VC glass reflection

[narah]

I have noted that many people would like to have vc glass reflection, opacity, tint removed. A lot of tips are available on various pages. For me it looks strange if there is no glass in the cockpit window frame. Wondering why people would like to have it that way. Unfortunately I did not check and bought the JF DC-8. No VC glass. I have asked the developer and the distributer how to add vc glass reflection because the texture is in the folder. It seems to be a problem with material assignment, so I have started to work with MdlMatXX with limited success. May I ask for hints to “tint” the dc-8 VC windows a little nit. Brgds

[ncooper]

Hello,

I will be very interested to see if this can be achieved.
I had put it down to the apparent policy of releasing flawed models
and then not fixing them.

The exterior appearance of the aircraft seems to me to be excellent and
I enjoy the animations and effects.

The VC seems very frame rate unfriendly, doesn't look too good and as you
point out, has no windows.

Regrettably, this interior model also appears to affect the exterior, so if it is
replaced by something else, most of the exterior disappears.

I understand this may be some kind of anti piracy measure but I can't see
there being much demand to pirate something that doesn't work properly.

Just my own personal and humble opinion of course.

[thefrog]

The absence of vc glass reflection is one of my pet hates! It's a real immersion killer for me. And I don't mean that I want milky windows, but some subtle reflection (ideally with the odd mark or scratch or grime) really makes me feel like I'm in a real aircraft.

I've had a go at making the windshield of one payware turboprop airliner a bit dirty, and even managed to make a clear section where the wiper sweeps. It's much better now.

[DaveB]

I had put it down to the apparent policy of releasing flawed models
and then not fixing them.

I believe that's the policy of most devs these days

A very emotive subject with no right or wrong. Very few devs manage a realistic look so you end up with a VC looking like there's no glass at all or.. glass that looks like it's been sitting on the sea bed for 60years. Worse I think is glass that pulls reflections giving a near psychedelic look It should be possible for the dev to do something about it should they want to. Dino's F-14 HUD glass is a good example. Trying to see the deck of a carrier looking through the standard HUD glass is difficult at best but being the star he is, he offers an alternative. Job done

It's worth noting that the env maps you use can also have an effect on VC glass reflectivity so that's something to check.
ATB
DaveB

[Dangerous Beans]

I like to see a little bit of texturing to the VC glass to help show that there is something there.
What I dont like so much is the baked in reflections of the VC interior. It may if not overdone look OK when panning about on a monitor but as a VR convert it looks totally fake and is a big immersion killer when viewed in 3D.
Unfortunately a lot of devs go way overboard with it IMO.

[ncooper]

Hello Dave,

In this case, if the DC 8 VC glass files are actually named to indicate what they do,
deleting them has no effect at all, which I think confirms the suspicion that
they are not used by the model.
I am no developer but removing glass textures has always made the windows
black, blue or grey so far.
At least, it never leaves them transparent.

[narah]

i have asked the dev directly what the files are supposed to do. (vc glass, reflection,....) and was told
that the reflection subj. was dropped during developement because of different behaviours under dx9, dx10, p3d...,
and because people asked to remove it.
Further, that the end user can almost not change anything. almost...
So if everthing is in place and it was dropped, i thought i might be posssible for somebody used to mdl conversion
to revert this.

btw. inthe sim check a300 reflections can be turn on and off by flip of a switch. great feature.

Hello Dave,

In this case, if the DC 8 VC glass files are actually named to indicate what they do,
deleting them has no effect at all, which I think confirms the suspicion that
they are not used by the model.
I am no developer but removing glass textures has always made the windows
black, blue or grey so far.
At least, it never leaves them transparent.

[DaveB]

I'd tend to agree Nick. Removing a texture has always ended up like that for me too. Wonder if it would be possible to find a texture from another model to try on the DC8. This said.. if you're seeing no change by removing the current one, you should still see no change by replacing it.

EDIT: Rgr your last narah.

ATB
DaveB

[PRB]

I'm one of the oddballs who don't like "effects" on VC glass. While it's true that real glass reflects, I don't notice it 100% of the time, in real life. I have to think about it to see it. But in the sim, the reflections and dirt are a distraction, 100% of the time, because I'm always seeing it. And I really hate "tinted" windows, or, as it often looks, like the contrast has been turned down when looking out the VC windows. I like looking at the scenery when I fly, and I don't want it washed out. I like clean windows!

One of Lionheart Creations planes had a neat solution - options! If you clicked on the glass, it went from dirty, to a little dirty, to clean, then back to dirty. I liked that...

[bbrz]

I also dislike them and IMO they aren't realistic because IRL you focus at infinity when looking through the window and hence you don't see any reflection. In the sim the scenery and the reflections are at the same plane and hence the reflections are much more visible than they should be.
If you are driving with your car and you are looking out of the side window you see the landscape going by. Focus at the window and suddenly you will notice the reflections of the dashboard and its instruments.
But as flightsimming has a lot to do with immersion it's very nice that some developers include the option to remove the reflections with a simple mouse click, e.g. all Alabeo/Carendo planes.

[ncooper]

Clean windows is one thing, even without reflections.

No windows at all in a DC 8 must be a little drafty at least.
Simply disabling the textures, as it has been reported that
they did, is hardly a solution.

The better aircraft models do have options but they also have
interesting features, such as manufacturer's codes, heating
elements and so on that are present even on the cleanest of
windows.

This sort of thing



or even a bit of misting at the edges can be quite convincing.

[511Flyer]

Some of us are already a little bit misty at the edges Nick.