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Grass Scenery objects for FSX

falcon409

falcon409

SOH-CM-2025
I have a set of brush n' grass scenery objects that I used quite a bit in FS9 and it looked great, however in FSX it has a mirror appearance to it that knocks out anything behind it. I see scenery done all the time with very realistic looking blade grass but researching actual scenery objects of this sort has turned up nothing.

So my question is. . .how is that done? Is it actually a scenery object that can be placed or is it a secret only a select few know about and they ain't tellin'? lol.
 
Yep, it's a scenery object, usually with a LOD attached to it for performance reasons. The reason your FS9 one doesn't display properly is because of how FSX handles textures with transparent properties. The hard part is getting a good grass texture and alpha
 
Yea I have James and I use that, but what I'm looking for is a single line or grouping of grass that can be used for lining the edges of taxiways and/or rwy's. Here's what I'm working with:
The first image is the texture in DXTbmp. . . .next is one patch of grass (notice the main grass texture is that download from REX). . . .the third shot is that patch of grass elevated so that it intersects the horizon to show the alpha problem. . .the last shot, look closely at the patch of grass and you can see where the alpha blots out the grass patch behind it.

Now, after all is said and done, as long as the grass patches are below eye level (and why wouldn't they be, lol) this is a minor problem as it turns out because the only time the alpha is undesirable is if it crosses in front of another object (fence line, sign post, an automobile tire, etc.). As long as it's just trimming the edges of the rwy and taxiway (as you can see in the pics). . .it may not be a big deal.
 
Ed, not sure how FSDS handles material properties, but in Gmax, you have to assign certain values to a texture so that transparencies display properly

gmaxalpha.jpg
 
Well, I was hoping a simple rework of the alpha channel would take care of this but I should have known better, lol. Thanks Michael. I may still try it in one area of a taxiway and then move around that area to see what it looks like. Nice grass lines along the rwy and taxiways just adds another dimension to the scenery. . .just a tad bit more realism.
 
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