Ray.
Unfortunately the pilots wingview problem remains
There is a problem with the new "Y" link. Several existing skins have the "Y.TPC" but no "YTR.TPC" and the CTD I predicted occurs.
Why is the "YTR.TPC" needed?
If I remove the link the B-26 turrets still work as the "Y.TPC" is not involved.

You need the YTR to make the prop blades transparent from inside the plane.

Can you tell me which skins are missing the YTR?

A lot of Mike multiskins have a "Y" but no "YTR"
I was looking at your files


How does the YTR relate to the Y in this case?

Could there be a generic YTR?

Notice on the Y that there is a black area with a yellow line across the top and next to it a horizontal black area with a yellow area to the left.

Then note that on the YTR there is a blueish "V" shape surrounded by pink. Pink being completely transparent.

The static prop blades are mapped to the horizontal black area on the right where there is pure blue on the YTR and the spinning prop blade are mapped to the "V" area where there is a less blueish area.

If you look closely at that "V" you will see a range of blueish colors. The bluer the color, the more opaque. This is how you get the spinning blades to have a darker tone towards the middle.

As to the idea of a universal transparency, I tried that with the original SPAW and you remember what happened. It cause all sorts of havoc when converting to the slotless system and I ended up reinstituting transparencies for all the slots.

Once we got the extra transparencies PRA, MRA and SRA I began to convert to something like what you are proposing but only for single engine planes.

I exclusively assign the PEX/PRA to the external prop and I've built a library of props that I can drop into any aircraft folder without interfering with the existing TEX/TRA files which is where the prop used to be assigned.

Same thing holds for internal props on single engine planes. I exclusively assign the Y/YTR for these props and have them in the same library as their external prop counterparts. So it's also a simple operation to drop them in the appropriate plane folder.

Saves a huge amount of time

However, internal props on multi engine plane is another thing. With the single engine props the textures are pretty simple. There are three texture types, Allied with yellow tips, pure black for German / Italian and various colors with a mid-blade stripe for Japanese. I can change the color of nose cones and prop blades in no time at all depending on the model.

With multiengine planes I need internal textures that match the external wing textures. FWIW, I do cheat a bit on this by using the same Y.3dz on similar planes. A perfect example is the one you've posted. That set of Y.3dz plus the Y.pcx / YTR.pcx textures stared life on the A-20 and has been used in one form or another on about 3/4 of the twin engine planes I've made. Just need to change the wing textures and the position of the wing relative to the cockpit and I'm done.

Still, there would need to be a change in a lot of aircraft setups to make this universal.

Is there any difference between the "Plane01.YTR " and the base "Plane.YTR"?
If not the "01-15" mapping could be to the "Plane.YTR" which would entail less fixing and also give fewer files to load?

There is no difference in the YTR.pcx, only the Y.pcx so that would be ideal.

In fact, we could save some storage space, memory allocation and load time if all the transparencies pointed to the primary slot rather than have their own links.

It would also do away with the problem of a different number of digits in the internal headers that's been a hangup for the new utility you were working on.

What do we use the "PlaneMRA.tpc" for?

It is normally used as a transparency for the M and S distances models. In my opinion totally useless as you can't see if a cockpit is clear or opaque at that distance and most distance models don't even have props.

Be aware that the MEX/MRA set has been appropriated for other purposes. I think IM said he used it for the wingview on the B-17.

I used the 3dz that Chompy put into the original hr model. On your new tra there isn't a spinning prop in the texture. They look like an old fashoned ladies fan. Look at the original pbb17tra.tpc or any other to see what I mean. It may relate to the upgraded props Ray is using.

Look at the mex.tpc Jell posted on page 5. The external prop is on the left hand side. It is where the b17 wing view looks for the props. if I am correct then you will have to mod the texture and tra for that new 3dz.

Or, Ray’s mods are in conflict with the ms bit in the code. MS was written for the older exe.
So, that bit may need to be looked at and changed to take into the changes Ray is making with his super models.
Just a guess on my part being a code muggle.

If this is true wouldn't it a good idea to compare 1.28 code to 1.6 code and see what's different?

Yes it would be. I really think that those new 3dz's you are using are not being properly recognized in the MS section in the code. Jell didn't report issues with my older units under their conversion to 1..6.
Well at least I don't remember any. Next thing to do is load up the plane set Jelly put together of my squadrons and run the Forts. They may not have the newer bells and whistles but they should render correctly. Let me know because I am without a PC that runs Windows 10. The one I bought came out of the box dead last Thursday and I have to ship it back to HP for repair. The one I had hoped to replace passed to the digital heaven the week before.

Jelly,
There is a second spot where you did not add to the array calculations commented with "//Omission correction by Jel"
copy_words(pPlane->xxx, object_xxx, 45);
Shouldn't the increase match the number of additional parts you added?

You have changed the prop animation from a bit shift of 8 to a variable. Is is possible that the data you are using shifts the bits wrongly?
short propspeed = xxx;
You may consider using floating point for this. You then need to add a type cast to make the compiler happy.
object_xxx[VAR_PROPxxx] = -(type cast)((pPlane->xxx].xxAngle / propspeed)); That is just a thought. this is how you achieve smoother animations.

M model is not loaded unless it is the leader in draw_one_dot_part. I believe this is the medium detail model. That could explain the switching skins of the FW190 reproted by Ray. I am unsure if you still use the far view dot of the original code.

M is not loaded within "load_plane_model". This could be the object viewer routine. I do not remember, but Gibbons added the S in 2010.

Look at the extern declarations at the top of the file add by CG and myself. Are you missing any that you need?

You have changed the file names from the stored data name to a dedicated "plane" name. Is there a misspelling error in the 3dz?

The global variable "whole_plane" array is used for internal and external views. The array is cleared before loading external views. You may consider clearing it before loading internal views.

It is almost 4 am, I am calling it a night.

Thanks Allen. I will get back to the source code once I have finalised the mapping files.
Copied from the other thread:

It is not a code difference.
The code just makes the exe read the mapping files and loads the transparencies listed.
The difference is in the mapping files. The 160 versions have additional mappings based on Ray's suggestions
This is an extract from the 1.28 mapping files.

#1
pp38hpex.tpc
pp38hsex.tpc
pp38htex.tpc
pp38hv.tpc
pp38hy.tpc
pp38h01mx.tpc
pp38h01tx.tpc
pp38h01vx.tpc
pp38h02mx.tpc
pp38h02tx.tpc
pp38h02vx.tpc

#2
pp38hpra.tpc
pp38hsra.tpc
pp38htra.tpc
pp38hvtr.tpc
pp38hytr.tpc
pp38h01mra.tpc
pp38h01tra.tpc
pp38h01vra.tpc
pp38h02mra.tpc
pp38h02tra.tpc
pp38h02vra.tpc

These files were originally made from an extract of a hard coded tables in the 1.2x exe. Then multiskin links were added, and It is the same for each one of the 30 planes.
Only three of the multiskin files are mapped, (01mx->01mra, 01tx->01tra, 01vx->01vra)
It is interesting that there is no mapping for pp38hmex.tpc,

In the slot free version "pp38h"..."pv1v1" all became "plane" so there was just one set and not 30.

I am going to go back to the original version of the 1.60 mapping files, and then add any additional mapping needed to get Ray's B-26 working.


Update:
I have it working by mapping the "plane01-15sx.tpc" to the "plane01-15sra.tpc"
I made and edited BMP files for plane01 to test that the BMPs were working.
You can see the transparent turrets.



What is not mapped is the "planemex.tpc" to the "planemra.tpc" because it never was originally.
This fixes the file not found error which occurred when they were mapped and a skin had a "mex" but no "mra".
As a test, and because they were never used, even though they were present, I have removed all of the "planemra.tpc" files from my working folder.

Jel

As reported in another thread I have fixed the B17 multiskin problem, and we now see the correct colours on the wings in cockpit view

Hi ,

Interesting thread though way over my head in terms of the coding etc. Ray's comments re prop colours is a bit of an over-simplification but under the circumstances not a real problem - for example Luftwaffe props were officially RLM70 Schwartzgrun not black but I guess black is close enough. Japanese props are somewhat problematic and there is some debate in the plastic modelling community as to whether the twin 3cm red stripes near the tip of the silver early props and the single yellow stripes near the top and either middle or bottom of the red/brown "tea coloured" late props (both with black rear surfaces normally although some early silver ones used the same "tea colour".) were on the front only. Some sources say that they were also on the back but I have not bothered with the ones I have built, presuming that Hasegawa, Fujimi and Tamiya have more accurate knowledge than I have. The Ki-84 of course often had greyish green props and some Ki 61 had full yellow tips just to confuse the issue. The early silver US props with the tri-coloured bands look good but can be a pain to paint in 1/72 scale when you have arthritic hands and decal strips are ruddy fiddly! I believe that French a/c imported from the US (Hawk 75, DB-7 and Martin 167) would have had yellow tips, unlike the "indigenous" French made planes. As far as I am aware all props were treated the same irrespective of the number of engines.

Rivet counting as ever but I am impressed with the progress you are making. Given the age and variety of the "models" you are dealing with, I suppose it is inevitable that some will not easily conform to the upgrades Jelly has made but you seem to be getting there.

Peter

Good to hear from you Peter. It's been a while.

Your comments highlight the never ending debate over rivet counting vs game play.

Rivet counters look for absolute accuracy, well, at least as accurate as possible in a 20 year old flight sim. There's certainly a place digital model making in the EAW world and those who practice that trade are to be commended for their dogged efforts to get things just right. I'm amazed at what they can do.

But then there's the rest of us.

The guys who are more interested in accurate flight models, a vast array of planes to fly in a large number of scenarios, who don't give a hoot if the Jap planes have stripes on the front and back of the props.

Fortunately for all of us, EAW is adaptable to both worlds.

You should check in more often, your observations are sorely missed.

Don't forget those who like immaculate and fully cleaned up 3D models with a working R/S,

VonBeerhofen

I’m glad that everyone has been showing good behavior about all the differing preferences. Room for everyone in the pool.

Just no peeing in our happy pool.

There are those of us who do care about the colors that props have, correct camos and colors. The list also includes the correct codes and markings for the aircraft we fly and shoot down. These little things add to the atmosphere that EAW has come to represent. Without these bits we might as well go back to Microprose "Spitfire" with its' limited views and stick figure aircraft. Good EAW is like a well prepared meal. It is the sum of the parts, not the turkey that makes it great. Good models cry out for good skins and accurate flight models. Come on, let's eat!