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FSX how to make night textures for fsx photoreal sceneries

TIP: GIMP is a free alternative to Adobe Photoshop
t_500x300.jpg

Download it over here - https://www.gimp.org/
 
It doesn't really matter what it looks like in MCX, as it is just a tool. What does it look like in the sim? (and, what sim are you using?)
 
Misho said:
It doesn't really matter what it looks like in MCX, as it is just a tool. What does it look like in the sim? (and, what sim are you using?)
Click to expand...
Hi,

See above, the faces are really light and look odd to me. P3d v4.
 
Ok, so the screenshot is from the sim... Is your material that this texture is using a _LM material (self illuminated?)

If not - Make it a _LM (night texture) material. That should fix it.
 
Hi there,

Thank you, yes I can confim that it is _LM and the screenshot is from MCX.

The question is . . . .How do you tone down the gray? I have tried PS but the output is the same.

What I want is a bright lettering and blue shine, which I have in the texture. But, this is being reduced by the LM applied gray.

Thank you again
 
Hello...

The only way, if I understand you correctly... you will need to have the lettering and the "gray" areas separated into 2 different layers... within your Photo Editor (such as PS or GIMP). This will give you the ability to control the Darkness (or brightness) on both of the areas - separately. There are plenty of tutorials already out there that you can search for on YouTube (on layering and controlling the brightness on the layers).
 
Pyscen said:
Hello...

The only way, if I understand you correctly... you will need to have the lettering and the "gray" areas separated into 2 different layers... within your Photo Editor (such as PS or GIMP). This will give you the ability to control the Darkness (or brightness) on both of the areas - separately. There are plenty of tutorials already out there that you can search for on YouTube (on layering and controlling the brightness on the layers).
Click to expand...
Hay there,

Thank you for the reply. I am ok with layering in PS to control the darkness etc. It seems that when ever I add the LM texture on MCX it seems to lighten it again. For example I set rhe back to black and when it is imported it changes it to gray. I suspect. . . .might be very wrong that this is a MCX setting that is effecting it.

Thank you again
 
craigt47 said:
Hay there,

Thank you for the reply. I am ok with layering in PS to control the darkness etc. It seems that when ever I add the LM texture on MCX it seems to lighten it again. For example I set rhe back to black and when it is imported it changes it to gray. I suspect. . . .might be very wrong that this is a MCX setting that is effecting it.

Thank you again
Click to expand...

Hello...

MCX doesn't change the color of pixels... attach your the jpg image (diffuse) and the _lm image... let's take a look, please.
 
MCX in itself shouldn't be changing the texture. If you design the texture in PSP, and process it into DXT3 or DXT5 using imagetool, MCX doesn't have anything to do with the texture processing.

Open the actual DDS texture in the "texture" folder of your scenery and check to see what it looks like. That's the only texture that counts.
 
It seems likely you need to make sure you've unticked "do not overwrite."
 
Ok great. Make sure most of all to actually replace the gray texture. MCX does not prompt for overwrite, so you must pre select that option while saving textures. A situation like this:
craigt47 said:
I have set the background to black in PS, but in MCX it always shows this gray background when the night texture is applied.
Click to expand...
Implies that MCX is refusing to overwrite the original gray texture.
 
Regarding that problem, I don't think MCX does anything with the color of the texture either.
Please make sure that the texture that you use and editing is in the same folder of MDL (if you use MCX to read MDL file). Or you can redirect the material inside MCX to the texture that you are editing. I have done that mistake so many times. I edited the texture but nothing changed in MCX. I found later that MCX did not read the texture that I was editing but read the texture that I left in the same folder of MDL.
Anyway, looking in Flight sim is the better way to check it. After edited the texture, you have to convert it to dds and place in Texture folder.
 
I have come to the end of this model! I have spent months on it!! LOL

What do you think? Should i just leave it?

I was trying to get this effect from the lighting sign. Dark background and bright lights on the sign.

1523310380485.png
 
Last edited:
That image is not from the simulator, it is from the Vanguard website.
 
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