QUESTION Converting older 3d object models

Discussion in 'Tracks' started by Ricardo Rey, Jul 12, 2017.

  1. Ricardo Rey

    Ricardo Rey Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2017
    Messages:
    245
    Likes Received:
    94
    Location:
    Birmingham
    No problem...I will get them put together in a few days. GPL was obviously 67 (65,66,68,69 mods), so it's old school pits, grand stands, bridges, pedestrian walks, armco, etc. But sure. Anything to help the community.
     
    luchian likes this.
  2. Ricardo Rey

    Ricardo Rey Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2017
    Messages:
    245
    Likes Received:
    94
    Location:
    Birmingham
    Sorry, but this will take a bit longer. I need to sort the assets into logical folders. Also, I didn't convert the .mip files to .dds (Should I convert to .bmp or .tga instead?). Working on it though.
     
    luchian likes this.
  3. luchian

    luchian Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2014
    Messages:
    3,007
    Likes Received:
    1,491
    No rush, it's already great that you're doing this !

    For file types, the one with the less amount of work will do. If no difference, then maybe indeed bmp or tga is good so that can people ca see texture in the 3d program.
    Thank you !

    Sent from my phone using Tapatalk
     
  4. Mr Whippy

    Mr Whippy Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2016
    Messages:
    199
    Likes Received:
    142
    With good shaders that building above could look perfectly awesome off in the distance on a track in any modern game engine, or even quite up close.
    Even with old GPL type diffuse only texturing it could be fine in the distance on any track.

    Sadly AC shaders are a bit limited, mainly no true PBR systems whereby you could mix the glass and the painted walls all in one texture.
    So to get half decent glass and half decent walls, you'd need two shaders, so ideally have all the windows cut in!


    In say UDK or something that building geometry with a 1024px sheet could look perfectly good for most street courses with diffuse, normal, gloss and spec maps.
    Only if you were getting so close that it fills the screen would you want to really be cutting in so much detail.

    A proper PBR shader (I think) is sadly missing in AC. Unless they added it.

    Diffuse, normal, gloss, metalness. It's not even hard either. And makes environment objects oodles more flexible and easy to author/manage/LOD etc!
     
  5. Mr Whippy

    Mr Whippy Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2016
    Messages:
    199
    Likes Received:
    142
    Polyphony use Maya, but probably heavily supported with devs for scripts/workflow stuff.

    Max is just as likely as Maya to disappear or go to complete crap for track workflows (mainly supporting tools/plugs/scripts that disappear into the past but still remain very valuable)

    Blender is the only tool you can be sure will stick around and stay valid, despite all it's short-comings and limitations compared to Max.
    I keep giving Blender a bash but compared to Max's context based UI it's a nightmare.


    Max is imo still very very good for track making due to it's toolset (mostly there since Kinetix made it in the 90s, nothing much to do with what Autodesk have done to it)

    I still use an old vintage Max here mainly because half the tools/plugins I've bought don't have support for newer versions any more, things like rF plugins too.
    Old Max for tracks ftw :D
     
  6. Pixelchaser

    Pixelchaser Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2015
    Messages:
    1,541
    Likes Received:
    1,050
    its not perfectly conceived I agree but the shader is there. its called multimap AT nm detail in the editor. various forms of it too.

    transparency is also delivered through the diffuse alpha channel. its used for cars, buildings, water surface, chrome metallic etc. windows don't require second material when using this multimap shader. but separating them is good practice when considering performance implications.

    best way to see this shader in action. is to looks at black cat county road surface and compare it to say Barcelona`s. then look at highlands buildings. its practically the same shader.

    its not just transparency you want for windows. its a mix reflection and transparency. and same for a wet track too. I mean same principle really. here the sky is reflecting off the puddle areas etc. if this was clear sky, that would be blue. and look like sunshine on a rainy day etc.

    [​IMG]

    same shader again.
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2017
  7. Mr Whippy

    Mr Whippy Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2016
    Messages:
    199
    Likes Received:
    142
    Ah ok it sounds like they've got a shader that equates over to the general PBR shaders you'd see elsewhere now (has it always?)
    I'm sure last time I looked it still wasn't, but maybe it is now.


    So in the case of the building in the OP, I think you could get away with just defining the entire thing as dielectric (or default, or whatever AC supports for spec), then just make the window bits glossy (near 100%) so they reflect the environment sharply. Leave their diffuse colour around what you'd see 'straight on' on an overcast day.
    Leave normals blank, or add a slight dip for the windows.

    Even with it filling half the vertical screen with a 512px tall texture it'd look 'photoreal' most of the time.

    Going OTT on geometry on buildings is pointless unless you're getting really near them at low speeds. Better to just consider the silhoutte profile as you drive near it, and add detail for that, then throw the rest in normal maps where you can get much higher frequency detail kinda 'for free' vs adding geometry, you can then bake in complex geometry forms easily (Quixel type approach), get nicer shading (on normal maps high frequency detail vs actual geometry which small details don't get nicely self-shadowed)

    Dave
     
    Ricardo Rey likes this.
  8. Ricardo Rey

    Ricardo Rey Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2017
    Messages:
    245
    Likes Received:
    94
    Location:
    Birmingham
    I'll have one package of buildings done soon for you guys to try out. I will have more, but will do maybe buildings01.zip etc. with 02 later. Some objects are not worth including...like two sided faces for trees. There are some cool vintage signs that could be used. The buildings are all basic box or cylinder shapes.
    Image1.jpg Image2.jpg
     
  9. Ricardo Rey

    Ricardo Rey Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2017
    Messages:
    245
    Likes Received:
    94
    Location:
    Birmingham
    Image3.jpg
     
    luchian likes this.
  10. Ricardo Rey

    Ricardo Rey Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2017
    Messages:
    245
    Likes Received:
    94
    Location:
    Birmingham
    Image4.jpg
     
    luchian likes this.
  11. Ricardo Rey

    Ricardo Rey Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2017
    Messages:
    245
    Likes Received:
    94
    Location:
    Birmingham
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2017
  12. Pixelchaser

    Pixelchaser Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2015
    Messages:
    1,541
    Likes Received:
    1,050
    nice. models there. they just need great textures I think.

    id say PBR is just in an in house proprietary engine terminology. its just a another shader explicitly for these incredibly broad engines designed for anything and everything. and (IMO) specialises in not much other than procedural generation, which whilst there is an art too, I don't consider it very art full, not like applying your own procedural (art) manually via whatever techniques. Annoyingly I have to say I cant stand the notion of this generic PBR stuff. you really have to tune everything so much to cater for the unique way the engine characterises everything.

    I own 2 ships for starctizen. I am upto date on their engine on a weekly basis. which is the pinnacle of gaming technology. and they are even pulling way back from what PBR was initially promising and intending. its too much and its never subtle enough because the input materials really have to be a certain way.
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2017
    r@m likes this.
  13. Ricardo Rey

    Ricardo Rey Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2017
    Messages:
    245
    Likes Received:
    94
    Location:
    Birmingham
    OFF TOPIC: This is my car that I hope to some day model and get into AC. (Actually not a picture of my car, but what it will look like when I finish restoring. Mine is in pieces in my shop)
    1962 MGA 1600 MKII.jpg
     
    luchian, Willy Wale and Pixelchaser like this.
  14. r@m

    r@m Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2017
    Messages:
    199
    Likes Received:
    141
    I've never been a fan of "PBR" either, I hate the over technical workflow along with the endless jargon, hype and techno babble that comes with it.
    The results you achieve can look good, but it's all very "samey" and lacks personality.
    I've tried to like it but just can't accept the long winded workflows, it has it's place, Quixel and Substance Painter have their uses, as does Megascans, but all far too technical and restrictive for me.

    Good to hear games are moving away from it...they're all starting to look the same.
     
  15. Pixelchaser

    Pixelchaser Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2015
    Messages:
    1,541
    Likes Received:
    1,050

    not unless I steals it first. mwahahahahahha ! :lol: is it your "precious" ? id be a proper Gollum if I had that.
     
    luchian likes this.
  16. Ricardo Rey

    Ricardo Rey Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2017
    Messages:
    245
    Likes Received:
    94
    Location:
    Birmingham
    IMG_0680a.JPG
     
  17. garyjpaterson

    garyjpaterson Member

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2017
    Messages:
    97
    Likes Received:
    99
    You'd get a superb photoscan from that you know, being not very shiny :D
     
    luchian, Pixelchaser and Ricardo Rey like this.
  18. Pixelchaser

    Pixelchaser Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2015
    Messages:
    1,541
    Likes Received:
    1,050

    very true. just splatter some flour and talc over the shiny bits....

    damn, ill even try it for you.
     
    luchian and Ricardo Rey like this.
  19. Ricardo Rey

    Ricardo Rey Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2017
    Messages:
    245
    Likes Received:
    94
    Location:
    Birmingham
    The above picture was when I pulled it from storage in 2014. Actually bought it in 1977, then moved to California and it sat until just a few years ago. It actually looks better now.

    I have the original shop manual and back then it has every angle of the car in line format including interior. I just need to scan the manual pages.
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2017
    luchian likes this.
  20. Ricardo Rey

    Ricardo Rey Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2017
    Messages:
    245
    Likes Received:
    94
    Location:
    Birmingham
    OK. Last off-topic...
    Speaking of scans, in 1997 I purchased a scan of an aerial photo of Long Beach in 1982 for the 1982 Grand Prix. I have the track in RTB and hope to someday complete it. It was a one-time lay-out that year.
     
    luchian likes this.
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice