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MSFS20 DDS texture conversion of normal texture

rhumbaflappy

rhumbaflappy

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Hi Arno.
A compiled DDS Normal texture from MSFS has a 50% gray in the blue channel. When converted to PNG, TIF, or JPG, the resulting image has the same 50% gray in the blue channel. The MSFS compiler doesn't care what the Normal texture blue channel holds, because it simply writes 50% gray to the blue channel.

What Blender and 3dsMax developers would expect is a 100% white in the blue channel. Any other value distorts the display, and misleads the developer into thinking his Normal texture needs some adjustment, when in fact it is fine.
Blue Channel Normal value Test

Could you force the MCX DDS normal conversion to !00% white?
 
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Hi Dick,

Let me check how I can handle this in MCX. In general for MSFS content it is the packager tool that generates the DDS files. But when converting a existing normal texture to the MSFS structure I could take care of the blue channel of course.
 
Hi Dick,

I finally came around looking at this issue, but I am not sure if I can fully reproduce what you say. If I take a glTF model with a normal texture and compile it with the MSFS packager tool the normal texture does not get a 50% gray blue channel, on my machine it is fully black instead. Do I do something wrong here?

Also when you say that MCX should make the blue channel white, do you expect that to happen on normal import or when running a material converter? Because the first might be hard to do, when loading a texture file the code does not really know what kind of texture it is.
 
Hi Arno. On conversion, it would help if the blue channel is white. MSFS changes the channel to black as part of it's compilation process. MSFS doesn't use that channel. In Blender or 3dsMax the expectation of the channel is white, otherwise the normal texture discolors the displayed image in Blender or 3dsMax. It's not a huge problem, but if someone is unaware of this, the material would look wrong.
 
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Hi Dick:

As I was reviewing this thread to expand my understanding of the subject matter, I got an error when I clicked on the link in your OP above:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/t...nversion-of-normal-texture.458102/post-921484

That URL is duplicated for the link in the OP:

Code: 
https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/blue-channel-normal-value-test.458092/https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/blue-channel-normal-value-test.458092/


If I replace it with a single URL, the linked thread will load correctly; could you edit that, so we can directly access that info here at FSDev ?

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/blue-channel-normal-value-test.458092/


As always, thanks again for your help with expanding the horizons of our access and comprehension for FS Development. :)


PS: Without your efforts to verify and simplify this aspect of MSFS SDK subject material, many of us may 'chase' links such as these:

https://www.google.com/search?q=https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/blue-channel-normal-value-test.458092/&sca_esv=14a1435c53c98b02&source=hp&ei=cNIwZ6X1LozK0PEPjLmqwQE&iflsig=AL9hbdgAAAAAZzDggI4tXoNW4fG8_dWz2GFaHa_lL65Q&ved=0ahUKEwil7cS4i9KJAxUMJTQIHYycKhgQ4dUDCA0&uact=5&oq=https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/blue-channel-normal-value-test.458092/&gs_lp=Egdnd3Mtd2l6IlBodHRwczovL3d3dy5mc2RldmVsb3Blci5jb20vZm9ydW0vdGhyZWFkcy9ibHVlLWNoYW5uZWwtbm9ybWFsLXZhbHVlLXRlc3QuNDU4MDkyL0gAUABYAHAAeACQAQCYAQCgAQCqAQC4AQPIAQD4AQL4AQGYAgCgAgCYAwCSBwCgBwA&sclient=gws-wiz


Hmmm... now I'm off to see if a MSFS 'Tower' view can simulate looking through "Binoculars" ! :rotfl:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/t...s-in-msfs-blender-workflow.449949/post-877907

GaryGB
 
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I have updated the link now.

Dick, I have checked by the material converter logic already writes a white blue channel to the normal maps. So when somebody converts a normal map from FS to MSFS it will be done right already.

If a model is just exported from MCX the textures are not automatically saved. That is something the developer has to actively do himself. I will make sure that the material editor has an easy way to make the blue channel white. But I don't think the changes to the texture is something that can be done automatically. The developer has to do it himself.
 
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