Software Three *.dds surface tiles look different in Orbiter

[misha.physics]

Hi.
Maybe someone knows picture formats and picture properties, so could help me with the following.

I'm noticing some difference between *.dds surface tiles obtained in three different ways:

1) I export a *.dds tile using TerrainToolKit.
2) I export an *.jpg tile using TerrainToolKit and convert it to *.dds format using Photoshop.
3) I export an *.jpg tile using TerrainToolKit and convert it to *.dds format using ImageMagick.

It seems like all these three *.dds files looks different in Orbiter. The best matching with surrounding tiles is for (1), whereas the worst matching is for (3) (in this case I see a blue rectangle which stands out against the background of the ocean).

Maybe someone could take a look and explain the difference between these three *.dds pictures.

I'm attaching the archive with three *.dds pictures, one *.jpg picture, and three screenshots from Orbiter for comparison. The priority is to convert the *.jpg file to a *.dds format using ImageMagick and get the result as in (1). I just think it can be better to find the difference, and then ask an advice on the ImageMagick forum.

 

[misha.physics]

I found some difference between two *.dds pictures which I converted using ImageMagick and Photoshop. Some values are different, for example, these ones:



Maybe someone could recommend a command-line tool (for Windows terminal) for converting *.jpg to *.dds and *.bmp to *.dds? Not ImageMagick.

 

[misha.physics]

Here's how the difference looks in Orbiter.

Converting with ImageMagick (you may notice a rectangle of a different tone):



Converting with Photoshop (the ocean has the same color):



I really don't know why the converting in Photoshop gives such ideal result (color matching). Maybe I should think about using some action in Photoshop for batch converting of a large number of images.

 

[Buck Rogers]

I think Photoshop use their own closed source algorythms

Have you tried Utils/Dx Tex.exe?

 

[misha.physics]

Have you tried Utils/Dx Tex.exe?

It requires a *.bmp input file. I tried the *.bmp image, but got an error. But nevertheless it won't help to convert many images at once.

 

[Matias Saibene]

I honestly don't understand much about the subject, but here are my 2 cents, have you tried GIMP?

 

[misha.physics]

I've just installed GIMP 2.10.38. I opened my *.jpg file with GIMP, then exported it as *.dds image with the settings:



It looks good in game, so I could use it for converting from *.jpg to *.dds. Sadly I'm not familiar with GIMP at all. Could GIMP convert (export) *.jpg to *.dds using Windows CMD?

 

[Matias Saibene]

I've just installed GIMP 2.10.38. I opened my *.jpg file with GIMP, then exported it as *.dds image with the settings:

View attachment 38659

It looks good in game, so I could use it for converting from *.jpg to *.dds. Sadly I'm not familiar with GIMP at all. Could GIMP convert (export) *.jpg to *.dds using Windows CMD?

I believe GIMP for Windows has a batch processing option.

 

[misha.physics]

Thanks, maybe I'll try this later if I don't do the thing with ImageMagick.