question for Pete (Mac Paint)

[FlyinMisfit 0]

hi Pete,i have a couple of questions for ya...1. when will the old Virgin Atlantic livery (Mustang Sally/G-VROC) be released?2. the 747X Cargo liveries seem to be more reflective (have more of a shine) to them than the Pax liveries. am i seeing things here? this one has had me scratchin' my head for a while now. thanks in advance for the info. happy flyin, Tim Wheeler

[Mac_Paint 35]

>hi Pete,>>i have a couple of questions for ya...>>1. when will the old Virgin Atlantic livery (Mustang>Sally/G-VROC) be released?Should be up now or very shortly.>>>2. the 747X Cargo liveries seem to be more reflective (have>more of a shine) to them than the Pax liveries. am i seeing>things here? this one has had me scratchin' my head for a>while now. thanks in advance for the info.Not sure here. I'll look but they should be the same.>>> happy flyin, Tim Wheeler

[FlyinMisfit 0]

thanks for the quick response Pete. there's a few things i forgot to mention in my previous post. not show stoppers by any means. just thought you'd like to know.1. the GE logos on the in-board side of engines 3 & 4 are backwards on the KLM and New Zealand liveries.2. the Rolls Royce logos on the in-board side of all 4 engines are backwards on the Qantas livery.3. on the El Al Israel livery the "painted" surfaces on the engines don't appear to have any reflections at all - in spot view nor in the left and right forward passenger views. also, the operating manuals have Northwest Airlines covers.4. the Atlas Air and UPS liveries on the left Cargo door at the bottom of the door has what looks like 5 passenger windows (without the glass appearance) "outlined" on it. and, 2 windows outlined on the fuselage to the left and right of the left cargo door as well. "zoom" in to a 3.0 zoom level and their very easy to see. i don't know about any of the other Cargo liveries as i haven't flown any of them yet. happy flyin, Tim Wheeler

[Mac_Paint 35]

>thanks for the quick response Pete. there's a few things i>forgot to mention in my previous post. not show stoppers by>any means. just thought you'd like to know.>>1. the GE logos on the in-board side of engines 3 & 4 are>backwards on the KLM and New Zealand liveries.I'll let Marc know, these are his liveries.>>2. the Rolls Royce logos on the in-board side of all 4 engines>are backwards on the Qantas livery.Same here, I'll let him know.>>>3. on the El Al Israel livery the "painted" surfaces on the>engines don't appear to have any reflections at all - in spot>view nor in the left and right forward passenger views. also,>the operating manuals have Northwest Airlines covers.Not sure on the engine reflections, I'll take a close look. As for the manual that's a mistake I can fix but, that will require a new installer package to correct and I'm not too sure if we can do that anytime soon.>>>4. the Atlas Air and UPS liveries on the left Cargo door at>the bottom of the door has what looks like 5 passenger windows>(without the glass appearance) "outlined" on it. and, 2>windows outlined on the fuselage to the left and right of the>left cargo door as well. "zoom" in to a 3.0 zoom level and>their very easy to see. i don't know about any of the other>Cargo liveries as i haven't flown any of them yet. This is normal. Look closely at this picture;http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1304707/L/ We even capture the hard to see details ;-)Enjoy your holidays!>>>> happy flyin, Tim Wheeler>>>>>

[FlyinMisfit 0]

thanks again for the info. and quick response Pete. 2 more questions here...1. have you come to a conclusion yet on my initial post in this thread concerning the "reflections" with the Pax vs. Cargo?2. i see that the "old" Virgin Atlantic livery (Mustang Sally/G-VROC) hasn't been posted yet. is there an eta yet for this? Lady Penelope only is availabe at this time. if memory serves me correctly, screen shots of both were in your "PMDG747X turning final" series screenshots prior to the 747X release. thanks again for any info.Merry Christmas to you and your family. happy flyin, Tim Wheeler

[FlyinMisfit 0]

thanks for the info. Mo. i may give Pete & Co. a little more time though. i was hoping Sally would be the 1st Virgin Atlantic out of the hangar. btw Mo, have you seen the new Virgin Atlantic paint scheme/livery? if you haven't imho, you haven't missed anything. i think Virgin Atlantic took a couple of steps back with that one. happy flyin, Tim Wheeler

[Mac_Paint 35]

>thanks again for the info. and quick response Pete. 2 more>questions here...>>1. have you come to a conclusion yet on my initial post in>this thread concerning the "reflections" with the Pax vs.>Cargo?Vin and I looked into this and the F and PAX share identical reflection settings. What you may be seeing is a result of custom fuse_spec maps. Inside some texture folders may be two files for the left and right fuse named something like fuse_spec_left and right. These two files adjust the amount of reflections you see on each livery. The default texture folder has our base reflection map and this maybe more to your liking. What you can try is to rename these two files in the livery you want to adjust (Leave the spec maps unchanged in the default texture folder) and load up the livery to see how you like the change. If it looks good then you can safely leave the files renamed.>>2. i see that the "old" Virgin Atlantic livery (Mustang>Sally/G-VROC) hasn't been posted yet. is there an eta yet for>this? Lady Penelope only is availabe at this time. if memory>serves me correctly, screen shots of both were in your>"PMDG747X turning final" series screenshots prior to the 747X>release. thanks again for any info.Marc has both Virgin texture sets and he will be posting both liveries soon, holiday functions allowing.>>Merry Christmas to you and your family.>>> happy flyin, Tim Wheeler>>

[FlyinMisfit 0]

thank you very much Pete for your help and info. on all of this. happy flyin, Tim Wheeler

[Mac_Paint 35]

Tim,I've located the problem with the manuals for the El Al. Check inside the texture.LY livery folder for PMDG_744_VC_MANUALS_C and PMDG_744_VC_MANUALS_T. If both are included delete the PMDG_744_VC_MANUALS_C and RENAME the PMDG_744_VC_MANUALS_T by changing the _T to _C. The _T is the correct manual from the FS9 livery and needs to be named with the _C to be recognized in FSX.The engine reflection can be viewed by renameing the PW_Engine_Spec file. This will allow the El Al livery to use the default engine spec map which may be more to your liking.Have a Happy Holiday!The crew from PMDG!

[FlyinMisfit 0]

hi Pete,thanks for the info. i've already tried renaming the fuse_spec_left and right & the engine_spec files for the Pax and F before reading your post here. i got some mixed results. renaming the files worked with the F. the Cargolux(RR) reflections appear to be equal to the UPS and Atlas Air now for example. however, renaming those same files had no effect on any of the Pax liveries at all. i tried all of the Pax liveries that have the "spec" files - China Airlines, Israel, United (old & new) etc... i discovered that some of the liveries for the Pax & F don't have "some" of the "spec" files that some of the others have. i'm assuming this is normal. could there be a prob. with the Pax (plane or liveries) that's having a negative effect on the Pax reflections? seems strange to me that renaming those "spec" files improves the reflections on the F but not the Pax. i will do as you suggested for the Israel VC Operating Manual covers. again, many thanks for your help & input on all of this. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to You and the rest of the PMDG team. God Bless You All!!!!! happy flyin, Tim Wheeler

[FlyinMisfit 0]

Pete,i forgot to mention this in one of my previous posts (sorry about that). the following info. may or may not be of any importance/help. i noticed during the livery installation for the 747X (Pax & F) that there was not an option to choose between 32bit & DXT3 textures. this option was present in the livery installer for the FS9 version (Pax & F). when installing the liveries for the 747X which textures are installed - 32bit or DXT3? on my old Win/FSX/PMDG747X installation, i installed the 747X liveries twice - bact to back. on the 2nd attempt i had options to modify, remove or repair (if memory serves me correctly). modify was selected by default with what "appeared" to be an option at the top of the window in text (can't remember the wording) to install the 32-bit textures. i proceeded and got a msg. at the end saying...your PMDG livery has been updated successfully or something like that.on my current Win/FSX/747X install (less than 1 mo. old) i installed the 747X liveries "1 time" for both Pax and F. the 747 looks the same (reflections and all) now as it did when i installed the liveries twice as mentioned above. all of this was Before i tried renaming the "spec" files you mentioned earlier. thanks again for your time and assistance. happy flyin, Tim Wheeler

[Mac_Paint 35]

>Pete,>>i forgot to mention this in one of my previous posts (sorry>about that). the following info. may or may not be of any>importance/help.> >i noticed during the livery installation for the 747X (Pax &>F) that there was not an option to choose between 32bit & DXT3>textures. this option was present in the livery installer for>the FS9 version (Pax & F). when installing the liveries for>the 747X which textures are installed - 32bit or DXT3? This is normal. The FSX liveries are all 32bit DDS file format. There was no gain seen in using the DXT3 format in FSX for our 747. The DDS file format is also of a higher resolution than the DXT3 format so that is our file format of choice.>>on my old Win/FSX/PMDG747X installation, i installed the 747X>liveries twice - bact to back. on the 2nd attempt i had>options to modify, remove or repair (if memory serves me>correctly). modify was selected by default with what>"appeared" to be an option at the top of the window in text>(can't remember the wording) to install the 32-bit textures. i>proceeded and got a msg. at the end saying...your PMDG livery>has been updated successfully or something like that.>>on my current Win/FSX/747X install (less than 1 mo. old) i>installed the 747X liveries "1 time" for both Pax and F. the>747 looks the same (reflections and all) now as it did when i>installed the liveries twice as mentioned above. all of this>was Before i tried renaming the "spec" files you mentioned>earlier. thanks again for your time and assistance.The default PMDG texture folder has the base spec map file which is used on any livery that does not have it's own spec map. Renaming or removing any spec map included in a livery set will cause the base spec map to load for that livery.Does the PMDG House livery reflections look o.k. to you? If so, any livery using that spec map will have the same level of reflections. If you are using the base spec map but the reflections for the livery you are adjusting do not match our PMDG House livery you have stumbled across an issue I've not seen before. This would take a bit more digging. Can you tell me which livery you are having no luck on using the base spec map?>>>> happy flyin, Tim Wheeler>>

[FlyinMisfit 0]

aaahhhhhh. i see you have a soft spot for Cargolux. ok, u totally got me on that one. i did miss the ole "X" key. sorry about that. imho, it is one of the nicer looking Cargo planes.i only renamed the "spec" named files (fuse_spec_left and right and engine_spec) files for all the Pax liveries in their respective "texture" folder. and, if i understand you correctly this forces the base "spec" maps to be used for those liveries with the renamed "spec" files. if i'm wrong here feel free to correct me. i haven't paid that much attention to the PMDG House liveries. i will do that asap and get back to you.the PMDG House liveries and the Airline liveries look great. you and Marc do and Excellent job on the liveries. Robert should be proud. i was just baffled by the reflection/shine differences between the Pax and F. imho, there may be a slight color inaccuracy with 2 liveries. if you don't mind take a look at the British Airways and the All Nippon liveries and see what you think about the following...1. do you think the Blue on the British Airways looks more like a light to med. Teal color? or, has a Teal colored tint to it? i compared it to the FS9 version and pictures on Airliners.net2. shouldn't the "lighter" Blue color on the All Nippon be more of Mint Green color instead of the "lighter" blue. again, i compared it to the FS9 version, Airliners.net pics and (went a step further on this one) a FL350.com 747 video. thanks again Pete for your concern and time with all of this. happy flyin, Tim Wheeler

[FlyinMisfit 0]

Pete, please disregard my post immediately above this one. my editing time expired on that one. aaahhhhhh. i see you have a soft spot for the ole Cargolux. ok, u totally got me on that one. i did miss the ole "X" key. sorry about that. imho, it is one of the nicer looking Cargo planes.i only renamed the "spec" named files (fuse_spec_left and right and engine_spec) for all the Pax liveries that have those files in their respective "texture" folder. and, if i understand you correctly this forces the base "spec" maps to be used for those liveries with the renamed "spec" files. if i'm wrong here feel free to correct me. after renaming the fuse_spec_left and right files and the engine_spec file for the Pax liveries that has those files, i did not see the increased level of reflection/shine on the Pax that i did on the F. the fuselage reflections/shine didnt increase at all. also, the Pax liveries that don't have the fuse_spec_left and right files don't have the reflection/shine level that the F liveries do that don't have the fuse_spec_left and right files. i haven't paid that much attention to the PMDG House liveries. i will do that asap and get back to you.the PMDG House liveries and the Airline liveries look great. you and Marc do an Excellent job on the liveries. Robert should be proud. i was just baffled by the reflection/shine differences between the Pax and F. imho, there may be a slight color inaccuracy with 2 Pax liveries. if you don't mind, take a look at the British Airways and the All Nippon liveries and see what you think about the following...1. do you think the Blue on the British Airways looks more like a light to med. Teal color? or, has a Teal colored tint to it? i compared it to the FS9 version and pictures on Airliners.net2. shouldn't the "lighter" Blue color on the All Nippon be more of a Mint Green color instead of the "lighter" blue. again, i compared it to the FS9 version, Airliners.net pics and (went a step further on this one) a FL350.com 747 video. sounds like i have a soft spot for the 747 doesn't it?thanks again Pete for your concern and time with all of this. happy flyin, Tim Wheeler

[Mac_Paint 35]

>Pete, please disregard my post immediately above this one. my>editing time expired on that one. >>>aaahhhhhh. i see you have a soft spot for the ole Cargolux.>ok, u totally got me on that one. i did miss the ole "X" key.>sorry about that. imho, it is one of the nicer looking Cargo>planes.>>i only renamed the "spec" named files (fuse_spec_left and>right and engine_spec) for all the Pax liveries that have>those files in their respective "texture" folder. and, if i>understand you correctly this forces the base "spec" maps to>be used for those liveries with the renamed "spec" files. if>i'm wrong here feel free to correct me. after renaming the>fuse_spec_left and right files and the engine_spec file for>the Pax liveries that has those files, i did not see the>increased level of reflection/shine on the Pax that i did on>the F. the fuselage reflections/shine didnt increase at all.>also, the Pax liveries that don't have the fuse_spec_left and>right files don't have the reflection/shine level that the F>liveries do that don't have the fuse_spec_left and right>files. i haven't paid that much attention to the PMDG House>liveries. i will do that asap and get back to you.>>the PMDG House liveries and the Airline liveries look great.>you and Marc do an Excellent job on the liveries. Robert>should be proud. i was just baffled by the reflection/shine>differences between the Pax and F. imho, there may be a slight>color inaccuracy with 2 Pax liveries. if you don't mind, take>a look at the British Airways and the All Nippon liveries and>see what you think about the following...>>1. do you think the Blue on the British Airways looks more>like a light to med. Teal color? or, has a Teal colored tint>to it? i compared it to the FS9 version and pictures on>Airliners.netI find matching airline colors the hardest part in doing these repaints.Color shading is subjective and colors from Airlines.net and from theairlines websites often times do not match. FSX plays into how colorsare displayed as well as how individual monitors are calibrated. I know colorsfrom my laptop are not as intense as the colors I get from my desktop CRT.The British Airways blue is what I deemed as close to what the actual blue BA uses. Again this is subjective. I don't see the colored tint you mention. >>2. shouldn't the "lighter" Blue color on the All Nippon be>more of a Mint Green color instead of the "lighter" blue.>again, i compared it to the FS9 version, Airliners.net pics>and (went a step further on this one) a FL350.com 747 video. Ditto with the All Nippon. Sometimes what I think is the right shade justdosn't look right and I'll adjust to what I think looks good in the sim. Colorslook different in FSX when you look at the sun side or the shadow sideof the airliner. A prime example of this is the shade of blue Boeing uses on their Dreamliner livery.I have the Pantone color specs and when I use them it just does not look right in the sim.The blue that I actually use is darker than the Pantone spec but it looks right in the sim.>sounds like i have a soft spot for the 747 doesn't it?Nothing wrong with that!>>>thanks again Pete for your concern and time with all of this.>>> > happy flyin, Tim Wheeler