jr_walker 10 Posted November 21, 2010 Hopfully I am missing something. It seems objects can only be rotated on their Y-axis in buldozer. I can see how this makes sense for almost any object...except rocks. The area I am working on requires rocks rather than trees or plants and there are few rock models available. It would add significantly to the authenticity of the landscape if the rocks did not all have the same skyline profile. I've tried adjusting the rotation though the "Nature Objects..." menu; I don't that works as I hoped AND when I make changes there when buldozer is running, it seems buldozer must re-process the entire island. Any tips would be appreciated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beton 2 Posted November 21, 2010 The only way i know is to give the rock a random angle and size in the natural objects menu. Then you create some rocks go into buldozer an use the ones that come in handy. But there must be some way to rotate them as it was possible in 3de editor for arma1... it´s a shame we don´t have this tool in arma2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bushlurker 45 Posted November 21, 2010 (edited) Hi Walker! Yup... like Beton says... it seems to be a limitation of Visitor itself, rather than a model limitation... Betons suggestion is the "quickest fix"... you can set "randomise angle" for the rocks in the Natural Objects menu - +/- 60 is the maximum... then place a whole bunch of them in a flat area somewhere and take a look - you should get some that are at fairly different angles - pick the ones you like the look of and just clone them - with orientation and size variations... A bit of a pain, but its probably only the more extreme variations in angle you want, and theres no way to just set a value on demand... [hint]that would actually be a nice little item to see in a Visitor upgrade some day[/hint] The area I am working on requires rocks rather than trees or plants and there are few rock models available. It would add significantly to the authenticity of the landscape if the rocks did not all have the same skyline profile. I have the same issue myself... large areas of my scotland project the weather's just too... well... scottish, for trees to grow at all - clutter and rocks are all I have to work with and, adequate though they are looks-wise, R2 stone and two R2 boulders aren't really enough to work with... I'm deeply unsure about the actual big R2 rocks... they often look weirdly unnatural to me... embedded in hillsides thay can look OK I guess, but the freestanding rock "pinnacles" look odd, and I'm not sure about the textures either.... more on that in a minute... Alternatives or additional rocks?... Well, theres the Arrowhead rocks... they look quite good actually, but theres "bugs" with them... I witnessed a whole bunch of AI getting "stuck" on a rock just recently in one of my rare MP moments... not good... maybe BIS will fix that... Theres also mikebarts rocks These are interesting... they Look Good - and it's not (just) because they're nice models & well textured... they look awesome on mikebarts demo island (take a look if you haven't already), because - they match the terrain they're lying on! a simple point that mike has well in hand - the rock texture and the rockground texture match.... rocks aren't generally known for mobility, so unless they're ornamental rocks or it's part of stonhenge or something, most rocks you see came from "just over there a bit"... Loose rocks should generally match visible bedrock in the immediate area, in other words... I think this might be why the A2 rocks look "odd" occasionally - especially in user landscapes with custom ground textures (like mine, sadly :()... I think the big R2 "rocks" with their greyish texture are actually designed to match the Chernarus "grey rock" texture... my rock ground texture is a bit darker and brown - the R2 boulder and R2 stone use a different texture - they blend in quite well actually, so I've used them as they are... That leads us to the last easy source of rock models... since rock retexturing suddenly seems like a Good Idea, plundering the freely available Arma 1 MLODS comes next... there's a fair range of assorted smaller rocks worth taking a look at - it means retexturing, and it means assembling an associated "objects pack" for your project... since I'm stuck with both already, it's just another job on my list... when I make changes there when buldozer is running, it seems buldozer must re-process the entire island. A well known phenomenon... I vaguely remember reading some interview or post by a BIS developer - working on Sahrani, I think - and he mentioned organising his workflow to allow for the fact that starting buldozer could be a two hour affair... do all your objects fussing before you start buldozer is probably the best idea... B Edited November 21, 2010 by Bushlurker Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jr_walker 10 Posted November 23, 2010 Thanks for the feedback! I had already reached the point of doing just as was suggested, that is clicking a bunch and choosing the “better fit†ones. Since I have been spending my time trying to make progress on the island rather than playing in-game, the act of all those coordinated clicks provided some of that trigger-pulling satisfaction…it’s the simple things, you know. I agree with your position on the R2 rocks, Bushlurker…I live in an environment of rocks and pointy ones are rare. I have contented myself with the boulder variations at 100-200% of size. I also completely agree that the rock (or any other object) needs to fit the landscape. My approach has been to try to create ground textures that fit with the objects (more on that in moment). I plan on making custom objects; rocks and plants to begin with (I took a bunch of “texture†photos last week), but I haven’t figured out the how on making non-island pbos…yet. I apprecitate the tip about mikebarts efforts, I'll take a look. I have no idea how any islands were completed prior to World Tools….I suspect I’ll need maybe 100K rocks and 80K plants (plus clutter) for 40km2 of landmass…I heard talk of a single forest comprised of 800K trees! One at a time?…Even if they are just rapid, unchecked, random clicks...No way! I am going to make a post to the mapmaker noobs regarding all the things I’ve learned over the last several weeks. For example all that time I spent trying to get the 1m/pixel resolution sat_lco, only to discover it must be blurred in order to look decent at ground level; oh, I tried making textures to accentuate the true land cover only to learn that my understanding of “segment†was MUCH smaller than what apparently comprises a segment in terms of maximum textures in a “segmentâ€. So I am going to make a small “test†island (I can hear you say “Duhâ€) to learn: texture technique and develop (at least many of) the textures I want, how to make non-island pbos so I'll have the objects I want, fool with the sat_lco to find the best balance between distance and close-up view, how to make decent beaches and other shorelines, the capabilities/limits of the available tools and try to gain some good understanding and confidence with configs…and do so without having to wait an entire evening to see the results of each experiment. Some posts indicated a 40km island was too big a first effort…I still don’t think that is the case…but I think first effort must be defined as the first effort once you know technically what you’re doing! Take care, thanks again for the tips. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
