gecko
Charter Member
As I've become a little more familiar with the mos editor, I'm beginning to think that there is a lot of unused potential here, particularly in the area of skin randomizing. Stock CFS3 did some with this, but from an accuracy perspective, it was pretty badly done. However, we could do quite a bit better if we found a way to create individual skins to represent a good number of aircraft in the in a squadron, and see them all represented in a single flight.
For example, what if we used the nose art option to change an entire skin? In the nose art layer in the mos editor, make the layer cover the whole sheet, and have a set of skins for that aircraft named and called so that they function as nose art. One standalone could cover an entire unit. The ui nose art image could be a screenshot of the full aircraft so the player knows what he's getting. In a mission, the player flies with the skin they select, and other members of the flight show up as different aircraft in the squadron.
Or, perhaps a better method would be have the base layer in the mos have the basic paint job, weathering, and possibly unit markings, and use the nose art layer in the same way as above but put only the individual markings (code letters, serials, personal markings, kills, and nose art) on the nose art sheet. If the layer and transparencies are done well in the .mos file, you might not be able to tell the difference. This method might help those of us with less skill as painters to still be able to contribute by producing the simpler individual markings.
Weathering could even be randomized in a similar way as individual markings.
I've not explored the damage possibilities yet, but I'm sure there's a lot more we can do here as well.
I'm particularly interested in what the more experienced skinners and mos editing folks have to say about this, is it feasible?
For example, what if we used the nose art option to change an entire skin? In the nose art layer in the mos editor, make the layer cover the whole sheet, and have a set of skins for that aircraft named and called so that they function as nose art. One standalone could cover an entire unit. The ui nose art image could be a screenshot of the full aircraft so the player knows what he's getting. In a mission, the player flies with the skin they select, and other members of the flight show up as different aircraft in the squadron.
Or, perhaps a better method would be have the base layer in the mos have the basic paint job, weathering, and possibly unit markings, and use the nose art layer in the same way as above but put only the individual markings (code letters, serials, personal markings, kills, and nose art) on the nose art sheet. If the layer and transparencies are done well in the .mos file, you might not be able to tell the difference. This method might help those of us with less skill as painters to still be able to contribute by producing the simpler individual markings.
Weathering could even be randomized in a similar way as individual markings.
I've not explored the damage possibilities yet, but I'm sure there's a lot more we can do here as well.
I'm particularly interested in what the more experienced skinners and mos editing folks have to say about this, is it feasible?
