HEXING TUTORIAL #8 - "Hexing 101 Continued"
How to color the wing panel and rear views: This is an
extension of Shimizu's work on color.  As we know, color is a
three byte string, with values from 00 to 3F.  00 00 00 is
black, while 3F 3F 3F is white (all three values at max
intensity).  The bytes are for Red, Green, Blue respectively.
Therefore, 02 34 02 would be a bright green, while 02 07 02
would be a dark green.  01 01 34 would be a bright blue,
while 01 01 06 would be a dark blue, etc.  Three equal
amounts, like 2f 2f 2f, is a shade of gray.  Now, the .INT
file accesses the wing and rear corner files as discussed
earlier.  Take the Bf109W.PNL file and copy it as SANDYW.PNL
or whatever you'd like.  Change your mod .INT file to access
it directly.  Now, the PNL files all have the "structure" of
the graphics first, and at the very end of the file are two
equal sections that fill in the colors for the
structures(=wings, tails, etc).  These two sections are easy
to spot!  The first section is the color for the early camo
pattern, the second is the color for the late camo pattern.
In the Bf109W.PNL, using PCTOOLS, the colors start at sector
36, offset (0074) and start again at sector 36, offset
(0176).  You'll see a 00 00 00, then 01 01 01, then 04 04 04
etc. These are colors of the wing view, starting with black
and then dark grays.  These continue with interruption, in 3
byte color strings, until you reach an area with 5 00's
uninterrupted.  That's the end of that color section.  Well,
the camoflage pattern on the wings can be replaced (I used 1a
1a 03 for brown, for example) a few at a time, then exit to
SWOTL and see what you've done.  I normally color the early
camoflage first, and leave the late section alone, so if I
make mistakes I can use the codes from the late section to go
back to normal.  Obviously, some things you want to leave
alone, such as the grays of the cockpit structure.  But I
have found that the colors that color the wing section are
pretty much contiguous, so once you find a three byte string
that looks like it should be green, you can change it to, say
black, and see what effect it has.  Once you find the start
of the wing coloring, it's easy to change them about three
color strings at a time, then look at the results.  It is
easy to find these "color byte" sections in every PNL file!!!
Just look for the 00 00 00, 04 04 04, etc!  Once you find the
section at the end of the file that has a lot of 3 bytes that
repeat, you know you're there.  After all the "grays" (ie 02
02 02, 10 10 10 etc) the colors start getting mixed, ie 09 2A
24 etc which is usually the wing colors.  SPECIFICS: The
actual wing camo area in the Bf109W.PNL file (early camo) is
from sector 36, (00F5) to sector 36, (0133).  The tail camo
area in the FW190R.PNL is from sector 35, (005F) to sector
35, (00A6).  Remember, three bytes at a time!  I hope I've
made this clear, and will be happy to answer questions.  None
of this would be possible without Anthony Shimizu's initial
research in this area.  Thanks, Anthony!