Eagle114th

I looked for it, couldn't find it. From now on, if I can't find anything, I will post the questions here. Thank you for the head up, sir!

Thank you for the advice too! This is the video that lead me into exploring the different methods of extracting or 'merging' the camo into an existing texture by using GMP 2. As stated above, PSP and GIMP 2 works differently.

Thank you for the advice. I will keep that in the mind. Just to share what I have learned: In order, for me to get the panel (line, rivets, etc), this is what I do: 1) Use saturation to turn shades of colors into white - grey - black colors 2) use "Color to alpha" to make all most color go invisible, except for lines , rivets, and panels. 3) Add the colors to any unique panels that needs coloring. 4) Do my best to make the 'dark' background go alpha as possible, so it won't darken the camo I create. If not possible, then do this; Use erase and soft circle shape with air spray, make it 20 percent or so transparent and lightly erase the 'darken' area to make it go fully transparent as possible. And for the weathering part, I use small erase (air spray) to clean and have it 'merge' into the new texture / camo from top (as layer). I would like to request for your advice too. What do you do, in order, to extract the panel, line, rivet, etc from the user's camo without the available templates?

Hello everyone, After getting used to the making camo on aircraft by using templates; I decided to go for the aircraft that doesn't have the templates. At first, it was very challenging. It was very interesting experiences going through the intense research, trial and errors, finding out how to 'merge' the camo into already-painted aircraft in SPF2. I wanted to add F-86F-2 to Dhimar for the mod project. NOTE: I am adding all the people who made the mods to the credit part, including KAW campaign mod. I am going to request the permission for using it in the big project too. After researching about 'merging' the camo into already painted camo by using PSP (I use GIMP 2), I decided to give it a try. Using GIMP 2 works differently, compared to what was shown by using PSP in the tutorial video. Took me several attempts to get it working. What made it work is using different techniques for two types of shades: 1) White - Grey - Black only 2) Any colors besides white - gray - black Just for your info, "Burn" method does not work in GIMP 2 well, so instead, use Multiply and Pin Light methods. They work depending on the situations. This is KAW F-86F-2, big respect goes to everyone who poured many hours making this aircraft and camo. I flew her often in KAW and enjoy seeing this camo. Here is Dhimar F-86F-2 with new strips (replaced it with dark navy blue of Dhimar): Now here is the second (different) camo:

Everyone, thank you for all the supports and advice! It has been humble experiences learning about painting many specific parts and make it detailed as possible. I also learned how to align the camo by using LODViewer. That tool is definitely godsend! We owe a huge thanks to the author of LODviewer! (NOTE: I am working on imported version of IDF Mirage IIICJ for Dhimar. I am working on a big mod project with a small team. At once when I am done with the camo, I will change the decals. For now, I am happy with the camouflage. It took me a whole day to find the techniques to align the camouflage. It is indeed, a tricky work at first.

That is noted. From now on, I will go with .JPG format, unless for any reasons, some files needs .BMP. I am finally able to use any higher quality camo (2048 x 2048) for Dhimar and Paran projects.

I changed the option as suggested in your post, I still face the same 'black texture' problems. Here is screenshot of what I set in options: NOTE: Just in case, anyone is wondering. My recent added SF2 installation doesn't include my new SF2 screen overhaul. My main SF2 installation does have it. This is just a quick copy of SF2 for testing camo and other items quickly. The result: UPDATE: After doing some testing, this is what I found out: By using bmp. file, SFP2 can run up to 1024 x 1024. HOWEVER, if using .jpg file, can use 2048 x 2048 or 4096 x 4096. Which do you consider to be the best quality? 1024 x 1024 by using .bmp OR 4096 x 4096 using .jpg The reason why I ask is that from what I learned, by using .jpg, the quality of image is reduced.

That is noted. Just a quick question, my video card is NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 with 8 GB video memory. Is that enough to run SF2 with 2048 x 2048 or higher resolution?

Thank you for the reply. This is very strange because this is what I have in Paran Camo texture folder in MiG-15Bis folder: I also have textureset.ini and decals.ini included. What I did while creating a new camo is copying an existing MiG-15Bis texture folder, then replace all .bmp files with my new camo in 2048 x 2048 resolution. Here are the codes from textureset:ini NOTE: For now I set the Nation to Soviet for testing camo. [TextureSet] Name=Paran Desert Nation=Soviet StartDefaultDate=1 Specular=1.000000 Glossiness=0.500000 Reflection=0.800000 DecalNumberRandomize=TRUE Then I ran SFP2, MiG-15Bis is all black. I also deleted all TexturesetXXX codes in MiG-15Bis.ini file. Still black texture problems in SPF2. However, I reduced the quality of texture from 2048 x 2048 to 1024 x 1024, then it started showing the texture in-game. This is confusing, why won't 2048 x 2048 or higher work in SPF2. I am still tweaking around MiG-15Bis to see what else I am missing.

OMG I MISSED THIS! I did not realize I had two position code. I fixed it by removing one of them and now it appears in-game! I am noting this: 1) ALWAYS make sure RLE Compression is unchecked 2) ALWAYS check for any duplicated codes

I am unable to find the tutorial on modifying or replacing national decal. There are two nations I want to replace decal. At the same time, there are a few nations I want to add into the game and add their decals too. I can't seem to find the tutorials on it. So may I ask for the advice on this? I am working on interesting projects which requires me to do this. Cheers!

Yes, I made sure to uncheck RLE compression. I will re-open it, re-export it without RLE compression again, just to make sure. UPDATE: Turns out it still won't work. I re-exported and made sure "RLE Compression" is unchecked. It still won't work. If it is okay, I am uploading the file here, so you can look at the file. _DPE.rar (NOTE: DPE stands for Dhilar and Paran Expansion)

I need advice on this. There is decal that is not working in SFP2. Here is codes in decals for the tail: [Decal001] MeshName=fuselage_P DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=RIGHT FilenameFormat=Mirage3C\Paran\Paran_Insig Position=1.50,0.10 Rotation=0.0 Scale=1.0 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal002] MeshName=fuselage_P DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=LEFT FilenameFormat=Mirage3C\Paran\Paran_Insig Position=1.50,0.10 Rotation=0.0 Scale=1.0 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal003] MeshName=outer_wing_L DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=TOP FilenameFormat=Mirage3C\Paran\Paran_Insig Position=-3.00,-3.01 Rotation=0.0 Scale=1.0 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal004] MeshName=outer_wing_R DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=TOP FilenameFormat=Mirage3C\Paran\Paran_Insig Position=3.00,-3.01 Rotation=0.0 Scale=1.0 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal005] MeshName=tail DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=BOTTOM FilenameFormat=Mirage3C\Paran\Paran_Insig Position=0.0,-5.5 Rotation=0.0 Scale=1.0 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal006] MeshName=tailfin DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=LEFT FilenameFormat=Mirage3C\Paran\Paran_flag Position=0.0,-5.5 Position=-5.05,1.63 Rotation=0.0 Scale=1.4 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal007] MeshName=tailfin DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=RIGHT FilenameFormat=Mirage3C\Paran\Paran_flag Position=0.0,-5.5 Position=-5.05,1.63 Rotation=0.0 Scale=1.4 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal008] MeshName=rudder DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=LEFT FilenameFormat=RudderStripes Position=-5.85,1.43 Rotation=0.0 Scale=1.1 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal009] MeshName=rudder DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=RIGHT FilenameFormat=RudderStripes Position=-5.85,1.43 Rotation=0.0 Scale=1.1 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal010] MeshName=tail DecalLevel=2 DecalFacing=RIGHT FilenameFormat=GenericEuro2Num Position=-4.80,0.00 Rotation=0.0 Scale=0.8 DecalMaxLOD=2 [Decal011] MeshName=tail DecalLevel=2 DecalFacing=LEFT FilenameFormat=GenericEuro2Num Position=-4.80,0.00 Rotation=0.0 Scale=0.8 DecalMaxLOD=2 [Decal012] MeshName=fuselage_front DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=RIGHT FilenameFormat=Mirage3C\Paran\Paran_Name_Insig Position=4.55,-0.33 Rotation=0.0 Scale=3.0 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal013] MeshName=fuselage_front DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=LEFT FilenameFormat=Mirage3C\Paran\Paran_Name_Insig Position=4.6,-0.33 Rotation=0.0 Scale=3.0 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal014] MeshName=tailfin DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=LEFT FilenameFormat=Mirage3C\Paran\RPPAF_Insig Position=0.0,-5.5 Position=-5.0,1.15 Rotation=0.0 Scale=1.4 DecalMaxLOD=3 [Decal015] MeshName=tailfin DecalLevel=0 DecalFacing=RIGHT FilenameFormat=Mirage3C\Paran\RPPAF_Insig Position=0.0,-5.5 Position=-5.0,1.15 Rotation=0.0 Scale=1.4 DecalMaxLOD=3 // Killmarks [Decal016] MeshName=fuselage_P DecalLevel=3 DecalFacing=LEFT FilenameFormat=kill Position=2.50,0.00 Rotation=0.0 Scale=1.0 DecalMaxLOD=3 You can see the codes 006, 007, 014 and 015 for tailfin. It show up in LODViewer: But it does not show up in SPF2 (Tailpin) What can I do to fix this problem? Thank you and cheers.

That is noted. Using LOD Viewer really saved my time a lot. I am able to work on Mirage III C new camo and align everything well. Here is screenshot (WIP) of Paran Mirage IIIC:

May I ask for advice on this? I am having problems loading .ini Mirage IIIC with LOD viewer. After trying to load MIrage IIIC .ini, it kept stating "Could not load LOD file: Mirage_III_C.LOD Is it because SF2 LOD is not shown in directory, due to being locked in SF2? UPDATE: Never mind! I was looking around the setting, saw the part where I need to point program to SF2 main fodler for .cat files. Now it is working perfectly! Now I need to learn the commands for changing the view for aircraft. This is awesome!

Sir, thank you. I was thinking about this one. I haven't tried it yet. I will check it out right away! While I was working on Dhimar's new skin for F-100D, I was constantly loading the mission in SF2, in order, to check the skin. That was time-consuming...

I FINALLY did it, I learned how to do the basic camouflage painting (by using spray mode in GIMP), sorted the layers (Thank to templates), added new items as a new layer, and created new symbols and texts arts as .TGA. I still need to learn the tricks of combining and aligning camos when applying it on separated sections of wings, like F-100 as an example. Advice on this is much appreciated, as mentioned above. By the way, here are screenshots: (Note: Still in 1024 x 1024 version. I will need to learn how to apply 2048 x 2048 version though.)

I finally understand how F-100D texture is set. There are two sections of wing (which makes it tricky to merge camo. So I avoid that for now unless I learn the tricks of doing it. I want to ask for the advice on this part. For now, only applied camo on inner wing surface while aligning it with fuselage's camo. (I copied the fuselage camo and pasted as a new layer, then aligned it next to the inenr wing as reference for camo painting.) It is all thanks to the templates that made this possible. I am quite happy with how it is looking so far. I still am working on the tail of F-100D while figuring out how to apply new nation's decal. (Note: this is in 1024 x 1024 format for now. I'll save it as 2048 at once I am done with the tail area.)

Wrench, the template really helped A LOT! I am able to only focus on the base skin, then apply another layers on top of it. This is my very first attempt of creating a new camo for F-100D. I only created new camo for main body of F-100D. i will work on the wings now.

Your advice on GIMP is much appreciated! For now, I am thinking on how to start. I want to skin F-100 as a starting aircraft for my big project (Dhimar vs Paran). I designed new national symbols / flags for them. Now the next step is to create new skin, and then apply new decals. I am going to start virtually paint F-100 blue / white camo (Dhimar). From what I understand, it is practical to create multi-layers from F-100. From what I Have learned a bit from past, it is ideal to separate each item on a multi layer: (Always feel free to correct me if I am wrong on anything. ) - rivets / line - main external parts (separated from internal parts) - More ideal to also separate upper and lower part for upper and lower camo Now my questions are , what is the best way to separate each parts from the texture? that is where I am at now. May I ask for your advice on this,?

Thank you sir! Your encouraging words are appreciated! About the software, I am using both GIMP 2 and paint.net. Which one do you recommend the most?

I always wanted to learn how to skin. I am not quite skilled with it yet. I still need to learn the tricks on how to cut the certain part of the texture and change the colors or paint over it. What I understand is that it is heavily based on creating the multi layers in gimp 2 or paint.net. From what I understand about the usage of multi-layers, one of layer for dots and line, another for camo, and next for untouched part like inside, tires, etc. You know what, I'll give it a try! I will look for the tutorials on how to skin aircraft properly.

That is noted. As soon I get new a new out, I'll post it here. I have been working on designing new decals. It turns out that I don't only want to design new GUI for SF2, I also want to design new decal and other 2D graphics. I'll post screenshot as soon I get it working in SF2. Cheers!

Thank you for the advice! This helps a lot! I have one more question about nation_Insig, do I place them in flight folder where the nation.ini is in too?

If time permits, I can help with .ini editing or graphic designs (from GUI to any kind of 2D graphic).