Question Need help with Orbiter Base Maker

[Spacecowboy48]

Does anyone know of a way to add to the "library" of textures that OBM offers when adding/editing block objects in a base? The textures offered are awfully limited. I haven't been able to find any answers in the documentation or on the forum.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Unfortunately, I have not found that yet. However, I haven't looked very hard either, since I can manually select a different texture if I want to. I'll poke around and see what I find, though.

 

[paddy2]

Place the texture you wish to use in the textures folder first. It had to be a .dds file.
i.e. Paddytexture.dds

Add block with any old texture as normal. Right mouse on the block and "Manually Edit parameter text".

Replace the name of the texture with the one you have placed in the texture folder.
The scaling/repeat values work just as before.
i.e fcd06 becomes paddytexture.

Job done.

 

[Spacecowboy48]

Trouble with OBM

Thanks! I'll try that. .......It works! But it would be nice if OBM had an option to build a bigger library of textures and objects.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Yeah, that would be nice, although I have no idea why it doesn't read the Base.cfg file and grab them. However, there appears to be no way as of now to fix this.

 

[Spacecowboy48]

Trouble with OBM

The problem I'm also seeing with OBM is that if I put a mesh or other object with a custom-made texture in a base config. file and it works just fine in Orbiter, and then open up that base again in the OBM editor, OBM rewrites the config. file for the base in question and removes/rips off the custom texture I put there but not the mesh/other object! Anyone know of a way to get around this? Very frustrating.

 

[paddy2]

If you are adding the Texture by hand to the Base config then you will need to get OBM to re-read the base before you make any alterations. However why are you editing by hand?

 

[Spacecowboy48]

OBM Troubles

Hi Paddy,

I've been experimenting with several things to see which is the best/easiest way to dress up my base (Which is Edwards AFB, I plan to make it an ongoing work in progress). I have to texture it by hand because I'm making custom textures from sat. shots to give it a realistic look from afar. OBM rewrites the base's config. file every time I get into OBM's object editor and strips them of any custom textures except if I make a mesh in Wings 3d and snap image the texture onto it before I export over to Orbiter.

Which brings up another question, one for you especially since you've used Wings 3d longer than I have. If I make a non-symetrical mesh (only flat ones so far) and use OBM to put it the base, the non symetrical mesh shows up backwards, flipped, with bottom showing up on top and my texture is facing the ground. Am I doing something wrong in Wings 3d?
I have done all my work in it so far looking at it from above (+Y) view.

 

[paddy2]

I also have had to face this issue.

The bottom line is the way Wings thinks and the way Orbiter thinks is 180° out.
In the exporter has the option to reverse the x co-ords.
However in the past I have just reversed the image in fireworks before saving it. looks wrong in Wings but works for orbiter. Crude but works

No its not you!!!

 

[Spacecowboy48]

Trouble with OBM

What would happen if you built a mesh in Wings 3d looking at the top of it from the -Y vantage point? I must say, this 3d modeling coordinate system is a pain to get used to. I come from a manufacturing QA/cad/cam background with regular cartesian coords, where the XY plane is the ground and anything in space is either +Z or -Z.

Thanks Paddy, you are a great help.

 

[paddy2]

A drawn graph ( as in graphpaper) has x and y
X goes across and Y goes up the paper!!
z is really in and out

Have to say a lot of my work has been symetrical so I have side stepped the issue.

Even when meshes are loaded into Mesh Wizard the nose cone of a DGiv points up the screen

 

[Spacecowboy48]

Trouble with OBM

So how do you export a mesh from Wings 3d with the x- coords reversed? I'm not seeing anything on the preferences panel that concerns that.

 

[csanders]

Does anyone know of a way to add to the "library" of textures that OBM offers when adding/editing block objects in a base? The textures offered are awfully limited. I haven't been able to find any answers in the documentation or on the forum.

Orbiter has a limited selection of textures for blocks and hangars, and the texture has to be listed in the "base.cfg" file (IIRC). OBM provides the default listing of textures.

To change from the default, right click on the object you want to change, and select the "Manually edit parameter text."

Then change the texture name in the following window. The example change is "EXAMPLE".

 

[paddy2]

So how do you export a mesh from Wings 3d with the x- coords reversed?

I take it you have the orbiter mesh exporter installed in wings.
When you select export ....orbiter .. there is a small box just to the right. Click on that and it gives a few more options. One of them is to reverse the x co-ords

 

[Spacecowboy48]

Trouble with OBM

Thanks, Paddy.I wondered what those little boxes were for.

And to Csanders, also thanks. I will experiment with your s:thumbup:uggestion.

---------- Post added at 03:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:29 PM ----------

I don't know if this belongs in a new thread or not, but I'll put it here. Paddy, have you noticed in Wings 3d that if you snap image a light-colored texture onto say, a flat surface, then export it to Orbiter, it shows up much darker than what it's supposed to be? I can't tell if it's Wings 3d, Orbiter, or something I'M doing wrong. I don't know enough yet about Wings 3d or Orbiter to be able to tell.

 

[paddy2]

been out of the loop for 24hours. Think its covered on other threads