US 75th Rangers

[h a w a i i a n 511]

nah, I know your intentions are good lol no worries. The idea is to share my work as much as possible by keeping the pbo's seperate and I think it's a lot easier keeping track of things in the configs if you keep things seperate, configs can get so untidy and become a friggin maze lol jesus, I hate configs they are so boring to work on......utterly boring

[deltatennz 10]

Hawaii_Based, absolutely love the work on your rangers man. But just a minor thing, have you considered (given you have drop leg thigh holsters on your Rangers) having a pistol in the holster itself? Or have you considered perhaps having some rangers that don't have a thigh holster at all? Possibly even looking at doing a vest-mounted holster instead? (which undoubtedly would require more work.)

Either way seriously looking forward to these being released, and thanks for all the hard work.

Edited September 30, 2014 by DeltaTenNZ

[h a w a i i a n 511]

Delta, it would be impossible (I think) to add a pistol to the holster, unless you model one to only "show", and also that feature was not implemented into the game at all. I would love to see that though, maybe that's something BI just merely forgot to do or hopefully on their "to do" list, now that would be dope lol (one can hope). I don't do 3-D modeling but I do know how to move/modify modeled parts (such as gun holsters) by moving them around in Oxygen 2...but than again that still wouldn't show a pistol in the holster which would kinda look funky....great idea tho, keep em flowing I'll consider anyone's idea :)

[deltatennz 10]

Thanks for responding Hawaii, now as for the pistol in the holster thing. I'm positive I've seen that done in ArmA 2 several times, and assuming things haven't changed drastically to how it was accomplished in that game and then ArmA 3 it "might" be possible.

If memory serves it had something to do with proxies I think, but I can confirm that with a good friend of mine who's been modding the BIS series of games since OFP. He's fairly clued up on the technical side of things.

[fluttershy 2]

What Delta wrote is correct, in A1 and A2 Pistols that were part of your inventory were visible in holsters with the use of a proxy.

Now to i question i have reguarding your textures. Are you going to break up the Patterns placed on the Uniforms or will it stay "as is"?

I have seen so many people putting in real effort towards reskins, adding everything they could in order to create something different from the norm. For all us current era craving enthusiasts of the Arma Series, that are more then disturbed with the half-arsed future tech idea of BI. A lot of people also pointing out there former Military service and what not, but its details like that which could and will, set you apart from the lesser reskins. Since you already put in so much effort compiling the different models for the Unit, the extra step would elevate the project even more.

[h a w a i i a n 511]

fluttershy...."break up the Patterns placed on the Uniforms", not sure I understand what you mean by that, apologies but could you explain to me so I may better understand. At the moment I'm trying to get, a few new models/parts for my Rangers' helmets (hopefully from DaveGary), this new crye precision uniform an acquaintance is working on,and some MK18 rifles (hopefully from ardvarkdb, but he seems to be "ignoring" me). Hopefully we get those uniforms tho, I've been given some pictures, and oh my goodness they look damn good! Oh as far as the pistols in holster thing....I dunno where I stand on that, wouldn't even know where to begin. I mean if someone has done it and if it can be done, maybe you can get word out there for me, I'm still new here on the forums and new to modding arma 3. Everyones been super cool and supportive tho, so they've been keeping me on track and everything is in good order, no set backs but still keep the suggestions flowing.....

Edited October 2, 2014 by Hawaii_Based

[papanowel 120]

..., this new crye precision uniform an acquaintance is working on,and some MK18 rifles (hopefully from ardvarkdb, but he seems to be "ignoring" me).

Sadly, I asked ardvarkdb about a port of his SOTG unit in Arma3 and this his answer.

So I'm not suprised you don't have any words about it.

Edit:

I misread your post, I thought you were asking about his SOTG uniform and not his weapon.

So my link above is not the answer. Sorry

Edited October 3, 2014 by Papanowel

[fluttershy 2]

To Clarify my before made post:

Breaking up the pattern just means that, everytime you hit a seam, as on the elbow pads for example, or every time a new part of fabric starts, the pattern should be different.

Like you can clearly see here

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/glocktex/9209a717.jpg

pockets and sewed on parts of fabric never continue the camo pattern. There is always a break up of the pattern, some more and some less visible. I used the above DCU picture to make it clear since that pattern is very obviouse, and therefor breakup is visible a lot more then on smaller patterns like Multicam or Marpat.

[warlord554 2065]

What type of model accs you needing? Rangers usually dont pack mk18s, they pack full size 14.5 barrels. Could always just make your own ;)

[h a w a i i a n 511]

Papanowel .....hey thanks for that, okay I see well I guess I'll try another "weapons dealer" lol.

fluttershy.....uh, thanks for the clarification, I thought I was a detail whore but you're the ultimate detail whore! lol I mean that in a fun way....I've actually taken consideration in doing something like that so yea we'll see, very tedious work tho, and if I can get my own normal maps to work on these uniforms I'd definitely do that. I'd like to get the definitions of the fabric of my texture from the normal map ,to make the uniform more alive, but I'm afraid It will make it shiny, and I hate shiny..I go for the saturation's and matte finishes.

WarLord554.....I'm getting confused what people are telling me, one guy tells me they use mk18's one says they're not!? lol I honestly don't know any better but if "you" do than please educate me, don't leave me hanging. Make my own? I'm guessing you're assuming I know how to model!? because I don't lol, I do know my way around O2 (least I like to know I do), I have the A2 weapons sourcefiles but I've never sifted thru the bunch, is there something you know? maybe there are parts in the source files to mod an mk18,or whatever you're suggesting......

[3p0x1 74]

What warlord is sayin is that they use the M4A1s and I believe I erroneously had you believe mk18s, though I ment the M4 block 2s. The block 2s are basically the m4a1s with an upgraded rail (the Daniel Defense rail) and a larger selection of Gucci goodies to throw on, but at the end of the day are still m4a1s.

Hope that clarified it abit, and Warlord feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken on any of this (he'd be the man to know)

[h a w a i i a n 511]

Yea that definitely sums it up a bit, I guess I'll just stay away from the Blocks for now......have many other modding tasks afloat and not to mention those effin' configs.

[warlord554 2065]

I wouldn't stress small things like weapon packs, players will most likely equip per mission needs anyways. Block II m4s are absolutely used in the ranger teams, full size barrels. Mk18s are mainly used in special operations CQB or MOUT. I would just make it compatible with bigger packs, like Erics or RH(with their consent ofcourse)

Perhaps read up on ranger operations, more info you have will enhance your ability to develop a killer mod. :)

You've got a solid start, keep learning, developing your skills. Practice makes perfect

[Binkowski 26]

Breaking up the patterns by the cut in the uniform makes the texture look 1000000000x times better.

[fluttershy 2]

It is rather simple to do the pattern breakup if you know how to.

I personaly work with Layer masks on my camos. With the use of the Pen-Tool i create my selections which i then transfer to the Layer Masks. This enable me to freely move the basic camo arround while staying inside the boundry of my Mask. Later on, if you want to do multiple different camo types, just transfer the Masks over to the new Pattern.

[h a w a i i a n 511]

Yea Binkowski I hear you bro lol, this mod is gonna take quite sometime gentleman just to let you know, hopefully I'll hear back from an acquaintance on using an entirely new uniform, helmets are being re-worked thanks to Dave Gary & WarLord. Can't wait to re-texture them and we finally got an Ops Core helmet so hopefully will get to tinker with it. BI's Ops Core is just a tad bit bulky, and it's respectfully often used ,so hopefully I can get a unique Ranger add-on going for us all. Thanks for the tip fluttershy. Yea the more I dive into this the more I want everything top notch and redone, but it will be for the better good.....keep ya'll posted

[emoglobinsky 149]

Could you when it comes to be released, make it compatible with Zeus placement units, by default ?

It's just a matter of CFGpatches inconfig.cpp, i've been fixing a lot of mods recently and that would be better if original makers make their own mod compatible

[h a w a i i a n 511]

I will definitely do that :)

[h a w a i i a n 511]

deleted

[warlord554 2065]

Contact fluttershy from the soc mod team, he's the man to talk to about uniforms

[h a w a i i a n 511]

Wrote "Woods825" who was the artist behind that so called technique, he mentioned that it was a mistake by using the "Uniform_Base" as the template the uniform was referenced to, and I told him sometimes mistakes have great outcomes...that's part of the creative process I guess :). My question still stands tho in the above thread.....and actually yes I notified fluttershy, so hopefully we get an answer :)

[orcmaster 283]

Any chance on an ACU uniform for 2004-2009 era? Block 1's with M68's and TAO1's with PEQ2 boxes would be sweet too (Only if you want to, of course)

[warden_1 1070]

TO remove the shiny effect you just need to modify the AO map I believe, it should be a read and dark gray color. I could be wrong, but its one of the maps.

[fluttershy 2]

The "red" Map is the SMDI map, which is in Graphical talk, a filtered version of your Specular map. A Specular map defines shiny surfaces and the ammount of light reflected from it.

The AO map on a model is represented by the as, or ambient shadow map, which is pretty much just the AO with a White Blue and red channel. (if you want to save files like that, make sure to save them with the right name extensions so neither texview nore the game will screw them up)

But then again, the SMDI and the AS map do not feature any colorfeatures, at least not that i would know, my Specular and AO never reflect any of the camo i generated for the color map.

What your uniform currently lacks, so to speak, is a regular "color and light noise" which is the way used to trick the human brain to interpret ingame "clean" textures as realisticly shown.

The following is just a quick step tutorial for Photoshop or programs alike, though note the filters might be named differently in other software.

1. You create a new layer and generate a cloud filter with black and white as your selected colors

2. Use the add noise filter in Gaussian with an ammount of anywhere between 5-15%

3. Use a Gaussian blur of 2

4. Change the blending mode of the newly created layer until your desired result is achived

This is a rather simple technique, but the result is noticeable instantly. You can also use a Saturation layer that lowers the overall ammount of color in your uniform and apply a clouded layer mask as well to get a more "used" look on the uniform itself.

To add simple dirt:

Create a layer and use a regular brush in the color of dirt you are looking for, filter ripple and shear to create more "random" edges on the outside of the painted elements. Dont worry about it appearing to massive at first.

once you are happy with your result, pick a secondary slightly darker color, ctrl+click your layer to select your painted elements, apply a cloud filter, apply an add noise in an ammount of 2-10%. Deselect your paint element and add apply a blur of 4. Then create a layer mask for that layer and apply the cloud filter on the layer mask, now play arround with oppacity and fill % to get the right ammount of dirt visible.

As a rule of thumb for graphical depth, an object is always more interristing if areas or elements of it are not fully visible.

I personal go about my textures in a rather german fashion, i think about the actual object i am working on, so for example a uniform, which is made of different cloth materials, so i create the cloth and stitches, add my camo to it and then consider the ammount of wear and tear i want to be visible. After that i add the noise to is in order to create a more "brain pleasing" image.

I hope this is somewhat helpful to your effort.

Edited October 12, 2014 by fluttershy

[sabre 244]

Since there are so many good people throwing me their Ideas I was wondering If anyone would know how to get a finish on the uniforms like this

I dissected the gentleman's addon but I still didn't get what he did to get this finish, I'm assuming he had the rvmat removed? My Idea would be to try and just get rid of the glossy knee/elbow airflex padding and gloves more of a dead matte finish like his, but I'd like to still keep the nohq intact. Would that even matter? Normal maps are bump maps, is it not? I used to texture for another game and we had Gloss map (for shiny metal parts), Normal maps (bump map but would maintain some kind of glossiness) and a Colour map (which was an awesome Idea mostly used to define specific and certain colored/textured parts of a uniform).

Hey mate,

To remove or reduce the shine you need to edit the Blue channel within your SMDI (Spec) texture.

This channel controls the 'power' or 'glossiness' of the specular/SMDI map.

The whiter the blue channel is the less 'glossy' it should appear.