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F-104 Starfighters Drag Chute Textures NOT showing up

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Janeway
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F-104 Starfighters Drag Chute Textures NOT showing up

Post by Janeway »

AI F-104 Starfighters and F-4 Phantom by Mike Pearson

The AI F-4C screenshot attached here illustrates the colourful striped drag-chute (striped white/yellow) which deploys after landing.
Attached is a screenshot of the Canadian DUAL CF-104 after landing and deploying the chute:
NO textures are visible. Just GREY.
Yet with DXTBmp the textures are identical to those on the F-4 Phantom_Early model: striped white/yellow.

And since I've been creating some F-104s for retro-traffic at Decimomannu (LIED), there are Italian F-104s and Canadian F-104s and F-4 Phantoms deployed there. All are AI models by Mike Pearson.
All F-4 Phantoms deploy coloured, textured drag-chutes.
ALL F-104 Starfighters (italian & Canadian) deploy GREY looking drag-chutes: clearly NOT loading the texture.
However, I do NOT know why this is occurring.
Is it something on MY setup or what ?
When I tried FS Repaint, the Model Viewer (AI-Aircraft Editor) and even ACM 2.5 to attempt to SEE the drag-chute,
I discovered that only the Model Viewer displays the drag-chute, but it is untextured there also (yet so are the F-4 Phantom textures, yet they show up nicely in FS9).

Mike P is a great repainter and modeler, and HIS models are among the very best there are.
I've no doubt the textures are OK and also the models.
But since my knowledge of aircraft textures and HOW they are applied is very limited, I was wondering if somebody here could shed some light on the matter. And then maybe I can see those drag-chutes deploying colourfully on the F-104s.
IF possible...
Attachments
Drag chute textures ARE showing
Drag chute textures ARE showing
F-4 USAF landing (B).jpg (8.92 KiB) Viewed 637 times
Drag chute textures NOT showing
Drag chute textures NOT showing
Dual F-104 (A).jpg (4.68 KiB) Viewed 637 times
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Re: F-104 Starfighters Drag Chute Textures NOT showing up

Post by gsnde »

Do you have the file "MPAI_Drogue_Chute1.bmp" in your texture folder?
Cheers,
Martin
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Janeway
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Re: F-104 Starfighters Drag Chute Textures NOT showing up

Post by Janeway »

Yes, it is. I always include any textures required by AI planes and that need to be in the Main FS9/Texture folder.
Otherwise, the F-4 Phantom drogue chute would NOT be coloured properly.
That is why I find it peculiar: all the required textures are IN THE RIGHT place.
Both the F-4 Phantom drag-chute textures.
And the F-104 Starfighter drag-chute textures.

The F-4 drag chute shows up OK, but the F-104s drag chutes are grey and NOT textured.
And I'm not sufficiently knowledgeable to understand WHAT is the cause of this problem.
I'm sure that if this same thing happened on a wider scale, and MORE simmers faced this same issue, that
Mike Pearson would have definitely corrected it.
However, this seems to be a rare or isolated occurrence, and hence can only be solved by somebody who really
knows modelling and how textures are drawn onto its matching model.

Thanks for your tip, Martin.
You are always ready to help.....
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Re: F-104 Starfighters Drag Chute Textures NOT showing up

Post by Firebird »

A reason that the F-4 chute might show up properly is that that texture is a different name. That uses two. either 'NMAI_Drogue_Chute1.bmp' or 'NMAI_Drogue_Chute2.bmp'.
I can't think of a reason why 'MPAI_Drogue_Chute1.bmp' would not show up, if it was in the same folder as the F-4 chutes. Try copying the chute texture to a particular F-104 folder and then see if it works fine there. It maybe corrupt so you could try re-installing just the chute again to 'Flight Simulator 9\Texture' and see if that fixes it.
Steve
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Re: F-104 Starfighters Drag Chute Textures NOT showing up

Post by gsnde »

The CAF model (and most likely all others as well) is calling for the file "NMAI_DROGUE_CHUTE2.BMP". This error seems to have slipped through for everybody. Rename your file "MPAI_Drogue_Chute1.bmp" to this and it will work - I just tested it.
Cheers,
Martin
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Re: F-104 Starfighters Drag Chute Textures NOT showing up

Post by Firebird »

On the AIAE not showing the texture it only checks in the local folder for the textures which is what I am sure the other utils would do as well. If you were to place a copy of the global texture in the local folder it will show it fine.
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Re: F-104 Starfighters Drag Chute Textures NOT showing up

Post by gsnde »

Not sure if you replied to me, Steve :smt001

No, I used another tool than AIAE. This F-104 CAF model which I analyzed asks specifically for the texture "NMAI_DROGUE_CHUTE2.BMP", not for "MPAI_Drogue_Chute1.bmp". So it might very well be that this issue is not with all Starfighter models.
Cheers,
Martin
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Re: F-104 Starfighters Drag Chute Textures NOT showing up

Post by Firebird »

No Martin, I was replying to the first post which stated that the texture didn't show up in AIAE. However, AIAE is what I used to find out what was missing, although you had already made it public.

From the model viewer window I just hit the 'Show Texture Info' button on the bottom and it lists what the mdl looks for.
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Re: F-104 Starfighters Drag Chute Textures NOT showing up

Post by Janeway »

gsnde wrote:The CAF model (and most likely all others as well) is calling for the file "NMAI_DROGUE_CHUTE2.BMP". This error seems to have slipped through for everybody. Rename your file "MPAI_Drogue_Chute1.bmp" to this and it will work - I just tested it.

YOU DID IT, MARTIN !!
Please accept my heartfelt thanks for solving the problem.
I suspected it might be an incorrectly named texture, but I do not know how to check for that,
or even what tool to use.
What is AIAE that you and Firebird referred to ?
You have no idea how hard I have tried to solve this problem...but did not know enough how to do it

I am creating some F-104 Starfighter AI traffic at Decimomannu (LIED) for two retired Canadians - in Winnipeg, Canada-
who have created a "Starfighter Museum". They just like to relive the old days when they were kids stationed in Europe with their families.
Anybody can check this out at: http://www.canadianstarfightermuseum.ca./
They are friendly fellows, but just do not know how to create AI traffic correctly. And I do, so I'm giving them a hand.
So you not only helped me, but them too.

You are a very kind and helpful person, Martin !!
Attachments
F-104 MPAI Drogue Chute VISIBLE (4)B.jpg
F-104 MPAI Drogue Chute VISIBLE (4)B.jpg (4.42 KiB) Viewed 509 times
F-104 MPAI Drogue Chute VISIBLE (1)B.jpg
F-104 MPAI Drogue Chute VISIBLE (1)B.jpg (8.63 KiB) Viewed 509 times
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Re: F-104 Starfighters Drag Chute Textures NOT showing up

Post by Firebird »

AIAE ,AI-Aircraft Editor, is tool that Martin has built and is available from his website (link in his posts). It checks various parms to ensure that models and schemes show up in game. When you select a particular model and scheme and hit the Model Viewer button it will show you the scheme on the model. It also has the ability to list the textures the mdl is looking, as I described above.
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Re: F-104 Starfighters Drag Chute Textures NOT showing up

Post by sr01 »

Janeway wrote:
gsnde wrote:The CAF model (and most likely all others as well) is calling for the file "NMAI_DROGUE_CHUTE2.BMP". This error seems to have slipped through for everybody. Rename your file "MPAI_Drogue_Chute1.bmp" to this and it will work - I just tested it.

YOU DID IT, MARTIN !!
Please accept my heartfelt thanks for solving the problem.
I suspected it might be an incorrectly named texture, but I do not know how to check for that,
or even what tool to use.
What is AIAE that you and Firebird referred to ?
You have no idea how hard I have tried to solve this problem...but did not know enough how to do it

I am creating some F-104 Starfighter AI traffic at Decimomannu (LIED) for two retired Canadians - in Winnipeg, Canada-
who have created a "Starfighter Museum". They just like to relive the old days when they were kids stationed in Europe with their families.
Anybody can check this out at: http://www.canadianstarfightermuseum.ca./
They are friendly fellows, but just do not know how to create AI traffic correctly. And I do, so I'm giving them a hand.
So you not only helped me, but them too.

You are a very kind and helpful person, Martin !!
If you need help with the textures ,I can help also . I have the corrected paints for the MPAI RCAF/CAF ,Dutch and RNAF 104's. I've researched the good serial #'s for about 70% of the European stationed RCAF and CAF A/C by Squadron's . I've got all 80 circa 1965 104's flying outta Cold lake and making nuisances of themselves all over Canada and the Western USA
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