FSX maps

[jyarddog]

I am going around in circles. I am trying to learn how to make a decent photoscenery. The trouble I get into is trying to understand some instructions. I have read tutorials which have helped somewhat.

1. In SbuilderX (also with FSX running), view- show aircraft.
2. show background..... satelite download... zoom in if possible.
3. Right click on screen, can save or compile or both if you wish.
4. Done! Now- to do this and get a map-

1. file- add map/ from - background... disk.
2. If I saved the background I can get it from disk. or-
3. grab it from background. crop the area smaller to 'zero' in on your airport. save.
4. the saved map as it is now... is in tools/work.... right?
it is usually called someething like photo01.

I'm probably already in trouble, but here's where I THINK I get into trouble-


Take this photo01 and slide on over to my paint program. I use Corel X Paint Shope Pro.

Instructions tell me to try to match the color a bit better. Here, I do realize this is not in the perview or responsibility of SbuildX or anyone, but I can't even come close to getting the colors to match. I usually have a snap shot of some default ground which I took close by my airport. so I have that and photo01 loaded next to each other. I guess this is for me to study.

Next- Instructions say to do a blend Mask. I do not know what a blend mask is! There is nothing in Corel X that refers to blend mask. It talks of blend. It talks of masks but not together at all. so much for spendy programs!

I thought it was Feathering which fades the edges of a photo outward. Close- no cigar!

Some instructions show white- black, shades of gray.... which seems like an alpha channel to me.

Here I am totally lost.... Am I supposed to take this photo01 now black , white and gray back to SbuilderX as a .tif with a suffix _b? i.e. photo01_B.tif??? Tried that of course did not work.

I tried the above with my photo01 feathered pic and called it photo01_B.tif (changed it to a tif of course), and made sure this was in tools/work.

Back in SbuilderX- select- all maps- compile-.......... there is nothing to compile- go back and choose something to compile. message.

It seems to me there are a whole heck of a lot of steps left out. My lack of understanding with the paint program is my problem. Most might have slightly different terms for the same process but essentially the same process.

Some clarification would be greatly appreciated!!!

In my class once to show this I said let's make a peanut butter sandwich. You will tell me how. I had the materials at the front table. My class (all together- boy was that loud! hahaha) said- first put the bread on the plate.

So I did... the whole loaf! giggle giggle giggle! NO!!! I said - you said put the bread on the plate so I did! They got me finally to take out one slice.

Now they said- put the peanutbutter on the bread. So i did! I put the whole jar right on top of the bread! Class- NOOOOO! Giggle giggle giggle!

And so on. It was great fun, but they saw how leaving out details causes chaos!! Bob

 

[robystar]

Hi Bob,

A blendmask is a copy of your photoreal texture that you converted to an 8-bit greyscale Tiff format and where you whitened the parts of the texture you want to show up and blackened the parts that you do not want to show up (mask). The boundary between the black and the white you can smudge / blur so that the transition becomes gradual through various shades of grey so as to blend your photoreal texture with the surrounding landclass. Hence the word 'blendmask'.
Now, you have to combine this mask with your photoreal bmp and that is where the resample tool (from the SDK) comes in.
For the resample tool to know what it has to do, you must make an .inf file.
Once your .inf file is made you drag your .inf file to the resample tool. The tool will make a bgl combining the bmp with the tif.
I hope you know what an .inf file is?

Roby

 

[jyarddog]

yep- Roby- we talked of this ealier. I do not not how to make an inf file or how to combine all this to drag over the resample exe. SbuilderX is supposed to be able to do this as well. My above post shows wher I'm stuck. Bob

 

[robystar]

You got me there, Bob.
I do not know how to use Xbuilder but I manage to do without, using 'FSearth Tiles'.
Hope someone that does use Xbuilder chimes in.

 

[jyarddog]

I've been reading up on this again. Isn't it funny where the instructions do not tell how to combine the bmp and the blend which I guess you have to do for the inf file then drag the inf file over the resample.exe

SbuilderX Is essentially doing the same thing. but there is no instruction what to do or how to do all this once I get my blend mask done.

Ok- Take the map to a paint program. fuss with it there _ color, blend, etc I guess (turn it into a gray scale and tif), bring it back to SbuilderX. Here SbuilderX says to put a suffix _B to it. a paragraph later it has a kind of OH... btw- make this a tif file. sheesh!

Basically if the original map were photo01.bmp After making a blend mask it is now a gray scale which I have converted to a tif file and called photo01_B.tif

And I make sure to put this I tools/work. Now I am supposed to select all maps and compile. Here is where I get the message 'there is nothing to compile.... etc' I am stuck. I refer to my make a peanut butter sandwich story (which I actually did in class one day.

Once while teaching a ski class I thought I had paid attention to detail. I found one of my students trying to put his skis on totally backwards! I politely corrected this, but this was quite a learning experience for me, a ski instructor of 8 years! There's always something... Ya gotta love it! Bob