At last The Mu-2 the way I like it.......

[Leen de Jager]

Great news to hear.

Making normals is a bit "my thing" more precise going into detail doing much normal-mapping the manual way.

Gloss is something completely different nevertheless we need normals to to achieve glossyness the way I am used to.

Editing the OBJ files so they start reading NML files is not complicated , editing the OBJ-file to make the model shiny isn`t that a problem to.

BUT it leads to a model on wich even the tyres are shiny.

There comes the specular-alpha in the normal very handy.

Using this alpha to regulate the gloss is extremely funy.

Glossy wings with sometimes dull spots ,glossy wings with non (better said less)-glossy de-icing boots.

Dents and damages created with normal and gloss, whatever.

This method enables to get just that amount of gloss that you like on excact the spot you like it.

e.g. a extremely refletive chromium placard with an non glossy ingraved text , everything is possible

Being one of McPhats I know how it works.

Today I have been fooling around with the landing gear.

It looks used and old , nevertheless the brakedisks and the pistons of the hydraulic are extremely glossy if the sunlight expects them to be.

The rims are a tiny bit glossy , the tyres however lack any gloss.

OK one must be a bit crazy , I admit.

I really did not expect to achive this in XP just two years ago.

I am thrilled.

Cheers

Leen

Edited February 16, 2012 by Leen de Jager

[tkyler]

Version 10 OBJs support a parameter called "GLOBAL specular" which exists at the top of the object file. You'll see this in the V10 King Air stuff. This basically replaces the "ATTR_shiny_rat" method, which is so cumbersome. The assumption here though...is that when you use GLOBAL_specular...you will also be providing either a normal map or a grayscale specular map and controlling specularity with the alpha channel of the normal (or the grayscale only map). I am sure you would agree it's a better way. I usually begin by making the whole plane matte and then "virtually polish" it, which to me, seems to be more in line with the real world where you have to work to make things shiny

I'm excited about version 2.0...whenever that may be. I've learned a whole lot in the last 5 years and I think 2.0 will be light years ahead of 1.5 in overall visual quality and resolution.

Edited February 16, 2012 by tkyler

[Leen de Jager]

You are right , allthough setting ATTR_shiny_rat at the top of the obj file has exactly the same result.

Insterting separate shiny_rat values is very cumbersome indeed , I never do that

This GLOBAL-specular value however also makes the model glossy first to be made matt with an alpha afterwards.

Cheers

Leen

ps

How do we paint a checkerboard , I make it white and fill in the blacks?

Edited February 16, 2012 by Leen de Jager

[Jezzebell]

A little rough... will clean up and distribute with the 1.5 update. No normal map unfortunately. Will address that one day I hope

Good news Tom!

[rddaos]

Interestingly enough, you can see the body of his MU2 clearly even in the night flying screenshot, unlike on my machine, where night flying = pitch black can't see your hand in front of your face black. I have the brightness on my monitor turned up all the way. Still my aircraft are just faint sillouettes in a dark murky black environment whenever I fly at night.

[Leen de Jager]

Its just a matter of well adjusted LIT files in my texturesets.

[MdMax]

Leen, your normals are looking awesome ! Thank you very much !

[Leen de Jager]

Thanks for your kind words.

Making normals is not such a big deal, if you are used to doing it.

These normals can be generated with a program like GIMP.

"Generating normals" however is just half the job ,editing the normals manually is the funniest and trickiest part.

Most interesting is what I call "free-bumping" , creating accents and stuff * on a normal ,entirely by hand.

*On the "Colani" I made severe damage on the nose of the fuselage , these damages are present in the normal as well and grooves show like real grooves on the plane.

The specular alpha in the same normal makes these groove less ,or non reflective.

At McPhatstudios we do this at a daily base.

We did not invent it, we just use it the way it should be used.

Leen de Jager

Edited February 26, 2012 by Leen de Jager

[edwin]

N316PR-- Beautiful bit of work well done