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MSFS20 Converting P3D 3D structures (bgl) to MSFS2020 using MCX - textures are a no-show

Misho

Misho

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Hi everyone,

I am trying a direct conversion of a P3D object (bgl) into MSFS2020 using MCX. Everything went fine, except the textures are not showing up in MSFS2020. Here is what I did:
  • I converted a large object (a hangar) I designed for P3D into MSFS2020 project using MCX (latest version).
  • I simply used MCX "Import" option to load a P3D BGL file into MCX.
  • It loaded fine in MCX with all its textures, although I couldn't see bump mapping effect in the daytime, but I am guessing it is due to the lighting saturation in the renderer or something. (nighttime shows up ok).
  • I used "export scenery" option to export the scenery into MSFS Scenery Package.
  • I loaded the package in MSFS2020, built it, no errors, the only warnings were:

    extension 'ASOBO_normal_map_convention' not found; assuming DirectX convention for textures

  • It loads fine in MSFS2020 except, without textures. The whole building is black, as in, textured materials show up as flat black (you can still see the shadows on flat black material)
  • Checking the package folder, textures are there, converted from PNG to DDS.
Did I miss anything?
 
Hi Misho,

Without seeing the actual object it is a bit hard to answer this. Few things to check:

  • When you load the MSFS BGL or glTF file back into MCX, does it also look black?
  • Does the P3D object use vertex colors? If so, check if they are not black after converting.
 
Misho said:
It loads fine in MSFS2020 except, without textures. The whole building is black, as in, textured materials show up as flat black (you can still see the shadows on flat black material)
Click to expand...
In MSFS, if the sim cannot find the texture, it will appear as pink checkered... not black. As Arno wrote, this may be vertex coloring. You could zip the original object bgl and message it to Arno, or to me, and we could take a look if it's still a problem. Sometimes just looking at the glTF file with a text editor will reveal the problem
 
arno said:
Hi Misho,

Without seeing the actual object it is a bit hard to answer this. Few things to check:

  • When you load the MSFS BGL or glTF file back into MCX, does it also look black?
  • Does the P3D object use vertex colors? If so, check if they are not black after converting.
Click to expand...
Hi Arno! Thanks for the quick reply!

To answer your questions,
  • When I load the glTF created by MCX, OR BGL created by MSFS, they both show up completely black in MCX, as inside the sim.
  • No - all my vertex colors in 3DS MAX model are RGB white, with white RGB illumination, and Alpha 100. that is, IF by vertex color you mean the actual color of vertex inside the 3DS MAX model, Editable Mesh Modifier, vertex level.
Although I don't quite know what it means for an object to "use" vertex colors. Vertices in the model always have a color property, and mine are all white. I don't think I've seen a setting on the MDL exporter that allows me to use vertex colors, unless it is "prelit vertices" in the "Enhanced parameters" panel of the 3DS FSX/P3D Material Editor, which in NOT checked.

Also, all my models are created by me, so I can change anything that needs to be changed on them. I can definitely PM the original MDL or BGL file with textures if needed.
 
rhumbaflappy said:
In MSFS, if the sim cannot find the texture, it will appear as pink checkered... not black. As Arno wrote, this may be vertex coloring. You could zip the original object bgl and message it to Arno, or to me, and we could take a look if it's still a problem. Sometimes just looking at the glTF file with a text editor will reveal the problem
Click to expand...
Thanks Dick! Let's see if Arno has any suggestions, but sure, I can definitely send the BGL to you or him.
 
I think if you can pm the glTF file or model will work best, then I can check why it's dark.
 
Hi Misho,

I just had a look at the BGL file. The problem is that the albedo color of the two textured materials is black. FSX/P3D do ignore the albedo/diffuse color for textured parts, but MSFS does not. So you need to set the albedo color to white and then the models shows OK.
 
arno said:
Hi Misho,

I just had a look at the BGL file. The problem is that the albedo color of the two textured materials is black. FSX/P3D do ignore the albedo/diffuse color for textured parts, but MSFS does not. So you need to set the albedo color to white and then the models shows OK.
Click to expand...
Thanks Arno! Confirmed, that fixed it! Thank you very much.

The conversion is working but it is not completely 1:1, as in, the objects that looked perfect in P3D show various quirks in MSFS. For example, some polygons, depending on materials, become transparent, some show uneven lighting, and uneven shadowing. I am guessing this may be due to the way I designed it, or it is just how MSFS interprets it. Unless I am missing something?

I also don't see that my bump maps or my environment map materials don't show up... anything specific I need to do about these?

Thanks!
 
Did you convert the normal map from the P3D to the MSFS convention? These are not the same.

As for parts becoming transparent, MCX tries to convert the materials as good as possible, but if you have suggestions for better conversion that's always welcome.
 
arno said:
Did you convert the normal map from the P3D to the MSFS convention? These are not the same.

As for parts becoming transparent, MCX tries to convert the materials as good as possible, but if you have suggestions for better conversion that's always welcome.
Click to expand...
Aha - No I did not. I thought MCX would convert these as well. No problem, thanks!!

Sounds good, I just started playing with it so I will definitely let you know if I have any suggestions.

One thing that I just remembered - creating a MSFS2020 scenery project is really good - I love how it is ready to be compiled. The only thing that the MSFS "Build Project" complains about is the "creator/company name". No big deal, It just throws off a warning, but if there could be a field in MCX for a creator/company, and then that gets populated into the MSFS2020 project, that would be handy.
 
Misho said:
Aha - No I did not. I thought MCX would convert these as well. No problem, thanks!!
Click to expand...
It can in the material editor, but it won't happen automatically on glTF export as MCX does not know if you did it manually already or not.
Misho said:
One thing that I just remembered - creating a MSFS2020 scenery project is really good - I love how it is ready to be compiled. The only thing that the MSFS "Build Project" complains about is the "creator/company name". No big deal, It just throws off a warning, but if there could be a field in MCX for a creator/company, and then that gets populated into the MSFS2020 project, that would be handy.
Click to expand...
It's there, but you need to fill the data in the exporter settings first.
 
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