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[David Prosser]

Hi, cgagan. I've all but finished Bloody April. However, every time I try to start the campaign, I get the 'This career already exists' nonsense. It doesn't matter how often I delete the pilot, or change the .info, and campaign.ini It does the same thing. It runs through fine as a series of single missions though. A couple of times now, I've been on the verge of deleting it. I'm pretty sure it's just a problem with the .ini, or info properties.

cheers

David Prosser

[vpmedia]

Some new generic skins I'm working on based on the new template by Max:

[Ectoflyer]

Yes, I have tried to save the new default airplane skin with the name  skin1o.tgb  (at 4,00 Mb - exactly the same) with the Alpha channels box checked.
Forget it man  I have tried all sorts of tricks to make the default skin to have the machine-guns look proper with those holes in them and nothing is working withmy Photoshop.
It seems I have not found a better way to make Alpha-Channels for these skins yet  Poor me
There has to be a simpler way to create this but I have not found it yet.

Max, I noticed that your psd template is 24bpp, but usually the .tgas in plane folder are at 32bpp

When I want an alpha channel in a tga that have none, I make a copy of one of the channels, let's say the blue, than I rename it in Alpha 1, I totally repaint it in white and then I draw the transparent black parts.  Then save tga at 32bpp as usual, plus alpha unchecked

For the .tgb files, I temporarily change the extension: the skin1o.tgb becomes skin1o.tgb.tga so it can be opened by photoshop.  The work ended and saved, I rename it back to skin1o.tgb.

[vpmedia]

Maybe the alpha holes are not even enabled in the D.III mesh.
But what you want is with the machine guns is not doable because the alpha holes in the default skin are visible only when damaged. It will work with most other textures outside the summer folder, cockpit for example.
I think the MG's look very good as they are right now, even without alpha holes.

[David Prosser]

Hi,vpmedia. Are you doing any of those purple and green schemes?

cheers

David Prosser

[just champi]

Just to confirm, as Ectoflyer says, tgb needs to be 32 bits, 8 bits for each colour channel +8 bit for transparency, otherwise transparency doesn't show.

I also agree with vpmedia in two things: your MG looks very good as it is, and probably the problem is that the MAT material for that MG mesh was not intended to make use of a texture with alpha, so likely the material (Gloss1D0o, matt1D0o or whatever) it doesn't have the option activated to use the transparency layer (I think the option was tfalpha =1 or something similar).
If the MG uses a separate MAT only for it, maybe you can make active the alpha option without collateral damage.

(But I wonder if that MG jacket has internal faces. if not, then probably these internal faces will be rendered as a hole in there -if they are only 1sided-.but maybe not too much noticeable...)

I friendly disagree in that tgb alpha layer is only for damage holes (that's true) but you can have also structural holes in there (think in turrets or canopy alpha cuts, but also other types of parts can be cutted using this alpha layer, provided that they not interfere with damage holes.
For the most part, (except for canopy and turret framing) external LOD 0 undamaged doesn't make much use of alpha cuts, and when they use it is only for certain parts, with not heavy damage state, or in areas where there is not an alpha damage hole in the same spot. This is avoided in purpose when making the big damage holes.

All in all, I think it looks wonderful as it is now, Max.

[Ectoflyer]

All in all, I think it looks wonderful as it is now, Max.

Totally agree...  we know the perfectionist you are, but it's already a superlative work !

[ggrewe]

Wonderful skin Max – always enjoy your attention to detail, like the off colour replacement panel on the fuselage, partially covering the German kreuz 

[max_thehitman]

Thank you vpmedia, ectoflyer, just champ, for your most valuable help and good words of advice.
Your great friends
Perhaps you are correct, this airplane does not allow the holes to be created in those
machine-guns. We will have to be happy as they look at the moment  until someone can
invent a new way to make them happen.
I also like the way they look now too, its cool.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ggrewe, thanks good buddy    I thought no one noticed that new wood panel placed into an old
airplane. I guess that is what it would look like if it actually happened, but the half-painted
fuselage side-cross is but a mere invention of mine. Silly imagination of mine.
All airplanes had to have the proper markings when they flew into combat.
This is just a "fun-skin" to test myself how fast I can make a skin using my new template.
I am glad to say it took only 30 minutes for all the new effects to be done on it, so its a very easy template to
work with for everyone to also enjoy doing their own skins.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David Prosser, a dark green and purple camouflage paint-scheme is already available in
my new skin-template. Look in there in the COLOR folder all the way at the bottom, and you can use
it on your next skins you make.

NOTE = according what I read, the first Albatros D.III to come out of the factories were painted in the
Light-green/Brown/Dark-green paint-scheme. (See vpmedia previous screenshots)
All airplanes looking just about the same, with the same colors and paint-scheme, but some having minor diferent
tones of coloring, due to diferent factories that made the paints. This also happened in WW2 with diferent factories
making their own versions of RLM colors and not all colors looking exactly the same.
OK so, later on when the D.III airplane started showing problems with the lower wing and a new version was
created (the D.V) some airplane were coming off the factories with the Purple/Dark-Green color paint-schemes but
some were also painted in the old previous colors, so as to waste the paint-stock left in the factories.

Sorry everyone, I did not make many paint-schemes on this new skin-template so has to not make it
a HUGE file to download/upload.

I tried to make it simple and easy to use, specially for those not knowing much about skinning or
working with Photoshop, but its still a big (modest) template with a 22 MB size.
If you want to use my personal Masters skin-template, then be prepared to work with 76+ MB size and
still growing with new layers. 
I have tons of camouflage and Losenge paint-schemes in it and I am also doing all the color-schemes
for each JASTA (from 1 to 90) for default skins. You can just paint in the pilots personal logos on
the airplane fuselage, but simply keeping in the Jastas colors as on the original aircraft, as they
were really like.
So at least 80% of all the hard work is already done for you for these new skins. Cool!

I will make this Special skin-template available soon when I am happy with the way the colors
show up in the IL-2 game.
At the moment I am doing alot of testing for the proper colors to look best in the airplane, so you
can then fly a good looking Albatros fighter, without having to worry about the color tones.
You will just paint in the pilots personal emblems and logos and your ready to fly a new skin.

Give me a minute and I will show you some test screenshots for you to see what is being done at
this moment....
I will be right back.

[alotef]

Awesome. 
I love the Jasta V skin!
~Mike

[alotef]

The aircraft in the photo matches this description:
Jasta 3 seems to have sported Red tails, rudders and elevators, with Lozenge camouflage on wing-top surface and under-surface. (You can see this in your photo, Max.)
Red spinner and generic green nose, with a mixture of red, green or Lozenge-styled wheel rims. Lozenge may have also decorated the wing undersides. Fuselage was standard wood finish, with dark grey bands wrapping around the fuselage.

 Lt.Ludwig Webber, Jasta 3, 1917 is the second profile down.


More Jasta 3 craft:
Albatros D.V circa 1917:

(Note under-wing lozenge camo)

D.V circa 1917: (Pilot: Lt.Ludwig Weber)


A D.V of Jasta 4 shows similar dark-grey fuselage bands:

~Mike

[David Prosser]

Thanks, max_thehitman. I don't know how to skin. So, I'll rely on the new Albatross skins  coming out.
I still can't get that Bloody April to start as a career. The missions work in Single Missions. It's a problem with the .info, or campaign .ini. I just have to keep trying until I find one that works.

cheers


David Prosser