Help with Simple Scenery Object

[osonegro]

I have followed the directions in the wiki at http://www.railsimdownloads.com/wiki/ti ... e%20Manual and have created a simple box but when I preview it in the asset editor I can only see the object if I am very close to it, otherwise it just disappears. What the heck am I doing wrong???

[RCAP]

Probably the naming, which helps define what you see and how far it is to be viewed. An eample naming would be:

1_1024_box

The first number (1), in order, indicates that it's the first LOD (levels of detail) in the scene. The second number, 4 digits (1024), is how far the object is to be viewed up to. The third entry is the name of the object (box, main, or whatever). That will have the box show all the way to 1024m from the camera. If you wish to use LODs, then you would make copies of the box and name them as follows:

1_0256_box
2_0512_box
3_1024_box

You could have the 1_0256_box have all 6 sides, viewed up to 256m, while 2_0512_box not have a bottom, viewed from 256m to 512m, , and 3_1024_box have the top and bottom removed, and viewed from 512m to 1024m. All this helps with loading the scene, so the sim doesn't have to load all polys for all models at once. I hope this is of some help.

[osonegro]

Thanks for the help. Yes that was it, I had it named 1_0100_Test.

[SCLALINE]

a good test to understand LOD's would be to create clones of the same box but use different colored textures for each lod
1_0050_box - red
1_0100_box - green
1_0500_box - blue
1_1000_box - yellow

then export it and move away from the object and you can see how the lod's change, put the different boxes next to each other

also before you export a model make sure all your pivot points are correct.

[osonegro]

..........
also before you export a model make sure all your pivot points are correct.

Oh no! Pivot points??? what do you mean by that??

[Bananarama]

I believe Jason is referring to the world axis, which needs to be set at 0-0-0 (x-y-z).

[jpetersjr]

The axis controls how your model will appear in the game, if it leans to the side even just slightly the model will appear half sunken into the ground.

And most times on a large model the axis will automatically set itself to the center of the model and you'll have to drag the axis down to make sure it is placed where you want the model to sit in the game.

I had this same problem for a long time before I finally figured out how to fix it.

[osonegro]

I am trying to model a engine shed for dunsmuir but it may be beyond me. I built the model in Sketchup and then imported it into 3DS and that worked well. It has both exterior and interior surfaces. Now though I hear that I need to make sure all polygons have materials assigned to them. (does this even mean surfaces you can't see??) I am now going through it and converting things to polygons and then assigning materials to the surfaces but it takes a while.

Clip0001.jpg

[jpetersjr]

Surfaces that you can't see can be deleted. They don't need texture because they will just drive your poly level up. So in 3D Crafter you will have to scroll your camera to those surfaces and delete them.

Such as the inside of the walls if the faces haven't yet been deleted they will need to be deleted so to drop your poly level down some.

[osonegro]

Because of the windows, interior walls, and the interior beams, (as seen in the pic) this model out of Sketchup ended up at around 3,800 polygons. 3D Crafter was very slow trying to handle this model so I am using 3DS. The polygons I'm talking about are the ones where the windows cut holes in the side walls and where the tops of walls meet the cornices at the end of the buildings. I know I could save a lot of polygons by only having exterior surfaces but then the model would not look realistic. For my proto-typical route of the Shasta Division I needed the engine shed, as that is still there even today. I want to have locomotives parked in that shed so the interior surfaces need to be there.

[PapaXpress]

Crafter can easily handle 16k+ (where my TrainMaster sits at). If you are using Crafter 9.2.x then I suggest that you downgrade to 9.1.x. Its far more stable (though fewer whistles). If you need the installer for 9.1 PM me.

[osonegro]

My about box in 3D Crafter says it is 9.1.2.

My biggest stumbling block is the windows. I've looked at other models in RW and zoomed in real close. The windows have a sill on both sides of the individual window panes. The window panes themselves seem to be a double sided polygon where they they have the cross pieces as solids but the glass is translucent. I have not figured out how to do that yet?? How do you make a UV map with some of the areas translucent and some not? Without the windows my model loads into 3D Crafter OK (1900 polygons) and I can pan and zoom without it being sluggish.

What size do the UV maps need to be in 3D crafter if you are to successfully import the model into Railworks?

[PapaXpress]

The texture must be a power of 8.

[Bananarama]

The texture must be a power of 8.

Actually, a power of 2 (2n).

[osonegro]

Having a computer background, I kind of figured it was a power of 2. I also had a "ahha" of thought on the windows. If you create a texture in Targa format (*.tga) and then create an alpha channel you can get the transparency to be whatever you want. In the alpha channel, white is opaque and black is completely transparent, anything in between (shades of gray) is some level of transparency. I created a test texture and applied it to a cube and it worked great. The transparent areas are where the window pane is broken or not there.

Clip0002.jpg