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Please see the most recent updates in the "Where did the .com name go?" thread. Posts number 16 and 17.
setclass
- Thread starter hertzie
- Start date
Hi Hubba, Smilo & Ivan, while waiting for the tutorial patiently (lol) and not being the type of just doing nothing I've been working on the panel of a great Me-262A with Czech textures I found in my archives. Would like to hear your opinions and also some help would be appreciated. Please Smilo & Ivan, send me a PM with your email adress if you would like to see what I did, Hubba's I do have already.
Cheers, hertzie.
Cheers, hertzie.
Hello Hertzie,
My email address isn't a secret. I put it in everything I release.
Ivan1GFP@yahoo.com
Thanks for the thought.
- Ivan.
My email address isn't a secret. I put it in everything I release.
Ivan1GFP@yahoo.com
Thanks for the thought.
- Ivan.
hubbabubba
Charter Member
-What to look for in the textures;
-Which attributes do they have and what need to be changed;
-Which are tough to place and how to spot them;
-How to re-size and lower their color palette;
-What mapping does to texture;
-How to replace them.
And if my posts are butchered after a few weeks, an HTML version should be available at the Free Flight site.
For you, Ivan, I may even include a little appendix on how to make a circle dead center, if you still want me to, of course.
Thanks Hubbabubba,
If you have an easily workable method, that would be good too.
Actually I was looking for a tool to easy draw concentric circles as I typically do for insignia.
Funny thing is that I am finding I keep going back to AF5Paint to do the circles because with the Shift-Drag method, sometimes the drawn circles do not have a center pixel and making them concentric is a pain.
Thanks for the files Hertzie. I still have not installed them yet, but the screenshots look interesting.
The Me 262 looks very clean. Do you know whose model this was?
- Ivan.
If you have an easily workable method, that would be good too.
Actually I was looking for a tool to easy draw concentric circles as I typically do for insignia.
Funny thing is that I am finding I keep going back to AF5Paint to do the circles because with the Shift-Drag method, sometimes the drawn circles do not have a center pixel and making them concentric is a pain.
Thanks for the files Hertzie. I still have not installed them yet, but the screenshots look interesting.
The Me 262 looks very clean. Do you know whose model this was?
- Ivan.
Hi Ivan, see the readme, in there are all the credits and info about the original.
I do have another question: I made a minipanel in the 2D, got the background color from black to light gray, but am not able to get rid of that gray. Don't know if it's possible or that I can't find the necessary background-color numbers for it.
Suggestions most welcome.
Cheers to all, hertzie.
I do have another question: I made a minipanel in the 2D, got the background color from black to light gray, but am not able to get rid of that gray. Don't know if it's possible or that I can't find the necessary background-color numbers for it.
Suggestions most welcome.
Cheers to all, hertzie.
Panel Backgrounds
Hello Hertzie,
I just finished building a Trim Test Gauge and put it on an auxiliary 2D panel and found out a few things in the process.
Perhaps what I found might work for you as well.
(Pardon the long-winded description.)
My Trim Test Gauge is very large, so I didn't want to leave it in the main panel because it would obstruct too much of the window, so it had to go in an auxiliary panel (Shift 3).
I had first intended to stretch out the SP.Trim gauge that comes with CFS and just put a background with fine hash marks so I detect small movements. That did not work, but I left the background in place as I was working on what I was calling the SDK.NewTrim gauge.
When I was done and the gauge was working as I wanted, I tried to get rid of the hash marks in the background.
First, I just removed the BMP specification from the Panel.CFG file -- The panel in the simulator went all gray and opaque.
Next, I put the BMP specification back in but changed the BMP to be all colour 0 - Black. Panel remained all gray. (!)
Next, I put a little image under where the gauge was going to be so that in use, the image was completely covered by the gauge. At this point, everything started working again.
Screenshots show what I was seeing.
Note that when you press <Esc> to exit the simulator, the Trim Test Gauge disappears but its background does not. (Little Box in upper left corner.)
Perhaps you need to modify your background to have multiple colours and be colour Zero where it should be transparent?
- Ivan.
Hello Hertzie,
I just finished building a Trim Test Gauge and put it on an auxiliary 2D panel and found out a few things in the process.
Perhaps what I found might work for you as well.
(Pardon the long-winded description.)
My Trim Test Gauge is very large, so I didn't want to leave it in the main panel because it would obstruct too much of the window, so it had to go in an auxiliary panel (Shift 3).
I had first intended to stretch out the SP.Trim gauge that comes with CFS and just put a background with fine hash marks so I detect small movements. That did not work, but I left the background in place as I was working on what I was calling the SDK.NewTrim gauge.
When I was done and the gauge was working as I wanted, I tried to get rid of the hash marks in the background.
First, I just removed the BMP specification from the Panel.CFG file -- The panel in the simulator went all gray and opaque.
Next, I put the BMP specification back in but changed the BMP to be all colour 0 - Black. Panel remained all gray. (!)
Next, I put a little image under where the gauge was going to be so that in use, the image was completely covered by the gauge. At this point, everything started working again.
Screenshots show what I was seeing.
Note that when you press <Esc> to exit the simulator, the Trim Test Gauge disappears but its background does not. (Little Box in upper left corner.)
Perhaps you need to modify your background to have multiple colours and be colour Zero where it should be transparent?
- Ivan.
Attachments
hubbabubba
Charter Member
...and in the meantime...
... my PC went down again and my BALOD (yeah, they have an acronym for that, meaning Blinking Amber Light Of Death) has came back with a vengeance
One of my brother gave me his old W7 Laptop, which is "state of the art" for me. But the battery is dead and it has no "fax modem". I know; beggar can't be chooser...
I had time to download many BALOD movies, some with useful tips, but they all imply disconnecting the tower and removing the side panel, which is on the left side.
And now, guess which side of this PC is against another PC (the curb reject), way out of easy access...
keep your hats handy (and buy a new one).
BTW, smilo, I've seen your beret (kinda) and I had exactly that image in mind when I wrote my remark.
... my PC went down again and my BALOD (yeah, they have an acronym for that, meaning Blinking Amber Light Of Death) has came back with a vengeance
One of my brother gave me his old W7 Laptop, which is "state of the art" for me. But the battery is dead and it has no "fax modem". I know; beggar can't be chooser...
I had time to download many BALOD movies, some with useful tips, but they all imply disconnecting the tower and removing the side panel, which is on the left side.
And now, guess which side of this PC is against another PC (the curb reject), way out of easy access...
keep your hats handy (and buy a new one).
BTW, smilo, I've seen your beret (kinda) and I had exactly that image in mind when I wrote my remark.
Hello Hubbabubba,
The laptop should run fine with line power even if the battery won't hold a charge.
Just about every machine in the offices I worked at had long retired batteries.
They would not even last long enough to change outlets in the same room.
As for replacement batteries, unless it is one of those that are built in, you can probably find a new replacement on eBay for not a lot of money. My Daughter's old laptop is in need of a new battery but there is also much more physically wrong with that machine. (The case is falling apart.)
The local Thrifts in our location have lots of serviceable old machines, but the cost of shipping way exceeds the value of the machines.
Good Luck with the Amber Light....
- Ivan.
The laptop should run fine with line power even if the battery won't hold a charge.
Just about every machine in the offices I worked at had long retired batteries.
They would not even last long enough to change outlets in the same room.
As for replacement batteries, unless it is one of those that are built in, you can probably find a new replacement on eBay for not a lot of money. My Daughter's old laptop is in need of a new battery but there is also much more physically wrong with that machine. (The case is falling apart.)
The local Thrifts in our location have lots of serviceable old machines, but the cost of shipping way exceeds the value of the machines.
Good Luck with the Amber Light....
- Ivan.
hubbabubba
Charter Member
Thanks Ivan for the advice, but I was already aware of that.
The computer is running fine (mostly) but, like many high-end computer in average hands, it was poorly taken care of. One example; it had four antivirus installed... but not kept updated. It was a bit like sending four retriever to get one duck.
It is also packed with (I will keep within decency) crud, which is partly explained by my brother lack of knowledge about "uninstall" W7 features, coupled to a very large HD capacity, and a teen who, well, act like many teen.
But my biggest problem is internet connection. With the battery dead, I can't get to a "free Wi-Fi" location (like the nearby park), and I can't plug an external dial-up modem. I did found a dial-up that could be plugged in a USB port, but delivery date is mid-March at the latest.
Tonight, I tried to dust the PC and, using a few "tricks" found on Youtube, restart the bugger; no such luck.
But enough with the long-winded lamentation.
The computer is running fine (mostly) but, like many high-end computer in average hands, it was poorly taken care of. One example; it had four antivirus installed... but not kept updated. It was a bit like sending four retriever to get one duck.
It is also packed with (I will keep within decency) crud, which is partly explained by my brother lack of knowledge about "uninstall" W7 features, coupled to a very large HD capacity, and a teen who, well, act like many teen.
But my biggest problem is internet connection. With the battery dead, I can't get to a "free Wi-Fi" location (like the nearby park), and I can't plug an external dial-up modem. I did found a dial-up that could be plugged in a USB port, but delivery date is mid-March at the latest.
Tonight, I tried to dust the PC and, using a few "tricks" found on Youtube, restart the bugger; no such luck.
But enough with the long-winded lamentation.
so how much is a replacement battery?
This is why I only wanted a machine with a removable battery.
At the moment, my son's Toshiba laptop has integral battery and so does my daughter's brand new laptop.
Anna Honey's laptop is issued by her office and also has integral battery but I don't hafta worry about maintaining that one.
One rather interesting thing is that my daughter's laptop is only about 3 days old and has a Intel Core i7 processor but actually benchmarks slower than mine for most tests according to Internet evals and mine is from last March.
None of our current computers have upgrade ably memory any more... <sigh>
- Ivan.
This is why I only wanted a machine with a removable battery.
At the moment, my son's Toshiba laptop has integral battery and so does my daughter's brand new laptop.
Anna Honey's laptop is issued by her office and also has integral battery but I don't hafta worry about maintaining that one.
One rather interesting thing is that my daughter's laptop is only about 3 days old and has a Intel Core i7 processor but actually benchmarks slower than mine for most tests according to Internet evals and mine is from last March.
None of our current computers have upgrade ably memory any more... <sigh>
- Ivan.
hubbabubba
Charter Member
This laptop has an incredibly easy to remove battery pack. It takes less than 15 seconds to replace. Battery prices vary between 40-50$. Integral batteries? Really? One of two things; manufacturers are incredibly confident or have pushed the "forced obsolescence" concept to its (il)logical limit.
Hello Hubbabubba,
The non upgradeable memory deal was interesting.
I am reasonably certain that they are probably correct in that I will most likely never need to upgrade the memory in any of the laptops.
My old machine was 2GB. In the seven years it was operational, it was never upgraded. The battery was starting to go by then but part of it may have been that the processor was very power hungry.
It used around 135 Watts if I remember correctly. MY new HP's processor only uses about 37 Watts. With 8 times the memory, I most likely will not need to upgrade within its useful life.
My Daughter's old machine (still operational but not healthy) had 4 GB of memory. My Son's laptop was the first that had non upgradeable memory and a non-removable battery. Anna Honey bought it because it offered good performance at a pretty fair price. It has 8 GB of memory. My current machine was bought about 4 months after my son's and has 16 GB memory and is substantially faster with a Core i7 instead of the Core i5 on his. My Daughter's new computer was just received a few days ago (10-11 months after mine). It has nominally the same specifications with Core i7 and 16 GB of memory.
HER processor only consumes about 11-12 Watts of power which is less than 1/10 of my original and now dead laptop.
The really interesting thing is that although it is almost a year newer, except for the Memory Management Unit which is much faster than mine, its processor scores worse in every other measureable performance except for power consumption.
I told Anna Honey that the new computer should have a touch screen and a Core i7. Both criteria were met, but she did not consult me before ordering and I didn't have a chance to research the actual processor model that the computer has.
My Daughter likes her new computer because it is nicely folded up into a tablet and has a touch screen and just plain looks cool. The processor isn't THAT MUCH slower than mine in any case and she will most likely never need the extra performance. I know that I haven't even come close to pushing my computer hard since I have had it.
Pardon the story telling.
Regarding replacement batteries, you might want to check out eBay. I bought a replacement cell phone batter for my old Motorola phone for about $3.50 with shipping included.
More recently, my son needed a replacement battery for his Electric AirSoft Gun and while the hobby shops were quoting prices around the $40-$50 mark, I found a dealer on eBay (not even the cheapest) who advertised a higher capacity battery for $18 or so with free shipping. I didn't order through eBay but contacted the dealer directly by telephone because there were a lot of questions regarding fit and they were quite helpful, so if you don't have an eBay account, you can probably still search and find a source there.
What model of Laptop are you dealing with?
- Ivan.
The non upgradeable memory deal was interesting.
I am reasonably certain that they are probably correct in that I will most likely never need to upgrade the memory in any of the laptops.
My old machine was 2GB. In the seven years it was operational, it was never upgraded. The battery was starting to go by then but part of it may have been that the processor was very power hungry.
It used around 135 Watts if I remember correctly. MY new HP's processor only uses about 37 Watts. With 8 times the memory, I most likely will not need to upgrade within its useful life.
My Daughter's old machine (still operational but not healthy) had 4 GB of memory. My Son's laptop was the first that had non upgradeable memory and a non-removable battery. Anna Honey bought it because it offered good performance at a pretty fair price. It has 8 GB of memory. My current machine was bought about 4 months after my son's and has 16 GB memory and is substantially faster with a Core i7 instead of the Core i5 on his. My Daughter's new computer was just received a few days ago (10-11 months after mine). It has nominally the same specifications with Core i7 and 16 GB of memory.
HER processor only consumes about 11-12 Watts of power which is less than 1/10 of my original and now dead laptop.
The really interesting thing is that although it is almost a year newer, except for the Memory Management Unit which is much faster than mine, its processor scores worse in every other measureable performance except for power consumption.
I told Anna Honey that the new computer should have a touch screen and a Core i7. Both criteria were met, but she did not consult me before ordering and I didn't have a chance to research the actual processor model that the computer has.
My Daughter likes her new computer because it is nicely folded up into a tablet and has a touch screen and just plain looks cool. The processor isn't THAT MUCH slower than mine in any case and she will most likely never need the extra performance. I know that I haven't even come close to pushing my computer hard since I have had it.
Pardon the story telling.
Regarding replacement batteries, you might want to check out eBay. I bought a replacement cell phone batter for my old Motorola phone for about $3.50 with shipping included.
More recently, my son needed a replacement battery for his Electric AirSoft Gun and while the hobby shops were quoting prices around the $40-$50 mark, I found a dealer on eBay (not even the cheapest) who advertised a higher capacity battery for $18 or so with free shipping. I didn't order through eBay but contacted the dealer directly by telephone because there were a lot of questions regarding fit and they were quite helpful, so if you don't have an eBay account, you can probably still search and find a source there.
What model of Laptop are you dealing with?
- Ivan.