Generic Skin for 7./JG26 1945 Staffel

[Basco1]

Hi all,

 

 

Could some fine chap please make up a generic skin for the 7./Jg 26 Staffel of 1945,under the country of the 'Third Reich'so it can be used within the current 2.1 version of DCS Normandy.

 

 

The Staffel codes and gruppe bar in the b/w tailband were a reddish brown,and after studing some pictures of this Staffel the main overall colour looks like a very light eau de nil green with a camo applied of dark green,dark grey and brown.

 

 

Would like the skin with Swastikas please,to represent the real historical Fw190 D-9.

 

 

If this could be created it would be very appreciated,thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

I have uploaded some pictures as a reference.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2017 by Basco1

[JST]

"Generic" like a late Mimetall -built (500-series, like shown in profile pics, obviously without the Ta 152 tail) Dora with a JG26 band and a gruppe bar? No numbers?

[Basco1]

"Generic" like a late Mimetall -built (500-series, like shown in profile pics, obviously without the Ta 152 tail) Dora with a JG26 band and a gruppe bar? No numbers?

 

 

Hi JST,'Generic' in that you can use the skin to have various codes,ie using the numbers that you input in the editor.If your first aircraft was numbered 1,the next aircraft would be numbered 2,and so on.

 

 

This is so I could have a Staffel (9-12) aircraft utilising the same skin.

 

Would like to have the reddish brown colour for these numbers though,is that possible ?....but yes with the b/w tailband with the Gruppe bar in it.

 

 

Here's some more pics for reference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your reply buddy.

Edited July 14, 2017 by Basco1

[JST]

Well, here you go:

 

http://www.mediafire.com/file/6c2qx9bbg5umumt/7.JG26.7z

 

http://i.imgur.com/O7kDO9o.jpg

 

You have to edit description.lua to use numbers.

[LeCuvier]

You have to edit description.lua to use numbers.

I have downloaded your livery mod and would like to use it. I have spent some time looking at the .dds files in Photoshop and see that they relate to entries in description.lua. I have studied these items for various liveries but do not understand the logic. Where can I find an explanation?

Also, what needs to be edited in your description.lua?

 

PS: I would love to have a livery that Jochen Marseille used.

[JST]

Here's a quick explanation, hope it helps. Of course, ask if anything isn't clear.

 

 

The easiest way to make your own numbers is to pick up the default files and mod over them found in YourDCSFolder/CoreMods/WWII Units/FW-190D-9/Textures; from there you can unzip the files and grab one of the number files. The template is always the same, so which one is irrelevant.

 

Important to note is that the number files have an alpha channel (In which white = opaque/black = transparent and any gray shade in between to mix)

 

As it appears with the description.lua above:

 

The colour file, also:

[LeCuvier]

I have created the "fw_190_7jg26_number_red.tga.dds" in the .zip file as a copy of "fw-190_number_red.tga.dds".

I have modified the description.lua:

    {"FW-190_BORT_NUMBER", 0 ,"fw_190_7jg26_number_red",false};
       {"FW-190_BORT_NUMBER", DECAL ,"empty",true};
   {"FW-190_NUMBER_GB", 0 ,"empty",true};
       {"FW-190_NUMBER_GB", DECAL ,"empty",true}; 

But it doesn't show the tail number entered in ME.

What is wrong?

[JST]

Has to be named as "fw_190_7jg26_number_red.tga" in the .lua?

[Basco1]

Whoa !......this looks spot JST,will download and try this beauty out tonight,thank you very much buddy,1st Class mate.Love the mottling,superb.

[LeCuvier]

Has to be named as "fw_190_7jg26_number_red.tga" in the .lua?

I corrected the naming inconsistencies and removed the ".dds" from the file name in the description.lua.

But the plane still looks as in the screenshot. No number.

Then I thought that maybe the program didn't like the ".tga" in the file name and took that out. Now the file name is "fw_190_7jg26_number_red.dds" and the description.lua has:

    {"FW-190_BORT_NUMBER", 0 ,"fw_190_7jg26_number_red",false};
       {"FW-190_BORT_NUMBER", DECAL ,"empty",true};
   {"FW-190_NUMBER_GB", 0 ,"empty",true};
       {"FW-190_NUMBER_GB", DECAL ,"empty",true};        
}
name = "7./JG 26"
id = 0
countries = {
   "GER","NZG",
} 

But this has not fixed the problem. Any idea?

 

PS: I'm using the released version 1.5.7

[JST]

Number file is in the livery folder with all other related files, yes?

[LeCuvier]

Number file is in the livery folder with all other related files, yes?

OOPS! No I had added it into the zip file under "textures"...

I have now moved it into the folder "C:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\Bazar\Liveries\FW-190D9\7. JG 26" and hurrah! It works!

I will produce a little tutorial in Word format and post it for review.

Tausend Dank!

 

PS: you noted the importance of the Alpha channel in the .dds file.

I looked briefly into my Photoshop CS5 bible, and for now I understand that the concept is similar to layers and that it's a rather complex subject. Is there any practicall implication for using your mods? In other words, is it important for me to understand the subject in some depth?

[JST]

I don't know if .dds supports transparency, but it is quite simple if you compare between the regular RGB channel and alpha channel (Found in Channel tab). Black parts do not show up ingame, as they are 100% transparent, and white is the opposite.

 

This is important because the game reads the number files in blocks to pick out a number.

 

Any value between 0.0.0 and 255.255.255 is basically just an opacity slider ingame

[CHSubZero]

I don't know if .dds supports transparency

 

DDS supports transparency when saved as DXT3 or DXT5.

When saving as DXT1 the alpha channel will be dropped which results in everything visible like defined in the RGB channels.

 

I always save as DXT1 when the texture is not needing an alpha channel. This reduces the file size by 50%.

[JST]

The same way a .png would?

 

Good thing you mentioned saving with proper format, so the alpha channel is retained. Forgot myself.

[LeCuvier]

Draft Tutorial

 

@JST, please (if you have time) review the draft tutorial. I have written it for my own benefit but maybe others could benefit as well.

What I don't know is to which extent the process described in the document applies for custom liveries developed by others. Also, I wonder whether there is a significant difference for non-WWII planes.

Tutorial Custom Liveries for WWII Planes.pdf

[JST]

Looks fine, and will apply to most, if not any other plane for DCS.

 

Of course, newer planes don't have these ridiculous 4-way split textures, but the general idea of description.lua stays the same.