Simviation Forum - Texture problem.

Nov 17^th, 2003 at 5:26am

Smoke2much Offline
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I have finished a basic Blenheim that works sufficiently well to export to FS2k2. I spent an hour or so texturing the model last night but when I load it in fs2k2 it just looks grey. It looks camoflaged in Gmax tho'. Any ideas what I may have done wrong?

Will

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Reply #1 - Nov 17^th, 2003 at 6:40am

Hagar Offline
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Will. As you know I'm not expert with Gmax. The first thing to check with any textures is that they're in a format FS can read. This can be simple 8 bit standard BMP or one of the 16 bit Extended BMP FS texture formats. Most paint programs will save out in 24 bit which I believe Gmax can read but the sims cannot. This is where DXTBmp is so useful.
(PSP can reduce the colour resolution to 8 bit & save out in this format. I use this format for simple working textures.)

Another common problem in the old days of FSDS1 was caused by using texture file names with spaces. I'm not sure if this still applies with Gmax but suspect it's an FS thing rather than the design application. To make certain, get into the habit of losing the spaces from any file names in your project. Use an underscore _ to separate words if you wish.

I'm sure Felix will have some better suggestions.

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Reply #2 - Nov 17^th, 2003 at 6:57am

Felix/FFDS Offline
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Spot on, Hagar.

I start my "grey texture problems" troubleshooting:

1. Are the textures in the right folder (don't laugh, it happens)

2. Are the textures in the folder all non-24 bit color (this is where preliminary 8-bit textures come im handy)

3. If the textures are in the right folder, do they have the right name(s). (If you assigned front_1.bmp in gmax, do you have front1.bmp or front -1.bmp ...

)

Felix/FFDS

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Reply #3 - Nov 17^th, 2003 at 7:01am

Smoke2much Offline
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Thanks again guys Roll Eyes

I guess it was a 24bit issue, I don't have Paint shop Pro, I have to use Adobe Photoshop 6.0 and it will only save in 24bit format when I create the map.

I am playing with Image tool and DXT BMP as we speak. The silly thing is that I haven't finished the model by a long way yet, I just want to see it "with it's clothes on" so to speak..

Will

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Reply #4 - Nov 17^th, 2003 at 7:08am

Smoke2much Offline
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Right, let's see if I've got this straight.

I create a map in 24 bit using Photshop. I convert this using Image tool from the SDK to an 8 bit format that GMax can use (it doesn't like any of the 16 bit (555,565 or 444) formats). Map the textures to the model and save the map with a name that I can use if FS2k2.

Using DXT BMP I convert the image back to 16 Bit and make it look pretty in photoshop and then I have textures.

Hmmm. Fun this, innit?

Will

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Reply #5 - Nov 17^th, 2003 at 7:16am

Hagar Offline
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Will. I suggest using DXTBmp for converting the 24 bit textures direct. Make sure you have the latest version. This makes converting formats automatic & takes Imagetool out of the equation. Try either the FS2002 default DXT3 or Extended 565 formats. These should work but there might be others more suitable. I haven't tried the Extended 32 bit option.

If that doesn't fix it the problem might be elsewhere. I've seen this mentioned here but not knowing Gmax I can't help.

PS. You might need 2 sets of textures. 24 bit for Gmax & a different one for the aircraft in the sim.

PPS. Why not try assigning a texture from an existing 3rd party aircraft. Then you will at least know where the problem lies.

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Reply #6 - Nov 17^th, 2003 at 9:54am

Felix/FFDS Offline
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Quote:

Right, let's see if I've got this straight.

I create a map in 24 bit using Photshop. I convert this using Image tool from the SDK to an 8 bit format that GMax can use (it doesn't like any of the 16 bit (555,565 or 444) formats). Map the textures to the model and save the map with a name that I can use if FS2k2.

Using DXT BMP I convert the image back to 16 Bit and make it look pretty in photoshop and then I have textures.

Hmmm. Fun this, innit?

Will

gmax, I believe, can handle the 24-bit image - jpg, tiff, etc., It's FS that can't.

What typically you want to do is create your "master" textures in the native PSD format, so you can keep the layers, etc.

For mapping purposes, save your PSD as an 8-bit BMP, and use THOSE bitmaps as your testers in both gmax and FS.

Only when you've finished, do you want to do the final PSD to "fancy bitmap" conversions with DXTBMP, etc.

Rule of Thumb:
To avoid a deterioration of texture quality, always make any changes to the base PSD, and convert to DXT format, instead of converting back and forth from the FS textured bitmap.

Felix/FFDS

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