Does anyone know if it is possible to replace the default textures used by AFCAD/AFX when building a new airport? The concrete and asphalt textures are okay but the grass ones are especially awful - a flat, monotone green that looks like an aenemic pool table! Some of the others aren't too hot either. It's really frustrating to build a pretty decent looking airport using AFX and Instant Scenery only to have the wrong Landlcass files giving you cultivated fields, trees and roads within the boundary of the airfield. If there was a decent grass texture, you could cover it over easily using AFX. But the defaults look pathetic! Any suggestions? I guess one solution is to change the landclass file but I have no idea how to do that, and it would be so simple to use AFX if there was a believable looking grass texture that it would use.

What you really need to do is get SBuilder and learn how to create proper airport backgrounds.You will no longer need to have Afcad-type flat green aprons to mask the underlying landclass textures.Proper airport backgrounds automatically exclude autogen houses and vegetation.To eliminate the road signs you have to eliminate the road, or move it. SBuilder can do that.If you want to modify landclass, you can do that with SBuilder too.I don't think you will get satisfactory results with grass aprons regardless of the textures.Go to http://www.fsdeveloper.com/ and get SBuilder from the downloads section.There is a learning curve involved, and also some good tutorials to help you.This is, in my opinion, the best way to build/modify airports.regards,Joe

What you really need to do is get SBuilder and learn how to create proper airport backgrounds.You will no longer need to have Afcad-type flat green aprons to mask the underlying landclass textures.Proper airport backgrounds automatically exclude autogen houses and vegetation.To eliminate the road signs you have to eliminate the road, or move it. SBuilder can do that.If you want to modify landclass, you can do that with SBuilder too.I don't think you will get satisfactory results with grass aprons regardless of the textures.Go to http://www.fsdeveloper.com/ and get SBuilder from the downloads section.There is a learning curve involved, and also some good tutorials to help you.This is, in my opinion, the best way to build/modify airports.regards,Joe

Thanks Joe. I appreciate your quick and helpful response. I'm sure you are right that this is the best way to go. But I'm still hoping for a "quick and dirty" fix, though when I have the time I will check out SBuild and see if I can learn to use it. But for now, I would just love to have a more realistic grass texture that I can use to create a better background within the airport boundaries using AFX.I have to think it could be done by replacing that nasty monotone green default texture with something more realistic. But I have no idea what texture it uses or what might be a suitable replacement.

Once you learn SBuilder you can knock out an airport background in a couple minutes, the only challenging part is learning how. the tutorials help.If you want to try replacing the textures, look at this thread- http://forum.avsim.net/topic/279498-afcad-texture-mapping/page__view__findpost__p__1736890I think the issue is not what FS is drawing when it draws aprons, but how it draws them.FS seems to draw aprons with completely opaque textures, heavily tiled (repeated over and over).FS draws airport backgrounds with semi-opaque textures that let some of the character of the underlying textures through, giving the backgrounds more variation.I am not an expert, these are just my observations.The one thing I do know for sure, when I install an addon airport that has those ugly, green aprons, the first thing I do (if I decide to keep the addon) is get rid of them and tweak the airport with SBuilder.I hate to sound like a late-night infomercial, but SBuilder really is the way to go. And if you order in the next 20 minutes we'll send you 2 copies for the price of one, just pay shipping and handling. Sorry. :( regards,Joe

Once you learn SBuilder you can knock out an airport background in a couple minutes, the only challenging part is learning how. the tutorials help.If you want to try replacing the textures, look at this thread- http://forum.avsim.net/topic/279498-afcad-texture-mapping/page__view__findpost__p__1736890I think the issue is not what FS is drawing when it draws aprons, but how it draws them.FS seems to draw aprons with completely opaque textures, heavily tiled (repeated over and over).FS draws airport backgrounds with semi-opaque textures that let some of the character of the underlying textures through, giving the backgrounds more variation.I am not an expert, these are just my observations.The one thing I do know for sure, when I install an addon airport that has those ugly, green aprons, the first thing I do (if I decide to keep the addon) is get rid of them and tweak the airport with SBuilder.I hate to sound like a late-night infomercial, but SBuilder really is the way to go. And if you order in the next 20 minutes we'll send you 2 copies for the price of one, just pay shipping and handling. Sorry. :( regards,Joe

LOL - but I have to be one of the first two hundred people to call, right? :( (It always amazes me that anybody with any sense would believe that line. But they keep using it so I guess it works with some people.) Okay, I guess I just have to convince myself that an old dog really can still learn some new tricks and give it a try...

I used the link that you gave me Joe but the conversation took place in 2007 and was never resolved that I could find. And to be honest, most of it was above my head. I'm a competent computer user but don't really speak the language. So still hoping someone will see this thread and show me how to replace those default textures if it is possible. (After reading the thread it does appear that it's not a simple issue as Joe pointed out)... BUT - I keep hoping....

Hi,I don't know the texture name, but there is only one - change that and you will change the AFCAD grass all over the world.

Hi,I don't know the texture name, but there is only one - change that and you will change the AFCAD grass all over the world.

Thanks Tom - that is what I was hoping to hear. Now if someone out there can just tell me which one it is and suggest a good replacement, I will be a happy man! :( BTW, thanks to all of you at CalClassics for all the great addons you have provided over the years.

You might find some good info in this older thread:http://forum.avsim.n...exture-mapping/A number of experiments were done with the various default textures AFCAD uses - with some interesting results.Hope this is useful.

Hmmm...Opa's link and my link take you to the same thread, which is from last March, not 2007.What you can learn from that thread is the texture names used by FS9 for aprons.For grass FS uses taxi_grass_xx.bmp, where xx=the current seasonsu= summersp= springfa= fallwi= winterhw= hard winter (snow)These are located in FS9\TextureAs for suitable replacements, there are several texture replacement packages in the library.reprosetup.zip is a popular one, but you have to go the flightsim.com to find it.There are also payware options.It then becomes a matter of personal choice.Regardless of what texture you decide on, it will not change the way FS draws it. It will still be an opaque monotonous carpet.regards,Joe

Hmmm...Opa's link and my link take you to the same thread, which is from last March, not 2007.What you can learn from that thread is the texture names used by FS9 for aprons.For grass FS uses taxi_grass_xx.bmp, where xx=the current seasonsu= summersp= springfa= fallwi= winterhw= hard winter (snow)These are located in FS9\TextureAs for suitable replacements, there are several texture replacement packages in the library.reprosetup.zip is a popular one, but you have to go the flightsim.com to find it.There are also payware options.It then becomes a matter of personal choice.Regardless of what texture you decide on, it will not change the way FS draws it. It will still be an opaque monotonous carpet.regards,Joe

Thanks Joe. It really does seem like this is a dead end. But I will play around with some textures and just see if I can come up with some kind of improvement. If I come up with anything worthwhile, I'll post something so others can give it a try. I will also try to interest the vendor who sells AFX - Flight1 and see if they might want to pursue this as a product improvement.And I promise I will start looking in SBuild soon. I really appeciate the time you too in replyingCheers mate! :(

Good luck and happy simming!!!

I will also try to interest the vendor who sells AFX - Flight1 and see if they might want to pursue this as a product improvement.

I wouldn't bother, this is really a limitation of the sim and not something a third party will be able to change (except the actual textures), how they are displayed is hard-coded into the sim.regards,Joe

Thanks Joe (and all others who posted)... I agree this seems to be a dead end. Pity but that's life. Oh well, maybe there's another problem we can solve instead. I don't know - peace on earth, world hunger, why are women so difficult to get along with and impossible to get along without??? :( Okay, shutting up now. Ciao