New to modding Arma II,Is this an acceptable 3D model?

[Freelancer 186]

Hello,

First time poster here :D I'm very new to modding Arma II and I want to make myself a small little mod I've starting creating

a 3D model it's about 80% done and I just wanted to know so far if the model is acceptable/decent for Arma II?.I still have some small

details on the outside to add and there's a tiny bit let to model on the inside

http://imageshack.us/a/img820/5471/austinambulance.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img826/2993/austinambulance1.png

any constructive criticism will be helpful.

Thanks

PS:I'm very sorry If I've posted it the wrong place.

[slatts 1978]

You're in the right place, there are a few unoffical rules for limits of faces

Weapons <10K

Vehicles <25K

I'm sure the more experienced modellers here will give more input :)

[max power 21]

An image of the wireframe and a triangle count would make this question answerable.

[Freelancer 186]

Thanks for the reply s so far.

Here's an image of the wire-frame as requested :)

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/34/austinambulancewirefram.png

Another thing I've modeled the inside and outside as 2 separate models,is that the right thing to do? or should I attach them so they are all one model?

and for the triangle count it's about 13,00 is that a lot for ArmA II?

[max power 21]

Looks alright. In my opinion you have too many bevels in small areas, like the curve around the end of the bumper. I don't think that curve requires that much detail. You also have several polygons defining a flat plate like in the insets in the grille.

I've never seen the real vehicle before, I don't think, but rarely are the fenders of a vehicle like that the same piece of metal as the bonnet. If you detached them, it would save you some polies in the continuous edgeloops you have there. The model does not have to be 'watertight' so whether you attach the interior or not doesn't matter as long as you don't have any weird holes.

For further detail on how BIS build their vehicles, you can download the arma 1 sample models and take a look in O2.

https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ArmA:_Sample_Models

[Freelancer 186]

Thanks for the support :D

Once's the model is complete I like to starting removeing useless polygones so I'll be sure to do that last

also thanks for the link I'm going to check them out now :)

Once again thanks :D

[Sealife 22]

All depends on how you envisage the model being used.

some mods prefer High poly models as they know they can dictate the ultimate scene count , others like to release models for the general use and as such respect BIS conformity.

personally i am pretty ignorant and prefer to release single minded models for missions i release and as such i would proxy parts to over come engine restrictions , some models upto 250,000 poly if i think the effort is worth it.

i guess the rumour that 32,00 or whatever t was has restricted the advance or modding for this engine since Arma 1. hopefully if parallax makes an appearance properly on more than terrain we will be able to start meeting BF3 quality .

[max power 21]

I think we have a problem with terminology. I don't think any mods use 'high poly' models for real time applications, and certainly not up to 250,000 polys. Usually you hit the vertex normal limit at around 25,000 triangles.

Edited November 25, 2012 by Max Power

[Double Doppler 10]

I wouldn't recommend making a high poly model and using proxies. For a start, all those polys take their toll on the rendering engine, and seeing as the vehicle might be cloned numerous times, performance could be significantly decreased.

If you can, try not to get to that stage. Best practice is to make a low to mid poly model (anything around 10-20k) and use normal mapping to achieve the high detail results (bolts, seams etc).

[Sealife 22]

Iagree 250,00 is mental , just saying there are many types of modders and sometimes its good to know there are many cielings beyond the NORM .

not arguing that low poly as poss is good for general use.

[Freelancer 186]

Thanks for all the advice & tips guys.

I've kept the Triangle count to 12,269 and now currently finishing off texturing it.

I have another question about the texture for windows.I used to mod for another less detailed game which for windows you'd use a

gradient tool and it would be fine,but what about for Arma II? is it done in oxygen? or do I use a real picture of glass,I'm abit confused on how color the windows ect.. :confused:

and any help would be great.

Sorry for all these questions :p

[Double Doppler 10]

Thanks for all the advice & tips guys.

I've kept the Triangle count to 12,269 and now currently finishing off texturing it.

I have another question about the texture for windows.I used to mod for another less detailed game which for windows you'd use a

gradient tool and it would be fine,but what about for Arma II? is it done in oxygen? or do I use a real picture of glass,I'm abit confused on how color the windows ect.. :confused:

and any help would be great.

Sorry for all these questions :p

You can assign the faces a transparent .tga texture (or .paa, it doesnt matter a .tga gets converted to .paa when you binarize the addon anyway) using UV mapping.

You create the texture you want for the window, and transparency is defined in the Alpha channel of the file (create one in photoshop). The more white the parts are, the more opaque.

Don't forget to save the .tga as 32-bit when you have finished - 32 bit is a larger file but it handles transparency, 16 bit is more compact but doesn't (good for solid textures like metal and stuff). And let binarize/buldozer/texView convert the .tga to .paa for you, don't use the .paa plugin for photoshop it doesn't work.

[max power 21]

Thanks for all the advice & tips guys.

I've kept the Triangle count to 12,269 and now currently finishing off texturing it.

I have another question about the texture for windows.I used to mod for another less detailed game which for windows you'd use a

gradient tool and it would be fine,but what about for Arma II? is it done in oxygen? or do I use a real picture of glass,I'm abit confused on how color the windows ect.. :confused:

and any help would be great.

Sorry for all these questions :p

Questions are good.

Glass is transparent, but the grime, scratches, and crap you find on windows sometimes is not. For a truck, I would definitely try to indicate the patterns left on the windows from the windshield wipers.

[Freelancer 186]

Questions are good.

Glass is transparent, but the grime, scratches, and crap you find on windows sometimes is not. For a truck, I would definitely try to indicate the patterns left on the windows from the windshield wipers.

Sorry for the late reply,been quite busy the last few days,Thanks for the tip I'll definitely try this out hopefully it will make a nice effect :)

Also we'll someone maybe be able to point me in the right direction to adding it into the game (maybe there's a video tutorial or a topic or something)

I'm very grateful for the help,means a lot :)

PS:here's a little image of what I've done so far it's a slightly old pictures (the window textures are old and some minor changes)

I know it's not perfect but I think it will do just for a test for my first model for ArmA II :P

http://imageshack.us/a/img856/9906/austinambulance.jpg