p3dv5 PBR...not just a beer!

[Steve Dra 7,588]

When PBR 1st came on the scene in the P3D world, painters scrambled to figure out how to use this new tech to it's best advantage.  PBR in the graphics world is "Physics-Based Rendering" for the uninitiated to the subject, and has since allowed your flightsim painter's to do things like this....

This particular South African airline polishes its engine's leading edges to a mirror finish.  Note how the leading edges of the wing are matted by contrast.  PBR makes this possible...and seeing the sun glint off that metal when the plane is in motion is a sight to behold. 🙂

Before I broke out my virtual buffer and can of Brasso^® ...both engine leading edges looked like the one depicted on the left engine shown below:

I love not only how far simming has advanced over the decades, but also how the new technology allows devs to create even better visual experiences for us.  

We've come a looooong way from this:

 

[John F 2,420]

Big improvement on the starboard side. Your respect for the visuals benefits us all.

John

[johnbow72 2,722]

Sounds like you worked a thirst up for the real PBR .

[MarkW 1,491]

Thanks for the great example. We take these things for granted now that we have them!

[Steve Dra 7,588]

14 hours ago, MarkW said:

Thanks for the great example. We take these things for granted now that we have them!

We've gone thru a lot of advances in this hobby...more than a lot even know about, visually speaking.

I remember when we 1st got 3d engine inlets...that was quite the hubbub in the day!  And when we got shadows that were dynamic...and even manifested in the cockpit, wow what a game-changer that added so much to the immersion.  The performance struggles with the initial attempts at dynamic lighting (yeah....the new guys probably don't appreciate how horrible it was when were were on 32bit and 4gb max of Vram...LOL...I could never get it to run acceptably so I always turned it off).

MSFS and 64bit versions of P3D....completely transformed our hobby.

14 hours ago, johnbow72 said:

Sounds like you worked a thirst up for the real PBR

Hehe....not a beer drinker, but I've heard PBR was on par with Schlitz...LOL, but yeah trying to figure out PBR initially was a bear, then all the tweaking to get it to look right...earned many beers during that time. 😉

14 hours ago, John F said:

ig improvement on the starboard side. Your respect for the visuals benefits us all

Thanks John.  As most here....aircraft as visual objects just fascinate me to no end, and since I love to look at them, and acquired the skills over the years to paint them, my slight OCD benefits us all for sure when it comes to visuals. 🤣
It's always a balance though, and I've settled on a look I like, not going insane on the details out of respect to the time it takes to paint them, and other things, but at normal viewing distances that most simmers look at exteriors, I think my paints are good enough. 😉

 

[P_7878 6,605]

Stunning shots, Steve, as always, of custom work...🙂...!

Thanks for explaining "P-beer"...🙂...to the un-initiated...but, all it takes is a glance at those leading edges...!

[Steve Dra 7,588]

16 hours ago, P_7878 said:

Stunning shots, Steve, as always, of custom work...🙂...!

Thanks for explaining "P-beer"...🙂...to the un-initiated...but, all it takes is a glance at those leading edges...!

Yeah.....the difference is quite stark between the 2 leading edges, and I thought it would be a good example to further explain the benefits PBR brings to the table.  For sure the most improvement is with "metal" and how its reflectivity is vastly different depending on many factors....and especially trying to convey that painters no longer have to "paint" these effects on the actual plane any longer, we use the "metal" or "comp" map's 4 channels to control how the metal will react to its surrounding environment....DYNAMICALLY!  

But PBR can also help a lot on "dielectrics" ...like the dullness of rubber, or fading and "dulling" the blackout paint on the nose of an aircraft...like so...

 

Its so simple (of course once you know how, hehe)

Just go to the metal map, and alter the grayscale value of that area on the green channel....In this case...the lighter the value, the "duller" the effect.

And here is the "comp"...or the "Composite" version...meaning we're now looking at all 4 channels combined...which is what the sim will read to determine how to cast light on the various parts of your paint. 😉

So the "composite" value of the red, green, blue and alpha channels gives you this yellow-looking result for dull/faded paint...and red approximates normal, painted surfaces, and the pink is bare metal...see?  Could not be simpler. 🤣

This is what I mean when I say that "we're basically doing 2 whole paintjobs now with PBR involved, especially if its a bare metal paint".   More work, better results...we've got it good now! 🙂

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by Steve Dra