how do we make ocean tiles

miller3492 · August 18, 2017 at 8:16 AM

how do we make ocean tiles since they come out white/missing

drhotwing1 (IPACS) · August 18, 2017 at 3:28 PM Official Post

You need to alpha blend the raw tiles in Gimp (free) or any other equal photo application.

You can follow the tutorial for this in the wiki HERE

You basically take your image file and open it in Gimp, add an alpha layer (transparency), delete whatever areas that you don't want, and save the image file as a TIF (keeping alpha info).

This method makes those defined areas transparent in Aerofly where you see the default scenery instead.

You can also go a step further here and delete the areas as explained above but replace the area with your own water material, then save as the same file extension (since there will be no transparency needed)

I hope this helps.

Heermeyer47 · September 1, 2017 at 11:57 AM

And you can ask the most important question: how to force GeoConvert read the TIF file? It don't wonna make it, only - BMP!

Heermeyer47 · September 1, 2017 at 12:30 PM

I specify: the Tif-file was made in Photoshop from Bmp (FSET) - uncompressed and with an alpha channel. But then the question will be: what should be the Tif-file, so that Geoconvert could read it?

Rodeo · September 1, 2017 at 1:26 PM

Hi,

you have to save the TIF with the alpha channel information and the same name as the BMP.
Then remove the BMP from this directory, geoconvert will automatically read the TIF.

I don't know the order of searching in the geoconvert process, perhaps it will first look for the TIF and then for the BMP.

But to be sure, remove the BMP.

https://www.aerofly.com/aerofly_fs_2/d…cenery_creation

Look for section Alpha Blending.

Rodeo

Heermeyer47 · September 1, 2017 at 1:39 PM

Thank you, Rodeo. But I'v deleted BMP indeed. Tif have many options in it's format and I think that the matter is in difference options between Photoshop and Gimp.

Heermeyer47 · September 1, 2017 at 2:16 PM

I tried all the options for the tif-file format in Photoshop. None of the options are right! The same image in the BMP format GeoConvert reads perfectly. So what should be the format of the tif-file?

drhotwing1 (IPACS) · September 1, 2017 at 2:26 PM Official Post

The file needs to be exported as a .tif without compression and the file needs to hold the color values from transparent pixels

Heermeyer47 · September 1, 2017 at 3:01 PM

Hi, Jeff. There is'nt holding the color values for trans-pixels in the Photoshop options saving Tiff.

Heermeyer47 · September 1, 2017 at 3:14 PM

Now I downloaded the GIMP, did everything exactly as described in the instructions for transparent areas. GIMP made a file with the options specified in the instruction. But - the file-BMP is read, correctly processed, deleted, the file-TIF with the same name does not open in GeoConvert ("unable to open file"). I have two files for processing, only one file works - half of the my area.

drhotwing1 (IPACS) · September 1, 2017 at 3:21 PM Official Post

So, to understand, you edited your image file (BMP) in Gimp, added the transparency layer and deleted the areas that you wanted to be transparent, export the BMP file as a TIF and placed a check in the box for save color value from transparency pixels. You then took that tif file and placed it into the geoconvert folder for the convert process to make the files needed for Aerofly.

Did you make sure that the original bmp (the one that you edited) is not in the folder with the tif file?

Rodeo · September 1, 2017 at 3:24 PM

Heermeyer47,

let's find the error, I did this hundred of times with GIMP, even today.

1. Open an unmodified BMP.

2. Follow the tutorial, create an alpha channel, mask your area.

3. Select File - Export Image and set the parameters as shown in the tutorial.

4. The file is name_like_before.TIF

5. Remove the original BMP from the directory.

6. Run geoconvert.

Rodeo

Heermeyer47 · September 1, 2017 at 3:36 PM

Guys, be sure to add to the instructions for the transparent areas:

"After saving the origin BMP file in the TIF, immediately edit the AIC-file with the same name in the "input_aerial_images" folder, changing the extension "bmp" to "tif" in it. That's all! Sorry for many timing on it flood... But this must be added to instruction necessarily!!!

Rodeo · September 1, 2017 at 5:54 PM

Hi,

thanks for the hint. But in general the AIC files will be created when you run geoconvert.

Following the tutorial there are no AIC existing before you start geoconvert.

It is different when you run this job several times. A better and faster solution is to delete all AIC, because they will automatically done again.

I will add this to the tutorial.

Rodeo

Heermeyer47 · September 1, 2017 at 8:15 PM

Thank you, Rodeo, and Jeff very much! I did not notice when the AIC files appeared, because GeoHelper launched the first time. I think that this may be caught by others, so let it be in the instructions.

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