Simviation Forums

HI
new to FS2002
I have surfed the net and have found all kinds of tutorials but none tell me how you create or change an existing MSFS 2002 plane texture. I keep getting a disk error when I try to open the existing texture in photoshop. What am I doing wrong?
I also want to know how you make the flat panel textures that have all the plane parts in one (the wings and decals, etc)- how does the program know where what goes? Is there a format that you are suppose to follow? I also want to know how can I change an exisiting MSFS airplane texture.

Can anyone help????
wish_bear

First of all, Welcome to the fs comunity

Ok. to open up texture maps for other aircraft, you first need a free program called DXTbmp. If you dont have it, it may be on the utilities page of this webpage, or you can go to any search engine and type DXTBMP and you should be able to dl it for free. What DXTbmp is, is a program used to compress normal bmp's into smaller file sizes.

next, the way you change a texture map is just by painting over the original. For example, if the wing is blue, and you want to turn it red, just open up the texture file using dxtbmp, and send it to adobie photoshop. Then, where ever the wing is on the texture map sheet, you paint red (or what ever color you want to turn it) over it. The final step would then be to save the texture as a bmp, open it up in dxtbmp and save it again as a DXTBMP back into the texture folder.

hope this answers all of your questions  ;)

Just to clarify, not everyone has or can afford Adobe Photoshop. DXTBmp will work with all popular graphics editors, including M$ Paint.

I suggest you read Garry J. Smith's excellent texturing tute. http://www.gjsmith.com/Tutorial/Tutorial.htm

Thanks for that...I was able to alter an existing texture...but now I want to know what program or how you create the texture file with all the airplane parts in it. I have been reading game modeling using low polygons techniques. It goes over UV mapping and explains that you have to blow out the model but what do you use to do that...
I tried a screen shot- didn't work. Is there a UV mapping program???
Talked to several people- no one seems to know how to get from the model to the flat panels that you can apply textures to.

Any ideas?
wish_bear

I'm not sure what you're trying to do. If you're repainting an existing aircraft maybe my "Add a Repaint" tute will help. http://www.simviation.com/lair/Repaint2002.htm

Basically- copy the existing Texture folder, rename it & edit Aircraft.cfg to recognise it. Use the textures in the new folder as templates.

I figured out how to change an existing texture

what I am trying to understand is when you open that existing texture file, and you see the wings, wheels, tail etc in the file...how did they create that. I want to know if I create a model- be it a car, plane, building how do you get those to break apart to create the texture files

wish_bear

Depends which modelling program you're using. Both Gmax & FSDS come with their own tutes on the subject. There's no set procedure on the layout. All designers have their own pet methods for assigning textures.