How to make a texture map for a model file??

MIKE JG · Post by **MIKE JG** » 17 Apr 2007, 14:34

Kevin, Rip, Psuls, anyone know how to take a model that I've created, one of these subs for example and make a texture map/texture file for it so I can texture it more appropriately?

Or is there a good link to a tutorial on this somewhere?

ronniegj · Post by **ronniegj** » 17 Apr 2007, 15:38

Another thought! Is there a way to make the water around the sub partially transparent, so that all of the boat would be visible from the air? Especially if at periscope depth or slightly below that!

Ron

RipPipPip · Post by **RipPipPip** » 17 Apr 2007, 16:16

Hey Mike,
the texturing process is covered in FSDS tutorials quite good.
The one tip how to start you should be aware of is however:
- a first step should be to organize your texture base with wireframe projection of all parts (left/right for fuselage, up/down for wings and so on).
Then you use their texture areas to texture the actual parts of a model.

@Ron - water textures are elements of FS environment and/or scenery, a model can not do much in this area.

nickblack423 · Post by **nickblack423** » 17 Apr 2007, 16:57

The easiest way I can describe to making a texture map is as follows, or this is how I do mine anyway.

Open your model: then open a new mspaint file resize to 1024x1024 pixels. Save this as your texture in the model folder in fs9. e.g. for my F-15 I called the file NBAI_F15_Eagle.bmp and placed it in the aircraft/texture folder. You need to also make sure this folder is set as your texture folder in FSDS preferences.
Then open another mspaint window, the reason will become clear soon.
I then isolate a specific part of the model, lets say the fuselage. open your side view to expanded view, have the fuselage selected as your current object, then hit "A" this will highlight all parts of your model. Hitting "H" will now hide all but the currently selected part, e.g. the fuselage. Now resize the object to about as wide as your texture file or a bit smaller, the larger it is the more detail you're gonna get.
Take a screen dump "PrtSc" then open the other mspaint window you opened second. Paste the screendump in here, then cut around the fuselage outline and copy. Paste this into the new texture file you made earlier. With the fuselage still selected it should be blue lines on a black background, press Ctrl-I to invert colours, this will turn the blue to orange and the black to white. Now move the fuselage where you want it, and then copy it. Paste a copy and flip it horizontally to make the other side, place this below the original side with a decent gap between the two.
Save your texture, then go into FSDS.
hit "Shift-H" to unhide all other parts. With the Fuselage still selected, press f4 to open the texture box. Then click in the right box select button and then select your texture whatever you called it. Your texture will pop up with the two sides of the fuselage visible. Drag a box around the very edges of the side that will be right and then click OK. Do the same for the left and then click ok. When you return to see your object, it should be resplendant in a new colour scheme which is orange and white.
Simply go into the texture and cover these side views with your base colour, making sure you overlap the edges by at least 2 or 3 pixels. Then you can play and experiment with the other ways of doing the textures, e.g front and back, top and bottom etc.

Hope this helps, this is how I do mine, the only drawback being that paint wont do 32 bit textures only 24. But I find it so much easier to use than photoshop or the like, so I use it well for what it does.

Nick

RipPipPip · Post by **RipPipPip** » 17 Apr 2007, 19:29

One notice here Nick:
better use NBAI_F15_Eagle_T.bmp than NBAI_F15_Eagle.bmp,
without _T a night texture (_L) won't work.
This got me into trouble with Typhoons.

MIKE JG · Post by **MIKE JG** » 18 Apr 2007, 16:49

Cool, sounds good. Here's the amazing part. Nick I completely followed you on that whole procedure. IOW I know how to do exaxtly what you mentioned!! A miracle indeed. I'll give it a shot.

@Ron, I've seen a picture of an FS9 usable sub that actually dives a little ways under the water, so I have ideas about how you might accomplish that sort of thing. Of course for AI purposes you could always make modified models that sit further and further under the "surface". Heck you could even make an ai model that is nothing more than a periscope sticking out of the water with a small wake effect trailing behind.

ronniegj · Post by **ronniegj** » 18 Apr 2007, 23:47

Yea Mike, that would probably be the way to go. I was just thinking about the antisub exercise personal package that someone else had done and mentioned in another thread, and how cool it would be to be able to have a little realism in something like that, understanding that FS does not support sonar etc. Just a daydream!

Ron

CrazyDunc · Post by **CrazyDunc** » 19 Apr 2007, 06:23

Im doing one of these ASW Packs with Project Tomcat, have been for a while, we've been using a user playable sub since november!

Dunc

MIKE JG · Post by **MIKE JG** » 20 Apr 2007, 04:53

Getting there. It's not as easy as I thought it would to be with trying to map out all the textures, not too many flat surfaces involved.

nickblack423 · Post by **nickblack423** » 20 Apr 2007, 07:17

Getting there mate. Sides of the fuselage don't look right. Have you mapped it top/bottom or right/left? looks like you have a gap there.

Nick

RipPipPip · Post by **RipPipPip** » 20 Apr 2007, 08:42

The texture rectangle just need to be shrinked a little, in FSDS3.

MIKE JG · Post by **MIKE JG** » 20 Apr 2007, 14:38

I experimented with both, that shot is with the top/bottom mapped which doesn't work nearly as well as a left/right mapping. I will change that when I can.

MIKE JG · Post by **MIKE JG** » 20 Apr 2007, 17:03

OK this is looking better, getting the hang of the whole texture mapping thing.