Maj. William J. "Bill" Price - P-51D "JANIE" (LH*F) - 353rd FG, 350th FS (Ver 2)

[Vraciu]

Don’t recall offhand but maybe 1.2 or so....   

I’ll look.

So I checked it and the Gamma is 1.2 which leads me to wonder what should it be at?    What is default gamma?

[Devil 505]

I forget what the default setting was, but I turned mine up to 1.3

[Vraciu]

I forget what the default setting was, but I turned mine up to 1.3

Well, fly the skin offline--I sent you the files.   1.2 or 1.3 will work fine.  Let me know if you can tell me why the screenshots always look so dark.  I can email them to Perdue3 if he would also like to try them out.

[perdue3]

1.0 is default and the less, the darker. Still, one must assume that most people fly at 1.0-1.3 so you need to make the skin fit those settings. I just think the colors are too colorful and bold.
Your 325th FG P-51D suffers from the same issue I think, but not quite as bad as "Janie." MachNix and Fester's checkers look good as do the colors, although MachNix's yellow is too pale and not bold enough.

Again, I know nothing, but to me the colors need to be toned down some. Interested in its progress.

 

[Vraciu]

1.0 is default and the less, the darker. Still, one must assume that most people fly at 1.0-1.3 so you need to make the skin fit those settings. I just think the colors are too colorful and bold.
Your 325th FG P-51D suffers from the same issue I think, but not quite as bad as "Janie." MachNix and Fester's checkers look good as do the colors, although MachNix's yellow is too pale and not bold enough.

Again, I know nothing, but to me the colors need to be toned down some. Interested in its progress.

 


(Image removed from quote.)

Good feedback.  What I can't figure out is why MOLLY looks like *THAT* to you but looks like *THIS* to me (only not quite as dark as this image shows):




Can you screenshot the other two skins and post them so I can see what they look like to you compared to what I see on my end?  Might be a big help.

[perdue3]

It is because I have my graphics turned down for maximum FPS. This enables me to drill P-51's with Mk. 108 projectiles that are crossing in front of me at 200 yards going Mach 0.93. Also, my PC is aging. I have Pst Lighting turned off as well as shadows and reflections.



The yellow here is way off, but on the other end of the spectrum as your Janie. But, his black is right. It is noticeably black but does not loo like a big blank pixel.




The black on his rudder is great. it is black, but has definition and does not look like it pasted or wrapped on. It looks like a natural part of the scheme.




Same goes for his black on these checkers and letters. They are not saturated and do not pop like yours. They look blended and natural.

[perdue3]

If you look at cactus's 348th FG P-51D and many others of his skins as well as Greebo's Jugs (365th FG for example) and various skins, that is the way the black should look in my opinion. As a regular dude that just looks for a skin that looks real and is well done, that is what I look for.

Happy to help, I mean no offense.

 

[Vraciu]

No offense taken.   Your help is appreciated.   I do these for the players, so it has to be good from that perspective not mine.


I'll take a closer look at these and get back to you.

 

[Vraciu]

(I noticed that MOLLY has an incorrect Environment Map which I did not notice until Perd had me look at it.  Thank you for that.)

So here's where I come down on this...

This is the source photo for MOLLY:



When you look at the markings on this airplane, particularly the black ones, they are SOLID and the demarcation line between the checkers and the tail is extremely well defined.   This matches what I modeled.

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)



Compare to (CLICK TO ENLARGE):




Now, when we take a look at Lander's BIG BEAUTIFUL DOLL--I made some spec maps to eliminate the SuperShine (tm) because this plane is stuck with the default--to me the black markings do not match the photo's intensity.   They look more like chalk:




The actual airplane has markings that are in effect completely solid:








So, while the checkers may be in need of some additional desaturation or a bump in transparency, I don't know if that is the exact issue as must as perhaps a change to the maps somewhere...   


Which one of Greebo's Jug's should I look at?

[perdue3]

They may not match the photo, but they do not look right in a cartoon world. Skins and 3D models are meant to deceive the beholder into believing they are not looking at a pixelated object. When the black, yellow, red, etc. are too saturated, that deception does not happen. Which is my point about the less bold colors. Sure, in real life yellow is yellow and black is black. But, it is not so black that you can't see details.

In plastic models, you often cannot use black alone on the exterior. That is because it does not look right, it looks too black. This is called scale effect. I would say the same is the case in pixels. Even if the real airplane was truly black, it simply will not look right pixelated. As I stated, 365th FG is a good one to look at. To me, your black does not look natural. It is difficult to explain because I am not an artist and do not know the jargon.

Reminds me of this nugget:

[Vraciu]

They may not match the photo, but they do not look right in a cartoon world. Skins and 3D models are meant to deceive the beholder into believing they are not looking at a pixelated object. When the black, yellow, red, etc. are too saturated, that deception does not happen. Which is my point about the less bold colors. Sure, in real life yellow is yellow and black is black. But, it is not so black that you can't see details.

In plastic models, you often cannot use black alone on the exterior. That is because it does not look right, it looks too black. This is called scale effect. I would say the same is the case in pixels. Even if the real airplane was truly black, it simply will not look right pixelated. As I stated, 365th FG is a good one to look at. To me, your black does not look natural. It is difficult to explain because I am not an artist and do not know the jargon.

Reminds me of this nugget:

HA HA HA, funny stuff.  No I get what you are saying.  It's just one of those game concessions.   I'll take a crack at it here shortly.

Thanks again for the input, sir.   It's valuable.   

[Hajo]

Well I for one think it looks great.  Nice job!

[Vraciu]

Well I for one think it looks great.  Nice job!

Thank you, Hajo.   You're a majority of one but I appreciate it.   

[Vraciu]

Doing a quick test here...    I want to see if the upload matches the viewer.   





Yep.  This is the tone of OD I see on my end when I fly and when I look at the skin in the viewer.  It's nowhere near as dark as some of you are seeing.  Nor is it as dark as this screenshot.     




I wonder if I have a video card setting screwed up somewhere.

[perdue3]

The yellows are two different colors. The rudder color looks great.