There are many different texture formats. Please use 8-bit extended bitmap
format for all normal building textures. A resolution of 256x256 pixels is good
enough for nearly all cases. Many FS2000 building textures have even a lower
resulution. Textures with high resolutions need a lot of disc space, download
time and decrease the framerate in FlightSimulator.
The 8-bit extended bitmap format is also ideal to create trees or
buildings with semi-transparent windows. Just use always the same color for the
transparent areas (e.g. black). You can load the bitmap file into BMP2000
to make any color transparent. The level of transparency can be adjusted for colours between fully opaque and fully transparent. This produces a nice,
semi-transparent effect for windowpanes.
The 16 bit 444-4 extended bitmap format offers more possibilities for
transparency effects. The cloud textures of FS2000 are 16 bit 444-4 extended
bitmaps.
Type |
File extension |
Format |
Tools |
FS98 Textures |
.r8/.pat/
.?af/.oav/
... |
256x256 pixels
256 colors defined by the FS98 color palette |
'Convr8' from Martin
Wright
Please don't use this texture format for FS200 and later
versions. |
8 Bit (extended)
Bitmaps
CFS 1,
FS2000 and later versions |
*.bmp
(sometimes also *.r8) |
1x1 or
2x2 or
4x4 or
8x8 or
16x16 or
32x32 or
64x64 or
128x128 or
256x256* or
512x512 or
1024x1024 pixels
with any 256 colors
256 transparency levels for each color
*=recommended |
Any paint program. Use
Martin Wright's 'BMP2000' to add transparent and semi-transparent colors. |
16 bit extended (565)
Bitmaps
FS2000, CFS 2 and later versions |
*.bmp |
same as above; form 1x1 to
1024x1024.
65536 colors
no transparency |
Any paint program to
create a 24-bit Bitmap. Use Martin Wright's 'DXTBmp' to convert it into
this texture format.
EOD can't read this texture format |
16 bit extended (555-1)
Bitmaps
FS2000, CFS 2 and later versions |
*.bmp |
same as above; form 1x1 to
1024x1024.
32768 colors
transparency either on or off for each pixel |
Any paint program to
create a 24-bit Bitmap. Use Martin Wright's 'DXTBmp' to convert it into
this texture format.
EOD can't read this texture format |
16 bit extended (444-4)
Bitmaps |
*.bmp |
same as above; form 1x1 to
1024x1024.
4096 colors
16 transparency levels for each pixel |
Any paint program to
create a 24-bit Bitmap. Use Martin Wright's 'DXTBmp' to convert it into
this texture format. |
DXT Texture
CFS 2 and later versions |
|
transparency either on
or off for each pixel |
Any paint program to
create a 24-bit Bitmap. Use Martin Wright's 'DXTBmp' to convert it into
this texture format.
EOD can't read this texture format |
Please read
Martin Wright's documentations for more informations about the different
texture formats. We couldn't create realistic sceneries without his great
tools and good documentations.
Homepage of Martin
Wright |