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I thought of adding reflective textures to a repaint which i downloaded. But i'm stuck half way due to some error. This is what i did......

---> First open Dtxbmp

---> Menu items -> Prefs..... and navigate to the location that contains PSP.exe

---> Menu items -> File -> Open -> b737_400_T

---> Menu items -> Alpha -> Send Alpha To Editor

Now i have a blank image called Trans.bmp. Everything fine till here. Now,

---> Menu items -> File -> Browse -> b737_400_T

This is where i'm stuck. The file does not open. When i go to the textures folder and try opening the file a message appears "drawing failed".

Try this.  Instead of trying to couple PSP and DXTBmp, it would be a better idea to simply:

Open the relevant image in DXTBmp.

Save a copy of the actual image.  Save it somewhere other than the original folder.

Now save a copy of the alpha channel.  Again, somewhere other than the original folder.

Now open them in PSP.  Edit them, save them, then recombine them and save in another folder.

I have always found DXTBmp a little hard to use if you are using PSP as your editor, since PSP takes so long to load.  So I began to start up PSP before I opened anything in DXTBmp and would just transfer when I saved the images.  Works pretty well.

Thanks Ender,
But the site i'm currently following inorder to add reflective textures tells me to use PSP.

So, is there a site which can show me how to add reflective textures to an existing aircraft without actually doing anything in PSP?

I'm finding it really hard to do this. Can anyone help me with this please??

I don't do a lot of repainting myself but I've never had a problem using DXTBmp in conjunction with PSP or any other graphics editor. There are several different methods but this is the way it was intended to work.

Run DXTBmp & set PSP as your editor.
Select/open the texture you wish to edit.
Double-click on the main texture to send it to PSP.
Edit the image & click "File/Save" or click the Save icon on the toolbar. (Alternatively you could exit PSP saving changes on exit.)
Back in DXTBmp click "Image/Reload after Edit" to load the edited texture.
Now repeat the procedure for the Alpha Channel. This time click "Alpha/Refresh Alpha" to load the edited Alpha Channel image.
Finally, "File/Save As/Extended Bitmap" in the appropriate "with Alpha" format. Make sure you use the correct file name to the correct location.

It's a good idea to save a copy of the original texture in the native format of the graphics editor you're using. In this case the .psp format. All editing can be done using this texture as a master copy rather than continually converting repainted Extended textures which inevitably reduces the image quality. Use the Layer feature of PSP to edit on top of the original texture. Saving in the native format will retain all the layers intact. Once you get used to the idea this makes it so much easier. When you wish to convert the finished image into a texture Save As from PSP in BMP format & open it in DXTBmp. You can import the Alpha Channel separately. Saving out in the appropriate format will automatically convert it.

PS. Unless the existing model has reflective textures it's unlikely you will be able to add them. The reflective properties are defined in the MDL file. Not all aircraft have this feature.

Thanks a million Hagar, this solves my problem except for that last line which reads
"PS. Unless the existing model has reflective textures it's unlikely you will be able to add them. The reflective properties are defined in the MDL file. Not all aircraft have this feature. "
So, how do i know whether a model already has reflective textures or not? Is it possbile to assign this feature to an aircraft?

So, how do i know whether a model already has reflective textures or not? Is it possbile to assign this feature to an aircraft?

My video card doesn't support reflective textures so I've never been able to use the feature myself. If the original version of a particular aircraft doesn't already have reflective textures I very much doubt you can add them.

So, how do i know whether a model already has reflective textures or not?

You can tell if a model has reflective textures when flying with it in FS. A model with reflective textures often looks shiny and a little more realistic as apposed to a model which does not support reflective textures. If you open up the textures in DXTBmp you will be able to see and edit the reflection if the texture has an Alpha Channel. The Alpha Channel (If present) will display in the top right window when you open the texture in DXTBmp.

Is it possbile to assign this feature to an aircraft?

Only if you have the source file for the model.

Regards,
Stratobat

So, if an aircraft does'nt have reflective textures will it appear blurred?? Most of the repaints which i downloaded appear blurred and i can't figure out how to make then crisp. So i thought of adding reflective textures so that the aircraft no longer appears blurred. Is that the solution

Most of the repaints which i downloaded appear blurred and i can't figure out how to make then crisp.

Get hold of DXTBmp and open the textures and see if they include mip maps. Some people have experienced blurry textures with textures that have mip maps. If the textures have mip maps, then try saving the textures without the mip maps and see if that sorts out the problem.

DXTBmp: http://www.mnwright.btinternet.co.uk/programs/dxtbmp.htm

Regards,
Stratobat

Thanks a lot you guys,
Finally i have solved the problem. It was the mip maps due to which the textures appeared blurred.
Thanks once again.