The next conversion project WIP

Thanks to lots of help back and forth in PMs between myself and DaveQ we have a workable solution. The culprits were two virtual texture files that somehow got into the model at some point in it's past (probably back in the FS2004 days). These files (identified by a $VC prefix) should only exist as virtual textures in the modelling program of choice (GMAX, 3DS Max, Blender, etc.) and they act as place-holders for the 2D gauges and should not be exported with the model. Somehow they got into the exported model and caused all the issues. Removing or converting them to actual textures using MCX means that the gauges disappear as the place-holders are now gone but the glass issues have also gone away because the gauges were actually effectively displaying in front of the glass at certain angles! Initially I removed the errant $VC textures from both the external model and the internal model and then had a mild panic attack when I went into the VC in sim and all the gauges were missing! :oops: :eek:

The work around is to just remove them from the external model but leave them in the internal model, the downside is the gauges disappear from the external view of the aircraft BUT the glass doesn't! I can live with that!

Here's the results:

DaveQ-4.png
DaveQ-5.png
DaveQ-6.png

Next up is trying to fix the FS2004 bare metal grey levels as they are coming in way too dark in P3D!
 
By golly I think we've got it Batman! :D

'Precious Metal' is a texture I've created from scratch using one of the other metal schemes as a base and I think I've finally found the correct values in the diffuse, alpha and metallic layers/textures to make the metal actually look like metal instead of being dark and dingy looking.

It certainly looks good in the sunlight!

PM-1.png
PM-2.png
PM-3.png

Now I have to fix all the other schemes too!

:cool:
 
Larry,
Out of curiosity did you try adjusting the Z-Bias on the window glass so that it was higher than that of the VC texture. This should make the glass display in front of the VC (at least on non-PBR textures - I assume it behaves the same for PBR)

Looking very nice BTW

Gavin

edit - never mind I just saw your post over at FSDeveloper
 
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I didn't know that trick so no I didn't use it! :oops:

This is what it says in the MCX Materials Editor for PBR materials:

2025-02-15 17_56_03-Material Editor.jpg

The Z-Bias for all textures is set to 0 (zero). Are you saying that if I set the cockpit glass texture to a higher value than any texture on the interior then that will fix the issue of the glass disappearing?
 
I may have found the problem. The dynamic vc textures are set to transparent in FSX which seems to be why they interfere. They need to be reset to opaque in FSX. Then all seems good and you can set up the glass as you want.

I think 🤔!

DaveQ
 
If you set the z-bias of the cockpit glass higher than that of the VC then it should be displayed in front of the VC

That is assuming DaveQs solution doesn't work.
 
I tried changing the Z-bias Gavin but it made no difference unfortunately.

On the good news side of the equation I have just spent FIVE DAYS playing 'Rosie the Riveter' and boy do those girls have my admiration. Hand placing hundreds of new rivets is mind numbingly tedious let me tell ya! Why did I have to do it I hear you ask. Well, first off the original rivets were from FS2004 days and HUGE, they looked like they came off the Titanic or it's boilers! Second, there were bump maps for the fuselage and wings but closer inspection revealed they were a flat blue and were nothing more than placeholders and there were no bumps for the tail feathers or cowl. So I had to make new bumps for the fuselage and wings and while I was at it I did the tail feathers and cowl too! It's been a while since I last made bumps (or normals as they are now known in P3D) so I had to re-learn how to do that (it took a couple of attempts). I finally got the new bumps done with more realistically sized rivets and panel lines but then I had to go into all the textures and paint out all the original rivets and lines as they clashed with the new ones and that took two days just to paint them all out!

I finally have six completed paints and this is what they look like:

Black_5-1.png
Black_5-2.pngNC17616-1.pngNC17616-2.png
NC20200-1.png
NC20200-2.png

Part 2 to follow..................
 
While doing a final check of the paints to make sure everything was OK I discovered yet another issue which needed fixing before release. Some of the old FS2004 paints don't like to play with the new model so I spent most of the day fixing those. Thankfully I was able to get it done by dinner time and then after dinner I was able to bang out three really fast paints thanks to a new technique I discovered. I made the blue one first as a translucent scheme and then by manipulating two sliders in Photoshop I was able to create the green and red ones in literally seconds. In fact I can create up 16 million colours/hues/tints just as easily! :D

This is what they look like but the screenshots are a poor comparison to the real thing especially when the light plays across model.

N37SP-blue.png
N37SP-green.png
N37SP-red.png


I spotted one more scheme I'd like to make and that one was for the FS2024 version and then I will get it out, I promise!
 
I was thinking more cobalt, emerald and candy-apple red but fruits work too! ;)

At least three of those are already shown above Butch! The 'Urs' scheme (or a variant thereof), NC17616, and 'Precious Metal'.
 
The final paint is done and it's a 'what if' scheme for the RCAF. There is a historical record that the RAF clandestinely had three Spartans for pilot training in the USA and these aircraft were later transferred to RCAF ownership in the later part of WWII or shortly thereafter. If the aircraft had still been on the books in the late 50s they might have looked like this!


rcaf-1.png
rcaf-2.pngrcaf-3.png

Now it's time to do a double-check to make sure I didn't screw something up (again! :oops: ) and then get her uploaded.
 
I'm not sure about the colour on that RCAF one I posted. In Photoshop the colours look spot on but in the sim the yellow looks a bit pale and washed out, more daffodil yellow rather than buttercup yellow. I may play with it later.

EDIT: I've decided to keep the current colour as some research revealed that the RCAF did use a paler yellow for their trainers and the darker colour I am more familiar with only came into use in the late 1990s.
 
The Spartan has been released to the winds!

Spartan 7W Executive

Here is Milton Shupe's Spartan 7W Executive from FS2004 originally updated to FSX and now converted to P3D v4+ with PBR textures. The package includes two models (FSX and P3D), custom sounds, custom flight model, improved VC panel texture with...
sim-outhouse.org

Enjoy!
 
I've been busy again! The next project is almost ready for release and just requires a few tweaks to textures if I can find the paint kit for it (I have been working without one so far). Can anyone guess what it is from these shots?

Mystery_Plane.png

:devilish:
 
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