Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Custom Skins => Topic started by: Greebo on October 12, 2016, 10:29:14 AM

Title: 153 Gruppo C.202
Post by: Greebo on October 12, 2016, 10:29:14 AM
Thanks to Lyric1 for finding me this photo (http://stormomagazine.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=1299) of this C.202.

This C.202 painted in factory "smoke ring" camouflage was the aircraft of the CO of the 153rd Fighter Group Maggiore Andrea Favini while based in Libya in 1941. As a personal marking it featured the Roman numeral "CLIII" (153) on both sides of the fuselage and a double rather than single fuselage ID band.

(http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c155/Jonchaz/Screenshots%20Italian/153_Gruppo_C.202_SC2_zpstalfmczk.jpg)

(http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c155/Jonchaz/Screenshots%20Italian/153_Gruppo_C.202_SC3_zpskqovj4sd.jpg)

(http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c155/Jonchaz/Screenshots%20Italian/153_Gruppo_C.202_SC1_zpstx8er2da.jpg)
Title: Re: 153 Gruppo C.202
Post by: Vraciu on October 12, 2016, 11:21:06 AM
Wow.
Title: Re: 153 Gruppo C.202
Post by: Devil 505 on October 12, 2016, 11:27:59 AM
Bravo!
Title: Re: 153 Gruppo C.202
Post by: oboe on October 12, 2016, 11:30:51 AM
Looks awesome Greebo!   Bel pezzo di lavoro, maestro!

Sorry for the T/J but,

How were you able to work around the custom skin specularity bug I just posted today?   I just now downloaded the default C202 skin, created my own c202 custom skin subfolder and copied in only the diffuse, normal, and specular map files.   When I compare the custom skin to the default skin in-game, the custom skin is very shiny, even though I am using only original files.

Even if I use a pure black (x'000000') _S.bmp file, the skin is shiny. I don't seem to have any control over specularity, and I don't know where the values are coming from because the are obviously different from the default skin's specular values.
Title: Re: 153 Gruppo C.202
Post by: Greebo on October 12, 2016, 12:33:22 PM
Thanks guys, glad you like it.

Oboe, I don't generally download default skin files, since for the shapes that I skin I usually did the default skin anyway. However I recall having an issue like this at one point while working on the default Ki-61 skin, so I had an idea what the problem was.

To check I downloaded the C.202 files through the skin viewer. After deleting the interior files etc I was left with; the basic skin file MC202.bmp, the normal map MC202_N.bmp and the specularity map MC202_S.bmp. The bug is MC202.bmp is being saved in the wrong format by HTC's conversion program. It is saved an an 8-bit per channel colour image, not a 256 colour image like it should be.

To fix the issue load MC202.bmp into your graphics program and use it to convert the file to 256 colour format and then save it. This eliminates the shiny effect and lets the specularity map work.

BTW if you use Bright to reduce bmps to 256 colours you will find it will not work with the bugged file as it does not recognise HTC's colour format. To get round this load the file into your graphics program and then save it. Bright will now recognise the file and convert it to 256 colours.
Title: Re: 153 Gruppo C.202
Post by: lyric1 on October 12, 2016, 12:39:38 PM
 :aok
Title: Re: 153 Gruppo C.202
Post by: FTJR on October 17, 2016, 02:19:50 AM
Thanks guys, glad you like it.

Oboe, I don't generally download default skin files, since for the shapes that I skin I usually did the default skin anyway. However I recall having an issue like this at one point while working on the default Ki-61 skin, so I had an idea what the problem was.

To check I downloaded the C.202 files through the skin viewer. After deleting the interior files etc I was left with; the basic skin file MC202.bmp, the normal map MC202_N.bmp and the specularity map MC202_S.bmp. The bug is MC202.bmp is being saved in the wrong format by HTC's conversion program. It is saved an an 8-bit per channel colour image, not a 256 colour image like it should be.

To fix the issue load MC202.bmp into your graphics program and use it to convert the file to 256 colour format and then save it. This eliminates the shiny effect and lets the specularity map work.

BTW if you use Bright to reduce bmps to 256 colours you will find it will not work with the bugged file as it does not recognise HTC's colour format. To get round this load the file into your graphics program and then save it. Bright will now recognise the file and convert it to 256 colours.

Thanks for the info Greebo.

Great Skin too :aok
Title: Re: 153 Gruppo C.202
Post by: Nefarious on October 17, 2016, 07:08:59 PM
Looking good! <S>
Title: Re: 153 Gruppo C.202
Post by: Molsman on October 18, 2016, 07:39:25 AM
As Always Greebo Excellent Work
Title: Re: 153 Gruppo C.202
Post by: potsNpans on October 28, 2016, 07:03:56 AM
Very Nice job again, just like to see the command pennat under the aluminum gun adjustment plate for the Major and blue strip inside fuselage white band.
Title: Re: 153 Gruppo C.202
Post by: Greebo on October 28, 2016, 09:07:32 AM
I noticed the blue stripe on several profiles of this aircraft, but to my eyes in the photos it looks like two white stripes with the normal camouflage in the gap. I'm not really seeing the pennant in the photos either, although it is unclear what exactly is there.
Title: Re: 153 Gruppo C.202
Post by: lyric1 on October 28, 2016, 12:36:30 PM
I noticed the blue stripe on several profiles of this aircraft, but to my eyes in the photos it looks like two white stripes with the normal camouflage in the gap. I'm not really seeing the pennant in the photos either, although it is unclear what exactly is there.

Zooming up the colour photo I have there is no blue stripe.
Pennant is there you can see the colours and also the flag pole it is hung on.

(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af142/barneybolac/Macchi%20Folgore%20C202%20C205/c2_zpsd2tjkawt.jpg) (http://s1002.photobucket.com/user/barneybolac/media/Macchi%20Folgore%20C202%20C205/c2_zpsd2tjkawt.jpg.html)

(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af142/barneybolac/Macchi%20Folgore%20C202%20C205/img019_zps3c1ad25f.jpg) (http://s1002.photobucket.com/user/barneybolac/media/Macchi%20Folgore%20C202%20C205/img019_zps3c1ad25f.jpg.html)

(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af142/barneybolac/Macchi%20Folgore%20C202%20C205/f8bc0b6a-feb8-477a-876a-0726dfff3146_zpsupkg2yau.jpg) (http://s1002.photobucket.com/user/barneybolac/media/Macchi%20Folgore%20C202%20C205/f8bc0b6a-feb8-477a-876a-0726dfff3146_zpsupkg2yau.jpg.html)

(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af142/barneybolac/Macchi%20Folgore%20C202%20C205/c202romannumeralsd_zps4ea19be5.jpg) (http://s1002.photobucket.com/user/barneybolac/media/Macchi%20Folgore%20C202%20C205/c202romannumeralsd_zps4ea19be5.jpg.html)


(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af142/barneybolac/Macchi%20Folgore%20C202%20C205/00f894f7-fc82-4721-8105-6fdba7e5ce96_zps0iztxbqz.jpg) (http://s1002.photobucket.com/user/barneybolac/media/Macchi%20Folgore%20C202%20C205/00f894f7-fc82-4721-8105-6fdba7e5ce96_zps0iztxbqz.jpg.html)

(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af142/barneybolac/Macchi%20Folgore%20C202%20C205/img020_zps7fa66f9f.jpg) (http://s1002.photobucket.com/user/barneybolac/media/Macchi%20Folgore%20C202%20C205/img020_zps7fa66f9f.jpg.html)

(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af142/barneybolac/Macchi%20Folgore%20C202%20C205/4dbb8ce5-a769-4380-a72f-467fb2e6fe57_zpsnexdhczr.jpg) (http://s1002.photobucket.com/user/barneybolac/media/Macchi%20Folgore%20C202%20C205/4dbb8ce5-a769-4380-a72f-467fb2e6fe57_zpsnexdhczr.jpg.html)
Title: Re: 153 Gruppo C.202
Post by: Greebo on October 28, 2016, 02:20:42 PM
Thanks for the info Lyric1, I'll add the pennants to the skin.