Simviation Forums

Hey everyone,

I have two questions:

-How do I make glass that looks like the glass that is on the default FSX aircraft? Over the past month, I have been trying to make glass and I have tried everything that I can think of like all the settings in the Gmax material editor and diffuse, spec and alpha colors with little success at making something that even comes close to the default aircraft. The information that comes with the SDK while ok does not help me, as it only confuses me more. I have also read several posts about glass but it seems like I am getting different results than others are. Also, the glass that I am talking about on the default aircraft is the glass that can be seen from the exterior of the aircraft.

-The second question that I have is how do I remove the background color from the gauges in the VC? I have a HUD that is supposed to be transparent but the background color that is listed in the panel cfg VC section still shows up.

Cheers,
Jon

I've been struggling with glass in FSX too. I'm getting close, but I know what you mean. To get the WHOLE galss effect (like default planes).. you need all those pesky bitmaps.. not just a material (or bitmap with alpha).. I'm sure the specualr bitmap adds to the glass effect, and the bump map might too.

I for one, wouldn't mind if this thread became lengthy and informative  

[quote]I've been struggling with glass in FSX too. I'm getting close, but I know what you mean. To get the WHOLE galss effect (like default planes).. you need all those pesky bitmaps.. not just a material (or bitmap with alpha).. I'm sure the specualr bitmap adds to the glass effect, and the bump map might too.

I for one, wouldn't mind if this thread became lengthy and informative

Your glass looks very good as it is! Although not the exact shade and specularity of the default aircraft, here is an effect I settled on...working in FSDS3 it seems fairly uncomplicated, as tweaking the part properties, texture and specularity are all it takes. Again, I don't know if this would be helpful for GMAX projects, but anything's worth a try. It might be a good idea to download Martin Wright's MDLmat. This is a material editor program that permits manipulating alpha channels and specularity of part properties after a model has been built, but before compling in Makemdl, so you can make adjustments quickly and test them out without much effort.

As for your HUD question - is your background colour PURE black? If not it won't be rendered as transparent. Once you get your HUD operational, if you have a free moment to post a quick how-to on making it, I would really appreciate it.

Keeps looking better after each update Jon, I would work with more color in your alpha, I haven't done much testing with FSX but I know for sure in FS9, if you have a window texture which is for example green or any color, it will show on the object, with the alpha it should add a metallic property well anyways. I hope I make sense for you.