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Old 20th May 2013, 02:44 PM   #1
Chuck Bodeen
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Default Trouble texturing

Given a cube and a bitmap which contains the six sides.
Using Texture Coordinator puts the top on top and a mirror image on the bottom. The four sides are pickup seemingly random colors from the bitmap.
If i proceed to one of the sides, it is as if I was starting from scratch.
I get that side textured correctly, but the opposite side gets a mirror image of that and the top and bottom are now colored with seemingly random parts of the bitmap, destroying the "top" texture.
The goal is not to make a cube. I just used that as a learning example when I had trouble with the real task.
Obviously I have made a fundamental error. Please help me.
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Old 20th May 2013, 03:14 PM   #2
Stiglr
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Default Re: Trouble texturing

As a newbie, you're not understanding how the texture editor works, and that's why you're so perplexed.

But, it's pretty simple once you know how to do it, and once you understand "how the TCE works".

Starting from where you are now... go back to the viewports and, in surface selection mode, only select the surfaces on ONE SIDE of your cube; one of the sides that is NOT textured properly.

Now, return to your TCE viewport. Click one of the buttons to reassign those surfaces to be viewed from a different perspective. That is, if you originally selected "front" for your texturing, select "Left" "Right" "Back" or bottom.

Notice what happens in your TCE viewport. The green-shaded shapes will likely change a lot*. And you'll notice that only the SELECTED surfaces appear in the TCE.

Return to your modeliing viewports. The side of the cube will be textured differently.

Here's what you're not (yet) understanding: when you select an entire object and try to texture it, you initially select one perspective from which AC3D textures the part. Surfaces not perpendicular to that view angle (that is, 90 or 180 degrees from it) will not be textured as you want because the viewing angle is so acute. However... the TCE allows you to selectively assign the proper perspective for any single surface or set of surfaces, so: in the case of a cube, you assign the surfaces on the top of the cube from the Top perspective... those on the left from the left perspective, etc.

What you've described is simply discovering that, for example, the left side view texturing "doesn't work" when the cube is textured from the front perspective.

The 2D graphic you use to texture the entire cube won't move vis a vis the TCA screen.... you will manipulate each of the surfaces for the various sides to fit the part of the graphic that is meant to texture them.

I hope that makes it a *little* clearer.... if not, send me a PM. If you have Skype we can arrange a time to meet and I can clarify it for you inside of 10 minutes!




*I take that back: your object being a perfect cube, it probably looks the same, increasing your frustration. Suffice it to say, if the object were not symmetrical, you'd be able to see this....
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Last edited by Stiglr; 20th May 2013 at 03:23 PM.
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Old 20th May 2013, 06:12 PM   #3
Chuck Bodeen
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Default Re: Trouble texturing

Hi Stigir,
We have some things in common.
I was raised in Portland and I write about flight simulation.
I tried your suggestion with some success.
I'll get back on my PC tomorrow and tell you more about it.
Chuck Sent from my iPad
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Old 21st May 2013, 02:12 PM   #4
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Default Re: Trouble texturing

OK. I understand tht we are texturing one SURFACE at a time.
My cube is fine except that the opposite sides have thr right name but are mirror images of the right name. ???
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Old 21st May 2013, 05:14 PM   #5
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Default Re: Trouble texturing

That can certainly be, if the TCE assigns different faces to the same part of the graphic (overlapping); and, with all the faces of a cube being perfect squares, that's all too likely. Remember, if you start by just mapping to any one view, all the surfaces will be jumbled into a square and plopped onto the face of the graphic en masse... until you edit it otherwise.

What you'll want to do is:
1) Select only the faces for one side
2) Look at them in the TCE (and they will be the only ones shown in tinted green at that point)
3) Re-assign their view aspect.
4) Change something else; rotate the tinted square, resize it, flip it horizontally or vertically, move the square around the graphic, etc., and then observe the effect of each on the side in the AC3D viewports. Do this until you can visualize what the difference is between what texturing you have, and what texturing you want.
5) Move, rotate, scale or edit the surfaces in the TCE to get what you need. The TCE has the flexibility to move each VERTEX, if you want, in order to line up surfaces to the texture.
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Old 21st May 2013, 06:28 PM   #6
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Default Re: Trouble texturing

Thanks again. I'll try that tomorrow.
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Old 22nd May 2013, 09:52 AM   #7
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Default Re: Trouble texturing

Well, I turned the cube into a box with non-rectangular sides and the texturing automatically painted all six sides correctly...in AC3D.
Then I exported my box to X-Plane and Plane-Maker tore it apart! See attachment.
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Old 22nd May 2013, 10:28 AM   #8
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Default Re: Trouble texturing

Furthermore, I don't really understand your instructions 3, 4 and 5.
Please write to me at chckbodeen@earthlink.net and we can exchange phone numbers.
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Old 22nd May 2013, 11:51 AM   #9
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Default Re: Trouble texturing

I'll send contact info via email.

As for a change in the texturing as a result of exporting, I'm not real sure I can help you with that. There seem to be a lot of artifacts associated with exported files not behaving properly when exported to game systems and other programs. Sometimes it has to do with the export tool within AC3D, but sometimes it has to do with the code in the target program.

My first guess would be this, however: is your graphic perfectly square, and does it have "power of two" dimensions? Examples of this are 256 x 256 (pixels), 512 x 512, 1024 x 1024, 2048 x 2048. Many programs that interpret 3D objects ABSOLUTELY REQUIRE square textures, and some allow rectangular ones, provided both length and width dimensions are "power of two" pixel numbers (even when they don't match). If this rule is violated, all hell can break loose on the results.
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Old 23rd May 2013, 12:17 PM   #10
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Default Re: Trouble texturing

The power of 2 dimensions might have been true for the box, but the parts of my plane are coming out better without power of 2 dimensions. ???
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