CONVERT FOR ARMA ADDONS FROM OFP

[dob 0]

i try to convert my "cr250"

first i v write in cpp file

"requiredVersion = 1.00;"

i need to see in game to write in init

"canfloat = false"

whith that i v no error message but :

light wont work

dont seen the guy inside when i get in

perhaps need help  

edit : is peraps they r no anim for moto now:

Quote[/b] ] driverAction = "ManActJAWADriver";

cargoAction[] = {"ManActJAWACoDriver"};

edit 2 : short video exemple

[Guest RKSL-Rock]

The short answer at the moment is "NO you cant convert most OFP addons to ArmA."

I breifly explained why in this thread.

But after some experiments on my own stuff it seems that ArmA handles most of the selctions driven animations and proxies differently from OFP.  The Biki states (somewhere) that all the selctions are now in english so any converted addons will have to be completely reworked.

[dob 0]

so... tank ! just wait oxygen 2

comon BIS

[Ian Malcolm 0]

But after some experiments on my own stuff it seems that ArmA handles most of the selctions driven animations and proxies differently from OFP. The Biki states (somewhere) that all the selctions are now in english so any converted addons will have to be completely reworked.

I wouldn't call renaming selections as "complete rework" of the model There will be probably more work needed on scripts and configs though.

[Guest RKSL-Rock]

I wouldn't call renaming selections as "complete rework" of the model There will be probably more work needed on scripts and configs though.

Well as I understand it - you can just tweak aircraft.  Tanks, and other tracked stuff require quite a bit of rework especially around the tracks and road wheels.

Models will need to be remapped properly, ArmA's engine doesnt sem to liek streched textures. It crashes apparenlty.  Also the number of  texture files will need to be reduced.  Rumour has it that ArmA wont tolerate a large number of files so it better to try to nest everything onto 2-3 tiles max.

And finally, Units/Men will need to be completely rebuilt, since ArmA no longer uses the same selection and animation system.  The model structure itself is far more complex now, using an IK skeleton system.  So yes if we are talking about converting addons, specifically units/men then its a “complete rework†of the models.

All the information is in the Biki and BIS press releases if you actually read them.

[dob 0]

i m sad to read that but if we do completly rework addons, just will do it, i'm partner to OFrP mod, and think when they read that >>

[blackjack-VS- 0]

well not everything is lost i think....afterall a 3d model (whatever file extension u have) is a relation between points/edges/polys.

ofp textures can always be used as diffuse textures...

arma brings some new concepts to the game, but they are already old news in the game comunity. so what i insist and advise all addon makers is to learn and do some tests with high poly modeling, then convert it to low poly, learn how to extract the normal maps correctly... then learn how to create normal maps with gimp/photoshop, from the old ofp textures (without any creation of models to do the job).

All the other needed skills to build an addon are still on bis safe...named selections, texture details ( that info about streched textures that crash the game is dam weird...what are the uvmaps doing there afterall?).

As u see we have some time to spend around here, while bis cooks us a new oxygen tool... they could name it ozone

[MehMan 0]

I believe you would still have to create a high poly model for the normal map since you cannot manually paint a normal map, at least not a good one.

[dm 9]

I believe you would still have to create a high poly model for the normal map since you cannot manually paint a normal map, at least not a good one.

Simply not true.

And in most cases its prohibitive to create a high poly model just to use for normal reference, especially for buildings, vehicles and other man made objects.

[MehMan 0]

How does one make normal maps that don't look like shite then?

[dm 9]

The same way as every other aspect of addon making.

With a little time and effort.

[MehMan 0]

Yeah, but with what method, as then you'd just save me a lot of time....

Got any links?

[Ian Malcolm 0]

Models will need to be remapped properly, ArmA's engine doesnt sem to liek streched textures. It crashes apparenlty. Also the number of texture files will need to be reduced. Rumour has it that ArmA wont tolerate a large number of files so it better to try to nest everything onto 2-3 tiles max.

Well, all newer addons should be mapped this way, since the 3dfx cards fallen into the darkness of oblivion Old OFP engine was optimzed for them, but newer models from Resistanace had already reduced texture count.

Quote[/b] ]And finally, Units/Men will need to be completely rebuilt, since ArmA no longer uses the same selection and animation system. The model structure itself is far more complex now, using an IK skeleton system. So yes if we are talking about converting addons, specifically units/men then its a “complete rework†of the models.

Yes. That's true and i think it's good. Old OFP animations, skeleton and binding pose were awful

[dm 9]

Yeah, but with what method, as then you'd just save me a lot of time....

Got any links?

Theres plenty of tutorials on the net, just have to google for the right things.

Like: google

[Messiah 2]

I found the following link to be rather good at explaining how Normal Maps work and how to create them... they're just a more complex version of (dare i say it) adding 'bevel and emboss' type parts to an old OFP texture to give the impression of depth - whilst obviously they work differently, their creation and implementation is pretty much the same.

Link

question for people who know - with normal maps, does the, for instance, rivet you've normal mapped on the texture also need lighting/shading in the diffuse map as it was with OFP, or does the normal map apply the fake bump including shading and hi lights?

[xnodunitx 0]

Once you have applied the normal map to the model the lighting of the engine will take over,if the normal map is in a source of light then it will show,if in shadows it will not show.

[Messiah 2]

ok... so then you'll have to create a certain amount of depth on a texture then, as in real life even in the shade you'd still be able to determine depth of a rivet.

[xnodunitx 0]

If by depth you mean weathering and such then I suppose so,the trick is to let the normal maps do the beveling instead of doing it in photoshop,that way it will be more "dynamic" so to speak. Just add some weathering around dots or a darker smudge mark where the rivet will be on the texture and let the normal map do the rest.

[Messiah 2]

yeah thats what i mean... cool cool - just never used Normal maps (flashpoint is the first game i've ever modded for) so I'm eager to learn that i can before applying it all

[Romolus 0]

Actually, there's another type of texture that handles the shadows which is different to what I would call "weathering".

This is sometimes called "ambient occlusion" or "ambient shadows". In ArmA, it's the _AS texture that does exactly what you mean Messiah. It adds soft shadows on the texture where it's not directly lit by the sun.

Only a few models have separate _AS textures like houses or characters, the others seem to have the ambient shadows baked into the _CO textures or lacking them.

Depending on how the shaders are implemented, baking the ambient shadows might save a texture lookup and therefor is better for performance, but having a separate _AS texture is definitely more realistic as it gets faded out in direct sunlight.

One of the more obvious examples where you can see the disadvantages of baked ambient shadows is the T72, where the soft shadows that are cast by the turret onto the hull are clearly visible in direct sunlight. Especially the shadow towards the rear when the turret is turned.

The lack of ambient shadows can also be seen quite nicely on the lower part of the T72 hull which could be quite a bit darker.

If this would have been done with an _AS texture, it would even be lit well when the tank is flipped over and lit by direct sun light.

So I would at least keep ambient shadows as a separate layer in Photoshop, so that you have the option of going with a separate _AS texture or baking it into the _CO texture.

A third kind of texture is the specular map which defines the shininess of a surface. In ArmA this is either a separate _SM / _SMDI texture, or as the alpha channel of a combined normal+specular map in a _NS texture. From what I've seen all three variants are used on current ArmA models.

Personally I would rate this map type even more important than a normal map since it adds very visible and noticeable details especially for metal surfaces on vehicles. And it's even visible at the lowest shading and texture detail settings, which the normal maps are not.

And last but not least, there are _detail textures that add details like the scratches on the Harrier when you get close.

From what I've seen, Specular (_SM/_SMDI), ambient shadows (_AS) and detail (_detail) maps are always used no matter what your shading or texture settings are, while normal maps are only used when your shading details and texture details are set to low or above.

Hope this sheds a bit more light into what kind of texture maps are needed or used on ArmA models.

[Messiah 2]

I'd understood about specular maps and how they work, but this _AS layer sounds brilliant, and yes its exactly what I was trying to get at... _detail maps sound useful too...

cheers for the explanations, they're very useful indeed - I'm trying to read up and learn the new texturing systems and structure prior to getting my hands on the tools and implementing it... currently it seems pretty straight forward, and these extra texture layers allow you a hell of alot more scope.

with regards to the AS and detail map, do you just map the parts that should be shadow and the scratches, as you do on the specular map? (i.e. you map it onto its corresponding uv coords as with the diffuse map, but there is no background to the texture, just the details or the shadows)

[Romolus 0]

...with regards to the AS and detail map, do you just map the parts that should be shadow and the scratches, as you do on the specular map? (i.e. you map it onto its corresponding uv coords as with the diffuse map, but there is no background to the texture, just the details or the shadows)

Yes, the _AS maps are just greyscale textures like the specular map.

The _detail maps are also greyscale for the Harrier but from the wiki it looks like also color detail maps are possible.

For the UV coordinates have a look at the .rvmat files. This is where the material settings are stored. From what it looks like UV transformations are supported as well as several UV sets. But without having the proper tools it's hard to say to what extend those are supported and what impact it has on performance.

You can find out what textures and rvmats a model is using by looking into the p3d files and then going through the rvmat files to see what other texture maps are used. Looking at the textures and the model in game should make their effect obvious.

The _AS maps can be a bit tricky to see in game because the effect is subtle and our eyes are used to those shadows so you don't really notice them when they're there. It's easier to notice when they're missing or wrong.

One place where you can observe an _AS texture map is the camelbak of the team leader unit. When in shadow, there's a faulty shadow seen as a dark triangle right below it's handle which is clearly identifiable in the _AS texture map. This triangle disappears when the camelbak is in direct sunlight. Once you know what to look for, you might also notice the other subtle shadows of the equipment.

So far the methods are pretty much state of the art and used for most games now, so I'm sure you there are some tutorials or descriptions on the net about those methods.

Although I'm a bit surprised that all those texture maps are used even in the lowest shader and texture settings. Looks like there are no real fallback-shaders for low-performance graphics cards.

So everyone should be careful what maps he's using on an addon as this might give quite a performance hit on lower-end graphics cards.

[Messiah 2]

unfortunatly I dont have Arma yet (or is that fortunatly given that hopefully the 505 release will be much more complete and less buggy) so I cant quite go in and look at the AS textures, but I'll take your advice and have a look around the tutorials on the net... alot of the Doom 3 modding communities have some very useful tutes on Normal Maps already, so I'll start looking there.

[xnodunitx 0]

Same here,first I'v heard of it but it definatly sounds promising and an interesting thing to tinker with. I thought I saw soft shadows in other images,wasn't sure if I was going crazy or not,thanks for clearing that up Romolus

[blackjack-VS- 0]

Romulo --- thank u SO much for all the precious informations. u cleared all my doubts relating to "what does arma 3d engine eats?"

i dont visit the arma wiki for a couple of months, so maybe all this info is there and i missed it.

i'm really excited to know that we can use occlusion&specular passes (Texture) . i spent the all day using oclusion maps at work. it gives a really special touch of realism to a 3d model.

so far i just unpboed the character.pbo, so i didnt find those material files.

since i have realy few time per day to spent around arma files, can u point me the pbo's where i can find the materials descriptions and the diferent kind of textures (oclusion/specular/normal) ?