First Problem - New To Painting

[Guest JonRRRR]

Hi Im new to painting and unfortunately seem to have hit my first problem. This was my plan, purchase Abacus fspaint (which I did) set the default editor to Photoshop CS which I did. Work in photoshop with the PMDG paint kit. Save as a BMP file. Open saved BMP file in FSrepaint. Shows my work and textures fine. Save in FSrepaint to a DXT3 format for FS9 (not using FSX yet). The result is wonderfull multi coloured strange textures. My theory was fsrepaint was going to show me exactly what I would get in FS9 and also handle the conversions (which is why I bought it) but I must be making a fundemental mistake, but I cant find info re my way / process anywhere - anyone see the error of my ways? PS - I must use photoshop because I am very versed in that, fsrepaint native editor is way too limiting for me, I just wanted to use it to check work and convert.... RegardsJon

[Guest H_Kev55]

I save my work just like I opened it. I don't convert them at all and they work just fine.KJ

[Guest JonRRRR]

I save my work just like I opened it. I don't convert them at all and they work just fine.KJ

Hi Thanks for the responce, and Happy New Year! The files must be converted I think, they start as PSD Photoshop, saved as 24bit Photoshop Bitmap, and then opened in FSrepaint, as far as I know, native BMP will not display in FS until it is converted by FSrepaint. In anycase, I tried all saving options in FSrepaint and none work, so I have a feeling there is something else I am doing wrong at the Photoshop stage re saving the BMP. What do you mean exactly when you say you don't convert them? RegardsJon

[mcwdainow 0]

Hi Thanks for the responce, and Happy New Year! The files must be converted I think, they start as PSD Photoshop, saved as 24bit Photoshop Bitmap, and then opened in FSrepaint, as far as I know, native BMP will not display in FS until it is converted by FSrepaint. In anycase, I tried all saving options in FSrepaint and none work, so I have a feeling there is something else I am doing wrong at the Photoshop stage re saving the BMP. What do you mean exactly when you say you don't convert them? RegardsJon

Hi Jon :( It sounds to me like the converting process in FSRepaint is corrupting your bmps. I only use FSRepaint for viewing the model without going in to flight sim, a good piece of software used to convert bmps is DXTBmp.Head on over to the DXTBmp website for more info. Basically open the bmp up in this program, add the alpha channel (for reflections in FS9) and then do File - Save As - Extended Bmp, pick DXT3 as the file type and hit Save.A mini tutorial on how to do the alpha channel can be found on my website: Alpha channelsHopefully it's of some use, feel free to shoot if you have any more problems :(

[Guest JonRRRR]

Hi Thanks - you are 100% correct. FSrepaint is not converting correctly but the freeware program does convert perfectly... hmmm - I did e-mail Abacus support but got no responce. At least I have a solution now, pity about wasting money on something that does not work, but I guess you live and learn. RegardsJon

[mcwdainow 0]

Hi Thanks - you are 100% correct. FSrepaint is not converting correctly but the freeware program does convert perfectly... hmmm - I did e-mail Abacus support but got no responce. At least I have a solution now, pity about wasting money on something that does not work, but I guess you live and learn. RegardsJon

It's still a useful program to have, even if it doesn't quite manage to do what it says on the tin!

[johnh_049 0]

It's still a useful program to have, even if it doesn't quite manage to do what it says on the tin!

FSRepaint is a great program for reviewing your repaints, without having to boot up the sim.I tried it linked direct to PSP but since i like saving my working files in bmb and psp formats, i went back to just using FSR as a viewer, it works great for that.

[Guest MD11Forever]

FSRepaint is a great program for reviewing your repaints, without having to boot up the sim.I tried it linked direct to PSP but since i like saving my working files in bmb and psp formats, i went back to just using FSR as a viewer, it works great for that.

DXTbmp does the job, but you may find on occasion that the compression algorithims it uses will play hell with thin lines. I recently switched to using Imagetool from the FS9 SDK for my DXT3 compression, and it does a much better job.

[Toys_R_Us 0]

While I'm new to repainting, I have found a few bugs in DXTbmp that there seems to be a work around for. First I always reload to DXTbmp manually. The auto-reload (blue) sometimes corrupts the file, especially the alpha. Then the DXTbmp file dll doesn't always remember where it was, and the manual load does remember that location when you do a "Save as" to make the final dds. Not very handy to say the least. What I do here is put everything in the FSX texture folder, that I'm working with. That would be the Photoshop psd, and all all the bmps saved from Photoshop. Then I manually load back to DXTbmp and it is still at that location (folder) when I do a "Save as" for the final DDS. Also, DXTbmp doesn't stay coinsistent when you manully load an alfha with no BMP loaded. That alpha jumps to the other screen. I don't use the temporary location generated by DXTbmp at all. Thii is a pain at a bad location, and doesn't work correctly at times if you use that blue button reload, yet a manual load will work with the same file !Don't waste your time without FSRepaint. It's a must have viewer and makes everything ultra fast. A free update for registered users is in the FAQ section of Abacus website. Just overwrite and re-register.Bob (Las Cruces, NM)