De shining MDL files.

[NAMBUS]

Can anyone tell me the best way to go about reducing the shine on an aircraft MDL.
I downloaded some of Mortons paints for the Alpha F-80 and he mentions values to change the level of shine using mk_mdl_v2 and Ivan Hsu's MDLC
I downloaded Mortons mk_mdlv2 and it says that it needs MDLC 85.
I have had a look around and the only versions of MDLC that I can find are 117,142 and 190.
Is there a way to use any of these with Mortons mk mdl program?
The other airplanes that I want to reduce the shine on are the Aeroplane Heaven F9F Panther fighter and Photo Recon.
I also found Martin Wright's MDLMat and had a look at the Panther MDL in that but I really do not know what I am looking at and which values to adjust.
Any help would be appreciated.

[huub vink]

Nambus,

Download MLDC117 and carefully look at the instructions in the readme file. MDLC117 is a newer version from MDLC85, but I'm not sure whether it works with Morten's interface.

Huub

[OBIO]

Morten's MDLC interface will work with MDLC190...that is the combo I use. But I no longer use MDLC for shining or deshining as sometimes the result has a pinkish hue to the shine. I now use Martin Wright's MDLmat and adjust the specular settings manually. The lighter (closer to white) the specular setting is, the shinier the plane. The darker (closer to black) the specular setting is, the less shiny the plane is.

I have found that these settings to be a good base line for various levels of shine:

Low level gloss: 60, 60, 60

Mid level gloss: 80, 80, 80

Low level shine: 100, 100, 100

Mid level shine: 120, 120, 120

High shine: 140, 140, 140

You will have to find which of the material is used for the various parts of the plane. To do this, I create a new texture folder, name it Texture.Naked and make a config file entry to use that folder. The folder is empty...so that way when you fire the plane up with that texture, you see the bare plane material colors as set via the MDL. Make a mental note of the color or material used to define the fuselage, wings, stabilizers and such. Then go into the MDL using MDLmat and find the materials in that color. Adjust the specular settings to reach the desired level of shine. Send the material back to the MDL, save, fire the sim back up and check your results.

ALWAYS make some back up copies of the stock MDL file before messing with it. You may have to do some trial and error for the first several shine/deshine jobs, but once you get the hang of using MDLmat for this, it becomes second nature.

One advantage I have found in using MDLmat for shining and deshining aircraft is that sometimes, not often mind you...the tires will be made up of a material not shared with the fuselage....and you can shine the plane without having tires that look like they have been freshly Armoralled...which looks stupid on cars, and even stoopider on planes. Using MDLC to shine aircraft, all materials withing the MDL are set to the same level of shine.....MDLmat gives you more control over how much shine various parts of the plane gets.

OBIO

[NAMBUS]

Thanks very much guys.
I will give it another try with MDLMat.

[Tom Clayton]

Morten's MDLC interface will work with MDLC190...
I have that, but for the life of me, I can't remember where I got it. I was going to recommend it to a friend. Do you know where I can send him to get a copy?

[huub vink]

Tom,

Morten's MDLC interface can be found here: http://www.sim-outhouse.com/index.php?lloc=downloads&loc=downloads&page=info&FileID=2478 , however I prefer WuhWuzDah's "shiny", which is available here: http://www.sim-outhouse.com/index.php?lloc=downloads&loc=downloads&page=info&FileID=4445

Ivan Hsu's MDLC190 can be found here: http://www.sim-outhouse.com/index.php?lloc=downloads&loc=downloads&page=info&FileID=8977 , but I think this is a tool to build CFS2 weapons. When I'm correct the latest "public" version of Ivan's MoDeL Converter which can add shine or reflective textures is the 145 version which can be found on Flightsom.com. The file name is: mdlc117.zip.

I hope this helps,
Huub

[Tom Clayton]

Thanks Huub - I couldn't remember the filename to save my life! :friday: I actually have both myself and use the Shiny right-click most of the time. But every once in a while there's that one model that needs a little more tweaking...

[OBIO]

I can't remember where I got the 190 version...but have used it for everything....conversions, collision bubble adjustments, shining and deshining.

Finding MDLC can be a challenge...which strikes me as odd considering how widely used the software is.

Wait a moment, let me look under Ivan hsu's user names here in the SOH library and see what is there. His user name is Archisoft.

Versions 142 and 190 of MDLC are in the library here...just use the Author Search box at the bottom of the download page, find Archisoft and you will find it easily....only one page, they are the bottom two on the page.

OBIO