Hi Ken:
Subsequent to your reply in Post # 30 of this thread, I decided to suggest a different work-flow than I originally had intended to present here.
Here is a general conceptual over-view of what you may wish to try.
IIUC, you will want to make a G-Poly that is 'similar' in appearance to the
"C32" alpha-numeric characters mapped from
KDFW_DET10.DDS onto the original FSDT FSX-format MDL "
KDFW_sett07_sf.mdl" cited above.
To do that, you will also want to have the same FSDT KDFW Apron texture in place below the
C39 characters of a derived texture image.
This will likely best be achieved by capturing a screenshot of the FSDT KDFW scenery loaded in a FSX run time flight session in TopDown View with the user aircraft centered over- and zoomed in on- the existing
C32 alpha-numeric characters, with sufficient surrounding Apron textures showing to allow for that screenshot (later edited to show
C39 instead), to conceal the original
C32 image ...after being mapped as a Material texture image onto a G-Poly created in Sketchup.
Save that screenshot as a
TIFF file format (
NOT a JPG file format !) under a name such as: "
FSDT_KDFW_C32.TIF"
In Google Earth:
The map orientation in Google Earth when drawing "Path' vector object vertex points" for an object to be exported as a KML file, should be
NOT tilted, and must be
corrected to the N-S, E-W world axes.
This correction is done by clicking the "
N" icon at the top-right of the window (hovering the Mouse over that icon shows this tool tip help):
"
Click and drag to rotate, or click "N" to reset to North"
In XnViewMP, convert a copy of the FSDT source texture into a TIFF file:
Browse / Open the above cited
KDFW_32.DDS; then '
Save As' a
*.TIF output graphic file format:
KDFW_32.TIF
Browse / Open the above cited
KDFW_DET10.DDS; then '
Save As' a
*.TIF output graphic file format:
KDFW_DET10.TIF
In Sketchup version-8:
Please follow (
only) Steps 1 through 4, in the latter post I composed for the above cited thread: "
Alternative (simplified') Work-around"
https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/updated-sketchup-wont-work.440430/post-777782
NOTE: You will
not use a Google Earth screen capture in
this work-flow, so you will
not be deriving any aerial images from Google Earth.
FYI: The Google Earth (aka "GE") Path' vector object vertex points are saved into a
KML file ...that is imported into a Sketchup plugin.
[
EDITED]
In Sketchup version-8, with the true rectangle "Face" drawn over the imported 'GE Path' vector object vertex points 'Selected':
In
Sketchup version-8, 'Select' the
true rectangle "
Face" which was drawn over the imported 'GE Path' vector object vertex points:
[
END_EDIT]
* Correct its dimensions to the existing FSDT KDFW "
C32" decal character span (by my measurements in FSX- TopDown View - maximum zoom):
Width:
18 Feet /
5.4864 Meters
Height:
10 Feet /
3.0480 Meters
(Thanks to GMAN for his excellent Finney Ground - Cross-Hairs Plus user aircraft 'object placement tool' with 1-Meter texture measurement graduation markings)
Import as a 'Texture', a
copy of your
FSDT_KDFW_C32.TIF screenshot (of the FSDT KDFW scenery loaded in a FSX run time flight session)
* Map that screenshot onto the 'Selected' Face of the Rectangle as a Material texture image
* Scale and Position centered vertically, that mapped screenshot Material texture image to fill the
horizontal extents of the Rectangular Face
Configure GIMP as your Default Image Editor
*
Sketchup Menu > Window > Preferences > Applications > "
Default Image Editor"
> [Choose] >Browse / Select ex: "C:\Program Files\GIMP 2\bin\
gimp-2.8.exe"
* 'Select' the Face of the Rectangle mapped with the screenshot Material texture image, then Right-click > Texture >
Edit Texture image
Following any necessary procedures with features and tools under their proper names described in the GIMP documentation:
https://docs.gimp.org/en/index.html
* Remove the "
2" in
C32 by cloning the nearby Apron texture background image
* Open as a new layer in GIMP, the
KDFW_DET10.TIF texture image saved above; create a "Selection" of the "
9" character, then 'copy' it
* Paste the copied 'Selection' of the "
9" character into the mapped "
C32" screenshot Material texture image layer ...to replace the "
2"
* Clone the nearby Apron texture background image and black border of the other characters etc. as needed, so the "
9" blends acceptably.
When you have achieved the desired "C39" edits within the mapped Material texture image in GIMP:
* Delete the new layer in GIMP displaying the
KDFW_DET10.TIF texture image source for the "
9" character
* Flatten Image > Save / Export Image ...in the same graphic file format as is already mapped onto the Selected' Face of the "
C39" Rectangle in Sketchup.
Alternatively, after removing all C32 characters by Cloning the nearby Apron texture background image:
* Find and utilize a Text font that matches the FSDT
C32 characters, and create 'new'
C39 replacement characters via GIMP's
Text features
The above steps are likely to require some learning, so I will defer posting of subsequent steps pending your completion of this initial phase.
GaryGB
