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WarHorse47

Briefing Time 7th ed VC glass

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I got Jan's reponse to the issue:"About the missing BT green glass ( you are talking about the FS9 version, right ? ) it might be that the texture has lost its alpha channel or it may be a 24 bit version which will not display....? It could also be that the different FS9 and FSX versions got mixed up. ( the alpha channel for the FSX version is very different to that of the FS9 version....it will indeed turn up completely clear if the FSX version is used for the FS9 model )I think the best way to correct it is to look for an older B-25 model with which the green VC glass *does* show and then copy that exact ‘b25glas_green.bmp’ and use it to replace the texture in the new (FS9) package.If it will still not work let me know, Ok ?Cheers,Jan "I will ask him to look into this thread. I'm at a loss, myself.


Bill Rambow

MAAM-SIM

www.maam.org

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Hi, Bill.That was one of the first things I did was add someolder textures including the prevous glass (glas_gr_t.bmp).It appears that the new VC uses addtional green glass textures (b25_glasgrn.bmp). Yes, I experimented with different alpha channels with no results. These files are 32-bit. I also tried 16-bit with no success.BTW - the problem is with both models.--WH

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BTW. I did a full search for "b25glas_green.bmp", and there is no such file anywhere in any of my texture folders. Not sure if that is correct or not.--WH

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WH...I have b25_glasgrn.bmp in my texture.shared file but can't attach it to this response.This is 7th ed for the FSX version.So, at least it's there!Roy Marsh (dadmod).

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I got Jan's reponse to the issue:"About the missing BT green glass ( you are talking about the FS9 version, right ? ) it might be that the texture has lost its alpha channel or it may be a 24 bit version which will not display....? It could also be that the different FS9 and FSX versions got mixed up. ( the alpha channel for the FSX version is very different to that of the FS9 version....it will indeed turn up completely clear if the FSX version is used for the FS9 model )I think the best way to correct it is to look for an older B-25 model with which the green VC glass *does* show and then copy that exact ‘b25glas_green.bmp’ and use it to replace the texture in the new (FS9) package.If it will still not work let me know, Ok ?Cheers,Jan "I will ask him to look into this thread. I'm at a loss, myself.
Bill, I think I've answered everyone's questions. Has anyone attempted to load and fly the 7th ed. FS9 version and confirm the possiblity of a mixup in models?? Maybe it would help if Jan just contacted me directly and we can get this resolved. Just send me a pm and I'll response with my e-mail address, and I'd be more than happy to spend time conducting a full triage of the FS9 install. I wouldn't think that something this obvious would take so long to get resovled. Sorry to be so cranky, but this lack of communication is making things more frustrating that normal.--WH :(

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Sorry for the delay, WH.A mistery indeed. My thought is that there might be a mix up of glass textures between the FS9 and FSX versions. You are not only missing the green glass but there's no sign of any glass reflection for the other VC windows neither. ( do you have an older version of the B-25 model with which you do see VC glass reflection ? ) The night shot that shows a touch of green on the upper glass proves that possibly all VC glass textures are there alright but they all have the special FSX alpha channel applied which makes the applied reflection images ( and green shade of the upper windows ) practically invisible in FS9.To know for sure i will have to re-install FS9 and have Bill send me the 7th ed of the FS9 version so i can check exactly what goes where. We'll get to that right away and i will report back asap.Btw, did you check if b25_ glas_cp_in.bmpb25_glas_nose_in.bmpb25_glsgrn.bmpb25_glasvcfrt.bmpall reside in your FS9/Texture folder ?Thank you for your patience.cheers,jan


Jan

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Sorry for the delay, WH.A mistery indeed. My thought is that there might be a mix up of glass textures between the FS9 and FSX versions. You are not only missing the green glass but there's no sign of any glass reflection for the other VC windows neither. ( do you have an older version of the B-25 model with which you do see VC glass reflection ? ) The night shot that shows a touch of green on the upper glass proves that possibly all VC glass textures are there alright but they all have the special FSX alpha channel applied which makes the applied reflection images ( and green shade of the upper windows ) practically invisible in FS9.To know for sure i will have to re-install FS9 and have Bill send me the 7th ed of the FS9 version so i can check exactly what goes where. We'll get to that right away and i will report back asap.Btw, did you check if b25_ glas_cp_in.bmpb25_glas_nose_in.bmpb25_glsgrn.bmpb25_glasvcfrt.bmpall reside in your FS9/Texture folder ?Thank you for your patience.cheers,jan
Yes, all those textures were checked. (BTW - I do a lot of texture conversions from FSX to FS9 for my old machine.)Earlier in my post I discussed the loss of window reflections, and discovered the alpha was incorrect for b25_glasvcfrt,bmp. Basically, for FSX the alpha is black which makes the texture invisible for FS9. By removing it all together, it restored the reflections around the lower part of the VC. All other glass textures are without alpha, so there was no problem.--WH

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Yes, all those textures were checked. (BTW - I do a lot of texture conversions from FSX to FS9 for my old machine.)
Ok! Isn't it like you could then easily adapt all inner glass textures to suit your liking ? An alpha of RGB 130 ( including b25_glasgrn.bmp) should give you something to start with for FS9.
Basically, for FSX the alpha is black which makes the texture invisible for FS9
Well, certainly not entirely black (0.0.0) or you wouldn't see any reflection in FSX neither. RGB 15 is a good start.Still waiting for the FS9 7th ed so i can't give you any comment on what actually happend here yet. Curious myself. :rolleyes:cheers,jan

Jan

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Okay, here goes.I setup a flight at dusk. The best contrast to visualize the problem is around 7:15 pm Pacific Time.The original b25_glasgrn.bmp has a alpha RGB of 150. I set it to 130 with no noticable difference. I decided to try some other settings. Here is what it looks like with an alpha RGB of 255.DuskVC.jpgYes, there is some tint but its definitely not a dark green. Looks more blue.BTW - b25_glasvcfrt.bmp had an original alpha RGB of 0. I changed it to 255 in order to get the interior reflections to show.--WH

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Hi folks. I'd just like to know if anyone is verifying the identified problems with the FS9 version and working on a solution.To put this into perspective, these are the events so far. The 7th edition of the B-25 Briefing Time was purchased for #34.95 on February 10th. A week later I reported that there were problems with the VC glass: no reflections and no greenhouse.After reporting these issues on February 17th, I identified the cause of the missing reflectiions. The alpha channel in b25_glasvcfrt.bmp was wrong, and had to be removed. The file was then copied to all 40 textures. My findings and solution was reported in this thread so other users could benefit.The second problem with b25_glasgrn.bmp has not been solved. I have tested various alpha channels and posted images of the results. I suspect that the FS9 models are incorrect and not mapping to the texture since changes to the texture's alpha channel produces no changes.It is now March 27th - six weeks since my purchase I don't even have any kind of verification that there is a problem with the FS9 VC glass from MAAM or other customers.What makes this a little frustrating for me (and I apologize if I sound impatient), is that I already had the previous B-25 5th Edition but decided to upgrade for the new features and consdiered the additional purchase as a contribution to the Museum's efforts. I really love 'Briefing Time' (and the other MAAM packages) and would like to get this resolved one way or another.Thanks in advance for looking into this.--WH

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Dear WH,Again, thank you for your patience and sorry that it took so long. The problem is solved. It is indeed not only the alpha channel that is the cause but we shall have to issue a new mdl file for the FS9 version as well. It is not so much that the mapping for the internal green glass is wrong, the glass parts that hold the green texture somehow are givin too much transparency. I suspect we can blame the FSX port-over for that but it is entirely my fault that this particular transparency setting somehow ended up for the FS9 version as well.We shall try to make available a patch that adresses the internal glass issue for the FS9 version as soon as possible.Btw, did you know that you can right click the throttle, props, and mixture knobs to change between single and both levers operation ?... Personally i find this a very welcome feature, implemented by our XML wizzard Hansi. B)Thanks much again for bringing up this internal glass issue, WH !cheers,jan


Jan

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Thanks, Javiz.I'll be looking forward to the patch. And yes, the new features are great.PS - You did have me worried there for awhile.--WH

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Hi, Jan.

 

Thought I would drop in and see if I can get an update on the patch to solve the missing greenhouse.

 

I know you guys are busy, and I don't have any idea as to what it takes to create a patch but it never hurts to ask.

 

Thanks

 

--WH

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Here is the patch to fix the missing green glass issue. Jan tested it on his own system and it works for him. I do not have FS9 anymore, so could not test it myself. I suggest you back up the original model and the two texture files before replacing them. Please let us know if this fixes the issue. Sorry it's taken so long. I'm afraid other real world issues have taken my attention and time.

 

http://www.maam.org/flightsim/enhance/bt_vcglass_b1.zip


Bill Rambow

MAAM-SIM

www.maam.org

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Hi Bill. Hope the real world issues are not too severe. Seems we all encounter that at some time. I'm under a lot of stress myself these days as I get closer to retirement.

 

Thanks for the patch. I've got it installed and evaluated, so here's the feedback.

 

The updated model file works fine. b25_glasgrn.bmp worked okay, but was a little too opaque so I adjusted the alpha to 224 from 204 and it is pretty close to the transparency and color seen in the external view.

 

The patch, however, only has the glass nosed model. Can we ask Jan to work up a patch for the gunship [model3]??

 

Thanks, again.

 

--WH

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