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F50ACE

MSF Repaint Help and Tips

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The Specular Map, along with its alpha channel, and also the Fresnel Bias Map must be changed or you will still see what looks like the original texture along with your repaint. Oh, and don't forget the alpha channel on the Diffuse (Albedo Reflection) Map as well.

 

It's a big job, but once you get everything right, the whole thing is pretty spectacular.

 

FAD_Azul_09_zpsb94f2576.jpg

 

 

 

On something like the Mustang, that means there are 10 textures to modify. And this plane doesn't even have a cockpit! But, the exterior got more attention than any of the airplanes with a cockpit.

 

You seem to have gotten the hang of it, Devon. :lol:

 

Best regards.

Luis

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@ F50ACE  lol...since I have the .dds in both spots now... I guess I am covered :Big Grin: 

 

@ HiFlyer  Huh??? lol... guess I am not "with it" yet. scratchinghead1_zpsd0c44ba9.gif

 

@ Luis  Bro... I have GOT to have that P-51!...that is cool!  buzzdatower_zps343c7b45.gif

 

-fryer

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Yea, I've changed everything but the Fresnel bias, but I haven't fooled around with the alpha channels at all. :p0128: That Miss Seattle livery is the hardest I've come by so far. :t0105: This issue with the text showing through is really noticeable at certain angles, esp. in light.

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The alpha channels control the amount of reflection so they must also have all the patterns of the AR (Diffuse) Map or they will give a reflection of the original livery, not your repaint.

 

The Specular and Fresnel Bias Maps control reflections at different angles, so they also must be modified to resemble your repaint or you will see the original livery reflection at various angles.

 

No need to worry about this problem with most of the airplanes, though, because most of them only have an AR texture with its alpha channel. Just change those and everything will look good. In fact, for most of them, you probably don't even have to modify the alpha channel, since the reflection map is mostly undifferentiated - the fuselage reflects the same everywhere.

 

The Mustang is very different, perhaps the other airplanes without cockpits as well, but I don't have them so couldn't say.

 

Here are the 10 Mustang textures that have to be changed, each and every one of them, in order to prevent Upupa or Miss Seattle from showing along with your repaint.

 

On the top row (fuselage): AR - AR alpha channel - Specular - Specular alpha channel - Fresnel Bias

On the bottom row (wings): AR2 - AR2 alpha channel - Specular2 - Specular2 alpha channel - Fresnel Bias2

 

Mustang_textures_all_zps74bc2249.jpg

 

 

 

A lot of work! B)  You see what a professional artist must do to earn a living and he usually does a lot more than this. :lol:

 

Best regards.

Luis

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@@LuisFelizTirado Thanks for the advice. The P-51D so far is the only one I've had a issue with, but I haven't done the zero or the P-40 yet. :wacko:  The other cockpit-less planes I haven't had to change the alpha or the Fresnel bias. Sounds like I got some work to do. :t0117: :p0129:

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@@LuisFelizTirado OK, I looked over the textures I changed and I did change everything but the Alpha channels; however, I'm trying to figure out how you get the alpha isolated in gimp. <_< I turn off the RGB channels and all I get is a black screen not the gray checkered pattern, is that the alpha?

 

Filling in the FB or Spec maps didn't seem to help. All I need is the FB and spec maps to be turned off or to match the base color of the camo skin basically.

 

Also, I noticed there is a "extra" channel on which everything but the FB map gives the texture a red hue even with the RGB off.

 

Thanks,

 

F50ACE

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Yes, there are some minor issues.

 

But, first, I would like to clear up any misunderstanding that might tend to discourage people - it is very easy to repaint the livery for just about all the Flight airplanes. Only the Mustang requires this much work.

 

For all the others, all you probably need to change is the AR (Albedo Reflection) texture - this is what displays on the airplane normally in full light without highlights or angular reflections (Specular and Fresnel Bias textures, I think.)

 

The AR texture does have an alpha channel, but you will probably not have to touch it in any way.

 

So, except for the Mustang, repainting a texture can be done in 30 minutes to an hour, including all conversions and testing. Easy and anybody can do it, as long as they know how to use an image editor.

 

As for the issues mentioned, the Flight Toolkit offers 2 possible export formats: dds and psd.

 

The first, the DirectDraw Surface texture, can be loaded directly into Paint.NET, and also the GIMP or Photoshop if they have the correct dds modules installed. All I have ever seen for the alpha channel in this case is a checker pattern and I don't know how to edit that or what to do with it. Somebody more knowledgeable than myself will have to answer that and explain.

 

The second, the Photoshop native format (psd), can be loaded into Photoshop and the GIMP, and perhaps Paint.NET although I haven't tried. In the GIMP, the alpha channel is displayed as if it were a Red channel and it is labeled "Extra" channel, instead of "Alpha" channel. I don't know what is going on, and have discussed this issue with Stonelance. He informs me that he tried this in Paint.NET and found no problems. At the moment, he is busy working on the Toolkit (yay!), but will take a look when he gets a chance.

 

What have I done? I always use Martin Wright's DXTBmp tool (just Google it!) that allows you to load a dds texture (and zillions of others), and view the RGB channels and the alpha channel separately.

 

DXTBmp_01_zps368d6ff0.jpg

 

 

 

In the main window, you can see the RGB channels, and in the small window at the top right is the alpha channel.

 

DXTBmp allows you to send either of those images directly to your image editing software. You can set the default image editor (the GIMP for me) in the Preferences menu, then just double click on the image you want to edit. DXTBmp will launch the GIMP (or whatever you choose) and load that image in that editor.

 

Then, repaint as desired, save the image (in the GIMP, you must EXPORT because SAVE only creates a file in the native GIMP format, which is xcf), and back in DXTBmp you refresh the display and your edited image appears. Then, just save that file back to DDS and you are done.

 

You can easily edit both RGB channels and alpha channels this way, without the confusion mentioned at the beginning of this post. The alpha channel is displayed and edited as a grayscale image, which is how it should be.

 

Just two warnings:

1. when exporting in the GIMP, it will write a color table for your new image. DON'T LET IT DO THAT! Make sure to check off the option for it to NOT create a color table, because this will change your colors considerably back in DXTBmp.

2. and in DXTBmp, do not SAVE AS... because this will shift your image horizontally by either 12 or 24 pixels, I don't remember which. Use SAVE instead and overwrite the original file.

 

Probably these are just some small bugs, but keep them in mind.

 

Best regards.

Luis

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I wonder if the Mustang got all the extra love because of the reflections..............


We are all connected..... To each other, biologically...... To the Earth, chemically...... To the rest of the Universe atomically.
 
Devons rig
Intel Core i5 13600K @ 5.1GHz / G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series Ram 32GB / GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti GAMING OC 12G Graphics Card / Sound Blaster Z / Meta Quest 2 VR Headset / Klipsch® Promedia 2.1 Computer Speakers / ASUS ROG SWIFT PG279Q ‑ 27" IPS LED Monitor ‑ QHD / 1x Samsung SSD 850 EVO 500GB / 2x Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB /  1x Samsung - 970 EVO Plus 2TB NVMe /  1x Samsung 980 NVMe 1TB / 2 other regular hd's with up to 10 terabyte capacity / Windows 11 Pro 64-bit / Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX Motherboard LGA 1700 DDR5

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I wonder if the Mustang got all the extra love because of the reflections..............

 

Yes, I believe it was to produce the chrome look in the metal.  Also, I looked through the shaders and all the aircraft should be using the same shader for the aircraft exteriors.  The material system in Flight is capable of having default textures for some of the texture slots when customization is not needed, and I'm guessing some of the simpler liveries are doing this in their materials.  This means theoretically it should be possible to do chrome on the other aircraft (by adding the other types of texture maps), but it probably requires creating a material editor to be able to specify all the proper material properties.  I hope to do that eventually but don't have any plans in the near term.

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@@LuisFelizTirado as always thanks for the help. The extra channel I figured could be the alpha channel. I just turned on the extra or alpha, and I turned off the layer and all I get is the gray scale image, so I should be able to do something now. B)

 

@@HiFlyer I don't know, It might explain why it costs more than the other war-birds :LMAO: .

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@@LuisFelizTirado as always thanks for the help. The extra channel I figured could be the alpha channel. I just turned on the extra or alpha, and I turned off the layer and all I get is the gray scale image, so I should be able to do something now. B)

 

@@HiFlyer I don't know, It might explain why it costs more than the other war-birds :LMAO: .

Well......... Don't forget the free red-tail........ :-)


We are all connected..... To each other, biologically...... To the Earth, chemically...... To the rest of the Universe atomically.
 
Devons rig
Intel Core i5 13600K @ 5.1GHz / G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series Ram 32GB / GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti GAMING OC 12G Graphics Card / Sound Blaster Z / Meta Quest 2 VR Headset / Klipsch® Promedia 2.1 Computer Speakers / ASUS ROG SWIFT PG279Q ‑ 27" IPS LED Monitor ‑ QHD / 1x Samsung SSD 850 EVO 500GB / 2x Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB /  1x Samsung - 970 EVO Plus 2TB NVMe /  1x Samsung 980 NVMe 1TB / 2 other regular hd's with up to 10 terabyte capacity / Windows 11 Pro 64-bit / Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX Motherboard LGA 1700 DDR5

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@ everyone ...

 

1. If you get a "grey checkerboard" for me that was a bad thing.  I couldn't do anything with it. bangpc_zps4594e541.gif It was only until I
    learned to set it up right the first time... only then could I start to edit it in Gimp.

 

2. I still have Paint.net but it is useless and cannot work with .psd files. ? Is that true?  I have only been able to get it to
    work in Gimp.

 

@ Luis   I have a "friendly" bone to pick with you...lol

 

1.  I don't see how it only takes a person 30 minutes or just a touch more.  I have only been working on one project and

     it's been literally AT LEAST a week for me.  Ohhhh...wait... I am using Gimp for the first time...lol  But even still. 

     Seriously???  I'm not gonna believe you unless you can tell me how to erase ALL of that paint that's in-between the
     rivets... And then there is those rivets...  :t0103:  having to replace them all with a different color (because I am

     using black is making me... well... a little loopy. :crazy:

 

@ everyone again... and don't get me started on channels...lol smileycpupunchout_zps67a01720.gif 

 

-fryer
 

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2. I still have Paint.net but it is useless and cannot work with .psd files. ? Is that true?  I have only been able to get it to

 

    work in Gimp.

 

Flight files aren't in PSD format, they are in DDS. But if you want to use Paint.Net and work with PSD files there is a plug-in available;

 

http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/18128-photoshop-psd-file-plugin-newest-version-230/page-6?

 

Just used it in my very old version of PdN to open a paint kit file from an add on airplane for FSX. Like I know what I'm doing in a layered paint kit... :lol:

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:lol:  Well, obviously it is taking you a while to do a repaint, Fryer, since:

 

1. you picked the most time-consuming of the airplanes for your project. But, try the Icon or the Stearman or the RV. If all you want to do is change the color of one of the stripes, it should take about 5 minutes. Maybe 5 minutes more to add a registration. If you want to repaint the entire fuselage with a color or two, it might take you 15 or 20 minutes. A more complex scheme will obviously take longer.

 

2. You say this is the first time you have used the GIMP so I assume you have never used Photoshop either, since they are very similar as are most image editing tools. Practice and greater knowledge will result in shorter times for repainting. Once you understand how everything works, you will probably find it all very simple - life is often like that.

 

As for removing existing paint and getting down to the bare metal, there are various options:

 

 - copy/paste -- yes, that's right, just copy an unpainted part of the fuselage and paste it over the painted part you want to obliterate.

 

 - the Clone tool (looks like a rubber stamp) lets you select a spot on the fuselage and then use that as a template for painting over another part of the image. So, set the source for the Clone tool on an unpainted part of the fuselage, then paint over what you want to cover - the result is a copy of the source.

 

 - use one of the other liveries as a source for parts of the texture. For example, I started my Mustang repaint with the Red Tails version

 

removepaint_02_zps285e56a2.jpg

 

 

 

I had to get rid of the red parts as painlessly as possible so I opened the Upupa texture

 

removepaint_03_zps9f27f7b4.jpg

 

 

 

and copied and pasted over the Red Tail. Then, I selected the layer with the Red Tail, used the Magic Wand to select all the red parts I wanted to remove, and switched back to the Upupa layer. (Remember that selections are valid for all layers.) Now, on the Upupa layer, I had a selection of the parts that would cover the red so I inverted the selection (menu Select - Inverse) and hit the Delete key. This got rid of everything in the Upupa layer except what covers the red in the Red Tail layer. And then, I continued the repaint from there.

 

removepaint_01_zps28be77ae.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

Panel Lines and Rivets:

 

This is really an advanced topic, but including the panel lines, rivets, access panels and other details will make your repaint visually rich, much more interesting to look at, and give you greater pleasure when you fly it.

 

If the lines and rivets have been eliminated, then you will have to recreate them by copying/pasting from neighboring areas. But, what if you cover details with your paint? For example, here is part of the fuselage:

 

panel_lines_rivets_02_zps22f45d44.jpg

 

 

 

 

To the left of the numbers, there are lines and rivets. If I cover this area, I lose those details:

 

panel_lines_rivets_03_zps24b1ebdf.jpg

 

 

 

Fine, try selecting this painted part, then make the layer invisible and select the layer with the lines and rivets. The selection will now include everything under your painted part, that is to say, the fuselage with the rivets and lines. Copy and paste it over the layer of what you painted. You will now have a part of the fuselage obscuring your painted part. Use the Wand to select everything on that piece of pasted fuselage, everything except the rivets and panel lines, then press the Delete key.

 

All that will be left is lines and rivets over your painted part. But, they will have the colors of the fuselage, not of what you painted. So, select different parts and color them using Color Balance and Hue-Saturation-Brightness tools. For example, I made the rivets and lines dark red, dark blue, and white over the respective areas of the painted part.

 

panel_lines_rivets_04_zps33d9f3c6.jpg

 

 

 

 

Since that layer is over the painted part, this is how it looks when all layers are displayed.

 

panel_lines_rivets_05_zps161b780c.jpg

 

 

 

 

You can see that I did the same thing with the access panel and even with the numbers on the right. Did we say that it's a lot of work?  :lol:   But, just the Mustang, the Icon is easy (no rivets!)

 

Now you tell, please, and in detail - how to edit the alpha channel of a dds file in the GIMP by getting rid of the checker pattern and using a grayscale image.

 

Best regards.

Luis

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58 Layers! :O wow Luis, thats more than I would use on my AutoCAD projects! However, thanks for the tips, and I figure the rivets and lines I'll get to eventually.

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