FSX Lighted windows

[n4gix]

Gosh, how complicated verbal gymnastics, er I mean explanations can get!

Here's a simple side-by-side of my ESDG Field Office. Once you've done one, you'll find it's easier than getting out of bed!

Diffuse Color bitmap: ESDG_office.dds
Self-Illumination bitmap: ESDG_office_LM.dds

Emissive Mode: Additive

 

[bobbyjack]

MCX wants me to put something in diffuse texture. I think I understand what to put in nightmap, but I'm not getting what to put in diffuse.

Bob

 

[robystar]

Well, your daytime window or building texture.

 

[bobbyjack]

No go.
That's why I'm thinking I don't have a path set correctly in MCX.
In Options there's a TextureSearchPath entry. Do I need to change that? If so, what to put for [mcxtemp].

Bob

 

[Pyscen]

MCX wants me to put something in diffuse texture. I think I understand what to put in nightmap, but I'm not getting what to put in diffuse.

Bob

Yes,... MCX doesn't allow just a nightmap placed without the diffuse. bobbyjack,... tell me what does GSU have for your building, You probably have a minimum of 2 textures (texture0.jpg, texture1.jpg, etc), the textures as they are, are diffuse maps (and are already placed in the diffuse slot in MCX when you import or Load up your building). What is needed by you really is the nightmap and that can be the corresponding texture, such as texture0.jpg, just copy/paste the texture0.jpg to texture0_lm.jpg. Then edit the texture0_lm.jpg to darken, highlight where light should be in your photo editor.

Once you have completed the editing in your photo editor (and saved); place the edited version of the texture (be it texture0_lm or texture1_lm etc) in MCX nightmap slot.

If the diffuse slot is empty, that's probably because you have a used a transparent color within GSU and MCX converted it to be as such. Is this what your referring to at all?

 

[robystar]

Thanks Doug, but with all our comments I do not think we morons are making it any easier for poor Bob because you lost me there as well .
Nevertheless: and in spite of our shortcomings:
I think it is indeed a matter of your texture settings in the options window.
If you do not see it, it does not mean it is not there. But to see it in MCX you do indeed have to change your texture settings to the right folder.
If you saved your night (xxx_LM.jpg) and day texture (xxx.jpg) in your object folder (the one made by GSU with all the jpg textures that you used for your building, in it), then you would see your night texture the moment you introduce the two textures (the day texture first) into your materials editor and have set your texture search path in texture settings to your model textures (for instance: C:\Users\username\Documents\name of your GSU model).
The second search path (you can use more than one) should then point to the texture folder of your addon scenery\static objects\texture folder where in the end (once converted to bmp or dds) your textures should reside.
PS: I have never come across mcxtemp.

 

[bobbyjack]

Thanks guys,

[mcxtemp] is the first field that comes up in TextureSearchPath. Not at my FS computer right now, so I can't change paths yet. All jpgs(and the lm. jpg) are in the same folder. The day window is a metal texture. By the way, this is fun for me. I don't mind a little challange.

Bob

 

[Pyscen]

Thanks Doug, but with all our comments I do not think we morons are making it any easier for poor Bob because you lost me there as well .
Nevertheless: and in spite of our shortcomings:
I think it is indeed a matter of your texture settings in the options window.
If you do not see it, it does not mean it is not there. But to see it in MCX you do indeed have to change your texture settings to the right folder.
If you saved your night (xxx_LM.jpg) and day texture (xxx.jpg) in your object folder (the one made by GSU with all the jpg textures that you used for your building, in it), then you would see your night texture the moment you introduce the two textures (the day texture first) into your materials editor and have set your texture search path in texture settings to your model textures (for instance: C:\Users\username\Documents\name of your GSU model).
The second search path (you can use more than one) should then point to the texture folder of your addon scenery\static objects\texture folder where in the end (once converted to bmp or dds) your textures should reside.
PS: I have never come across mcxtemp.

Actually Roby,... the textures are saved using MCX are placed anywhere you want,... I place them, myself, under texture directory of the directory of the project... I don't have them saved into FSX or FS9, but it is up to the end user.

my TextureSearchPath is :

[MCXTEMP];[FILENAME];texture;..\texture;..\..\texture;[FSXPATH]\texture;[FSXPATH]\scenery\global\texture

This is the default,... at least for me thats what it is.

Thanks guys,

[mcxtemp] is the first field that comes up in TextureSearchPath. Not at my FS computer right now, so I can't change paths yet. All jpgs(and the lm. jpg) are in the same folder.

There are 3 options to making lighted windows:

1) Probably the most common; when you have a texture (be it "texture0.jpg" or whatever), and you edit that file into a "_lm" and lighting the window areas(being darker, much like using Roby's attachment "the figure of a woman". or Bill's dds files). This option is probably the easiest since its basically a copy of the diffuse slot, but darker made by a picture editor (such as Gimp or photoshop) and "lighting" where light would be.

2) the other option is using the transparent textures in GSU and lighting the interiors of the building. This is where you would not have a diffuse texture presay in the diffuse slot (of the transparent colors only) since MCX is using and converting it to be a transparent color. Actually this option and option 1 can be combined. making a 3rd option. This 2nd option is used in my attached pictures above. This was done by having duplicates of the diffuse textures and copying/renaming them as "_lm" textures, Then placing the thoses "_lm" files in the nightmap slots within MCX.

The key though is what lighted windows you want in your building.

The day window is a metal texture. By the way, this is fun for me. I don't mind a little challange.

Bob, I would assume that the metal texture is the frame of the window? What is the actual window of?

 

[arno]

Hi,

Since it was a long discussion, I might have missed a few parts. But here are my comments:

If you want to add a night texture to your model, it will usually already have the day texture in the diffuse texture slot. Just add the night texture to the self-illumination slot.

Having only a night texture and no day texture is not allowed. But I am also not sure what FSX would make of that.

The [MCXTEMP] and [FILENAME] options in the texture path are special options. The first one refers to the temp folder where KMZ files are extracted when reading, the second one looks for a folder with the name of the object, this is used for COLLADA objects. Don't change these, just add more options to the end of the search path if you need. But in many cases you might not have to change it. Especially if the day textures can be found already.

 

[GHD]

Here's a simple side-by-side of my ESDG Field Office. Once you've done one, you'll find it's easier than getting out of bed!

Why is it that the windows appear to be lit from the outside and not inside

 

[n4gix]

Why is it that the windows appear to be lit from the outside and not inside

Because that's the way I choose to do it some eight years ago, when I was copying the default building's lightmaps.

I chose that particular example because it's rather simple and easy to see "how it was done."

Were I doing it over (and I actually have in another project), I would have the windows lit "from the inside," while keeping the "porch light" above the main door.

 

[bobbyjack]

Ah, more mystery. I don't see a self-illumination slot.

The window itself is a metal texture. There was no file in the GSU folder for anything else(the color I was using). I didn't want a transparent window. I'm just using the metal to figure out how to get things to work, then I'll make it better.

Bob

 

[arno]

Oops, that was GMax terminology. In ModelConverterX it is simply called nightmap texture slot.

 

[bobbyjack]

OK
Seems I needed to click on the daytime texture in the upper left corner of the meterial editor, then add the nighttime texture to the nightmap slot. That did it.
Thanks everyone for bearing with me.

Bob

 

[robystar]

No problem.

 

[Pyscen]

OK
Seems I needed to click on the daytime texture in the upper left corner of the meterial editor, then add the nighttime texture to the nightmap slot. That did it.
Thanks everyone for bearing with me.

Bob

NO pain; no glory they say

 

[robystar]

You want a bear too?

 

[bobbyjack]

I want it all!

Including how to work with the entire side of a building to light different parts of it. I'm getting close. May not be possible in GSU. But that is for another post.

Bob

 

[n4gix]

Bobby, it shouldn't matter whether you use GSU, Max, GMax of FSDS. The lightmap texture is what provides the lighting effect(s).

All MCX (or any other design program) supplies is a "filename." You supply the bitmap textures that use that "filename."

 

[Pyscen]

I want it all!

Including how to work with the entire side of a building to light different parts of it. I'm getting close. May not be possible in GSU. But that is for another post.

Bob

In GSU, you can combine a single side or face of a building... select the parts on the side or face and right click. A submenu should come up giving you the choice to combine textures. From that point on,... you would edit the face or side within your photo editor. There are ways to get it all... just have to work at it.

Hope it helps..