Please help: Problem converting textures/formats

[RS]

Hi Folks,

may be somebody can help me with my "Repaint problem"...

1. I am not a Repainter I am a absolut beginner...
2. I am running FSX Gold on Windows 10 ... everything is fine...
3. I ve installed DXTBMP, PAINT.NET and AI-Aircraft EDITOR.NET to start simple repaintings
4. My wish is to make simple repaints ... especially from ships:
5. Example: Hernrik Nielson´s AI ship AI_Sertao (It´s a drill ship...) I like to repaint a fiktive turkish variant of this drill ship with a red instead the blue hull, new name, flag and so on... (Remark: Of course it will not be published without the authors approval...)

6. I use AI-Aircraft EDITOR.NET to analyse aircraft but also ships... That means my original ship looks in the model viewer like this:

7. This ship "Serato" use 2 dds textures (day/night)... declared/described as

8. I open the "day" texture serato.dds in DXTBMP - send the image to the linked editor/Graphic programm PAINT.NET,
make my works and save it finally under a new name "Yavuz.dds" in DDS format.

When viewing this "new" ship/texture in Aircraft EDITOR.NET this happens:

( Of course I have made a new entry in the sim.cfg before viewing...) Whats going on here? Depend it on something I´ve forgotten ALPHA? MIPS? or what?)

I´ve used a turorial https://sites.google.com/site/whatthestudios/flight-simulator-x-repaint-tutorial

So this is my problem. It would be outstanding if somebody can give me step by step instructions....

A big Thank you in advance...

RS

 

[Motormouse]

erm, don't export directly to your paint program from dxtbmp.

First save both image and its alpha
as 2 separate bitmaps. (.bmp files)

Then rework the basic texture using your paint program,

Once you're happy with that then use DXTBMP to save as dds ( remembering to add the alpha back again)

Most paint programs remove the alpha.

Ttfn

Pete

 

[Duckie]

Also, you have to save the .dds texture file as the same name as the original otherwise the model can't find it.

 

[RS]

That´s what I´ve done...

Hi Duckie
Hi Motormouse

here is what I´ve done...

1. First I made a copy of the sertaro.dds texture file ( the original texture of Henrik´s AI ship) and put it in my work folder...
2. I renamed this file to Yavuz.dds
3. I opened DXTBMP and loaded this Yavuz.dds
4. I export the alpha to Yavuz_alpha.bmp
5. I saved the image as Yavuz.bmp
6. I opened PAINT.NET and loaded this Yavuz.bmp
7. I made my works ( only a simple color switch of the helicopter deck... for testing)
8. I saved this image as Yavuz.bmp (24 Bit)
9. I opened DXTBMP again and loaded this Yavuz.bmp.
10. I imported the alpha (see 4.) - Yavuz_alpha.bmp
11. I applied the alpha to the image
12. I previewed the MipMaps
13. I saved the image as the new Yavuz.dds (-> DXT 5, MipMaps included)

14. I copied this new Yavuz.dds to it´s sim folder: Texture.Yavuz
15. The sim.cfg fltsim.x entries should be okay:

[fltsim.0]
title=AI_Sertao
model=sertao
texture=Sertao
ui_manufacturer=Henrik Nielsen
ui_type=Drill_Ship


[fltsim.1]
title=AI_Yavuz
model=sertao
texture=Yavuz
ui_manufacturer=Henrik Nielsen
ui_type=Drill_Ship


======================================================

16. I opened Ai-Aircraft Editor.NET
17. The texture desription seems to be okay - it´s equal with the sertao.texture items...

....but the model viewer shows again only the black and white pattern on the ship...



Any suggestions?

Many greetings RS

 

[Duckie]

Your "new" texture file name should remain the same as the original, the model is looking to the texture file "sertaro.dds". If you change the name to Yavuz.dds the model does not know what that is.

Steve

 

[RS]

Mission accomplished!

Also, you have to save the .dds texture file as the same name as the original otherwise the model can't find it.

Oh Duckie

Now I have realized it ..

A simple renaming of the final Yavuz.dds file to Sertao.dds in it´s texture.Yavuz folder...
... and the world changes...

Now I see my new helicopter deck "test colour"....

Now I am (hopefully) ready to try to adapt this one here (only the colours) ... on Henriks hull.

Dear Motormouse, dear Duckie - a big Thank you for your help!

RS

 

[Duckie]

 

[RS]

It´s done....

My first little repaint of Henrik Nielsen´s drill ship AI_Sertao is done (...at first!)

For me it is good... from this side... but the other side must be overhauled (Probably the painter had been drunk when painting the port side...)

I assume it will be shown in this way because the texture of this port side of the ship is a mirror image of the starboard side.
That´s a problem to be solved in future...

Many Greetings

RS