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Make 4k Metallic maps just for this effect?


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Hey Painters (and Simmers too...just know the painters can appreciate the dilemma I'm facing here) :)

I'm working with the metallic maps and adding a sparkle effect seen on the real American airlines special metallic paint.. you only really see this effect close up.

when you use the default 2k map size...the sparkle effect gets too ragged and does not look good at all...however, at 4k (4096x4096)...it looks like this:

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I left the effect on the Eagle logo as the blue really shows the effect nicely (I'll remove it as I did on the American text when I decide if I'm using this effect).

 

As this distance....the effect is quite striking and is very similar to how I see it on the real AA planes I frequently ride on.

 

However....when you move away to this distance...the effect is hardly noticeable...

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if the filesize didn't jump from 4097kb (4mb) to over 16,000kb (16MB) there would be no decision...hehe.

The filesize jump does NOT effect the performance that I can notice...nor the loading time too much...but I have not tested it extensively too tell you for sure.

If it were only one file it would not be a huge deal...but you have to alter 3 texture maps (4 if you add the vertical tail map which doesnt really benefit from this effect as its vertical angle never really sees the same sun angle as the fuse).

 

So....what do you guys think?  add the effect to this paint or not?

 

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  • Aerosoft

I think it does not affect the sim a lot because P3d renders a lot of those textures down to lower resolution. 
Do check the load on the GPU memory to be sure it makes sense. A lot of users are pretty close to maxed out there. 

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7 minutes ago, steve dra said:

So....what do you guys think?  add the effect to this paint or not?

 

It looks incredible as an optional set of replaceable files maybe?  If there were other options for this livery I wouldn't assume to ask, but i would be disappointed to find my mediocre system could not run the fx if there was no other option. Great work though really impressive.  

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3 hours ago, Mathijs Kok said:

I think it does not affect the sim a lot because P3d renders a lot of those textures down to lower resolution. 
Do check the load on the GPU memory to be sure it makes sense. A lot of users are pretty close to maxed out there. 

Hey Mathijs,

I completely agree...i've seen it happen before (textures re-rendered down).

On this texture map however, P3D is reading and displaying the full texture....I checked it out....

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You can see when i manually down-sized the texture to 2k,,,it lost almost all its "sparkles" :)

I actually started at the normal 2k texture size (not being a fan of upscaling textures when not needed)...and the Gaussian noise pattern I put on the alpha channel to make this effect was horrible....so you see the 4k version above, and then a re-scaled 2k version (with almost all the sparkle absorbed into the re-scaling process in Photoshop.  The original 2k version is since gone...but trust me...i would not release it in that state)

 

 The load on the GPU is negligible as its only 3 of the many maps that I'm up-scaling....and the content of the maps are gray-scale only (256 shades of gray vs 65,000 colors of a normal map) so that helps reduce the GPU load significantly as well.

The only issue is that it slightly increases the size of the download file for our simmers...but that's not a big of a problem as it used to be....besides...I've seen painters up-scale ALL the maps in their paints....UGH!  I'd never do that....who needs a 4k rendering of the hydraulic lines in the main gear bay that you ONLY see when the gear is down and you happen to be under the plane? LoL

 

This effect will also be nice on any livery having a silver'ish paint. :)

 

@samwise7 I think these textures would run about the same on your system....just compare it to other A330 paints out there that have 4k textures (You'll know because the file size will be huge compared to other liveries)

 

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3 hours ago, samwise7 said:

It looks incredible as an optional set of replaceable files maybe?  If there were other options for this livery I wouldn't assume to ask, but i would be disappointed to find my mediocre system could not run the fx if there was no other option. Great work though really impressive.  

 

I've decided I'm going to set the main metallic textures to 4k..... Just let me know when I upload the livery if its too sluggish on your system when you try it out(I don't think it will be)...and I'll send you a new set of re-sized textures and then upload an alternate set for all users with medicore systems.

It's hard for me to judge because I have a pretty beefy system (8700k and a Titan 12GB video card).

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1 hour ago, steve dra said:

 

I've decided I'm going to set the main metallic textures to 4k..... Just let me know when I upload the livery if its too sluggish on your system when you try it out(I don't think it will be)...and I'll send you a new set of re-sized textures and then upload an alternate set for all users with medicore systems.

It's hard for me to judge because I have a pretty beefy system (8700k and a Titan 12GB video card).

Very kind of you Steve.  that's what I meant by "medicore" (mediocre)😃   I'm still running a i7 gen4 (4790k) and an 6gb 1060.  And you are right by the way, I've already installed liveries comparable in size.  

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5 hours ago, Bigt said:

Is this livery close? Looks great, regardless of which texture set you use.

Hehe...close is a relative term in a painter's world.

 

Especially with a paint that has "special" qualities (like this darned metallic paint).

And the base color is extremely hard to match off internet photos since a metallic paint is HIGHLY susceptible to the background lighting, time of day, haze, cloud coverage.....AND...YOUR HDR settings (off/on...strength of effects, etc)....angle of the sun in the sim, time of day, season (as hues are different becuse of the sun's relitive position)...your plane's location on the earth, PTA installed or no...what settings....Evenshade, Tomato shade...you know...just a FEW things that affect the color you see. :)

 

Its a good thing I live in Dallas...home of American Airlines and I've flown and been close to the planes in real life a lot so I have an idea of what the "real" color, hue, color temperature, chromatic deviation ...etc is...Hehe.

 

I promise you the color I settle on will look as close as it can on MY system with MY settings.  I will guarantee it will look different on yours.

 

Anyway....the purpose of my diatribe about color as it relates to your question:  I have spent HOURS testing every imaginable shade of the color that is American Airlines (starting the journey off with the OFFICIAL color they list in their branded literature).....and I think I have it as close as it will get (on MY machine which the screenshot below is based on of course)...oh...and to let everyone know...using the official color does NOT work in flightsim....ever.   Call it the difference between the real word and ours :)

You can see i use the different maps to see the difference in my changes....the front section is the color I think is closest (but still adjusting and will make a final decision when I get it on the whole plane)...the grayish mid section was at least 10 changes ago and just one of the gray versions I was close to saying looked good....but up against the blueish tint...I think that is closer....may make it a bit lighter, LOL (I could probably adjust the color for forever and not be totally satisfied)

 

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See the dilemma?

 

Right next to each other....BOTH look good....torn now and I'm leaning towards the gray  (matching the color of my last few hairs I haven't pulled out doing this paint!) 

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I'll work on the tail texture while you guys chime in and tell me which one...and if the color needs a slight adjustment.

Help me decide guys

 

 

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Lol. Personally, I prefer the one on the top (background) better. But, in all honesty, once in the sim, I'd be fine with either. I'll just be glad to have an American Airlines paint.

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vor 12 Stunden , Bigt sagte:

Lol. Personally, I prefer the one on the top (background) better. But, in all honesty, once in the sim, I'd be fine with either. I'll just be glad to have an American Airlines paint.

 

Yes, I agree! I would also prefer the one in the background.

 

Greetings

Tim

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14 hours ago, steve dra said:

See the dilemma?

 

Right next to each other....BOTH look good....torn now and I'm leaning towards the gray  (matching the color of my last few hairs I haven't pulled out doing this paint!) 

 

I'll work on the tail texture while you guys chime in and tell me which one...and if the color needs a slight adjustment.

Help me decide guys

 

 

 

The grey around the second door and forward in the top sample seems to give the texture much more depth in my opinion. Might be placebo effect but I think it makes the fuse look more rounded in comparison to the lower sample. 

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I prefer the top one, but regardless an awesome repaint

 

Not sure if the paint kit and model will allow this, but will the leading edges of the wings have the brushed/sort-of polished metal finish seen on American A333s? It's a minor thing but one of the things I thought was really cool about the American A333 wings. Not sure if it was by design or just wear, don't see it on their A332 wings

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I went with a complex gradient paint and was able to apply some techniques to the alpha maps so they'd look presentable at 2k.

The flat color...no matter if it was a shade of blue, gray, blue-gray.....simply did not turn out right when I viewed it at all angles in the sim.

I think the options I settled on came out ok....

 

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Its in the library now if you want it. 

 

CLICK HERE for Direct Link to download.

 

 

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