Anyone use gimp?

[aeronca1]

Hello,

I recently downloaded gimp to experiment with trying to make simple texture changes. Unfortunately, it won't open most .bmp textures I have tried. Help would be appreciated.

[huub vink]

When you try to open a texture in .bmp format it won't open as it is an extended file. (The file contains additional information compared with a "normal" .bmp file).

When you want to edit a texture you will need to convert it to "normal" 24bits format. After which you can edit the texture with gimp. To be able to use the texture in a game like FS2004 again you will need to convert the file back to "extended format (dtx3 format or similar).

The most common tool to make these conversions is dtxbmp1 by Martin Wright. Its free and can be found here: http://www.mwgfx.co.uk/programs/dxtbmp.htm

CFS3 and FSX normally use textrures in .dds format, which is more or less a "flipped" bmp file. (Easier to handle by video cards).


I hope this was the information you were looking for.

Cheers,
Huub

[aeronca1]

Thank you once again!!

EDIT: It worked, now the long learning curve for this talent challenged painter. I managed to change the fuselage number on the aircraft. I have yet to figure out how to add the unit badge on the nose and a historically correct marking on the tail. So far so good.