Author Topic: Embedding Plane Skins  (Read 364 times)

Offline CptTrips

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Embedding Plane Skins
« on: November 26, 2018, 10:37:08 PM »


Sorry, more annoying questions.   :D

Trying to embed a custom aircraft skin in the terrain.  If I read correctly in an old post in the skin's forum, I believe I was supposed to put the skin bmp in the terrain txsrc folder? 
I tried that, but it didn't change the skin when I tried it in ther terrain offline.  I want this skin to be specific to this terrain.

Did I do it wrong? Or is that not the process?

Thanks in advance.

CptTrips
 
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Offline Easyscor

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Re: Embedding Plane Skins
« Reply #1 on: November 27, 2018, 03:59:22 AM »
If you didn't put it in the texsrc folder, then yes.
If you didn't include all the associated bitmap textures then yes, you did something wrong.
If you didn't select the default skin in the hanger for the ride, then yes again.

 :cheers:
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Offline CptTrips

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Re: Embedding Plane Skins
« Reply #2 on: November 27, 2018, 09:16:09 AM »
If you didn't put it in the texsrc folder, then yes.
If you didn't include all the associated bitmap textures then yes, you did something wrong.
If you didn't select the default skin in the hanger for the ride, then yes again.

 :cheers:

Sorry, typo, I did put them in "texsrc".

Here is what I did:

1.  Open AHSkView and select the Dr.1 and saved textures.
2.  Edited one of the textures and simply put a streak of color down each side of fuselage.
3.  Open AHSkView and could see my changes.  That's a good sign.
4.  Copy all the content of the Dr1 skin folder over to my terrain's "texsrc" folder.
5.  Open TE and place a static DR.1 in at a field and viewed it with the TE.  Doesn't have my changes.  Not a good sign. 
6.  Delete the static Dr.1 and do a build.
7. Start game and load terrain. 
8.  Go to hangar and select Dr.1.  Not seeing my changes. Skin set to default.  (I have no other skins so only selection.)
9.  Spawn on runway.  Go to external view.  Not seeing my changes.    :bhead


A couple of side notes:
 
1.  After the build, in the "Texsrc" folder, I see many of my bmp were converted to htx files like "W1GPILOT.htx" "ARMRGLS.htx" but not my "DR1_1.bmp" or "DR1_2.bmp" or "DR1_3.bmp" .  And I only modified "DR1_1.bmp" so I couldn't have screwed up the others.  Besides, the AHSkView read everything ok.

2.  I've been noticing that all my diffuse bitmaps I've been seeing from exporting from AHSkView or AHObEdit are 24bit RGB instead of 8bit Indexed.  Do object not follow the same rule as the terrain textures?  I tried saving my skin as either 24bit or 8bit and neither worked, but in general I had been curious about seeing RGB bitmaps for objects exported.

Thanks for your help.

:salute,
CptTrips









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Offline CptTrips

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Re: Embedding Plane Skins
« Reply #3 on: November 27, 2018, 07:04:49 PM »
So I did the exact same steps with a P-51D and it at least showed the plane in the TE when I placed it statically with my changes. 
However when I built it, it crashes the TE at the point the status window is displaying "Adding Custom Textures".
Sadly, the crash produces no dmp file.

Soooo, just to sanity check, I deleted my skin export folders and re-exported the P-51D again clean and copied all the files to my terrain "texsrc" folder unchanged.  That way I can't have screwed anything up.  TE crash.

I'm thinking that is just broken.

[NOTE***]  If you try that with the P-51D, your terrain will not build again until you clean all those out of your "texsrc" and anything it put in "stdshapes" folder (dat etc).    :huh

« Last Edit: November 27, 2018, 07:37:50 PM by CptTrips »
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Offline Easyscor

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Re: Embedding Plane Skins
« Reply #4 on: November 27, 2018, 11:22:11 PM »
The bitmaps go into the texsrc folder. You are burying the bitmaps in the skin folder and the TE directory path will never see them.
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Offline CptTrips

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Re: Embedding Plane Skins
« Reply #5 on: November 27, 2018, 11:40:54 PM »
The bitmaps go into the texsrc folder. You are burying the bitmaps in the skin folder and the TE directory path will never see them.

Nope.  I am putting them in the texsrc folder.

I Open AhSkView.
I export the P-51D skin.
I first modify the skin in the folder AhSKView exported to.
I reopen AhSkView and check it sees my changes.
I go back to the skin export folder and copy all the files from there TO my terrain's "texsrc" folder.
I open the TE on that terrain and hit build.
Crash.



 
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Offline Easyscor

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Re: Embedding Plane Skins
« Reply #6 on: November 27, 2018, 11:53:02 PM »
Use only the diffuse bitmap and see if that works. Then start adding the others one at a time seeing which ones break the TE.

_P.bmp
_S.bmp
_n.bmp
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Offline CptTrips

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Re: Embedding Plane Skins
« Reply #7 on: November 28, 2018, 12:00:39 AM »
Use only the diffuse bitmap and see if that works. Then start adding the others one at a time seeing which ones break the TE.

_P.bmp
_S.bmp
_n.bmp

OK, I can try that as a debugging step.

But just to make sure, I was supposed to all the files according to the original instructions right?  I didn't mis-read that right?   

 
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Offline CptTrips

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Re: Embedding Plane Skins
« Reply #8 on: November 28, 2018, 12:39:27 AM »
I'll try your suggestion Thurs. 

I posted an example of what I tried tonight on the post in bugs.
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Offline Easyscor

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Re: Embedding Plane Skins
« Reply #9 on: November 28, 2018, 05:29:26 AM »
I miss-spoke above in that the TE won't break if things are done right. If there's a problem, it will be with the bitmaps. Also, I've never tried to install the ancillary bitmaps one at at time but I don't see why that wouldn't work.
I'm leaving town for two weeks and won't have access to my files.

 :cheers:

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Offline CptTrips

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Re: Embedding Plane Skins
« Reply #10 on: November 28, 2018, 11:55:25 AM »
I miss-spoke above in that the TE won't break if things are done right. If there's a problem, it will be with the bitmaps. Also, I've never tried to install the ancillary bitmaps one at at time but I don't see why that wouldn't work.
I'm leaving town for two weeks and won't have access to my files.

 :cheers:

Have a safe trip.  :salute
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