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global enviroment map

J

jetwelder

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unitedkingdom
fsx.paintshop pro x2...i still cant quite understand the procedure...

what do i think i know........the global envirenmont map, and ithink the chrome one..are selected by file name in the appropiate slots...but the bitmap is of a certain square size and suitably textured in paintshop...i dont think it has to be called global environment map....i could call it reflection... and chrome....

the maps are exported with the dds plugin...should they be flipped...what formats bits,dxt...

i think i can paint these maps, to produce a more interesting effect....ime still not sure how this all works....i tried opening a chrome envirenmont map in image tool from fsx textures...it refused, which is probably a good thing in my case...and the alpha channel...not sure...

i could do with a basic simpletons rundown on the procedure...to fill in the blindingly obvious, except to me, gaps in the sdk...at least gaps in my own perception of the sdk...so far ive been using just the diffuse slot, with some settings. and layers and layer settings....jim
 
These are special textures known as "cube maps." They aren't your typical flat textures, but are specially formated to provide separate "faces" for each surface of a cube (hence the name "cube maps").

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cube_mapping

For Photoshop, nVidia offers a plugin: http://developer.nvidia.com/object/photoshop_dds_plugins.html

In the package from nVidia is a script:
Cube Map Shuffler This script rearranges cube-map-face elements for use with different export and editing tools. It can quickly convert and copy between different cubemap layout formats, a task that has previously been annoyingly slow and error-prone. If you are used to editing cube map faces, you’ll find this script makes format changes a lot easier.
Click to expand...

Some examples of how cube maps are arranged: http://www.humus.name/index.php?page=Textures
 
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thanks n4gix

i like to try and understand how a thing works....even if it makes my brain hurt.

and i am not going to tinker with the defaults....dont fix it if it aint broke..

but some interesting possibilities...fooling with fsx texture settings.maps mats etc is producing some interestingly weird results..

ps what are the aerodynamic advantages of snakeskin and fur.....jim

the HUMUS site is fabulous...jim
 
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What the "cube maps" are used for is to provide the subtle "reflections" of the environment on glossy surfaces, such as a hi-gloss aircraft paint, glass, et cetera.

The Global_AC_Chrome.dds is used mostly for - well - chrome textures, or other very highly reflective surfaces.

There are several other less-intense versions available for use. All of them are rather "generic" in that they only approximate woodland areas at cardinal points, ground on the bottom, and sky on the top.

Where they fall down of course is if you are flying across the ocean, where there aren't too many pine forests within sight... :rotfl:

The examples at the Humus site would be totally useless for our purposes of course. The main reason for me pointing at them was more to show how the six "cube panels" are arranged on the bitmap. :cool:
 
I ve seen different layouts for the cubemaps, nvidia plugin can make crossed cube maps, and I have seen too that the horizontal layout of the cubemaps work in fsx, what could be the better layout for fsx, or it's indifferent
I'm trying to understand a little these cubemaps.
 
Hi,

I don't think it matters. In the DDS the cubemap is not stored as a cross or a line or so. Inside the DDS file they are stored as 6 different images, each tagged with a name that indicates their direction.

So the way it is presented in the graphical editor is something that depends on the plugin you use I guess.
 
All right, thanks for the answer, seeing that phtoshop can export in this two ways, as a cubemap, and with the cubemap shuffler, (this lay out the bitmaps as a cross) I was asking what could be the difference, and how could work in Fsx, any way I think I will investigate a little :scratchch
Not very much information about cubemaps and checking a little it's no so difficult.
 
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