LM002 [WIP]

[scotg 204]

Announcing the 1990-ish Lamborghini LM002. This is the fuel-injected version fitted with a Diablo V12 engine, which allows for a smaller hood bump and better visibility than the carbureted Countach V12 did. This model currently features the OZ wheels, eight different randomly assigned paint schemes, psudo-flex suspension, detailed lighting, four crew positions including driver, and full-time 4WD. It is intended to increase the diversity of your POVs and GOVs (personally/government owned vehicles - non combat).

 

 

How do I download?

It's not released yet. I'm trying to figure out how to package the mod and protect it. I've been working on this mod solo, so I'm learning ArmA mod'ing one step at a time. Without a team to pool resources, it goes very slow.

So why announce if it's not ready?
I need to harness support and interest in the project. Also, I'm hoping it gets attention from some capable people willing to lend help to get it out there. I've been working solo out of necessity, not preference, and I've got other projects in the works.

What work does it need?
As mentioned before, the current release would just need to be packaged up so that people can't steal its content. Future releases will need help with additional functions like opening doors, creating proper driver and crew animations, getting the speedo, tacho, and fuel gauge working just right, adding fire geometry and wrecked geometry. If there's a way to increase its top speed a little bit to about 136 mph, that'd be good & accurate. There's probably a few other things I haven't thought of that could be useful. I also might make first-responder version.

So what does work on it?
It drives and performs well. It seats a driver and three passengers, so far (there's room for two more in the back). The lights work and look better than lights on vanilla cars. The suspension animation is at an "it'll do" level, using very basic vertex assignments (causes a stretch look rather than a mechanical look, but still better than being not animated). There are eight color patterns that are assigned at random. Some have solid colors, and some have graphics. Some have chrome, some do not. There are seven visible distance LODs, and a cargo LOD. As a Lamborghini SUV, it has great acceleration and formidable hill climb ability. All three mirrors work in cargo view LOD. Killing it will show it being on fire, with the tires blown out (though it will have its nice paint job). I probably left out some things. Overall, it's fun to use, and a helpful addition to any server.

[warden_1 1070]

Wow, that's a very uncommon classic right there, nice work. Any pics of the inside?

 

Also I assume the original HP was from squir, I'd love to see the HP next to the LP with some wires or something as well as the UVs. I used a similar method of buying a premade base highpoly model for a current project and so I'm always curious to see how others construct their LP around existing mesh.

 

What did you do for sounds by the way?

[ineptaphid 6413]

Very nice-great for some SOF missions :) Are you planning on some less conspicuous colours as well-such as olive drab,black etc?

[scotg 204]

Wow, that's a very uncommon classic right there, nice work. Any pics of the inside?

 

Also I assume the original HP was from squir, I'd love to see the HP next to the LP with some wires or something as well as the UVs. I used a similar method of buying a premade base highpoly model for a current project and so I'm always curious to see how others construct their LP around existing mesh.

 

What did you do for sounds by the way?

I made this from scratch. I've worked on it a long while, and have had to go back and re-arrange some angles and measurements when I find new source material - usually large sized photos. Originally, I had made a Cobra Stinger with this model <LINK>, but I decided to release a civilian version which is more true to life. The triangles have evolved so much since then, that I'd need to base the Stinger off of this now. I usually make my HP models from my LP models, but only for normal baking. Since I can't seem to get normal baking to look right in this game, I just use photoshop to make normal map details and skip the normal baking step. It's probably a little higher in polycount than I'd prefer, but I got it under 26k in LOD1.

Some interior pics (I know interior needs some texture detail work):

 

Sorry for harsh shadows.

[scotg 204]

I almost forgot, I used the sounds from the vanilla SUV for now. It's hard to find sounds of a LM002 non-tuned. Also... I'm not good with foley.

[warden_1 1070]

Ah nice, any wireframe pictures or HP? Also for normal baking Green channel needs to be inversed for Arma.

[scotg 204]

Very nice-great for some SOF missions :) Are you planning on some less conspicuous colours as well-such as olive drab,black etc?

I have two black paint jobs. One is gloss black, but the bumpers rails are chrome. The other has black bumpers, but there is an Italian stripes graphic on the sides. If chrome and graphics are too flashy, then the most inconspicuous color scheme is a gloss gray with black bumpers. All color schemes at this point have a gloss finish. Here's the list:

1. Gray and Purple with Faceplant Games Logo (my start up biz) and chrome bumpers.

2. Gray with standard black bumpers

3. Red with standard black bumpers

4. Blue with chrome bumpers and chrome bedrails

5. Yellow with black Lambo graphics and bumpers

6. White with white bumpers

7. Black with chrome bumpers

8. Black with Italian stripes and black bumpers

 

This requires 8 _co.paa files, and 3 _smdi.paa files. I think I can find a better way to mix the solid colors and chrome using just rvmats, which are smaller in size than .paa files. For example, I might be able to use the gray or white body file and adjust the color settings in the rvmats, then I could have fewer big 2048 img files and more colors with more, smaller rvmat files. We'll see. All the graphics schemes would still have to be their own files, though.

[ineptaphid 6413]

Whats the helicopter visible in the first interior pic you posted?

[scotg 204]

Ah nice, any wireframe pictures or HP? Also for normal baking Green channel needs to be inversed for Arma.

Really good to know about that green channel. Thanks!!

 

I don't usually do wireframe pics. It's a few extra steps, time and set up that I could be using to model or texture something else. I've got a lot to create, finish creating, and then somehow learn to make them work well in ArmA3. Maybe I'll get to making wireframes someday, but no promises. Besides, I know if I can see wireframes on other vehicles it's a little bit like reverse engineering to me. I see polygons as it is, so then showing me your wireframe is like giving me a map to your treasure. I don't want to give people the map to my treasure. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I should be a little :-)

[scotg 204]

Whats the helicopter visible in the first interior pic you posted?

It's another WIP <LINK>. But don't worry about that one for now; it's a long way out. ;-)

[warden_1 1070]

Really good to know about that green channel. Thanks!!

 

I don't usually do wireframe pics. It's a few extra steps, time and set up that I could be using to model or texture something else. I've got a lot to create, finish creating, and then somehow learn to make them work well in ArmA3. Maybe I'll get to making wireframes someday, but no promises. Besides, I know if I can see wireframes on other vehicles it's a little bit like reverse engineering to me. I see polygons as it is, so then showing me your wireframe is like giving me a map to your treasure. I don't want to give people the map to my treasure. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I should be a little :-)

 

It's hardly a step in reverse engineering lol... if it's really that close to impossible for you (takes 2-3 clicks normally) then dont worry about it.

[scotg 204]

It's hardly a step in reverse engineering lol... if it's really that close to impossible for you (takes 2-3 clicks normally) then dont worry about it.

It might be easy. I've never looked into how to do it that fast. I've always done it the hard way: rendering it out, then photoshopping the layers together, then adjusting brightness and/or colors, etc.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting your motives here, but guy, don't try to make me feel bad just because I'm a noob at certain things like instant wireframing with a mere 3-click limit. It takes me more than that just to open this thread. I've been politely answering your questions the most (which seem a little demanding and almost suspicious); you can show me the same respects - politeness. If I'm off base, then I do apologize in advance. 

[warden_1 1070]

It might be easy. I've never looked into how to do it that fast. I've always done it the hard way: rendering it out, then photoshopping the layers together, then adjusting brightness and/or colors, etc.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting your motives here, but guy, don't try to make me feel bad just because I'm a noob at certain things like instant wireframing with a mere 3-click limit. It takes me more than that just to open this thread. I've been politely answering your questions the most (which seem a little demanding and almost suspicious); you can show me the same respects - politeness. If I'm off base, then I do apologize in advance. 

 

In any version of 3DS max: click the top right of the viewport on the "shaded" or "realistic" button and select "edged faces" then screenshot that.

 

Better yet, click the little "+" mark in the same spot, then "Configure Viewports", then under "Visual Style & Appearance" select "Display Selected with Edged Faces", Crtl +A to select your whole model and it will show wireframe in white over it.

[Bitesrad 481]

It might be easy. I've never looked into how to do it that fast. I've always done it the hard way: rendering it out, then photoshopping the layers together, then adjusting brightness and/or colors, etc.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting your motives here, but guy, don't try to make me feel bad just because I'm a noob at certain things like instant wireframing with a mere 3-click limit. It takes me more than that just to open this thread. I've been politely answering your questions the most (which seem a little demanding and almost suspicious); you can show me the same respects - politeness. If I'm off base, then I do apologize in advance. 

 

I think he's just trying to get you to prove you made the model  ;)

[warden_1 1070]

I think he's just trying to get you to prove you made the model  ;)

 

Actually I was originally just curious and excited to see if someone was using a similar method of making LP assets.

[scotg 204]

In any version of 3DS max: click the top right of the viewport on the "shaded" or "realistic" button and select "edged faces" then screenshot that.

 

Better yet, click the little "+" mark in the same spot, then "Configure Viewports", then under "Visual Style & Appearance" select "Display Selected with Edged Faces", Crtl +A to select your whole model and it will show wireframe in white over it.

Ok I feel embarrassed. I imagined you wanted a rendered wireframe composite. I don't know why I jumped to that conclusion. I can easily do a max screenshot (but I use F3 to change viewport to wired). I'm so sorry, warden_1. 

 

[scotg 204]

I have certain things floating because they tend to get fused to the model and screw up the mesh smoothing. I just lower them in OB.

Side note for warden_1: I switch back and forth between poly and mesh. Mesh for when I want to turn hidden edges, and poly to mitigate effing up my UVs.

[warden_1 1070]

Possible to get one of the UVs? Also is it on a single 2048 texture? I like the idea you mentioned regarding a singular grayscale sort of color that you could modify the colors with by using RVmats, that's smart. The edge beveling is a nice touch as well.

[scotg 204]

I have several material sets. Anything that is on the main body paint, including the door jams, is on one UV set. This part uses one of eight 2048x2048 color textures, one of three SMDIs, and one of three RVMATs, and is the named selection called "Camo1." That's the randomized part. The rest of the vehicle uses non-random colors. The UV sets for those are one 2048 for undercarriage and exterior plastic, a 2048 for interior, a 1024 for glass including interior glass and lights, a 1024 for wheels/tires, and another 2048 for gauge faces and button labels - big for legibility. Whatever the color size, the corresponding maps are the same size (e.g.: 1024 _co gets a 1024 _nohq). The bevelling works, but It was a result of not figuring out those flipped green channel normal baking. I could probably shave off about 1500 in LOD1. However, LOD2 and so on resort to using different smoothing groups where there'd otherwise be a soft edge - only because they're further away.

[scotg 204]

You may notice I have mostly quads. The .p3d will have tris. When I'm ready to export the max file, I save and then add edit mesh modifier to all objects, and make all edges visible. Then I add edit poly modifier, and export selected. Once that has gone through successfully, I delete those two modifiers to maintain the model how I prefer to work. If something goes wrong in that time, then I have that save point right before export. I do very, very minimal editing in OB - stuff like moving elements with overlapping vertices into place, as in the first wireframe pic.

[scotg 204]

...for normal baking Green channel needs to be inversed for Arma.

So it seems I already had the green channel reversed. It must be pretty common in Cry Engine, the previous engine I used to make models for. Anyway I went ahead and uninverted the green channel just to see the difference. That messed things up in a different way, so I set it back the way I had it and reexamined the output. This time, I made a simple wheel and tested it in buldozer, for the sake of simplicity and focus. So if it's not the flipping of the green channel that was wrong, it's some other factor that I'm revisiting. After time, I've forgotten that it was the way Real Virt. engine automatically deals with surfaces. When I apply a baked normal, it makes otherwise flat surfaces look concave. Basically, the normal map is overcorrecting the geometry.