gauges won't light!

Its me again     I been working on the knowledge of the building of and aircraft( a lot)I'm Just about to finish the most difficult part of this.....The entire knowledge of how to make a Big Jet( a heavy one)..After that, the rest is easy ,Very easy.....Well Just the shape of the nose and the time ill spend it,but it worth it.


Still got Issues ,like,Jamm!! (for not to say the bad word)I can't make the Gauges in the virtual panel Light,I follow two tutorials step by step,one is from Milton S."Creating VC Textures Basics for Gmax" and   VC_Lighting_Tutorial from Fr. Bill Leaming, SSG...but this last one its for FS2002,

He saids something about to Apply or insert the xx_L.BMP texture and $XXX in the Material Editor, in the "Self-Illumination" slot at the same time..






This confused me,.Also I follow the Milton's tutorial I use and 32 x 32 or 128 x 128 in 8 bits 256 colors black,and I still don't really know what is an alfa channel is, but i create it in paint sho pro,and with "Image Tool" The one who comes in Gmax,It says so...


let me revuew,I place the  $dummy 32x32,8bit,in the plane or a planar that i create,then I place a secondary image with sufix L like XXX_L 32X32 8b,Black,Over the first dummy image wich this first one $ self iluminate at 50% 60% 100% apply in Gmax or 3d Max,I set it, in 3d studio M,or

Gmax wich I test it,and neither both,.. In the mAKEMDL SOFT.,I fill the box of option "has a light map"(sometimes)then I place this Image _L in the texture aircraft folder,I made in the black_L.bmp, the white points(spray blank effects)upsidedown behind every gauge  ...I try Test After Test,when I consume most of my nights,my brain,and resourses,tire I came here.....


Another question (I Think this should be the last one)..
I been working with texturing(I still don't have and Idea how to do it yet),What or how you use a single sheet or image with all parts together,crow it fill it up with docens of images


,How you separate them?I try manualy with UVW maping is hard almost imposible,so I been testing with separate images at 24 bits then I recompress it into a DTX 1,or 3,It work but I don't think having maybe hundreds of separate images in the texture folder wouldn't be a good Idea!.How you do this?


                       

.You Know.,The stupid idiot Guide Is a good maybe one of the best,But Im Having trouble to understand the reading in english,The technical vocabulary they use it,Even English speakers ,Don't understand it,


any easy and didactical tutorial recomendation,I'll presiate it,any advice I would be very thanksfully,...


cheers....Alex.

Is the same thing Gary, only that $xx disappear is just a map that Gmax or max use it to set the gauges into something (a bmp)and the other works when you hit the light in the night,What interest me is nobody has answer this post,yet 

Hi Mr.Milton thanks for your reply Again [size=0.5][/size]I realize this morning by another *.bmp xxx_L(one from the b777)I open one XXX_L with image tool and it says "alpha alpha",instead mine says "alpha none" that is a double bit image,perhaps that's one of the trouble,How can I make in a 24 & 8 bit in a single image?,and after i done without recompresing so the max or Gmax would accept it, them I recompress it into DTX3?Right?