same as in the original.

The recommended format for FSX is dds dxt5. Dds dxt5 also has a 32-888 option.
 
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FYI dxt1

DXT1 is a .dds format with either no alpha or a 1-bit alpha layer - pure black or pure white. Some older sims use it.

CFS3 can use DXT1 for setting parts of an object fully transparent, but it interferes with the MOS file for damage overlays, so we tend not to use it - better to model the holes into the object.
 
One further thought - you are not by any chance omitting any of the _bump or _spec textures that come in the original texture folder, or the texture.cfg that is there? All this is essential. Best test your new texture in a copy of the original folder.
 
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