Question Cloud tex higher than lvl 8

[luki1997a]

Hello:hello:
Was it posted before? That's not important... My question: Is it possible to make cloud texture higher than lvl 8 using pltex? Or maybe there are any ways to do this? I've heard that, tex file is a few .dds files merged into one file. I think that clouds .tex has 2 textures: cloud tex, and alpha tex. So, is there a way to create an 9 or 10 lvl tex?

 

[orb]

You can make higher resolution cloud textures (still level 8, but appearing like level 10), but not with pltex.

You can make them with [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=4486"]Texbuild[/ame] and using 1024x1024 patch size, to get the same resolution as level 10 textures, or 512x512 patches for the same resolution as level 9 textures (standard patches in .tex files and the only that are created by pltex have 256x256 pixels max. dimension).

You're wrong that there are separate textures for alpha and color, as those textures are RGBA, usually using DXT3 or DXT5 compression, which support semitransparency.

 

[Frogisis]

I've wondered about this, too.
So you'd create the cloud texture using 1024x1024 patches to achieve level 10 resolution, but in the config file for the planet you'd still leave it at level 8, and the cloud texture would appear with level 10 detail regardless?
Upping the cloud resolution level beyond 8 causes a crash (at least for me) so I figured that was the maximum resoultion allowable, but is "8" then just the config file's way of saying "nicest clouds possible"?

Also, has anyone already done this as far as you know? I certainly haven't seen level 9 or 10 clouds yet, but then I'm just one man, alone in this vast internet.

 

[orb]

So you'd create the cloud texture using 1024x1024 patches to achieve level 10 resolution, but in the config file for the planet you'd still leave it at level 8, and the cloud texture would appear with level 10 detail regardless?

Yes. The texture level would stay at 8, but textures would have the same resolution as level 10. The textures would be 4 times sharper (LOD -2) and might shimmer when you move (when you view them near level 7/8 threshold). You can make only level 8 using 1024x1024 patches, and lower levels the standard 256x256 (or level 7 with 512x512 and lower 256x256), to minimize taken disk space and shimmering when viewed from larger distances. Those textures are still level 8, but they have higher resolution, and they will appear more detailed (like when you use in bases higher resolution surftiles on the same surftile level, instead of increasing the level and dividing the surftile to 4 or 16 smaller).

Upping the cloud resolution level beyond 8 causes a crash (at least for me) so I figured that was the maximum resoultion allowable, but is "8" then just the config file's way of saying "nicest clouds possible"?

Orbiter only supports level 8 textures at maximum for clouds, which cover the planet globally, unlike surface textures, which starting from level 9 don't need to cover the whole planet (and resolution is a different thing than texture level, and depends on the planet size, too).

Also, has anyone already done this as far as you know? I certainly haven't seen level 9 or 10 clouds yet, but then I'm just one man, alone in this vast internet.

You mean 2 or 4 times extended resolution level 8 cloud textures?

I think there was an attempt to create them (http://orbiter-forum.com/album.php?albumid=404), but they weren't released.