True 3D models - SOLVED

[Lowkee33]

How do we make them?

Is it from BAT, or scratch?

[j-dub]

Lowkee, I could of swarn I saw you do stuff before.

There is a file that I sadly can't remember where, that I know Alex (Tarkus) has attached to a thread somewhere, that did allow full 3D-rendering from the B.A.T. instead of the SC4 rendering that is not really true 3D when you look at it in iReader. Said file, I had on my old system, but not anymore. Doing your own 3D from the ground up in any event is more advanced stuff. I had to take some serious classes in high school, or starting at middle school, with giant textbooks on rendering stuff via Autocad. While I know there was other free modeling software I could of used, and Gmax in which BAT is built off can be used for other means, I just never got around to using said modeling software for other stuff, other then SC4.

As for making stuff from scratch, the good news is Gmax gives you a bunch of 3D shapes from a menu somewhere, you can alter them and build stuff off of those. I can tell you straight off the bat, that I am not a mathmatical expert, but the whole thing is BAT does require a lot of calculations and positive/negative coordinates involving the XYZ thing. Getting texture material to map however, is another story.

[cogeo]

Vester was (still is?) using MilkShape for his trams. As far as I can remember there was a free (trial) download, expiring in 1 or 2 months, and then you had to purchase it (some $25 or so). Funny thing, they wanted the money in banknotes, enclosed in an ordinary mail envelope, lol!!! Tax evasion? Most probably yes!

Otherwise you can use any other SW capable of saving in .3DS (at least as an export format) which you can subsequently import in the reader. I think gmax can export in this format, but needs an additional plugin (can't remember exactly, it was long ago). I'm not sure about materials, I guess you can have one material (FSH) per model, and use a technique like UWV unwrap, to map each vertex in the material. Take a look at the materials used in vehicle models.

[Lowkee33]

Funny thing, they wanted the money in banknotes, enclosed in an ordinary mail envelope, lol!!! Tax evasion? Most probably yes!

Scary.

Thanks for the help.  I found the file J-dub referenced.  (These days, when you click to see someone's posts, you can find an "attachment" tab).  If you're really lazy, here's a link - Click.  Batted a little cube, and there it is, 3D

Though the material side of things will need some thought

[gn_leugim]

this altered buildingmill does what? lol

[Lowkee33]

From what I see, it renders the entire LOD, not just the visible faces of that zoom/rotation.  It's necessary for networks, automata, and other effects.

[gn_leugim]

interesting... 

[vester]

Vester was (still is?) using MilkShape for his trams. As far as I can remember there was a free (trial) download, expiring in 1 or 2 months, and then you had to purchase it (some $25 or so).

Yes I am still using the program and when I am doing new models I use it in combination with LithUnwrap.

Funny thing, they wanted the money in banknotes, enclosed in an ordinary mail envelope, lol!!! Tax evasion? Most probably yes!

If you go to Milkshape3d.com or share*it!, you can pay it with PayPal or credit card .

From what I see, it renders the entire LOD, not just the visible faces of that zoom/rotation.  It's necessary for networks, automata, and other effects.

interesting... 

Indeed, interesting!


If you model something very complex, I think there is a way of rendering a texture to attach to a simpler model that have the details from the more complex model.
Think the process is called baking a texture, but hey haven't tried it.

[j-dub]

Though the material side of things will need some thought

Well, what type of material(s) are you looking for?

[Lowkee33]

Well, what type of material(s) are you looking for?

I don't even know yet.    It's a twisted story leading from the EffectDir to Animated S3Ds.  It's more about what can be done rather than what is going to be done.

I've been diving into the EffectDir, and pretty much every S3D it references is in 3D.  Try using the effect cheat with "commerce_ind1_sodamachines".  A soda machine will appear, it is a 3D model.

I'm trying not to dive too deep before my terrain is done.  The effects can be quite interesting.  For example, "kid_soccerteam" has animated S3Ds that are attracted to a rotating FSH (kids chasing a soccer ball).  The ball is repulsed by the by the kids, and so it kind of looks like a soccer game.  Not only is the movement of the game different every time, but some the kids have different radii for how close the ball needs to be before they chase it.  I don't think I'm going too far to say that all of this is moddable.

Back to S3Ds.  S3Ds can be animated, and since they use vertices for how large they are, they can be made HD.  This is different than regular animations, because their size is dependent upon the size of the FSH imagaes.  I've only been able to animate them in-game by having them be effects (though it appears they can go straight to prop exemplar).  Check out the exemplar  6534284A, C977C536, 294A0000 in SimCity_1.dat, it's a state fair sign, pointing to an animated S3D. 

The perspective of the FSH is looking directly at the image, rather than SC4 views.  This means that the LOD has to be the shape of the model, so I wont be making complicated things.  I just don't know what those are yet.  The test S3Ds I've made are animated way too fast in-game.

[NCGAIO]

 I know there are three forms of content you submit excited. Animations through the textures (as quoted BAB) widely used in the game for Sims and on which there is no longer match any secrets on how to make (Very limited by the size of the textures and frames as well as being a huge hassle)

Those made through a real 3D animated models such as those below ..







and whose full video of nearly 15 seconds can be seen on the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_50ypZDYAfU&context=C3b8917cADOEgsToPDskLHpz3Tqa9_dHj7uuLnNtON


That is why I felt kind of weird when you referred to the LOD's to make real animations. There's LOD in this case they are fully rendered 3D models. This form and the construction of such puzzles made with BuildingMill made in exchange for BAT and as far as I know there is no similar to BATMAX4 by Simfox. (If there is I want the link please, thanks!)

And finally those made on the Effectdir which are actually also based on real 3D models and to draw upon all such automatose game. You may notice that all automata have an animation even if all vertices are equal. And the form of displacement which is effected in Effectdir. In this case the closest I have ever seen of real changes were made by GIZMO but require almost Herculean task of editing the file in HEX for its construction do not see why tens of populating the animations download sites.

To finish a thought. Maybe the animations would facilitate more problems than benefits in the same way that the textures in HD. It is worth remembering that this is a game in 12 years time and that is designed to be a city administrator. (Although the developers themselves have been lost over the goal which explains the huge amount of unfinished projects, and finally the game needed to be released to be sold)

Sorry for the english greetings

[Lowkee33]

I get your point NCGAIO.  There isn't any confusion though.  While my terrain mod is on the front burner, I have a fair amount of projects waiting in the back.  Recently I have created instances of every type of animation I discussed (BAB, S3D, 3D animations, Texture animations).

Your image brings up the main point of this thread, and that is that making a 3d S3D by hand is a daunting task.

[NCGAIO]

But it would be very naive to think that the more than a dozen animations like the one shown and which are present in DAT1 were modeled at the vertices by Maxis. Course were created as a common and rendered animations for the game with something that BAT did not provide. Something like the real 3d rendering  for previously mentioned, this would make very simple animations render.

Maybe some of our teachers programmers no longer have it on the drawing board ...

While it may not come forward maybe some animated creation by moving the model with the SC4 Tweaker Cogeo of using Excel as a clip board. is the way I do though have the inconvenience of having to save the job for each modification to avoid losing everything when the Reader lock in paste.

[Lowkee33]

While it may not come forward maybe some animated creation by moving the model with the SC4 Tweaker Cogeo of using Excel as a clip board. is the way I do though have the inconvenience of having to save the job for each modification to avoid losing everything when the Reader lock in paste.

Reader 1.4 is a little iffy with copy/paste.  Better to use the old one (Link) for something like that.

[NCGAIO]

Use the oldest to do so but this also hangs what we consider normal because the editing was not done for this trick. I found four gif images of works in the BAB movement that wanted to show but unfortunately there is no way put them today ... Then if you want to see tomorrow is due to be here. The animations extend by four tiles, and although the final size of the plugin scare

[NCGAIO]

I decided to take more time and post the pictures today (do not know if this would have time tomorrow). That's more or less an idea of ​​the work shift to be done on the S3D think a lot of animations on the same models would only be possible through the EffectDir.

[j-dub]

What in the world are those!?  I never seen those before!

[Lowkee33]

Those are pictures Mas71 posted a while back - Link

[NCGAIO]

Exactly! I think if he had posted the images instead of links would have aroused greater interest. However the final size of the plugin still seems to be a problem for long animations  by this method ... In addition to the known problems ...

"Unidentified problem
   - "How many kinds of animation" effects at the badly-SC4 system.
      But When the animations are too much to display, the SC4-system Seems to skip
      frames overflowed. "

[NCGAIO]

Just to show the point ... took all day to make this animation.

http://www.youtube.com/v/iYoS4trmoH0


The transition is much softer than that video of the show ...no time now to adjust

but to get an idea

Animated S3D                                                       Reader preview


To better see the video here's the youtube link ..

http://youtu.be/UZN_b_cwnSw

Doing so is really boring ... repetitive work is over. Someone who has the gift and time available could well be interested in a script for the BAT.