Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Custom Skins => Topic started by: oboe on December 07, 2007, 12:05:09 PM

Title: Any solution to this skinning problem?
Post by: oboe on December 07, 2007, 12:05:09 PM

I'm working on a 1st FG P-38 pictured below:
(http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s199/guppy35/1stFGJ.jpg)

This is a natural metal skin with some significant painted areas (yellow part of booms).

Problem is, with the defaut specularity in the skin material.txt file, the yellow is so reflective it looks like gold/brass.   If I tone done the specularity or crank up the power setting in the material txt file to get the yellow area looking more flat colored, the rest of the natural metal skin loses its shininess too, and no longer looks like natural aluminum.

I've experimented with material.txt files from OD and natural metal skins and played around with different Ambient, Diffuse, and power settings but I can't seem to find a satisfactory balance.

Anybody else dealt with this issue, and find a work around?

Title: Any solution to this skinning problem?
Post by: Greebo on December 07, 2007, 12:59:51 PM

There isn't really a workround for it in AH. Alpha maps for specularity would be nice but would use up too much video memory. That's the penalty we must pay for having so many different aircraft able to be on screen at once I guess.

I just make my aluminium skins a bit less shiny than most on the basis that they would have got dirty in real life.

Title: Any solution to this skinning problem?
Post by: Krusty on December 07, 2007, 01:03:40 PM

Tailor to the paint.

You make the BMF look good and the rest looks like crap, every eye is going to gravitate toward the "crap" areas (no offense, just making an example). You make it so the paint looks decent, but the BMF is "okay" then the eye will accept the metal even if it's less shiny.

I think some skins are too shiny as-is, anyways.

Try to find a balance, but make the painted areas look better, if you have to tailor to one vs the other.

Title: Any solution to this skinning problem?
Post by: oboe on December 07, 2007, 02:16:39 PM

Is there a description of all the parameters in the material.txt file somewhere, and what they control?

I've just been doing stuff by trial and error...

Title: Any solution to this skinning problem?
Post by: Krusty on December 07, 2007, 02:31:13 PM

Just use the sliders in the skins viewer! When you get what you want, write down the values and edit the text file.

Title: Any solution to this skinning problem?
Post by: Greebo on December 07, 2007, 02:51:04 PM

Check out this thread (http://forums.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=141281&highlight=material+file).

Title: Any solution to this skinning problem?
Post by: oboe on December 07, 2007, 04:29:47 PM

Thanks, Greebo - that helped alot.

Title: Any solution to this skinning problem?
Post by: Hoarach on December 07, 2007, 06:13:45 PM

Wow will that skin look nice.  :O

Title: Any solution to this skinning problem?
Post by: oboe on December 07, 2007, 10:17:47 PM

Quote

Originally posted by Krusty
Just use the sliders in the skins viewer! When you get what you want, write down the values and edit the text file.

Gosh I better DL the viewer and have a look at it!   I've been doing it the old fashioned way, using the full game to view the skin as I work on it.

Time to modernize my methods...

Title: Any solution to this skinning problem?
Post by: oboe on December 08, 2007, 11:52:13 PM

Anybody got a link to the skin viewer download?   I can't seem to find it on HTC's site...

Title: Any solution to this skinning problem?
Post by: Krusty on December 09, 2007, 12:54:22 AM

There's a link to it on the "custom skins" page, not the downloads page.


http://downloads.hitechcreations.com/AHSKVIEW2102.EXE