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transparency problem
- Thread starter jonmkj
- Start date
jonmkj,
Sorry Bud, it is in the "Read_Me_FSDS_Upgrade" File in the FSDS3.5 main folder. It reads (in part):
Issue #1: All parts must have a texture assigned to it and that texture must be available to FSX.
Aircraft parts can be assigned a material to give it a solid color for use in FS2004. This makes it quick and easy to color small parts like knobs and switches in the virtual cockpit and other small parts. FSX does not support materials the same way FS2004 does. The material used on FS2004 models will not appear when the model is loaded in FSX – they will appear solid black. You will need to create and/or assign a texture to every part for it to appear in FSX when compiled with MakeMDL.
How do I create glass if I can’t use a transparent material?
The answer lies in the texture. The texture itself has to be created with an Alpha Channel. An Alpha Channel is sort of like a secret code on the texture that Flight Sim can read. This channel holds information about which portions of the image FS will treat differently. Alpha Channels are used for three things; Transparency, Reflection or Light Maps.
How does FS know which way to use the alpha channel? By default, FS will treat an alpha channel as transparent unless the aircraft model itself tells FSX to do other wise. When assigning a texture to an aircraft, you have the option to choose a Reflection check box. This will tell FS to apply a reflection to the model. Another option in FSDS allow you to use the alpha channel as a light map when adding the texture to the Texture List.
How do I create glass on my windows?
In order to get glass, you need to do 2 things:
1) Assign a Material to the part.
2) Apply a texture with an alpha channel
You will need to assign the glass parts in your model a material with a specific name prefix. The names required for transparent parts, like glass, MUST start with one of the following:
· glass
· window
· prop
· trans
The color and display options for the material are not important and you can use the default colors and settings. All that matters is the material name. You can have multiple names like glass_blue and glass_green for example. If the material name starts with “glass”, “window”, “prop” or “trans”, FSDS will tell the MDL file to use the alpha channel on the applied texture as a transparency.
The Alpha channel on the texture as discussed in the FSDS Help file is greyscale. White is solid (no transparency) and pure black is invisible. The grey in between is a level of transparency. The darker the color on the alpha channel, the more invisible it will appear. The texture itself should be a green, blue or grey texture the basic color of the window.
How do I create an Alpha Channel on my textures? FS Design Studio does not create textures or modify them. You will have to have a separate program to load in your texture, create the alpha channel and re-save it. Once such program is called DXTBMP. This is a freeware program that can be found on-line with a simple web search.
If you have a separate glass texture you can simply open DXTBMP, load the image, choose Create Alpha Template from the Alpha menu. You then use Save As to save the image as an Extended Bitmap image. Set the Save As Type to DXT3 or DXT5 and overwrite your original image.
If needed, you can read the help files for DXTBMP to see how to edit the Alpha Channel by sending it to your favorite image editor.
A few sample files are included with FS Design Studio v3.5 in the \Projects folder including: ds_propdisk.bmp and ds_glass.bmp. The file ds_propdisk can be used to texture your transparent prop disks – just remember to assign a material (material name of “prop” for example).
Hope that helps,
Larry
Sorry Bud, it is in the "Read_Me_FSDS_Upgrade" File in the FSDS3.5 main folder. It reads (in part):
Issue #1: All parts must have a texture assigned to it and that texture must be available to FSX.
Aircraft parts can be assigned a material to give it a solid color for use in FS2004. This makes it quick and easy to color small parts like knobs and switches in the virtual cockpit and other small parts. FSX does not support materials the same way FS2004 does. The material used on FS2004 models will not appear when the model is loaded in FSX – they will appear solid black. You will need to create and/or assign a texture to every part for it to appear in FSX when compiled with MakeMDL.
How do I create glass if I can’t use a transparent material?
The answer lies in the texture. The texture itself has to be created with an Alpha Channel. An Alpha Channel is sort of like a secret code on the texture that Flight Sim can read. This channel holds information about which portions of the image FS will treat differently. Alpha Channels are used for three things; Transparency, Reflection or Light Maps.
How does FS know which way to use the alpha channel? By default, FS will treat an alpha channel as transparent unless the aircraft model itself tells FSX to do other wise. When assigning a texture to an aircraft, you have the option to choose a Reflection check box. This will tell FS to apply a reflection to the model. Another option in FSDS allow you to use the alpha channel as a light map when adding the texture to the Texture List.
How do I create glass on my windows?
In order to get glass, you need to do 2 things:
1) Assign a Material to the part.
2) Apply a texture with an alpha channel
You will need to assign the glass parts in your model a material with a specific name prefix. The names required for transparent parts, like glass, MUST start with one of the following:
· glass
· window
· prop
· trans
The color and display options for the material are not important and you can use the default colors and settings. All that matters is the material name. You can have multiple names like glass_blue and glass_green for example. If the material name starts with “glass”, “window”, “prop” or “trans”, FSDS will tell the MDL file to use the alpha channel on the applied texture as a transparency.
The Alpha channel on the texture as discussed in the FSDS Help file is greyscale. White is solid (no transparency) and pure black is invisible. The grey in between is a level of transparency. The darker the color on the alpha channel, the more invisible it will appear. The texture itself should be a green, blue or grey texture the basic color of the window.
How do I create an Alpha Channel on my textures? FS Design Studio does not create textures or modify them. You will have to have a separate program to load in your texture, create the alpha channel and re-save it. Once such program is called DXTBMP. This is a freeware program that can be found on-line with a simple web search.
If you have a separate glass texture you can simply open DXTBMP, load the image, choose Create Alpha Template from the Alpha menu. You then use Save As to save the image as an Extended Bitmap image. Set the Save As Type to DXT3 or DXT5 and overwrite your original image.
If needed, you can read the help files for DXTBMP to see how to edit the Alpha Channel by sending it to your favorite image editor.
A few sample files are included with FS Design Studio v3.5 in the \Projects folder including: ds_propdisk.bmp and ds_glass.bmp. The file ds_propdisk can be used to texture your transparent prop disks – just remember to assign a material (material name of “prop” for example).
Hope that helps,
Larry
Last edited:
