Texture files that are dds files, not bipmap

Hi. I have been searching for a QantasLink a320 AI texture and eventually found one in Juergen's Paint Hangar for a FAIB base model. However, it does not have the usual FAIB_a320_IAE_T and FAIB_a320_IAE_L bitmap files. It just has a single FAIB_a320_IAE_T dds file. Does that still work, or do I have to find some other files to make the texture show up? I've never come across a dds file before.

dds texture files are specific for FSX and are not compatable with FS9/FS2004 models.

 

Good luck with your further searches.

 

Hans

Hi Hans. Thanks for that clarification. I was not aware of that difference.

Nothing a conversion program won’t fix.

Here is a instruction for converting: http://kaese2002.blogspot.de/p/blog-page.html

Here is a instruction for converting: http://kaese2002.blogspot.de/p/blog-page.html

 

Hi. You must have read my mind! I was about to ask JSMR how to convert those dds files to bitmaps, and up pops your reply. Thanks. I am keen to try to convert them, because if that works then my problem is solved of finding scarce FS9 textures for certain airlines.

Hi guys. So I finally got around to converting an a320 texture from FSX to FS9, following the instructions at http://kaese2002.blogspot.de/p/blog-page.html, and after a bit of effort, I realised that I needed to download a programme called DXTbmp (that little detail escaped me for a while). I ended up with one bmp file (e.g. FAIB_A320_CFML_T), and felt pretty proud of myself...but then I remembered that a usual FS9 texture folder has two files: a xxxx_T file, and a xxxx_L file. Clearly I'm missing the L file. Does anyone know how I get that file?

If the original texture folder does not contain this _L file, then there are two possibilities:

 

1. The model is not lit at night.

2. The night texture is contained instead in a common folder, usually also in the plane's folder (all night textures for a given plane are usually identical). Sometimes this is specified in a texture.cfg file in the texture folder, but sometimes they are just placed in the main FS Texture folder.

Thanks, Tom. I've found an L file in the original FSX model (like you suggested) and I have converted it to a bmp file. Do I now have to follow the same procedures of alpha channels with the L file, like I did with the T file?

If the FSX example had an alpha channel, the FS9 version should have the same alpha channel.

Thanks, Tom. I'll give it a try.

Hi,

 

I read somewhere alpha channels work differently in FSX than in FS9.

 

I did a convert several months ago (FAIB livery for FSX) and I got an FS9 AI A320 with transparent fuselage.

So I exported the alpha from the old FS9 livery to import into the new one, problem solved.

The FSX alpha was black in places where the FS9 alpha was white.

 

Regards,

DDP.

Hi,

 

I read somewhere alpha channels work differently in FSX than in FS9.

 

I did a convert several months ago (FAIB livery for FSX) and I got an FS9 AI A320 with transparent fuselage.

So I exported the alpha from the old FS9 livery to import into the new one, problem solved.

The FSX alpha was black in places where the FS9 alpha was white.

 

Regards,

DDP.

 

Hi DDP. Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. When you say you used the "alpha from the old FS9 livery", were you referring to the alpha related to the T file or the L file in the old livery (or both)?

Hi,

 

I read somewhere alpha channels work differently in FSX than in FS9.

 

I did a convert several months ago (FAIB livery for FSX) and I got an FS9 AI A320 with transparent fuselage.

So I exported the alpha from the old FS9 livery to import into the new one, problem solved.

The FSX alpha was black in places where the FS9 alpha was white.

 

Regards,

DDP.

 

The FS9 and FSX alpha channels are reversed. If you set the alpha channel in FS9 to be black, in FSX it's reversed. It shows white.

If you see it as 255,255,255 in FS9, it needs to be set to 0,0,0 in FSX to get the same result.

 

Does this help at all?

Pat☺

Hi DDP. Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. When you say you used the "alpha from the old FS9 livery", were you referring to the alpha related to the T file or the L file in the old livery (or both)?

 

Hi,

 

Sorry for the late reply.

I'm reffering to the T file.

 

Regards,

DDP.