Specular mapping for dummies

malibu43

malibu43

Charter Member
I am trying my hand at repainting an aircraft for the first time and am a bit stumped with specular mapping. I understand what a specular map does at this point, but I am having a hard time finding any information on how exactly to create a specular map once I have my repaint.

The samples I've looked at seem to replace the colors of the paint (red, yellow, and blue, for example) with different shades of some turqois color. Whites are still white, and then blacks usually end up looking at little faded.

Can someone explain what the new spec map colors mean, how they affect reflectivity, and how they are related to the original color of the paint?

Thanks!

edit - Also, I've seen some posts that say "look in the SDK". I'm not sure why, but I'm having a hard time finding SDK documentation for repainting. Can someone tell me where I should find it?
 
For the SDK they may be referring to the FSX Material section, start the SDK and click on INDEX tab on the left and then FSX Material.

On the FSX Material page there will be a "The specular map and its properties" link under Table of Contents. Click on that and you will see a teapot. Move your mouse over any of the FSX Materials on the left and the teapot will change to show the effect of various spec map settings.
 
In the simplest terms possible:
  • the color of the RGB channels will be used for the specular reflections of the diffuse (main) texture.
  • the shade of the Alpha channel will be used to control the amount (strength) of the specular reflections.
For example, if you use a very slightly "yellow" tint to the specular RGB, then the specular highlights will have a faint "golden glow" which might provide the illusion of sunlight.

In all cases though, how the developer has set up and configured the FSX Material settings may change how the Alpha channel of the spec texture is used, e.g. "Blend diffuse by inverse of specular map alpha" may have been selected, or "Blend environment by specular map alpha" may have been selected.
 
Thanks guys.

Based on what I read in the SDK and what you said, n4gx, I have a faint idea of what's going on. I guess I'll just have to experiment.
 
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