FSX-SP2 Scenery Object Alpha Changes

[GaryGB 10]

Hi All:Questions in regard to SP2 changes in FSX ability to display legacy format flat plane scenery objects trees (with or without "rotate-to" features) remain unanswered thus far in this thread:http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...19638&mode=fullI just tested conversion of Emma Field 2004 tree textures from DXT1 to 32 bit (all other features remaining unchanged) in the MS FSX SDK ImageTool, and there was no resulting change in displayed attributes during an FSX flight.I am curious if anyone here may have discovered something further about this issue, and whether the transparency anomalies may be remedied by changing the Alpha channel color to a mid-scale gray color as done in the cockpits of the aircraft under discussion in the above thread?If so, what color (###,###,###) in the Alpha channel works to restore normal alpha functions in FSX with these types of trees (ex: Gerrish Gray's Trees etc.)?The FS2Kx Black or Green Alpha channels used for transparency in FS2Kx do not seem to work thus far (even if one converts the bitmaps to 32 bit), as such trees display with dark charcoal gray backgrounds at Emma Field, and the Orcas Island trees display with the proper sky color, but block out similar flat bitmap tree scenery objects which are located behind them in the line of sight from the aircraft (the sky color is not transparent to allow the bitmaps behind to "show through").PS: I would also be interested in knowing if ground texture bitmaps in DXT3 format may be converted to 32 bit and/or their alpha modified to allow them to display properly in FSX?I would very much like to continue using my beautiful legacy format GeoRender sceneries in FSX if at all possible.Thanks for any help! :-) GaryGB

[GaryGB 10]

HAS SP2 BROKEN LEGACY SCENERY OBJECT TRANSPARENCY SO BADLY THAT IT CANNOT BE FIXED?Can it actually be that this is such an esoteric subject that no one here has any ideas on how to resolve this issue? :-hmmm I would have thought more people had SP2 by now, and might be testing their legacy sceneries with it.Perhaps we must await the release of the freely downloadable SP2 next months until more people notice the "changes" brought by FSX SP2. :-roll Any help with this would be greatly appreciated! :-)GaryGB

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

We are desperately searching for a solution, Gary, but so far, I have not seen anything.This was not broken in the X-Pack betas, only in the release version, and there will not be any change between the X-Pack SP2 contents and the stand-alone SP2 to be released soon, so it does not look very good for us.I shall keep you informed of any changes.Best regards.Luis

[GaryGB 10]

Thanks very much for the courtesy of your reply, Luis; I feel better knowing others are trying to help by looking into this! :-)Kind Regards,GaryGB

[rhumbaflappy 113]

Hi Gary.I suspect once SP2 is finally released, there will be more interest in solving that problem. I think many designers are avoiding even installing Acceleration, as it is a branch off of FSX, and will not be the mainstream path of development.Acceleration is a gaming element of FSX. Unfortunately, if it is widely accepted, it will mark the end of the sim and the beginning of the game.Dick

[GaryGB 10]

Hi Dick:Thanks for sharing your informed perspective; I guess I hadn't yet considered testing how well SP2 un-installs. :-) Certainly those of us with a love for the realistic aspects of Flight Simulator would not want to see any compromise of feature development in favor of gaming capabilities. One might wonder if a division of the relatively small labor force at ACES between both the realism and gaming elements might be successfully achieved, so that the budget for Flight Simulator development might be further expanded in future versions via sales to those who would find the "gaming" aspects of FS an incentive for a purchase that might not otherwise have happened. :-roll Since there have been substantial challenges in development of the existing FSX features up to the point that Acceleration was released, I'm curious if there may even be cause for FS Community concern that reportedly robust 3rd party support resources available to MS Game Studios for console platform development may offer such lower production costs that volume sales of a "game-oriented" Flight Simulator might be considered more financially attractive for Microsoft... rather than continuing to make our cherished "realistic simulation" version on the PC! :-eek Hopefully we'll see more authoritative disclosure soon from ACES on the methodology required to allow our legacy scenery content to be properly displayed in all respective versions of FSX; perhaps the nature of their reply (assuming they'll see the mutual benefit of responding on this issue) will prove informative as to the course that FS development will be taking in the future! ;) Thanks again for your input on this! GaryGB

[Guest hefy_jefy]

Hi all,I wasn't keen to download SP2 but Aerosoft just released the FSX update to their Piper Cheyenne (I bought the original FS2004 version just before FSX was released so I was keen to update) well of course Aerosoft insist that SP2 is needed so I installed it. And of course I instantly found that all my home-made airports with transparent ground polys (I use them to place airport names on runways) were no longer transparent...I have tried all the suggested fixes but to no avail. I guess the question is "what texture types DO exhibit transparency in FSX?" I am downloading the SP2 SDX just now - will the answer be in there?This is not good, I tried creating a map (256x256) in SbuilderX hoping that it would behave the same way as the regular maps (white being transparent) but for some reason that failed, I haven't figure out why. I have a bmp and associated .txt file that correctly positions the poly in SbuilderX - but for some reason it won't export... Geoff

[Guest hefy_jefy]

Well I found a solution to the problem of writing on runways at least...1. Use the old Fs2002 Gmax gamepack.2. Create a box with zero height (a plane doesn't work - dunno why not)3. Texture one side of the box (the top) with a standard DXT3 + Alpha4. Modify the .ASM files as per the instructions found here:http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?titl...ygons_with_GMaxmake the layer be 12 (I can't remember what layer runways are but 12 seems to work) re-compile with BGLCAnd all seems OK!Geoff

[Guest hefy_jefy]

I found out why I couldn't texture a plane...It seems that all this time I had been doing "apply texture" in the wrong order!You live and learn.Geoff