DCS F-16C Viper External tanks texture won´t change from default

[fagulha]

Hi everyone,

 

I use various fuel tank textures (370gal) for my liveries but since last update no matter what liverie i choose it always remain the default ext fuel tank 370gal texture. Does anyone have similiar issue? maybe ED changed the way the .dds file is read/loaded?

 

Thank you all,

F.

Edited August 25, 2022 by fagulha

[_SteelFalcon_]

Maybe the object name changed for the fuel tank and the description files need to be adjusted to reference the correct object… 

[fagulha]

25 minutes ago, _SteelFalcon_ said:

Maybe the object name changed for the fuel tank and the description files need to be adjusted to reference the correct object… 

Maybe, but some patches ago the same happened but with the center ext tank (300gal) and the fix (i think it was Taz1004) was with fuel_tank_300gal.EDM file and probably the same fix this time but i don´t know how to mess with .EDM and also i just wanted to check if the issue was from my side only or if anyone else have it too.

Edited August 25, 2022 by fagulha

[_SteelFalcon_]

I think the tank is now called F_16_Tank_370

and obviously the custom skins need to use this as object name instead of just Tank_370

[fagulha]

17 hours ago, _SteelFalcon_ said:

I think the tank is now called F_16_Tank_370

and obviously the custom skins need to use this as object name instead of just Tank_370

Thank you for your reply, later on when i arrive from work i´m going to check my liveries and change the texture name to see if it works.

I will leave feedback here as soon is possible to me.

Regards,

F.

[_SteelFalcon_]

28 minutes ago, fagulha said:

Thank you for your reply, later on when i arrive from work i´m going to check my liveries and change the texture name to see if it works.

I will leave feedback here as soon is possible to me.

Regards,

F.

Dont rename the dds files, simply change the object name at the beginning of the lines for the fuel tank textures in the description.lua

 

Edited August 26, 2022 by _SteelFalcon_

[fagulha]

10 minutes ago, _SteelFalcon_ said:

Dont rename the dds files, simply change the object name at the beginning of the lines for the fuel tank textures in the description.lua

 

 

Yes i need to change in the description.lua and in the .dds file or else it won´t read the .dds file in the liverie i want. Right?

[_SteelFalcon_]

Nah. You ONLY need to change the object name IN the description.lua

 

edit: i‘m not at my pc, here‘s an example tho

old:

New:

Edited August 26, 2022 by _SteelFalcon_

[fagulha]

9 hours ago, _SteelFalcon_ said:

Dont rename the dds files, simply change the object name at the beginning of the lines for the fuel tank textures in the description.lua

 

 

It looks that did the trick. Thank you for taking your time helping me.

Really appreciated.

F.

[SkateZilla]

It's not the model name that changes, it's the material name.

[fagulha]

8 hours ago, SkateZilla said:

It's not the model name that changes, it's the material name.

Thank for your reply.

I´m sorry for my ignorance in this matter, and with your expertise why ED changed the material name, or, why now?

 

[SkateZilla]

Material Names for Textures are set in 3D Studio Max before Export to EDM,

They change names during development sometimes, as well as UVW Coordinates as things are added to the model.

It's the downside to putting out liveries before the external model is finalized, one change can break a livery.

In this case, it looks like the Aircraft Designation was added to the material, to avoid conflict with another Material Name from another Model
as there is also another Aircraft with a 370 Gallon Drop tank either in DCS or on it's way.

[fagulha]

2 hours ago, SkateZilla said:

Material Names for Textures are set in 3D Studio Max before Export to EDM,

They change names during development sometimes, as well as UVW Coordinates as things are added to the model.

It's the downside to putting out liveries before the external model is finalized, one change can break a livery.

In this case, it looks like the Aircraft Designation was added to the material, to avoid conflict with another Material Name from another Model
as there is also another Aircraft with a 370 Gallon Drop tank either in DCS or on it's way.

Thank you for taking your time helping me.

Be safe and keep up! (fan of your work).

F.

[JOYFUL_CLOVR]

I'm sorry, I'm not super savvy when it comes to this. I tried changing the name in the "description" but it was already correct. As I read above, I don't need to change the name in the DDS file to coincide with the updated name in the description? Here is what I see.

 

EDIT: I fixed it by removing the "F_16_" lines 

Edited August 29, 2022 by JOYFUL_CLOVR

[prccowboy]

the first name ("F_16_Tank_370") is the material name. This is currently correct. You do NOT change this. The 2nd name in your example ("F-16_Tank_370_diff") is the texture filename that you want to use. This should match the filename of your custom texture. In your example they don't match (one is "F-16_Tank_370_diff" and the other is "fuel_tank_370gal_diff")

You can EITHER change your dds file name to match the lua text or change the description lua text to match the filename. 

Edited August 29, 2022 by prccowboy

[JOYFUL_CLOVR]

37 minutes ago, prccowboy said:

the first name ("F_16_Tank_370") is the material name. This is currently correct. You do NOT change this. The 2nd name in your example ("F-16_Tank_370_diff") is the texture filename that you want to use. This should match the filename of your custom texture. In your example they don't match (one is "F-16_Tank_370_diff" and the other is "fuel_tank_370gal_diff")

You can EITHER change your dds file name to match the lua text or change the description lua text to match the filename. 

 

When I follow that advice this is what happens. Did I do it wrong? (sorry about the quality of the first pic, you can click on it twice and it will zoom in)

Edited August 29, 2022 by JOYFUL_CLOVR

[prccowboy]

the line for the custom texture is now correct; however, your problem is elsewhere.

since you aren't changing the normal and roughmet textures, you can remove the next 2 lines in your description file (lines 41 and 42 in your example)

(or)

change them to the correct textures (this is what I see in modelviewer currently):

    {"F_16_Tank_370",    NORMAL_MAP            ,    "fuel_tank_370gal_nm", true};
    {"F_16_Tank_370",    ROUGHNESS_METALLIC           ,    "fuel_tank_370gal_diff_roughmet", true};

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by prccowboy

[JOYFUL_CLOVR]

5 hours ago, prccowboy said:

the line for the custom texture is now correct; however, your problem is elsewhere.

since you aren't changing the normal and roughmet textures, you can remove the next 2 lines in your description file (lines 41 and 42 in your example)

(or)

change them to the correct textures (this is what I see in modelviewer currently):

    {"F_16_Tank_370",    NORMAL_MAP            ,    "fuel_tank_370gal_nm", true};
    {"F_16_Tank_370",    ROUGHNESS_METALLIC           ,    "fuel_tank_370gal_diff_roughmet", true};

 

 

So I tried that and now the skin won't show up in the livery list at all

[prccowboy]

you obviously did NOT copy/paste my example text because your line 41 is wrong. What you have is not what I suggested.

You can just send me the description file by private message and I will fix it for you. 

Edited August 29, 2022 by prccowboy

[SkateZilla]

9 hours ago, JOYFUL_CLOVR said:

So I tried that and now the skin won't show up in the livery list at all

Line 41 has Channel map declared twice, thus causing line error and removing it from the sim during load.
 

{"F_16_Tank_370, 1, "Fuel_Tank_370gal_NM", true};

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by SkateZilla

[JOYFUL_CLOVR]

5 hours ago, SkateZilla said:

Line 41 has Channel map declared twice, thus causing line error and removing it from the sim during load.
 

{"F_16_Tank_370, 1, "Fuel_Tank_370gal_NM", true};

 

 

Thanks to both of you for your help, I'll see if I can fix it when I get home from work tonight. Cheers!

EDIT: it worked! Thank you guys so much for your help.

Edited August 30, 2022 by JOYFUL_CLOVR