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Material coloration - XtoMDL vx MakeMDL

jpfil

jpfil

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ca-quebec
Hi,
I want to experient conditionnal animation in FSX, so I installed the MakeMDL of FS2004 SDK and switched FSDS to it.
Question : compiling with MakeMDL do I absolutly have to put texture on my objets for FSX? Because coloring matetial dont work and my object is black. When I compile with XtoMDL, I can set color in materials and they display well in FSX.
Thanks.
 
Hi,

MakeMDL should also be able to make polygons with just colours.
 
For performance reasons a texture with "colour map" is a much more efficient way of making models, and Blinn colours should be avoided. This way, all the geometry can be rendered with a single drawcall.


That said, it certainly works ... black usually means there is a texture specified also, and not present.
 
Hcornea,
What do you mean by "color map" ans "Blinn colors"?
In my case, all the parts of the object who have not texture are black. I dont apply texture on these parts.
 
If you create a "black" material, this is rendered in the sim as an extra draw-call.

In this case, it is much better to find a small area of a texture sheet, and place opaque black there, weld all the relevant UVW vertices, and map them to that part of the texture.

In this way you will have a single drawcall for both Textured material, and for your "black" parts.

With regard to a colour map .. this is not formalised in FSX, but basically is the same principle .... a small texture sheet, with a palette of colours to map UVW's is much more efficient than multiple coloured materials.

By blinn colours I was referring to the RGB values you set in the material editor (you'll notice these are Blinn Parameters)
 
I am sorry but I dont understand...
May be because I am not perfectly binlingual.
In dont find nothing in the FSDS material editor witch sound like "blinn".
Are you talking about Gmax or FSDS?
 
He's been talking gmax.

you're using FSDS.


I'll double check, tonight with my setup at home.


Just a quick question...


You're using FSDS 3.5.1 with makemdl.exe (FS9 gamepack) to create a model for FSX?
 
Apologies ... the material editor in FSDS will have similar colour properties ... the name "Blinn" is not important, and as correctly surmised this is the standard Gmax material.

The principle is what is important ... ie it is better not to use simple coloured materials, because they invoke a new drawcall for each one. Use variation within a texture instead.

This applies whether you are using Gmax, FSDS, 3DSMax, Sketchup or Blender!!
 
Hi JP

To try and answer your original question YES you can set FSDS to MakeMDL (FS9) and then set colours in the material editor and then install the FS9 object into FSX and the colours will show properly.
If you send me the object you made that turned black I will be happy to take peek to see if I can find what went wrong.

H_Farfy:D
farfy2@gmail.com
 
Hi Guys.

JP and I have been working on this problem for the last few days and more help is needed.

I wanted to test his FSDS and MakeMDL compilers, and how he was making his objects.

So he sent me a FSC file of an object that he had put a colour on and I compiled it and it working in both FS9 and FSX.

Next I sent him a BGL file of an object the I made with MakeMDL with a red material he saw it black, just to make sure it was fine I sent it to a couple other friends they had a red object.

Next he sent me two BGL files one of an object made with Xtomdl and one made with MakeMDL, both object display correctly on my FSX and the MakeMDL also show correctly on FS9.

So he is making the object correctly and his FSDS and compilers seem to be working correctly

But on his machine the one made with MakeMDL shows black the one made with Xtomdl has the colours he has set.

He does not have FS9 so we could not test the difference between FSX and FS9 but I do not think that is the problem, I think it must be something to do with his video card or drivers I do not know enough about these thing so I was hopping one of you guys may have some thoughts on what to do next?

One more note if he puts a texture on the object made with MakeMDL it works fine, it is just if he uses the Material editor to add a colour.

H_Farfy:D
 
Last edited:
Farfy found the solution!

SP2 must be installed on FSX to display material colors on a MakeMDL compiled oject.

Thanks Scott!
 
Last edited:
Your Very welcome, glad to help.:D

I sometime forget that not everyone is running SP2
It was my Buddy jyarddog that got me thinking about it.

H_Farfy:D
 
Just for to close the post, I want to use MakeMDL for FSX because I want to control some animations.

Thanks to all of you!
 
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