Aircraft texture much better without Ankor shader

W

wiekniera

Charter Member
I've been asking this to Ankor long time ago about this and myself think, somehow the aircraft model looks better without ankor shader except the new bump mapping, self shadow & glass reflection which gives the new thing for the model.
Why the looks in some aircraft from what i see they're much better without Ankor in shine reflection or bare metal effect.

In Ankor 2014 this feature seems attracting more which gives the new life for cfs3 but the new 2018 Ankor all i can see they seems just dull flat effect and those shine aircraft model is rare to see. Also like cockpit self shadow for me they look strong in 2014 shader and i like that but the new cockpit shadow in new 2018 shader seems not to my taste (more a bit fade) and the sea/river looks shine with the sunlight reflection into it from far distance but it's gone and ankor change with the new looks.

Is there a way to reverse this shader just for the aircraft using stock shader and maybe for the next ankor shader just adding bump mapping & glass reflection but without touching the stock shader as another ankor shader option?


for example like this :

Ankor shader TURN OFF




Ankor shader TURN ON :

 
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This is an unfortunate side effect of the original aircraft developers not anticipating that we would ever have something like AnKor's shaders to work with.

Since the beginning, AnKor's shaders have allowed the amount of reflection to be easily adjusted from completely flat as you show to a perfect mirror. The method needed is specific to each aircraft depending on how they were originally produced, but it's usually one of three possibilities:
You need to brighten the associated _r or _s dds file to increase the reflectivity. I use grey shades of 4-6% brightness for painted surfaces, and 8-16% brightness for bare metal.
You need to add a .+sr.dds file to provide the reflectivity map. This is needed only if the original model lacks any reference to shading files.
You need to hex edit the m3d file to turn on/up reflectivity. This is a matter of understanding the data pattern, and changing a few values in the appropriate places

Other than bump mapping, the way the shaders handle basic shading and reflectivity in 2018 is really no different than it was in 2014.

If the aircraft has not already been optimized by the developers for use with the new shaders then it's a matter of making these adjustments to make it look the way you want.

I don't recognize the B-17 in your example, but I could fix it for you in just a few minutes if you'd like.

p.s. You can also make adjustments in d3d8.ini to the following entries:

; Tweaks strength of environment reflection. 0 - off. 1 minimum, 9 maximum.
EnvReflection=5


; Tweak sharpness of sun and environment reflections. 1 dullest, 9 sharpest.
Glossiness=1

I made these the default because it was the best compromise for most legacy aircraft to look a bit used and weather worn.
Bumping up both these numbers will have an effect on every aircraft that has an active reflection map file that is anymore than pure black.

pps. Looking at your example pictures I'm not seeing much sunlight shining on the aircraft. (Weak shadows, no specular highlights)
 
Hi Major !
Thanks for your reply
Like you said, Ankor shader didn't work in both ways so there's a downside of using it even it's just a few didn't work and has to be done by modify it at the model.
btw where a .+sr.dds come from?
It's AVH / Gary herbert B-17 but the skin i use is Ruby's raiders from john terrell classic package and it comes with better cockpit,gauges texture to replace the old one, you can find it in fs2004 ww2 skin section.
Right now i try to turn off the environment mapping in configoverrides.xml and seems it's much better now with the skin or it's standard procedure that Ankor shader should turn off the environment mapping?

Here's the result with environment mapping turn off and guess it's has reflection now without environment mapping

 
The .+sr.dds file is something that is newly created for a model that never had _r.dds, or _s.dds files. It's an image in shades of grey that maps out the patterns of flat and shiny surfaces, that matches the _t.dds file. It functions no differently than _r.dds, or _s.dds files, and only has a different name convention so the shaders know to apply it to the model without it actually being already built into the m3d.
 
well this b-17 model had both _r.dds & _s.dds, so do i still need _sr+.dds ?

Here both textures, are they correct major?
I made this _r.dds from main _t.dds by using dxtbmp then inverting the alpha and save it to editor and save back to dds. Is that right? coz i don't know how to make _r.dds in manual, im just guessing by looking similar texture with the other r_dds result and for _s.dds i took it from the original avh which already have it :untroubled:


_r.dds


_s.dds
 
Yes, with those you should not need to create a new .+sr.dds file.

The files you posted are light enough shades of grey that your aircraft should be extremely shiny with AnKor's shaders turned on. I'm not sure why they are not working unless the m3d doesn't reference them by name. When you changed the skin did you change the names?
 
The only reliable way I've been able to get these to work correctly with Ankor's Shaders is by disabling the mos files. (I just put an x at the beginning of the filename)

I'm not sure what the conflict may be with these because I have plenty of other aircraft (including B-17s) working with their mos files active.

One other curiosity is that this trick only works for these aircraft if the main texture is saved in DXT1 with a 1 bit alpha layer.
 
Using Ankor's shaders, never understood why the FP B 17G never had the metallic look to it, always a dull shine, but the B 29 was just the opposite, nice metallic look to it, shaders on or off.

BTW, MajorMagee, doing anything with Panzer Elite anymore? :) Saw that the new Ostpak came out last month, looking good too!
 
I saw that, and recognized some of my textures still being used in the update to PE. It's been years, and a couple of computer crashes since I did any work on it. I do miss it and wonder if I should try to get it reinstalled again.
 
I have the original PE cd, but found it was easier to install the Panzer Elite Special Edition you can get from GOG games, under 10 dollars still. Have to get the new Mod Enabler from the Ostpak download site, other wise it won't work with the new Ostpak, has the seamless terrains with it, which was great because you can't find them anywhere anymore. The Ostpak comes in at 2.6 gigs now, almost 4 gigs unzipped,lol Can find it here- https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/pedg/panzer-elite-ostpak-redux-2-0-released-download-li-t2571.html

I was wrong on the cost of PE Special Edition, its $5.99,lol

https://www.gog.com/game/panzer_elite_se



 
Check to see if it needs patch 1.2 or whatever it is for PE MajorMagee, have to have it patched at least to that level.
 
No luck major even i turn back on the environment mapping but 2048x2048 is a nice look ! can i see your result ?
so im still turning off the environment mapping which gives another aircraft much better.
I dont know if my shader.xml is compatible with Ankor because the sun also show a square box like it's not blend with it.

i change the M3D back but using your 2048x2048 skin..Thanks for the skin upgrade major !!


:ernaehrung004:

 
The AnKors_Shaders_17_Jan_2018.zip includes the suneffect.xml and Effects/Weather/sun.dds files you need to prevent the square sun problem. I'll post the image in the screenshot thread.
 
I still don't know why it still can't match with your shots even after using your shader.xml and it still has no reflection at all if the environment mapping is ON.
So still i've to turn it off but using your new shader.xml show much different in reflection without environment mapping. If possible could you try turning off your envi mapping to see the result? if it's similar to mine then i'm affraid it's my graphic driver issue or something is missing from my windows essential with Ankor shader.
Btw about panoramic cubic test, can they also become an issue with reflection using ankor shader?
I think it's already good enough for me major, Thanks for the shader.xml ! :ernaehrung004:




 
If I recall rightly, the panoramic cubic test dds can cause issues if it wasn't saved in the right format. Try it with the stock one if you have been using a different one. It won't change the visuals, since Ankor is reflecting the actual sim world now, but I think it still uses the texture behind the scenes somehow.
 
When I set <DisableEnvironmentMapping val="y"/> in ConfigOverrides.xml it looks dull and flat like your earlier images.

<DisableEnvironmentMapping val="n"/> looks shiny.
 
@gecko
oh no i don't have the stock one anymore, the default cfs3 install is gone and just the ETO now which this's the only cfs3 install i had right now :dizzy:

@major
strange..mine is the opposite from yours :banghead:
 
it is nothing unusual, pretty avaitable infact. that is the funny price for all the freely user made config edits ;)
 
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