Printable View
Due to some posts over on FB and some questions I've received, I'm considering putting together a release to correct something, but I first need to make sure that there is actually a problem!
Can someone please confirm for me that out-of-the-box (so to speak), no B-17s included in ETO work properly with Ankor's shaders, i.e. if you try to slap a bare metal skin on them, they don't shine!
Just had a quick look and they all appear to reference diffuse, specular and reflective textures in the m3d. Trying to use all three can cause a conflict with AnKor's shaders so they just appear as flat matte finish.
Hex editing the specular reference value to FF instead of the texture sequence value should get it working the way you want.
I have what I want and I think you did it for me quite some time ago! :applause:
I then cloned it to create a set of four that I put a variety of skins on, all modifications of existing B-17 skins.
What is the etiquette on releasing such a package? I would simply call it something like "ETO B-17G replacement set" and note that precious little of the work is mine (just the skin mods and the hex editing to create them). I want to make it easy for the wider community. Hex editing and such can be very daunting and deterring for the average player!
I agree with threedp. We need a better way to fix problems caused by using AnKor's shaders. Modding the m3d files can be daunting even for seasoned users such as myself and is a big turn off for some people. Some updated files or something is needed for the average user and not just for those way deep in special programming knowledge. Regards,Scott
For me, it just takes a few minutes now to fully mod them the way I like to take full advantage of the shaders (mostly m3d, dds, and xdp file edits), but I'll admit it was pretty daunting at first.
I've probably "fixed' a couple of thousand individual aircraft over the years, but getting permission to publicly upload them all would be problematic to say the least.
Then there's the issue of the original publisher's artistic intent perhaps being different from mine. For example, they might want more or less gloss to show on their model than I do. In particular I like a bit more shine on the cockpit surfaces to provide as much 3D contour shaping as possible. For me this really enhances the feel of being in the pilot's seat, but typically the original intent is to have them look less like a new factory finish. On the other hand many people often want the exterior to look more like a museum restoration with fresh paint and polished surfaces, and I tend to make them look more like they've been parked outside for a while and the newness has worn off.
Which leaves us with my attempts to carefully document here how things are done, and to provide what support I can to anyone who seeks help in making their own mods to reap the various benefits of the new shaders.
Hello MajorMagee, Could you please help a newbe at this by supplying the code sequence in the m3d file to hex edit for the ETO B-17"s ? I don't know what i'm looking for with just a "FF".Also have the same problem with the : ETO_P_47d_302_44 . Could you please look at that one as i think it has the same problem ? All other aircraft show up fine enough for me . Thanks for any help. Regards,Scott
Is
0000FF00 FFFFFFFF 000000FF 818181FF F3043543 0000 0100 0200 FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Should be
0000FF00 FFFFFFFF 000000FF 818181FF F3043543 0000 FFFF 0200 FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Thank you MajorMagee ! That did the trick. The ETO B-17G now looks much more realistic now as it shows wear but still metallic . Regards,Scott
Found maybe a couple more. The ETO_He177_40_43 and ETO_Hs177_100_44 AI's show up black. The regular models show up normal , just the ai's i have a problem with. MajorMagee,could you have a look when you can and see where the problem is and what is needed to know to fix it ? Sorry to take up your time.... Regards,Scott
The AI versions reference a file called He177_XXXX_s.dds that is missing from ETO.
Make a copy of either He177_F8CM_s.dds, or He177_6NSK_s.dds, and then rename that copy to He177_XXXX_s.dds and that should fix the issue.
Thanks for the advice Major. Tried what you said and still have the same problem that the ETO He177 ai's show up all black with no markings. Even deleted the bdp files just to be safe to no avail. Any other advice ? Thanks for your time with this. Regards,Scott
I can't seem to replicate it with AnKor's Shaders turned on. Switching them off does strange things, but that's to be expected.
Only just noticed it. It's no big deal.Thank you MajorMagee for looking into this. I'll just use the regular He-177's to go up against. This can be frustrating at times but still worthwhile. Still a great WWII air combat sim... Regards,Scott
Just to be sure, are we talking about the ETO ones or the TK ones? I have both installed, and that may be why I can't replicate your issue.
Didn't know there were others. These are in following folders : ETO_He177_40_43 and ETO_He177_100_44 . Did find a TK_Junkers_JU388J-1 (don't even know where i got that one,LoL!). I suppose these are the stock ones but not sure. Thanks Major...