FS2004 Using Materials in GMax

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Microsoft

Flight Simulator 2004:

A Century of Flight

Software Development Kit

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Using Materials in gmax

November 2003

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 SDK Using Materials in gmax

Contents

Using Materials in gmax....................................................................................................1

November 2003...................................................................................................................1

Contents..............................................................................................................................2

Introduction........................................................................................................................3

Using Materials in gmax....................................................................................................3

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 SDK Using Materials in gmax

Introduction

You can use gmax, a 3-D modeling tool included with Microsoft



Flight Simulator 2004,

to create aircraft and scenery objects and then export these objects into Flight Simulator.

To do this correctly, you must understand the relationship between the gmax materials

and the Flight Simulator texture maps.

This document describes:

• The different texture maps used in Flight Simulator 2004.

• The gmax material used for each of the texture maps.

This document does not:

• Provide step-by-step instructions for using or applying gmax materials.

• Provide instructions for exporting objects from gmax to Flight Simulator 2004.

Additional information on using gmax is available as described in the following table.

For information about See this document

Part and material names that are recognized by MakeMDL MakeMDL

Instructions for using MakeMDL to convert a file from gmax

into a form that Flight Simulator 2004 can use

MakeMDL

Instructions for installing MakeMDL in the gmax plug-ins folder MakeMDL

Step-by-step tutorial on creating a scenery object with gmax Gmax Scenery Tutorial

Using Materials in gmax

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 uses a number of different types of texture maps. When

you design an airplane or scenery object in gmax, you must understand which gmax

materials are used for each of these texture maps. The following sections describe the

texture maps used within Flight Simulator and define how gmax materials are converted

to Flight Simulator texture maps.

Flight Simulator 2004 texture maps

Flight Simulator 2004 uses five texture maps: Base Texture, Damage Texture, NightMap,

LightMap, and ReflectionMap.

Base Texture

The Base Texture is the main texture map for an object; it is also known as the Diffuse

Texture or the Day Texture.

Damage Texture

The Damage Texture is a copy of the Base Texture, and it is used when a part of the

aircraft object is damaged (Damage Textures are used only on aircraft objects, not on

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 SDK Using Materials in gmax

scenery objects). If you want MakeMDL to use a damage texture automatically when an

airplane part is damaged, use the same name for both the Base Texture file and the

Damage Texture file, but use the following file endings:

• Use “_T” for the Base Texture file name.

• Use “_D” for the Damage Texture file name.

NightMap

The NightMap texture is used for an object at night. For dawn or dusk, Flight Simulator

blends the NightMap and Base Texture. NightMap textures are normally used for scenery

objects, not for aircraft objects.

LightMap

The LightMap texture is used at night to light the Base Texture. Unlike the NightMap

texture, the LightMap texture does not replace the Base Texture at night. Instead, it is

always combined with the Base Texture. The LightMap textures for aircraft are special

because the alpha channel contains a mask that allows you to select running lights or

landing lights. (Use A=0 for running lights; use A=255 for landing lights.)

ReflectionMap

The ReflectionMap is the alpha channel of the Base Texture. It determines the reflectivity

of the object. (Use A=0 for 100% reflectivity; use A=255 for 0% reflectivity.)

gmax materials

A gmax material comprises different settings that you assign to the surface or faces of an

object so that it appears a certain way. Materials affect the color, glossiness, opacity, and

other qualities of an object.

The following graphic shows the five types of gmax materials that you can use for

aircraft objects that you want to export to Flight Simulator 2004. It also shows the

material components (.bmp files) that are assigned to each material.

In this particular screen shot, these five materials are named as follows:

• Base Texture

• Base Texture + LightMap

• Base Texture + NightMap

• Base Texture + Reflection

• Base Texture + Reflection + LightMap

Note You can name the materials any name that you want. When you export the gmax

file to MakeMDL, only the properties that are assigned to a material are relevant.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 SDK Using Materials in gmax

When the gmax aircraft object is exported to Flight Simulator, the gmax materials are

translated into Flight Simulator texture maps as described in the following table.

gmax material components Becomes this Flight Simulator texture map:

Diffuse Color Base Texture

Ambient Color NightMap

Self-Illumination LightMap

Specular Color (Highlight Color) ReflectionMap

Note The Specular texture name must match the Diffuse

Color texture name or gmax will ignore it.