With no new T-33 on the horizon...

[ColoKent]

....I'm looking at ways to rework the textures on Tim Conrad's T-Bird. What I really want to do is create a paint kit with crisper panel lines, and perhaps, for those schemes that are natural metal (and with the T-33 there are a lot of them), look into the possibility of doing a photo real metal finish. As a result, I have two questions I would like to get answered:

1. is the best way to get crisper texture details to in increase texture size (i.e. 1024 vs. 512, or 2048 vs. 1024, etc.), or is is to increase the texture resolution, or a combo of both?

2. Is there a good tutorial that anyone knows of that discusses in detail how to create photoreal textures?

Thanks ahead of time for any info...

Regards,

Kent

 

[falcon409]

I'm surprised no one stepped up to answer this question. . .especially with all the livery artists we have lurking around. I'll answer it my way and maybe that'll prompt someone to answer it correctly, lol.

I use 2048x2048 textures for any repaints I do in FSX and then save them as 32bit to keep as much detail as I can. Of course that's for aircraft that are port-overs and where I don't want to mess with converting everything to dds. I have never messed with the texture resolution before, but only because it never crossed my mind to do that.

As far as photoreal textures, there may be a tutorial somewhere, but it seems to be a secret technique only handed down to another at the individuals death, lol.:salute:

 

[rohan]

As I understand it, "photoreal" is one of those words that covers a multitude of sins, sorry, methods. I recall a discussion here which couldn't even reach agreement on a single definition of photoreal - there are different approaches, and they are each achieved by different methods, with not necessarily a single method for a particular approach ...

Sorry, I doubt that moves you forward, and I'd be more than happy if one of our experts was to prove me wrong,
Ro

 

[Cazzie]

With all FS9 ports that I do for FSX, i.e. the Champ, Stuart's D.VII and Pfalz D.III, I increase all texture maps to 2048 X 2048 and the smaller maps are doubled in size, then all are saved in DDS 888-8 32-bit formats. However, I have found that FSX prefers for the prop washes to be DDS DXT5, so they are in that format.

I get good results in natural metal just using a neutral gray (HEX # 888888) and an alpha to suit the shine wanted.

I don't do photoreal textures, that's Banana Bob's league and I wish he were back here with us.

Caz

 

[GrinningJester]

The easiest technique for doing Photoreal textures is collecting a large amount of images of the aircraft you wish to texture, from the best possible, flat angles.

I.e. for the fuselage, you'll need photos exactly perpendicular to the fuselage, if possible.

Then you cut and paste, and have your fun in Photoshop to get it to fit the aircraft properly and have all the lines match up.

There are more advanced techniques that also utilize this method of getting photoreal textures, specifically involving the different blending modes in photoshop (having photos of a natural grey aircraft, for example, allows you to utiilize the blending modes to extrapolate the panellines, rivets, dirt, etc while making it viable for other paintschemes.

 

[Bjoern]

The easiest technique for doing Photoreal textures is collecting a large amount of images of the aircraft you wish to texture, from the best possible, flat angles.

...for the rest there's perspective correction.

Works surprisingly well. Tried to paint a vertical stabilizer yesterday with Continental's logo. Awfully tedious. Then I found a good photo which was from a slight angle above and thus got rid of the annoying horizontal stabilizer blocking the view. Copy, paste, perspective correction to freeform adjust the stabilizer texture to the repaint template et voilà, a photoreal Continental logo. Whee!

 

[skyblazer3]

Good luck on the T-33 repaint/ paintkit creation. It's probably a good texture to start this sort of work with. I was having good luck on it before my hard drive crashed and I lost it all.

Keep us updated on your progress,

Chris

 

[Railrunner130]

As I recall, the T-33 needs new contact points, flight dynamics, etc. I'd really appreciate an updated T-bird.

 

[falcon409]

Good luck on the T-33 repaint/ paintkit creation. It's probably a good texture to start this sort of work with. I was having good luck on it before my hard drive crashed and I lost it all. Keep us updated on your progress,
Chris

Yep, definitely keep us updated as you go Kent so we can keep this thread alive and maybe get some additional interest from other folks for updated FDE and such.:salute:

 

[johndetrick]

<center>FSX - FSX Modern Military </center> <center>FSX USMC TO-2/TV-2/T-33B
</center> <center>[SIZE=-1] [ Download | View ] [/SIZE]</center>
Name: usmct33b.zip Size: 39,867,715 Date: 05-11-2010 Downloads: 1,059
[SIZE=-1]

FSX USMC TO-2/TV-2/T-33B. This is a rework of Tim Conrad's Lockheed T-33A for FSX. Includes new .air file, new .cfg and new sounds. The main texture bitmap for the outside has been resized. The USN/USMC operated the T-33 until 1976. The original designation for the USN T-33's was the TO-2, and then changed to TV-2 and in 1962 changed again to T-33B. Includes four variants, a TO-2 assigned to VMIT-20 (Marine Instrument Training Squadron), MCAS El Toro in 1952. The second variant is a TV-2 assigned to HMS-33 (Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron) MCAS El Toro in 1958. The third is a T-33B assigned to VMF-321 in 1964. And the final version is a T-33B assigned to the MARTD (Marine Aviation Reserve Training Detachment) at NAS Andrews in 1976. This last one is painted to represent the last T-33 used by the USMC. MARTD Andrews retired their last one in early 1976. For this file you will need T-33_PPP.ZIP for the gauges. Tested in FSX SP2 Acceleration. By John Detrick.




Try this over at flightsim.com. I reworked piglets's T-33 a little while ago.
[/SIZE]

 

[ColoKent]

Thanks John...

..I did use your flight model-- works great. It's still a "stopgap" measure until someone updates the T-33 with an FSX native version...wish I knew GMAX!!!! In the meantime, Tim's old bird hasn't done too badly standing the test of time...

Kent

 

[skyblazer3]

John's new flight dynamics on the T-33 are some of the best I've ever seen. The aircraft is the funnest and easiest airplane to fly in formation with FSX. It would be great to have a new t-33 model, but I hope that whoever gets around to making it works with John for the FDE.

I can't recommend John's update enough. I've had some trouble flying off of the T-33 in an F-86, but the T-33 flies great off of the 86s wing, and flies like a dream off of another T-33. I suggest downloading it along with some Death Valley photo-real scenery and going on a formation sortie with some friends... you won't be disappointed.

I can't fully explain what makes the T-33 FDE upgrade so wonderful, but it flies like a very solid and heavy aircraft while still being responsive and maneuverable. As a single ship you might not be able to notice what a great FDE it is, but as soon as you pull up onto someone's wing you will know what a jewel the T-33 is.

A few weeks ago I led a 4 ship of T-birds from Tonopah test range to Lake Tahoe and then we proceeded to do some gentlemen's aerobatics. Half of the flight had never flown the T-33, but no one ever got out of formation, not even for a moment! A few days later I was flying a cross country as a wingman in a T-33 2 ship and I was able to eat a sandwich and drink a glass of ice tea without getting out of formation! I don't think I had to touch the throttle for about 5 minuets. Go get this aircraft and fly the hell out of it until we get a native FSX model!

Thanks to Tim for making a great model and thanks to John for the best flight dynamics I've ever felt,
:salute::ernae:
Chris

 

[stansdds]

I'll have to give this T-33 FDE a try, sounds like what I would expect from a first generation jet trainer.

 

[jmig]

John, thanks for the heads up. I just downloaded her.

 

[Bjoern]

...wish I knew GMAX!!!!

It isn't that hard.

Bring time, patience and a dream and you'll have your FSX native model.

 

[falcon409]

I'm still working on this to tweak it, but here are some WIP shots of a layered paint kit. Currently, it's at 4096x4096 but if I do much more to it, I may have to cut that in half before my system gives up the ghost, lol. Every time I even try to move anything it gives me a message, "This function requires a large amount of memory, do you want to continue?" It's currently about 22meg and I have every layer separated, so left and right top and bottom for lines and rivets are a separate layer, then I have a layer for placards and so on.

I used "walkaround" photo's to get some idea of the placards and warning decals, but unfortunately every walkaround showed either a different placard or no placard at all, so I took what I needed and "winged it", lol. I did try a quick polished aluminum look which as you can see I did not include because it just looked like I dipped the airplane in chrome.

Anyway, that's what I'm working on so that I can do some repaints at some point.:salute:

 

[ColoKent]

Oh my god....

THAT looks GREAT!

Kent

 

[falcon409]

Thanks Kent. The only thing right now that I don't know how to fix, or even that there is a way to fix it is the areas at the very top and bottom of the textures (fuselage) where the rivets get stretched. I thought about just eliminating those, but then that would look odd too.

Not sure what to do about it.

 

[ColoKent]

Am I seeing things....

....or have you managed to make the canopy shiny???

Kent

 

[falcon409]

Nope, lol. . .that's just an artificial shine applied in FSRepaint to show light directions. Rather disheartening though is that even at 4096x4096, when saved as 32bit 888, which I assume is the best resolution, the final product looks like this: (compare to what it looks like in the images above!).