 After Coolsky and Flight1, Captain Sim -known for it's high quality add-ons, but mostly for the work they did for Microsoft Flightsimulator X' official add-on- is the second developer that sees a bright future in Ultra High Definition Textures.
Their Boeing 757 add-on, already in the highest regions (perhaps even lonely at the top), when it comes to detail and quality textures will be revamped by our Texture Artists. A completely new, from the ground up build UHDT kit will make sure their add-on will not only be the most detailed Boeing 757 available, but also the most detailed commercial airliner available for Flight Simulator, period.
With a whopping ratio of 282 pixels per meter, it will sport three times more detailed textures than the most detailed add-ons currently available, seven times more than the PMDG 747, Level-D 767 and even ten times more detail than the recently released PMDG MD-11.
Ultra sharp diffuse textures, combined with UHDT specular and normal maps, will make sure you can see every rivet, dent, bump, discoloured panel, panelline, all powered by Flight Simulator X' dynamic, per pixel lighting engine.
And all this, without losing a single frame. |
 As most of us grew up when the Super 80 was still a comon sight on airports around the world and it was the JTD8 and not the CFM56 that dominated the short to medium range flights, we all jumped 3 feet up in the air when Coolsky decided to pass the livery job to us.
Being a relatively old plane slash design, our motto ( 'we tear em up, we wear em down... for you to fly') is one that is a match made in heaven with the Super 80. Chipped of paint, rivets punching through paintjobs, dirt, weather, grease, discoloured panels and scratches : We went ballistic and tore those liveries apart.
Besides the fact that our signature style fits the Super 80 like a glove, Coolsky has an impecable reputation, not only amongst it's customers, but basically all over. Although nowadays the internet and forums are infested with haters and nee-sayers, we've never read one bad word about Coolsky's work. Another good reason to take on the job, and be able to work with a highly respected company.
The last -but not less important- reason for us to work with Coolsky is that the Super 80 Pro is (opposed to the previous version, which was also released for FS9) a FSX only model. Commercially, Flight Simulator 9 is still very much attractive, but from a Texture Artist viewpoint, FS9 is dead and burried, twice already. Techniques that were already used by the main stram gaming industry, like normal and specular maps make our job more challenging and time consuming but also very much more rewarding and therefor equally much attractive. The only dynamic effect we were able to utilize in FS9 (Apha channels) just didn't cut it anymore.
We can honestly say : It doesn't get any better than this.
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After the normal definition textures we did for the Super 80 Pro (and the Classic as a free update) Ultra High Definition Textures are the next logical step for Coolsky, Flight1 and McPhat Studios. With hardware (finally) catching up with FSX, and a growth in numbers of users that use 20+ inch screens and high end graphic cards it was just a matter of time that we set the bar yet again higher for ourselves here at McPhat Studios. People want more, we give them more...
With UHDT for the Coolsky Super 80 Pro (and in a latter stage, the Classic) we deliver ultra sharp textures that sport an unseen level of detail, when viewed from closer distances, but that also look better than normal definition textures from a normal or far away viewing distance. Scratches will be scratches, rather than grooves. Chipped of paint will look like chipped of paint, rather than large chunks of paints missing, decals will be fully readable, instead of a blurry mess and rivets will be rivets, rather than big bolts the size of an apple.
Side kicked by UHDT specular and normal mapping, we will take the dynamica of FSX' per pixel lighting techniques to a new height. Rivets that only show when you need them to show, dents in the lower baggage compartment when viewed at a certain angle, body work and spars that 'pierce' through the fuselage with the right amount of light and dynamic reflections will make your Super 80 Pro a true joy to look at. Even for all you flight deck simmers....
All this, without a single drop in frames. |
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 In close cooperation with Wilco publishing and Feelthere we present you the ultimate livery pack for the E-Jet family. Wilco/Feelthere, known for their excellent ERJ-145, which even is used by the Belgium Air force to train their crew have yet released another fine Embraer jet : The E-170, E-190 and Lineage corporate jet. After the textures we released for their Airbus Volume 2, complementing the stock paints, Wilco Publishing decided to take our cooperation up a step, packaging our work, including it with the release this time.
As the E-Jet is mapped on a good 72 pixels per meter kit, we are able to deliver razor-sharp, highly detailed and therefore high quality textures. We used 10.0MP close ups as a reference and because of that, we were even able to include unseen detail, making the textures as authentic as possible. Furthermore, we used the official Embraer Structural Repair manual to cross reference spars, with the placement of rivets, de pressurization panels and panel lines. To complement this, we used the walk around section of GE Capital’s Embraer CBT to recreate vital points of interest on the fuselage.
Where as the Volume 2 textures was a two men project, the E-Jet project was -because of it’s size- a joint effort of all crew members. The amount of detail and realism, but also the amount of liveries (almost 80(!!), ranging from former operators like Crossair, single plane operators like Kenya Airways, future operators like KLM and Lufthansa, special liveries, old and new colours for some operators and company owned E-Jets like the Sirte Oil Company), made this one of McPhat Studios largest projects and at the same time the only aircraft add-on that delivers ALL liveries, right from the get-go.
Our special thanks goes out to SkyAirWorld and E-Jets.org who invested time and effort in supplying us with pictures, and official reference material that otherwise would have made it impossible to add such a great amount of detail.
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After Wilco, Feelthere, Coolsky and Flight1, yet another developer/publisher saw the benifits of hiring a company solely to texturize their models and decided to outsource their textures to us. Ariane Studios develops the whole Boeing 737 family : from the 600, to the 900/ER and their models are even officially licensed by the Boeing Company.