Sithlrd98 Mods and stuff

[sithlrd98]

I know...I'm triple posting 

I don't know if there is a demand for a NWM No Grass mod..but I'm slowly extracting files to make one for myself as well as a NWM sidewalk texture override based on the sets I did for the WRC. Anyone interested let me know here or PM.

I really wish there was an easier way to extract from a dat...

SAP Texture

Jayson

[noahclem]

Definitely still lots of interest from me! Looks great so far 

[gn_leugim]

looking nice

are these "smart" textures, in the way they know what sidewalk texture is installed or they are fixed and we have to pick the right .dat file?

[sithlrd98]

are these "smart" textures, in the way they know what sidewalk texture is installed or they are fixed and we have to pick the right .dat file?

Originally I was just going to do a basic sidewalk curve override like I've done in the past...BUT,if I can continue with the luck that I've had with the first part of this curve,they will be wealth dependent via T-21.IF

With a basic sidewalk mod(all the same wealth type)

Without any sidewalk mod(Basic Maxis)

Jayson

[Haljackey]

Freaking amazing work man! 

[kassarc16]

Awesome work, Jayson. I'd love to see all NAM pieces have these eventually, hopefully having more draggable overrides in the future will lessen the work for that.

[Biriali]

  Nice. These are definetely needed. Keep up the good work 

[jmdude1]

its been a long time! your work is always great.  although i dont play nearly as much as before, i still use your previous mod.  i like your updates with the SAP texture.

[gn_leugim]

nice, good luck then 

So, they will get the texture from my sidewalk texture to texture the t-21 props right??

[sithlrd98]

Taking a moment at lunch to dry off from this wonderfully cool weather..._{Sarcasm was intended}

I'm basically extending the Wide-angle curve pavement puzzle pieces mod found here:
http://hide-inoki.com/bbs/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=803&view=previous&sid=66643f5b24480b8ef94d5b53602f43d1
which will be the dependency as I'm only creating new exemplars for the NWM curves.All the real hard work was already done by the original mods creator. I'm hoping that I will be able to incorporate these pieces without too much difficulty.

Jayson

[gn_leugim]

that's what I was talking about  

[noahclem]

The new technique is looking very promising! I'll have to familiarize myself a bit with the mod you're basing this off of.

[sithlrd98]

One of the great things about how the Wide-angle curve pavement puzzle pieces mod  is that the side walks don't have to be "blocky" on the curves.You basically just remove a couple of files and.... boom! This works extremely well for how the NWM is set up.
However,the bad part is there isn't a model to handle Landfill and Agricultural lots...and I apparently am too dense at copy paste S3D properties and or creating a proper model exemplar(even though it is basically copy, paste and change IID's)

I have sadly spent the greater part of the evening trying to get the curves to accept the new dirt sidewalk and handle it like it does the rest of the wealth types. I'm sure it is something dumb on my end, but I don't see it!

However, here is just the TLA small curve with the sidewalk following the curve..via T-21. I haven't messed much with the other parts of the mod as I rather like the look of no block sidewalk curves.



Jayson

[jmyers2043]

...
I rather like the look of no block sidewalk curves.
...

Me too   


- Jim

[sithlrd98]

Let me start off by saying UGH!

WARNING: Rambling from one who is not good at explaining things simply!

I decided to work on this add-on with very little experience in models,and minimal T-21 skills.
The way the original mod was set up,models were made as props , attached as a T-21 referencing another model, then the appropriate Network piece was added and the sidewalk would contour (or using another part of the mod,you would have the "blocky" sidewalk that my texture overrides achieved) but wealth dependent. Very flexible setup. The previous picture I posted was a "cheat" as I only addressed one tile and the rest followed suit according to the wealth. I could have stopped there,and did the same for the rest of the curves and released it.
But it wouldn't be the same as the rest of the mod,and I REALLY want to understand why my attempt at building over 50% from scratch is failing right from the beginning.

This is what I'm trying to figure out. Looking at this picture from the original mod, Each road piece has it's own model set,all broken up like the majority of models I've seen (except NAM stuff which usually has 4 models , broken down then a full one). This picture shows the Small 90 road curve prop from the original mod ..ignore the incorrectly selected exemplar as this is just to illustrate what I'm trying to convey.



Thinking that this would be the way to go (following Original creator) I tried to extract the S3D 0x51344005,then import into GMAX, export a Gmax file,import into BAT then build an exemplar based on the setup of the original mod. No dice.

I then copied 0x51344005 into a new .dat and copied a prop exemplar from the original mod, set-up to point to my new prop,and started creating the mod with 0x51344000 as my first piece (the same one I've been tinkering with as I've been testing and posting pictures of.) Problem is...it doesn't work correctly and I'm not sure why. I have followed the previous mod by creating 3 props of the road,copied t-21's and changed IID's to reference what needs to be referenced..and I'm not sure if it's because of the Models being different or if I am just missing something on the copy/paste T-21's!



I could attach what I have done for anyone to look at, but you will have to have the original mod to visually test. I have only built one piece of one option..and one piece of the z overall option(blocky)

Jayson

[gn_leugim]

I once looked how this mod was created and I was like "oh gosh, too much sand for my truck!"

about your issue, dont know if using gmax for 3ds generating or so, is the best way, but, I am not an expert on the area. good luck anyway 

[sithlrd98]

I once looked how this mod was created and I was like "oh gosh, too much sand for my truck!"

about your issue, dont know if using gmax for 3ds generating or so, is the best way, but, I am not an expert on the area. good luck anyway 

Yes...that mod is very good at causing me headaches!!!!

I extracted the S3D for 0x51344005 via reader, then imported it into B.A.T, exported as a Gmax file then used the Maxis PIM to get it converted to a model .dat. I did not change any scripts in Gmax seeing as it was a flat model of triangles and not a 3D model such as a ramp. I really don't understand models or render programs..I have dabbled in the past but not more than texturing a box.

This is how it imported into B.A.T.

When I looked at the exported model file in reader,it looks like nothing more than a strangely speckled shape...and even then I had to zoom in a lot to see it!

Jayson

[gn_leugim]

Well, maybe that is a problem with scaling. I've done some models for RHW and I am making a bridge for RHW6 and for both cases I had to use 3dsmax and not gmax. with it I can export the 3ds files direct. but remember that gmax (3dsmax) axis dont match the readers axis.

quoting MandelSoft:

Notice about the Y and Z co-ordinates
In this tutorial, the Y-axis or Y-co-ordinates are always used as the height-axis of an object. This is because in the Reader, the Y-axis is also the height-axis. However, in gMax and the SC4 Model Tweaker, the Z-axis is the height axis. See table below:

Reader axis:	gMax axis:
X	X
Y	Z
Z	Y

[sithlrd98]

Dealing with models is pretty much over my head but I understand  the Axis points not matching up point.
So, I'm guessing ,from reading this...

• Referencing a full NAM model with all it's triangles won't work?
• Using BAT or GMAX won't work for what I'm trying to achieve,even if I have rotated the model ,etc.
• I'm way over my head with this!
• I'll have to use Blender,Rhino or MAX to get this to work?

I really have spent way too much time failing...but I really want to do this and try to learn what I'm doing wrong so I can expand on this idea with other things like Rails,etc.

Jayson

[vortext]

Though I'm not familiar with BATting, I'm somewhat familiar with T21 modding and had a look at the original mod.

From what I see, the props are simple S3D models with just three textures assigned to it. So maybe you could skip the entire gmax process and instead copy the S3D models, paste it into a new .dat file and give it a new ID. Next under the 'mats' tab assign new textures.

Not sure if this will work but it's how I've turned textures to props in the past.