Texture problems

[swayne01]

I have recently repainted the ALPHASIM Hunter in a black texture. When i came to fly it in Flight Simulator however the wing textures were grey and didn't display the correct colour. Also none of the markings of the wings were visible.

Any Explaination or fix would be nice!

Scott

[Travis]

Did you use DXTBmp or similar program?  If not, that right there is the problem.

Some textures in FS (specifically reflective textures) utilize a system called DXT3 with Alpha reflections to make the "chrome" or "bare metal" textures you see around, as well as the rest of the reflective textures.  Problem is, most paint programs can't read this material, so you end up painting something that doesn't work right on the model.  DXTBmp converts these files to something an editor can use, such as *.bmp files, and then converts them back again afterwards.

Download DXTBmp and fiddle around with it.  Also search through the posts in the past around here.  Every few pages there should be something along these lines.

[swayne01]

AHHHHH!!!!! do you have to convert it back then i converted it to 24 bmp using DXTBMP but didn't convert it back is this where my problem is?

Scott

[Hagar]

Yep. It's normal practice to save the repainted texture in its original format. If this is not possible use a format compatible with the sim you're using.

PS. Most, if not all, the Alphasim freeware aircraft were originally created with AF99. Although some of the textures have been converted to BMP format they still retain their original .xAF file extensions. After saving from DXTBmp the textures might need manually renaming with their original file extensions before they will display.

[swayne01]

The file was orginally a bmp file but only a 12 bit file and i had to use DXTBMP to change it to a 24 bit bmp. How do i convert it back to a 12 bit then?

[Hagar]

Open the modified file in DXTBmp. From File/Save Extended Image save it in one of the 16 bit Extended formats under the original file name. I don't know which sim you're using but this would usually be in the same format as the original textures. For more info on FS texture formats read DXTBmp Help.