CTxUMdl

This program converts the texture files of an imported (i.e from FS98 or FlightShop) aircraft to bitmaps and patches the aircraft MDL file to use the new bitmaps. The bitmaps may be easily modified with your favourite paint program, even MSPaint!

You can use the wider palette to create more accurate and more colourful aircraft. However your aircraft will behave like CFS standard aircraft and stay bright at night - so leave those night-fighters and bombers as AF texture files!

To use

Start the program from Windows and navigate to an aircraft folder. The MDL filename will be displayed and the texture files listed. Select the texture files to convert (I suggest all of them) and click [Convert].

A DOS command shell will be opened to run the conversion program, this remains open when complete so you can check it was Ok and close it (click the [X] at the top right).

The new bitmap files will be listed. Double-click a bitmap to view it. Select the bitmaps you will be modifying (or all of them for simplicity) and click [Update] to patch the MDL file.

Check in CFS that the aircraft can be loaded and viewed. If you only converted some of the texture files check what the aircraft looks like at night! Exit CFS. (Note CFS caches textures so close & reload to avoid confusion.

Modify the bitmaps as required, reload CFS and check your work!

Copyright

Remember the original creator of the aircraft still has the copyright, if you want to post your work either post the updates or get the authors agreement to modify and post the complete package.

To install

Unzip the ctxumdl.zip and r8pak.zip files into a new folder, if you don't have vbrun300.dll find and download it from the web, install it in <windows>\system.
Edit the CTxUMdl.ini file, changing
fsdirWhere you wish to start searching for aircraft
paletteThe location of your fs5.pal file (from FS5/6/98)
r82bmpalThe location of the r82bmpal.exe (from R8Pak) file (see above)
patchmdl1 for advanced users to patch the MDL file manually

History

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to

Disclaimer

This program is supplied without warranty and if it destroys your files, melts your PC or eats your Hamster no-one will be more surprised than me (except possibly your Hamster).
Back-up essential/unrecoverable files first!

Distribution

This program is FreeWare and may be distributed non-commercially freely, but must NOT be charged for.
Please contact the Author if you wish to distribute the software in any commercial manner.