MSFS [GUIDE] Creating Livery Packages for MSFS

[CBris]

Not sure why you need to include the whole model file? Just alias it. Distributing a modified model file does not sound like a particularly good idea especially without permission of the original devleoper.

Adding via the FSX way is hacky and requires the user to do more. We should be looking at this new way as the future (and it is). Why are you trying to go backwards?


And your point? I use the registration NOVA24. Its there as a placeholder for users to set what they want. Are you going to police every user of your livery to make sure they ONLY use a VALID registration number? Let ASobo have their marketing.

The whole model file - because it works for me atm. I have no plans on sharing my work until I can figure out what I am doing wrong. Why do some megapack liveries seem to work, when mine don't despite having an identical layout as far as I can see - and I have been checking since day one. I found one fault once where I had a period instead ov a comma. The only thing I am left with now is having 4096 hi-res dds images that are larger than the Asobo standard. I might have to edit in the exact flle size into those ....DDS.json files and also find out how the creation date conventions work.

The FSX way was never hacky in FSX, and since the orbx marketed aircraft all live in the community folder, then the fallback coding really is straightforward. Like I say - I won't know till I try.

So you use a personal and fictional Identification. I have no problems with that. But it is not real-world authentic, and when I do paints of realworld aircraft, they are primarily with the owner's express permission so that the liveries reflect that aircraft as realisticall as possible (and save me from getting copyright lawsuits filed against me). And if my liveries are fictional, then so are my registrations - I do check international registries wherever I can. For me "Authentic" is the be all and end all. of a repainter's true worth. As for policing every user - Do be brief, man! If microsoft couldn't do it... but they never publishe a livery or model without clear reference to copyrights and granted permissions from the realworld counterparts. Airbus, Boeing, Kenmore seaplanes... and neither Fs 9 to FSX nor msfs have ever been different. They are spotless as far as possible, with what they sell.

Anyway, that is just my view on repainting. Will I be sharing mine? Possibly - if I live long enough. Just like I shared the hundreds I have already shared. And yes, some of mine did break the copyright rulings. And yes, I did have problems with one copyright holder threatening a "cease and desist". But since then, any of my liveries all had the owner's seal of approval. From Patty Wagstaff through many more. And I do warn the owners that I don't wish to be held accountable if my liveries are bu66ered around with.

Yeah - I am a nut job. I don't care what anyone else does...

Picture attached - fictional w-i-p The next time you see it, it will hopefully be in-sim (health willing)

 

[CBris]

PS Sorry if that is a stupid question

Agreed. See above. Which is why I keep asking how to get this damned problem right. No one has yet given me a workable answer. Not even your guide works for me. Sorry.

 

[OzWookiee]

Agreed. See above. Which is why I keep asking how to get this damned problem right. No one has yet given me a workable answer. Not even your guide works for me. Sorry.

Yea I might have some updated stuff. I mainly did this for @Novawing24 and other painters I know who were asking about how to do livery packs as I mostly do aircraft. I have the Jab so let me see what I can come up with tonight.

 

[Novawing24]

The whole model file - because it works for me atm. I have no plans on sharing my work until I can figure out what I am doing wrong. Why do some megapack liveries seem to work, when mine don't despite having an identical layout as far as I can see - and I have been checking since day one. I found one fault once where I had a period instead ov a comma. The only thing I am left with now is having 4096 hi-res dds images that are larger than the Asobo standard. I might have to edit in the exact flle size into those ....DDS.json files and also find out how the creation date conventions work.

The FSX way was never hacky in FSX, and since the orbx marketed aircraft all live in the community folder, then the fallback coding really is straightforward. Like I say - I won't know till I try.

So you use a personal and fictional Identification. I have no problems with that. But it is not real-world authentic, and when I do paints of realworld aircraft, they are primarily with the owner's express permission so that the liveries reflect that aircraft as realisticall as possible (and save me from getting copyright lawsuits filed against me). And if my liveries are fictional, then so are my registrations - I do check international registries wherever I can. For me "Authentic" is the be all and end all. of a repainter's true worth. As for policing every user - Do be brief, man! If microsoft couldn't do it... but they never publishe a livery or model without clear reference to copyrights and granted permissions from the realworld counterparts. Airbus, Boeing, Kenmore seaplanes... and neither Fs 9 to FSX nor msfs have ever been different. They are spotless as far as possible, with what they sell.

Anyway, that is just my view on repainting. Will I be sharing mine? Possibly - if I live long enough. Just like I shared the hundreds I have already shared. And yes, some of mine did break the copyright rulings. And yes, I did have problems with one copyright holder threatening a "cease and desist". But since then, any of my liveries all had the owner's seal of approval. From Patty Wagstaff through many more. And I do warn the owners that I don't wish to be held accountable if my liveries are bu66ered around with.

Yeah - I am a nut job. I don't care what anyone else does...

Picture attached - fictional w-i-p The next time you see it, it will hopefully be in-sim (health willing)

No dramas.

The tool I alluded to earlier available on this forum has been invaluable for compiling the layout.json files for my set packages.

In regards to the registration, if you modify the panel.cfg and adjust the registration entry size to be a single pixel it "disappears" and allows the texture underneath to show through, so even if the user adds a registration it won't show. You also won't end up with a block of polygons showing blank.

 

[CBris]

No dramas.

The tool I alluded to earlier available on this forum has been invaluable for compiling the layout.json files for my set packages.

In regards to the registration, if you modify the panel.cfg and adjust the registration entry size to be a single pixel it "disappears" and allows the texture underneath to show through, so even if the user adds a registration it won't show. You also won't end up with a block of polygons showing blank.

The "Jason" tool... Yep - me too. But it's not actually the answer to my problems. I use it. Also, deleting the existing layout reduces file quantity by 1, so when the tool runs, I can create a layout with 23 or 24 files before saving the layout.json. Should I reduce it by one more and delete the manifest too and insert it after I create the layout.

Panel.cfg - Yep, I reduce both to interior and exterior to zero actually.

That's why I found FSX addon texture so much easier - not so much farsearting around. I understand the guide from s3rious (which OzWookiee shared) and I understand the auto.json tool and still I can't add a livery to the community folder. And still others have added good liveries that work. Mind you, I am not in ideal health. Perhaps I had a brainfart somewhen and I can't see the wood for the trees anymore...

But I will get the hang of it one day, even if Covid gets me the next...

 

[CBris]

Okayyy...

Progress! The IRIS Jabiru is in the community folder. It has a standard aircraft.cfg. I can create a new texture folder. IT WORKS (mind you, I didn't expect anything less from IRIS)

...and it is a D sight easier than all that faffing around with Asobo madness

Oh yes; it is still w-i-p and distribution would be safe and legal.

 

[CBris]

@OzWookiee and co.

I have the Jabiru and the LongEZ both repaintable in my community folder - the beauty is that they work simply by adding a new [FLTSIM.xx] block to the aircraft.cfg - IRIS has the edge for providing an excellent set of PS paintkit textures, but the LongEZ is slightly more fun to fly at really low levels.

Some odd things are different between aircraft:

1. The Rutan uses an = sign between separate [FLTSIMxx] blocks, the Jabiro not.
2. Jabiru: ui_thumbnailfile="SimObjects\Airplanes\IRIS_J160\Texture.VH-KLB\thumbnail.jpg" - Rutan: ui_thumbnailfile=""
3. The Jabiru has one model folder per livery (eg model.19-5396) and also has two version models - the C and D. Rutan uses just one - I actually think I can see the logic there so not really confused

But none of those are really major.

What remains confuddling though, is that this method works, even through the updates to msfs, yet the 3rd party liveries for msfs aircraft in the official\onestore library often cause msfs to "sulk" when a new game update is installed - such as the marketplace disappearing or the content manager freezing. Most of these are using OzWookiee's guides - well, the GA piston engined aircraft. I hate flying tubes in simulators, so unreal and so "boy racer"ish for me

More grievance is caused by the fact that the aircraft I really wanted to paint in msfs (especially in the premium and deluxe versions) are almost impossible to paint because of that DRMProtection flag being set in the manifest.json - ah well... Oh, and third-party devs are in on the act too - Carenado's aircraft are similarly DRM locked

Anyway, does anyone know a definitive, fully functional, msfs/Asobo approved way to add our liveries into community and not have to move them out every time msfs updates and we have spent days trying to fix? And is there a (legal) way to repaint DRM protected models? And will msfs/Asobo ever realise that mirrored textures are anathema! (Incidentally, they do know about that - there is a comment in the SDK that more or less says they do this deliberately to save data space, so "Concretus Scatus"

Two proofs of concept below:

 

[hecrowell]

Hi,

This little tool is very handy for making the layoput.json for repaints.

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/tool-mfs-2020-auto-json-for-layout-json/245505

Marcel

The link seems to be broken. Is there an updated link?

 

[Whisky_Tango_Foxtrot]

Where does one put the finish file structure to drop into MSFS Layout Gen,,,,, i get an error saying the json isnt named

 

[Whisky_Tango_Foxtrot]

Is the Aircraft .cfg file a reg text file or other? mine is saving as a text file thru Notepad ++..... I
Figured this out

 

[Whisky_Tango_Foxtrot]

There is abit of a learning curve as compared to FSX.... didnt have these many hoop and loops to go thru

 

[Whisky_Tango_Foxtrot]

Okay ....finally got my Repaint to show up in sim ....but no textures just a clay Aircraft ..like i would see in 3ds max prior to texturing
first image is what i should be seeing( A textured aircraft).....2nd is what i am seeing

 

[Whisky_Tango_Foxtrot]

So Any guidance on the above post would be greatly appreciated

 

[hecrowell]

I have read this complete post a few times now and still don't understand it. Sorry, but to me it seems to jump all over the map. Surely by now there must be someone tat can write an instruction set to provide step by step info on how to create a new livery without the mega-pack which seems to allow one to create only A320 aircraft with Graphic editors that would take me weeks to master. how many A320's do we really need?
The auto json tool mentioned in this post doesn't seem to be available as the link leads one to a website that either doesn't exist or the "average Joe" does not have access to.

 

[OzWookiee]

I have read this complete post a few times now and still don't understand it. Sorry, but to me it seems to jump all over the map. Surely by now there must be someone tat can write an instruction set to provide step by step info on how to create a new livery without the mega-pack which seems to allow one to create only A320 aircraft with Graphic editors that would take me weeks to master. how many A320's do we really need?
The auto json tool mentioned in this post doesn't seem to be available as the link leads one to a website that either doesn't exist or the "average Joe" does not have access to.

Well you could try reading the official documentation then https://docs.flightsimulator.com/html/index.htm#t=Samples_And_Tutorials/Samples/LiveryAircraft.htm

 

[TBryson2]

I have an interesting issue that someone here may be able to help with.

I have successfully created, imported and verified two liveries in My Hangar for the Cessna 172. Issue is only one aircraft at a time will display in My Hangar!

Both liveries have their own unique named directories in the Community folder. ALL required files have been modified (edited) to reflect its own directory names as well as each “aircraf.cfg” file edited for that unique aircraft.

For simplicity lets call them aircraft 1 and aircraft 2. If both Aircraft 1 and aircraft 2 are in the Community folder, only one aircraft shows. (can be either). If I move aircraft 1 to my desktop, aircraft 2 will be in my hangar. If I remove aircraft 2 from the Community folder and put aircraft 1 back into it, then aircraft 1 will be in my hangar.

I’m confident that each aircraft is done properly because one or the other will be in My Hangar correctly.

Obviously there is a conflict somewhere but I cannot find it! Any help or advise is greatly appreciated!

TB2

 

[=rk=]

I’m confident that each aircraft is done properly because one or the other will be in My Hangar correctly.

Because other MSFS aircraft require removal of competing liveries? If you open the console window after starting MSFS with both liveries present in the Community folder, you will be able to find the messages that inform exactly which elements are in conflict.

You can use the SimpleAircraft sample project that comes with the SDK to build your liveries simultaneously, which would prevent the conflict. The sample project has provision for 3 liveries, you can replace the examples with your model and textures, edit the descriptions and build the project.

 

[TBryson2]

Because other MSFS aircraft require removal of competing liveries? If you open the console window after starting MSFS with both liveries present in the Community folder, you will be able to find the messages that inform exactly which elements are in conflict.

You can use the SimpleAircraft sample project that comes with the SDK to build your liveries simultaneously, which would prevent the conflict. The sample project has provision for 3 liveries, you can replace the examples with your model and textures, edit the descriptions and build the project.

In what way would it be a “competing“ livery? Other than an entry in a config file…

Console window offered no clues. I looked at all 3 options, (errors, messages, warnings). It did have one entry that simply stated “cannot open file” but nothing more. Not sure of which file it’s referring to.

I have not looked at the SimpleAircraft yet. Thanks for that suggestion.

I took all of my directions (so far) by adding an aircraft that works and making changes for my aircraft. Assumed (yes, I know) that would be enough to get my aircraft into the hangar.

More to come!

TB2

 

[TBryson2]

Ok, one more post.

I have to first admit that the SimpleAircraft and SDK instructions leave me more baffled than anything. I'm a pretty smart guy, and have been doing this for many years, but I learn more by following someone's example (that works) than just gathering information.

So with that, I have to say that I finally got it working! I FINALLY found a working copy of MSFSLayout Generator and it led me to two potential problem(s). I was missing a quote (") in my manifest.json, (which is odd because it did work by itself), and may have had issues with my layout.json. I use Notepad++ and when comparing one laout.json with another it had some odd comparison issues that did not show up when viewing the file by itself. Strange! In any case, I fixed the manifest.json an ran layout generator and it works now and I now am able to show both aircraft in my inventory.

TB2

 

[TBryson2]

RESOLVED

I posted the below while having issues, but have since resolved the problem. I'll leave the description below for all to see in case anyone else runs into this. The resolution was that the folders that contained the Texture and aircraft.cfg MUST have unique names! I was under the impression that only the "root" directory (in Community) had to have a unique name. This is NOT the case!

TB2

Ok, I'm back to square one. Not sure if anyone is "listening", but I'll give it a stab anyway. This is the SAME issue as above but with different aircraft than mentioned above. (if BOTH created aircraft are in the Community folder, only ONE aircraft shows up in the hangar. If I remove either one from the Community folder, the other will be in the hangar. They cannot both be in the Community folder at the same time and yet work fine individually) And yes, I did try everything that seemed to work above, but for some reason I still cannot get past this. I will try to list what I have done below. Hope I don't forget anything. Again, I have years of experience with editing files, and placing aircraft in P3D / FSX, so I'm not a NOOB.

1. I successfully created a Cessna livery, (N264TB) and it works for all 3 variations, (Wheels, floats, skis) for BOTH "classic" and "as1000 versions.

2. I created textures for a second Cessna Livery (SalMan) and performed the following actions.
A. Made a copy of my original WORKING Cessna livery (N264TB) and renamed it SalMan ("root" Community Folder)
B. Placed all of the updated textures in their appropriate SalMan folders overwriting the original "N264TB" .dds files that has changed
C. Within SalMan's "manifiest.json" file, changed the "name" and "title" to be different than the contents of N264TB's manifest.json file (Not sure if this is necessary?)
D. Edited ALL SalMan aircraft.cfg files changing the "title" and "ui_variation" to be unique to the SalMan livery
E. Updated the layout.json file (by using MSFSLayout Generator) to update any folder / filename changes

I have verified that there are NO errors in the Console, (messages, errors, warnings), in fact, it states that "N264TB" is registered and mounted on two separate lines, no different than any other working aircraft.

There's obviously a conflict somewhere, but I cannot find ANY differences in the .cfg or json files that are inappropriate.

If anyone is interested in helping, I can place both liveries on DropBox and make them available.

This dang thing is fighting me EVERY step of the way! It's getting old fast!

TB2