CoD disappointing in skinning matters!

[JG53Frankyboy]

Originally Posted by JG52Krupi

How do you select a skin in QMB, I can only change my armament.

you have to edit the mission in the FMB, select the skin - than the aircraft is loaded with the skin in the mission.
totaly weird, indeed

[Zorin]

I advice you all to check your cache folder. Within you will find the actual dds files of the skins you used during your last session. The dds files are 2.7MB each and there is also a bmp file of a single skin, in my case at least, that is 12MB.

Therefor I am pretty certain that the deal with the skin exchange during online battles will be based on the 150x150 res version of the dds file and only upscalled to 2048x2048 on the recievers end. That is why these skins should be strictly kept as pure camo schemes without any effects or additional markings, because they would look pretty crappy once upscalled and saved as a jpeg.

[Pierre@]

Please Zorin, where is the cache folder??

[bongodriver]

C:\Users\XXX\Documents\1C SoftClub\il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover\cache

I should note I have Win 7 64 bit, this may vary depending on windows version

[Pierre@]

Thanks bongodriver!

[Richie]

Originally Posted by Pierre@

I slightly modified "JG53_2.jpg" stock texture:

I knew the skinners would start up as soon as this thing came out. All this worry warting and sweating makes me laugh.

[BrassEm]

Interesting discussion,

If you’ve spent any sort of hours trying to paint up a good skin in the original IL-2, you should appreciate the effort put in by 1C into changing the texturing structure for COD. Long gone is the need to include all panel lines, weathering, stencils. Anyone who wants to make a skin can now make a simple texture without worrying about all the little details – they will be included automatically! The full effect will still not be realised until such time as we get aircraft with polished aluminium from the USAAF.

A comparison on the complexity...

Old IL-2 skin texture excluding damage and cockpit tga’s (1024x1024)

Historical Aircraft – Myskin.tga – User input –> All panel lines, weathering , stencils, lighting effects etc.

New IL-2 skin textures excluding damage and cockpit dds’s (2048x2048 )
– (And isn’t the cockpits and damage so much more defined in COD?);

Historical Aircraft – Myskin.jpg – User Input –> Paint scheme and individual markings.

Main – Diffuse, Normal, Overlay, Specular

Internals - Diffuse, Normal, Specular

Weathering – Diffuse, Specular

So finally we now have standard texture mapping as per any current fps game engine, but in a combat flight simulator.

For anyone to make a historical skin, all you have to do is create a jpg file with the basic colours and lettering, the rest is added in by the game engine. The jpg file format uses loss compression dependant on settings. That is why you see colour artefacts. I can understand the use of the jpg file format as the files go from 16MB down to around 500kb – a big factor in online skin synchronisation. Saving a jpg with no compression should reduce the corruption but increase the file size. (The Bright post processor created colour artefacts as well, if you look close enough).

I am sure that there will be copious amounts of excellent skins created. It just needs a place like the old IL2Skins.com to host them. I am far from disappointed with the progress 1c have made for skinners though.

Cheers,

[seiseki]

Originally Posted by Sauf

My 2 cent worth, I dont think the exhaust stains should be modeled in the weathering as surely the ground maintenence blokes gave em a tub every now and then, I like tattered looking aircraft but the dark black stain just dont do it for me Cant wait for the skinners to improve on it, hint hint start with the 109 please

There should be one slider for dirt and another one for weathering

[BrassEm]

Good point!

+1

(Exhaust stains are my biggest bug bear in any flight sim. Aerodynamic airflow sucks the exhaust close to the wings and fuselage, not up! Exhaust stains have different colours too depending on burn and are not all black! Keep the perspex clean...)

[Bakelit]

BrassEm:

You make some good points. Seeing specular maps back then in MS FS2004 and how you can create matte, semi matte and high gloss parts certainly gives many more options to the skinner. I am glad that system has "arrived" in Il2. Having panel lines as a fixed layer I also see the benefits of.

However two naggings stay with me at the moment:

1. A dedicated skinner will always be even more thorough than the best graphics department artist for whom a aircraft texture is a job. Is it a given that all panel lines of the models are correct so far?

2. When I buy a new sim with a seemingly superior new graphics system and the first look out of the canopy (BF109) has me seeing artifacted and blocky wing textures I get some severe doubts about the new system ...

Why is the default QMB BF109 skin not of a better quality after so many years to show off the new features and why can't you even choose half a dozen good ones (the selection not working)?

That to me is like having spelling mistakes in your company sign.