payaso

I have been working on a big headache called skin customization. Here's a little background- I wanted to create a skin that would represent the plastic model I have been building (F-8E with the colorful VF-194 CAG markings) so I scanned the decal sheet, saved it as a JPEG, and then started the editing process of cutting out each individual marking and converting it to tga format. I couldn't get them to display correctly, and in some cases not at all, so I sought advice. I was told to add an alpha channel so that they would display correctly, but once I did that, I saw NOTHING. So here's my question- can the markings be created from an existing JPEG, or do they have to be created from scratch in a graphics design editor program such as Photoshop, GIMP or paint.net? and if I can, in fact, create markings from the original JPEG, can someone tell me how? Thanks.

Well, as noted above, a re-download of the f-8d file did the trick for the install. However, now I get thrown out of WOV whenever I try to launch it in single mission, MIG-CAP 1967. I tried MSConfig (running XP, btw) and disabling all non-MS stuff, same effect. So I downloaded DirectX updates, thinking that might do it- no dice. I try to begin the mission, no 'loading' screen, I just get thrown out and exited from WOV altogether. No failures in the app log, nothing. WXP, Intel Core2 2.33G, 4Gb RAM, Mobile Intel 945GM video chipset. Any ideas?

I'm trying to get the F-8D intstalled but when I run it, I get the following error: 'ce fichier dontient des donnees invalides.' Babelfish looks like something to the effect of 'the document contained invalid data'. has anyone seen this? If so, does anyone have any advice on getting it on? THX-

HOAs are a joke, unless the person(s) running them is a sitting judge or some other person in a position to abuse personal power. My father-in-law sent a very cordial but succinct letter to the HOA in his neighborhood when they tried to tell him that having a basketball goal installed in the front yard was against code- he displayed precedent around the neighborhood for installed athletic equipment, and then ignored them henceforth. So I say forget 'em- they can take time and material of their own to remedy their issue with your paint.

http://cid-d67fe089a48c5271.skydrive.live....wse.aspx/skins/ again, big ups to Saganuay82 as the Canadian of choice over Labatt's, Moosehead, Molson, and yellow snow. (Come to think of it, aren't they ALL yellow snow? )

OK I pestered enough people for help with this so here goes... big props to mppd and Saganuay82 for explaining tga manipulation in a way I could understand. Not particularly proud of my rudder job but I gave it my best with eyeball and mspaint. Last hangup is a/c numbers on ailerons. I have no idea of the meshname for the F-8E under WoV- any untapped genius out there who knows? http://cid-d67fe089a48c5271.skydrive.live....8E_VF194CAG.exe

in terms of vertical_stabilizer... yep- if you check out the actual tail decals, right and left, you'll see that it covers both the area of the stabilizer itself and the rudder. I could not get the rudder to display that portion of the decal to save my life, that's why I free-handed the paint over the bitmap. If you are saying that I should just copy those positions and put them over the mesh areas currently defined as 'rudder', I will try it. As to the CVW insignia- that's pretty much all there is to it even on the original, unless I'm missing something- it's mostly transparent. So far it looks nice in game action.

OK well, the silence was deafening so I checked it out myself. I'm not sure what happened but I might have lost all my alpha channel stuff on compression. Let's see what happens now- please, someone let me know if it looks like a bunch of nothing. http://cid-d67fe089a48c5271.skydrive.live....8E_VF194CAG.zip

thanks- that sounds really workable. I will be working in Photoshop 9 and will re-do the decals- I already saved the original JPEG sheet to TGA format so the rest should be academic. I appreciate your advice, both of you!

Ok I tried my first attempt at skin creation, based on decals I had scanned/photoshopped from an existing model kit. And...well, here's the sad story. Anyone who can provide any guidance, let me know and I will post a zipfile of the decals and decals.ini. thanks in advance for your thoughts.

allrighteythen... I added an alpha channel to all the tga files, after a little PS and Google love. So now they seem to act like the rest of the items in the Decals folder. but now... I get a bird that looks like it just got back from NARF rework, instead of sporting squadron colors. In other words, it's blank. Can somebody please address any snags with my decals.ini? You will be a hero. THX [Decal001] MeshName=fuselage_P DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=LEFT FilenameFormat=Insignia Position=3.857,0.042 Rotation=0.0 Scale=2.0 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal002] MeshName=fuselage_P DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=RIGHT FilenameFormat=Insignia Position=3.857,0.042 Rotation=0.0 Scale=2.0 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal003] MeshName=wing_left_outer DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=TOP FilenameFormat=Insignia Position=-4.361,-3.6 Rotation=30.0 Scale=2.0 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal004] MeshName=wing_right_inner DecalLevel=2 DecalFacing=TOP FilenameFormat=F-8E\VF194CAG\D\WINGNO Position=1.30,-1.0 Rotation=-35.0 Scale=0.7 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal005] MeshName=wing_right_outer DecalLevel=2 DecalFacing=TOP FilenameFormat=F-8E\VF194CAG\D\NM Position=2.40,-0.1 Rotation=-35.0 Scale=0.7 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal006] MeshName=fuselage_P DecalLevel=2 DecalFacing=RIGHT FilenameFormat=F-8E\VF194CAG\D\rhno Position=7.65,0.15 Scale=1.0 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal007] MeshName=fuselage_P DecalLevel=2 DecalFacing=LEFT FilenameFormat=F-8E\VF194CAG\D\lhno Position=6.4,0.01 Scale=1.0 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal008] MeshName=fuselage_tail DecalLevel=2 DecalFacing=LEFT FilenameFormat=F-8E\VF194CAG\D\Ser Position=-4.72,-0.25 Scale=0.5 DecalMaxLOD=4 [Decal009] MeshName=fuselage_tail DecalLevel=2 DecalFacing=Right FilenameFormat=F-8E\VF194CAG\D\Ser Position=-4.72,-0.25 Scale=0.5 DecalMaxLOD=4 [Decal010] MeshName=fuselage_tail DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=LEFT FilenameFormat=F-8E\VF194CAG\D\svc Position=-4.65,0.12 Rotation=0.0 Scale=1.7 DecalMaxLOD=2 [Decal011] MeshName=fuselage_tail DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=RIGHT FilenameFormat=F-8E\VF194CAG\D\svc Position=-4.65,0.12 Rotation=0.0 Scale=1.7 DecalMaxLOD=2 [Decal012] MeshName=vertical_stabilizer DecalLevel=2 DecalFacing=LEFT FilenameFormat=F-8E\VF194CAG\D\NML000 Position=-4.600,1.625 Scale=3.0 DecalMaxLOD=4 [Decal013] MeshName=rudder DecalLevel=1 DecalFacing=LEFT FilenameFormat=F-8E\VF194CAG\D\NML000 Position=-6.42,2.26 Rotation=0.0 Scale=3.0 DecalMaxLOD=4 [Decal014] MeshName=detail_001 DecalLevel=1 DecalFacing=LEFT FilenameFormat=F-8E\VF194CAG\D\NML000 Position=-6.42,2.26 Rotation=0.0 Scale=3.0 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal015] MeshName=vertical_stabilizer DecalLevel=2 DecalFacing=RIGHT FilenameFormat=F-8E\VF194CAG\D\NMR000 Position=-4.600,1.625 Rotation=0.0 Scale=3.0 DecalMaxLOD=4 [Decal015] MeshName=rudder DecalLevel=1 DecalFacing=RIGHT FilenameFormat=F-8E\VF194CAG\D\NMR000 Position=-6.42,2.26 Rotation=0.0 Scale=3.0 DecalMaxLOD=4 [Decal016] MeshName=detail_001 DecalLevel=1 DecalFacing=RIGHT FilenameFormat=F-8E\VF194CAG\D\NMR000 Position=-6.42,2.26 Rotation=0.0 Scale=3.0 DecalMaxLOD=3 also zipped and attached the decals, minus one vert stab that would have pushed me over max attachment size d.rar.

well, it might have potential of some sort... but as to giving the ability to point and click on any region of a WoV LOD file, either I haven't figured it out yet, or it is generally unwieldy. In addition for example, I can't get a LOD model to display right side up in proper flight attitude, and haven't found a way to do so. All I really want to do is get a general indication of scale/coordinates so that I can do a decals.ini with a decent degree of accuracy. If anyone has any ideas I would appreciate it.

a little like attacking with 7.62mm mini, I would imagine...

thanks for that... turns out I already had KMD so I took the easy way and selected F-105D-31 as an instant action mount and got to 'Vulcanize' a Fresco-C. post-dogfight, it's kind of analogous to WWII dogfighting with a BF-110- nice firepower, better power on demand, but kind of a barn door to swing around in the sky.

I, too, have a question on what would be involved in mission creation/modification for WoV, specifically. I don't know how many others are willing to fling a D-model Thud around in air-to-air mode, but seeing as how a goodly number of NVA fighters were downed by 105s in the early years, I would love to try my hand at it. So far the only default mission modes involve mud moving, recon, and CAS. And if memory serves, the bulk of those were gun kills. Anyone here know if such a mission exists, or where to start in creating one? THX