ANSWERED SAK Glacier Textures

[derfsxpilot]

Hi,

 

are those the right textures ?! looks weird to me. Can someone check this ?

 

[Holger Sandmann]

Hi there,

 

yes, those are the correct textures. The larger "rectangles", like in your last screenshot, come from the dynamic FSX terrain shader as you can easily confirm by changing time of day. The terrain data across icefields is often quite blocky because the standard method for mapmakers -- triangulation or satellite/Shuttle radar -- has technical issues with ice glare or scattering. Modern LIDAR surveys are much more accurate but most of Alaska hasn't been covered yet. SAK does include LIDAR data where it was available, e.g., at Valdez and parts of the Kenai Peninsula.  

 

The fine-scale grid pattern in your screenshot comes from the FSX semitransparent "white noise" overlay file (detail1.bmp, in \Scenery\World\texture). It's meant to give the illusion of additional detail when flying low or taxiing on the ground but it doesn't work so well on low-contrast textures, like ice or sand. Moreover, many replacement versions exists that tend to make the pattern even more obvious. You can experiment with different versions in our "FTX Aero" application; it changes "detail1.bmp" via the "Detail Bump Map" menu. Also, one can easily switch off the overlay, even during a flight, via the "Land detail textures" checkbox in Options > Settings > Display > Scenery.

 

Cheers, Holger

[derfsxpilot]

thx

[Double J]

I was wondering about that checker pattern.

 

This is what a glacier looks like in MS Flight. No checkered pattern these photos are taken from MS Flight off a low end laptop.

[Holger Sandmann]

Hi there,

 

Flight uses a different approach with the bump map/white noise overlay, I believe it's the same or similar to what ACES had showcased for TrainSim 2 before it got canned. As I said though the bump map overlay in FSX is easy to deactivate if it detracts more than it adds.

 

Cheers, Holger