Reflections

[Guest Pilot533]

Heres my delta maddog 2006 repaint. Is pretty much done, but its not reflective. It has that static bland look. I want it to have some reflection so it looks like it is metal. How do I do this?

[Guest Jeff Berman]

Mike,Here's the program I use to had some shine and also save in the dx3 format to use with the MadDog.http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Gr...rs/DXTBmp.shtmlGive it a try might just do the trick for you :)

[Jim Robinson 122]

To add to what Jeff said, you need to darken up the alpha channel. (First make sure you have reflections turned on in Options>settings>display>aircraft). I use PhotoShop and it can save a 32 bit .bmp with alpha so there's no need to import the alpha with DXTBmp. PhotoShop has a "channels palette" that's very similar to the "layers palette". You can edit the alpha channel almost as if it were another layer.What I'd do with that one is select the aluminum lower fuselage area somehow. If it's a seperate layer you can select the layer in about 1/2 sec. through the "Select" menu (select the layer in the layers palette and use "load selection"), if not you'll probably have to use the lasso tool.With that selected, switch to your "channels palette" and select the alpha channel (add one if there isn't one, but there should be one if you're working with a 32 bit .bmp) and "fill" the selected area with a light or medium gray. Now save it with alpha intact (32 bit) and run it through DXTBmp with a quick "Save" to make it DX compatible. Check it out in the sim, if it's too shiny you'll need to go back and lighten up the alpha a little. The darker the alpha, the shinier the area will be in the sim. A little goes a long way, a light gray will probably do the job.If you're not using PhotoShop, I don't know what to tell you. Paint Shop Pro can do alpha too I believe, but I've never messed with it so can't tell you how. Maybe you could save a copy of your texture as 8 bit "grayscale", lighten it up to the point of being nearly washed out completely, and import it as alpha with DXTBmp.Jim

[Guest Pilot533]

Thanks for the replies. In photoshop when I click on alpha channel all it is is one white page, its just blank white.

[Jim Robinson 122]

I'm by no means an expert on this, but here's an example of a paint I did for Posky's 767 and the alpha channel I made to go with it. First thing I did was to fill in the entire alpha channel with #F8F8F8, which is a very light gray. Then I added the darker (#C3C3C3) areas beneath the aluminum underbelly. The window areas are a bit lighter at #E0E0E0.http://www.cat-tamer.com/attach/rgb-alpha.jpgLike I said, I'm no expert so download some quality repaints and take a peek at their alpha channels for more ideas. The screenshot you posted in your first post looked pretty good though.Have fun,Jim

[Guest Pilot533]

Thnaks, answered my own question. Im pretty much done now, just doing some touch ups. I would make the repaint publicly available but I am using textures from other payware aircraft so I guess I cant distribute it for free.