Hmmm reflections?

[bartender]

Hey guys, I dl this G100 and Ive been working on it a bit(new repaint) and it doesn't have anyshine to it stock. Do I just make a new texture for the plane or does it have to be done by the modler. Any help is great!

Mr. Apoo The Great

[igorski]

you can add shine with the alpha layer (with any luck, if your out of luck you'll end up with a semi - transparent aircraft)

To begin with, crate a new image the same dimentions as each of your texture files you want to add shine to (so fuse, wing tails etc), and make them all a light gey.  

Then using dxtbmp, for each texture bmp you wish to shine, import the bmp as the alpha layer,  and save as whatever format your using (preferably 32bit or dxt3)

And you will either have nice shine *woo* or a new stealth *boo*

If you wish you can now go about adding details to the alpha layer, such as bits that are not shiney (make these parts white) and bit thats need more (Darker) or less (lighter) shinyness.

Any question, just ask.

[bartender]

igorski, Man thanks. You put it like it's nothin, which its not. Thanks bro I'll post a photo of the somewhat finished product maybe today on the repaint and freeware forum so look out.

Mr.Apoo

[igorski]

No worries, if i make it sound like its easy as pie to me then its the 5 / 6 years of practice / experiance I have behind me so far  ;)

Best of luck with your repaint!

[wji]

You put it like it's nothin, which its not. -- Mr.Apoo

It's as easy or difficult as one wants to make it We all started out knowing nothing about repainting nor Alpha channels.

Martin Wright is the author of DXTbmp and (now) DXTbmpx.

May I suggest simply going to Martin Wright's site and start reading the page at:
"Here also some description of the formats actually used:

Note that alpha is used by FS in 2 different ways. It can be transparency or it can be reflection. It is not the texture that decides but the model it is being applied on. Most aircraft will be built to use alpha-reflection so the darker the alpha the more "shiney" the surface. The alpha will be a map of the different levels of "shineyness" of the various parts of the texture. Some other objects may be built with alpha-transparency so the darker the alpha the more transparent the texture . . . etc., etc.,

After reading Martin's comprehensive descriptions, experiment using different Alpha Channels of your choice.

Be certain to follow the link to Martin's DXTbmp Page Look at the image! It shows the Alpha Channel and the varying shades to match the paintkit beside it. It does not get any simpler than this.

Other than following these instructions, I have nothing further to offer except -- Good Luck  ::)

[Jakemaster]

if your out of luck you'll end up with a semi - transparent aircraft

I wish I was out of luck, I cant get a transparent part for the life of me!

[igorski]

lol thers always one  ;)

The reflectivity / transparancy is decided by the modeller, and its either one OR the other. The simshed Gnat is an example close to heart that uses alpha for transparency, most use it for reflectivity as you've found out!

[Felix/FFDS]

You can have both transparency AND reflective textures in the same part.

Typically, this is used in otherwise clear parts, like canopies, windows, etc.

The modeller creates the transparency in the part's material - and when creating the model he can apply a texture to it.  If he tags the part as reflective, then the texture's alpha channel controls the reflectivity, but the part's material alpha controls the transparency.

Benefits?  basically a bit of a "sparkle" on the glass.

[igorski]

hmm, that is true,

of course what I meant was you cant have Transparenct AND Reflectivity controlled by alpha on the same part!

[Felix/FFDS]

hmm, that is true,

of course what I meant was you cant have Transparenct AND Reflectivity controlled by alpha on the same part!

I figured that's what you meant.  I know that I frequently type an answer that seems so clear to me - and to others "in the know" but that to someone else may not be as clear.  The confusion here is that the material alpha and texture alpha are similar in concept, but different in application.