[REQUEST] Skin Templates / 3D Overlay
 

A simple request to Maddox Games:

Can you please provide us with skin templates for the aircraft which contain the 3D model overlaid to show the exact mapping? It would immensely help skinning. Thx. :)

+1 But i think there are other things that FIRST need their attention and time!

Winger

There are some for the Tiggie and others in the Skins folders already. None for the 109's etc though. The person who did the skins is unlikely to be writing code too, so posting basic template maps shouldn't be an unreasonable request. In the meantime, a dedicated soul might be able to extrapolate one based on a bit of trial and error and referring to typical placement on existing models. Something to do while waiting for playable improvements.

True but it doesn't mean a texture guy is of much use for code optimization. ;)

nice to see you back Csthor. You did some excellent skins for IL2 earlier. Can't wait to see what you come up with now :)

Not much I'm afraid. Just wishing to enhance the available skins for the german units a bit. If I want to be creative nowadays I'm going into my modelling cellar and fiddle with my model tanks. ;)

hmm still no reply :(

I have to be honest and say it is a very valid request.

When skinning the models in Wings of Prey, Gaijin gave access to the Templates including the UV Map and this helped find areas on the skins that caused issues.

I hope the Devs. see sense and allow the UV Mapping to be included with an official released template.

The WoP example can be seen attached.

Cheers, MP

well with that type template you can produce a very high rez and high quality skin, I'd love to see what the likes of guys like cannon etc could do with those means.

I should have added, that the original Template I made the screen-grab from above, was 2048x2048, but I reduced it for the Forums here. The detail levels are brilliant, along with the Alpha and Gamma layers, which, as I understand it that CloD has the same available?

Cheers, MP

Do you mean layouts like this?

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...M-overlay0.jpg

Original DDS layers are easy to get by yourself using Kegety's extractor tool. Makes skinning much less of a hit and miss affair.

can DDS be opened in PS, also how would you take away the grey layer to reveal just the rivits and machanical layers

by knwing what your doing with the tools :). my template has all that bigpickle. i have taken all the textures and taken all the information necessary to produce your own weathering, panel and rivett detail.

btw guys, you dont need the alpha layers. all you actually need for a skin is the colouring specified. this is not the same process as skinning any other game. shader implementation behind this is really well thought out. and 1C have given you exactly all you need. so no point in asking for this. the 3d model would be good though ! photoshop 3d model would be perfect. however the MSH files will be available at some stage. its a common mesh format.

The dds layer is transparent in the game. It is grey when I convert to a simple jpeg though. DDS files can be opened in PS. Do a google search for DDS plugins if it doesn't work out of the box.

the DDS is grey, and not transparent. the ingame shader system which is part of the dynmaic weathering system probaly uses the alpha channel for the transparency.

i wouldnt start messing with kegety's skin method guys. be content with the genuine skinning system.

Listen up, we skinners know what we need and that is UVW information for every plane that there is, simple as that.

Almost all smaller mesh parts are not referenced on the dds files because they are covered in the base colour without an outline or some sort of preshading on the texture. Therefor the only way to find them is trial and error, which I am doing right now for the Bf.108 and is very tiresome and time consuming, or 1C would get their community support to actually work and provide us with the UVW maps for all planes.

you understand how the overlay system works regards the parts we dont need to paint on because of the overlay right ? this is what you have. probally the best your going to get tbh. As a skinner you might wana work this out for yourself.

i shall include these (there already there in a better format) in my templates in future.

all parts for mkIIa spitfire
http://i.imgur.com/pN8I6l.jpg
just the parts you paint for mkIIa spitfire.
http://i.imgur.com/DXLTDl.jpg

Oh dear...

This is not about the mechanical overlays...

Take the Bf 108 for example. The inner canopy frames, the pitot tube, roof handles, counter weights, spinner, oil cooler struts and tons more are just scattered on the texture map with NO REFERNCE as they are all painted in the base colour of your skin. That is why we need the UVW map to know where they are located.

Good luck finding those parts! lol.

Which is why I posted this example showing the UV overlay on the previous page, available to WoP skinners...it really is essential for the finery of skinning IMHO.

Cheers, MP

ive looked for those parts on the 108 and i can not find them. that was the first non flyable ive looked into tbh. im noticing theres not quite as much time and effort given to these non flyables. what i displayed last is good enough for all flyable aircraft where locating those pesky parts are concerned.

only way forward with this is to hope the uv mapping is attainable via the mesh files.

What files do you have for the Bf 108?