all, i have got the 737NG on flight simulator 2004. I've made my design on the 737 with the paintkit, and then saved it as a targa file. I then open DXTBMP, then saved it as an exdended bitmap. when i open the file which i saved on my desktop, it comes up with "Drawing failed". am i doing something wrong?robbie

Check the "Save as type" box.The two main types for repaints are DXT3 and 32bit. DXT3 is compressed 32bit is uncompressed. Converting it to DXT3 will make the bmp unviewable by the windows viewer.. which sounds like what you're saying. Don't worry about not being able to see it, should still work in flight sim :)

oh, thank you. but do you know how to make it a livery on MS9? where do i put the file then?robbie

Navigate to the aircraft folder (inside "Aircraft"). You'll see folders labelled "Texture." followed by something. These are the different paint schemes. Go in to one of these texture folders and rename the bmp you are going to replace by placing "_old" at the end of it. Now place your new bmp into this folder.. then check it out in flight sim :)

where is the aircraft folder?

i've spent 2 hours looking for it. i see no aircraft folder, execpt the one in application files, which isn't the one. Does anyone know where it is? Does anyone know where i can find those texture files, EXACTLY STEP BY STEP?Also, when i put the photoshop file into DXTbmp, it only shows one aircraft part on the screen when i painted more than one. (???)robbie

C:Program FilesMicrosoft GamesFlight Simulator 9AircraftThats the default location. Don't worry about DXTBmp showing only a part of the texture..Not sure what aircraft these are for but there should be an appropiately named aircraft in the above location.. maybe "B737_NG" or something..Follow the instructions in my above post on what to do with the bmp.

ok, thanks.3 more things. when i save the textures on DXTbmp, do i save them as DXT3? Why can't i make my own texture files instead of over writing perfectly good liveries such as easy jet and air canada? Shall i copy the folder?robbie

right, ive had enough. My liveriy still isn't in the aircraft list in FS9. I made a copy of one of the texture files, and then i entered it, then i deleted the engine part (Say if i copied a british airways file), then replaced that with my engine part, so i did the same to the other engine, fuslage, wings and tail. I didn't think "_old" would be necessery. correct my actions if i'm wrong and ignore my last post. last thing, when it comes to saving my designs in photoshop, it doesn't let me tick alpha channels.robbie

The old was just a way to remember that the texture was the original.. so it doesn't really matter what its called.You have to add the alpha channel through DXTBmp.I've made a tutorial on how to add them:Click

but do i have to copy the texture files?

Its so you can revert back to the original texture. Alternative you can add a new paint scheme by coping the entire texture folder and placing your bmps in to the copied folder. Then rename the folder whatever you want (making sure "Texture." is at the beginning.Then you'll need to add the entry to the aircraft.cfg as another repaint.

how do i add the entry to the aircraft.cfg? where is it?(i'm nearly there! thank you!)

Open the "aircraft.cfg" using notepad.You should find some entries in blocks looking something like this:[ fltsim.0]title=Boeing 747-400sim=Boeing747-400model=panel=sound=texture=kb_checklists=Boeing747-400_checkkb_reference=Boeing747-400_refatc_id=N747atc_airline=Global Freightwaysatc_flight_number=1123atc_heavy=1atc_parking_types=CARGOui_manufacturer=Boeingui_type="747-400"ui_variation="Global Freightways"description="More than 30 years ago, the 747 made its first trip from New York to London. Since then, it's become the standard by which other large passenger jets are judged. Its size, range, speed and capacity were then, and are now, the best in its class."This is taken from the default B747 so it won't like exactly the same.What you need to do is copy one of the blocks and paste it under the last of these blocks in the list leaving a space between.First change the [ fltsim.0] bit so it is the next number in the list.Change the "title" so it is something unique (different from the other entries)."Texture" should equal the name of the texture folder. Don't include the "Texture." bit, just the rest.Change the "UI_Variation" to something also unique.The ATC entires won't really affect the actual paint scheme so don't worry about those for the time being.

ok, thanks. could you give me the aircraft.cfg address so i can find it easier.