scotg

Hello, and welcome to 1993.

Well that sucks. I was thinking maybe attaching to the Neck instead, but I think we'd see the same problem with slightly different obstruction. There has to be something different, because while there are visible indications of ambient animation in 1stPOV, the player view is more subtle and not exactly synced up to what the character is doing. To be specific, we might see a brow wipe and walk/run bobbing, but we are never subject to having to look down at our shoes and weapons - BUT THESE ANIMATIONS ARE STILL GOING ON! See, I didn't even know that until I put the helmet in pilot_view and tested in-game.

Need a project to cut your teeth on? This unique mod may challenge you to become the scripter you always dreamed you could be - the guy that makes girls' pants wet! Make your mamma proud! Seriously, though, I'm looking for a scripter to fine-tune my in-game models, mostly so that I can continue to focus on the artwork. I need someone who can push themselves to add polish and shine to the mod. The mod is called Fight for Freedom. It's based on our favorite (US) army men from the '80s, the successor to the toy line that invented the term "action figure," but with extra doses of realism mixed in for that tasty immersive flavor. Here's a quick list of work that needs fulfilled: Tanks Set up for a variety of tracked vehicles with full modeled interiors and articulation. - Crew hatches will need to have at least three stages - open, turned out, and shut. Depending on vehicle, turned out may be split into two phases - turned out sitting and turned out standing - for a possible total of four. - Change displays and/or display focus of individual crewmen. E.g.: commander's screen changes from his top cam to the gunner's cam - stuff like that. - Performance. Climbing, speed, turning, etc. - Weapons. Specify what weapons are used and which crewmen will control them. Define firing rates, weapon change order, range, etc. Custom [some fictional] weapons will be needed; see "Ammo" below. Ammo Some vehicles in this mod will have unique weapons with unique ammo. We will need to define them and create them. Other Vehicles and Stuff There's plenty to do, including helis, cars, boats, and anything else that needs work. I have a good chunk of the models already, and quite a bit more in line waiting for me to create them. At the time of this post, I have these items semi-working ingame: 3 tanks 1 helicopter 4 cars 4 airplanes, including 3 VTOLs 1 boat 3 helmets Much more on the way! This is a paid opportunity! The more you're involved with the project, the more you get paid, so let's talk about getting some $$$$ into your dusty wallet! Fight for Freedom Rooster3D's Arma 3 Assets Promotional Images

The View Commander LOD in Object Builder now says "[obsolete]," so I was wondering what that means for me as I develop the commander's interior of my tank. For those who know their tanks, my vehicle is a modified RDF/LT - a small tank which has the driver and gunner in the hull while the commander is alone in the turret with an autoloader. Thus, he has his own POV while the other two crewmen can share an LOD in their tight space. If the [obsolete] status is going to affect my tank, then what are my options?

All good, DP. You weren't way, way off. It was considered for a brief moment, but then it turns out that the more important thing is to get people interested in the project. When It becomes a bigger ordeal, then perhaps the strategy will change, but it would have to be worth people's time and that other thing that time equals.

EDIT, for Simplified Clarity: 1. This mod will be free as long as it utilizes the Real Virtuosity engine and/or is connected to Arma 3, in the spirit of Arma modding. This should go without saying, but I feel like now it needs to be highlighted. 2. Viewing the videos and participating in live streaming demonstrations of the assets in production has thus far been free for viewers and followers, even though that is an entirely separate venture outside of the scope of the actual mod. 3. Donating is not a paywall, and is discussed in more detail on the appropriate sites - link given in my signature. The information about the tiered reward system given there may change, and will change according to that venture's needs. 4. This will be a fun mod for everyone, and you don't have to be a GI Joe fan already to enjoy using the assets I am creating. In that spirit, and in the good fun spirit of Arma 3, let's try to keep concerns about donations to private conversations or on the sites where donations are discussed. These comments are very encouraging, but I have not and will not ask for donations for this mod on these forums. Please, let's avoid these kinds of conversations here, but I say again: let's talk about it in private or away from BI forums altogether. I can make the time. This will be a fun mod!! As long as I am at it, I am dedicated to making it great! ---------------Original Post---------------------- A valid concern. I have been letting the tests run for free, btw. The challenge with letting other people test the assets, at this stage, is if someone decides they want to misuse them or go rogue I could not prevent that. If they wanted to present them as their own, then how would I stop that? I believe that people will do the right thing, but there's a risk of trusting a wolf in sheep's clothing. They are out there, and even I, someone who once looked up gullible in the dictionary, am not so naive to just hand my babies over to them. I have given thought to the idea a few times, though. Since you bring it up, if I decide to set up a system like what you suggest in the future, then A) the way I have things set up now must be the first step to getting there, B) it would hypothetically require a much larger donation tier than $2 (more like $200 per test), and C) it would also require them signing an NDA. With such a fuss, I'd rather get to a point where I can pay testers than ask them to pay me. That's usually how it's done, anyway. ...But don't be offended by me requesting donations on other sites. I have some favorite internet shows/clips I watch and wish I could donate to, but I can only donate to a few of them right now. I have a little bit of that luxury because I cut out my cable bill, so now it's only internet, Netflix, and occasionally HBO Go for my family. @Donnie_Plays, your support, kind words of encouragement, and all things like that are very much appreciated. I can't emphasize that enough, and you have personally made me smile and drive on many times just by your awesome comments! Many others like you have done the same for me, and that includes on this forum as well as others. It's enough to make me happy, but it doesn't make my wife happy. LOL. This is a good mod, and me making extra, viewable showings of the progress, at anything more than a screenshot level of quality, is going the extra miles. I'm accepting donations (on other sites), but please, please, feel free to keep watching if you can't or won't give. As long as people like it and want to watch it, that is my top priority. It does me no good to have it sit there unwatched. My Patreon has tiers set up , but I have yet to enforce the paywall. My live streams have been free so far. So WHY am I even taking donations, when a lot of other mods are not? Before you read on, please close your eyes and open your heart, and know that I am not complaining - at all - but this is all just an effort to present my perspective, and possibly help you understand. I want to be in agreement, and I have already been on that side of the fence, where you are standing. Now open your eyes and read on :-) (You can laugh at me, because I know how ridiculous that statements is in text, lol!) Now, look closely at the good mods, and you'll see that the ones offering my level of content (or better) have something else going for them. Take, for example, RHS, whose content is phenomenal! They are a cooperative, global group of individuals that are already mostly making their money elsewhere. They are so dedicated to the team effort and the cause that they can overlook the financial loss when they put mods out. I have been struggling to find people that can be dedicated to my mod, even though you and I know in our hearts that it's going to be a fantastic game for everyone! If I sweeten the pot by offering to pay aspiring developers, which requires getting money from somewhere, then maybe people will give it a shot to come work on it. The few people that have asked to be a part of the team in the last nine months since I announced the mod have done zero. I don't hold it against them, but this mod cannot survive on that, and they cannot survive as developers on giving me free work. Let's look at another angle: Many mods don't have such a great team and still offer free content. Well, what are they offering? Mostly, they have acquired their models from somewhere - either they have paid someone a small fee to use it because it's available to buy, and it's being bought and used in other games or 3D applications, OR they have found some free models out there. What they most likely didn't do is create unique content from scratch, which is what I'm doing. The unique content mods are the ones that suffer, because people don't want to donate to it when other mods are putting out Abrams, Tigers, F/A-18s, A-10s, ACUs, and AKs without donations. Largely distributed content like this is all over the place, and it's a dime a dozen. Look at DDAM's Danish Forces mod, though. It's a great mod with original, unique content; he even has the real life experience serving in the Danish Army to back up its authenticity! The mod is kind of semi-released and not near what he wanted to accomplish, because he couldn't find people to work on it - because he couldn't pay them - because he (as far as I know) never asked for donations. Did I mention that my content is created from scratch? It's also very unique in that there are no real sources for this material!! It's unbelievably challenging to make an A-10 into a VTOL, for example! That's probably why nobody has done it to such a dedicated degree. My models are also not available in any other outlet; I don't have any of them on turbosquid or the like. Since this is all original work, I don't have any problems taking donations made from showing them off, and then re-purposing that to help in the development of the mod. It's for the benefit of the community in large. The thing that finally pushed me into taking donations was actually my followers, who watched the videos or saw the renders. I got a few posts and PMs through various outlets like YouTube and deviantArt where fans of this project have actually asked me where to find my Patreon page, but I didn't have one and never even thought about one at that point!! But WOW! What an encouragement, right?! So, I obliged. I think perhaps you are looking at my position as if I'm holding the project hostage, but I'm only looking for ways to push it along and financially benefit the good people who are its future developers. The reality is that money is needed for that, unfortunately. Furthermore, I haven't even withheld anything from non-donators apart from some minor updates and posts. I have lost a donator already, (probably) because he feels like he is not getting anything more than the general public. So in his mind, why pay for the extra if it's not extra? Thankfully, I have donators who get it. They pledged up before there even was a reward system, and when I tell them they are eligible for rewards they are like, "It's all cool. Just keep making the mod!" One guy donated such a gracious amount that I created a reward tier for him, but he said it wasn't necessary. He had already decided he wanted to give what he did, simply on the concept of the mod, and he never looked at the rewards tiers in the first place. I'm not expecting people like these to come out of the blue, but I'm simply letting it be known that when they do fall from the sky they have a soft, welcoming place to land. Listen, if it bothers you so much, then I implore you not to donate, please! I would rather have your presence than your money, but I also want you to bring your friends along for the ride. Let's hope they enjoy it even more than we do!

Getting into a vehicle most of the time allows me to start moving it right away, even before the driver/pilot has finished its enter animation. There is a "thrustDelay" setting in the config, but mine is set longer at 1.5 than, for example, the Offroad truck at 0.5. I was wondering if this is for start up sequence only, or is it for every time the throttle is applied? A different key binding arrangement would help, too. I already have my engine on/off settings as a separate key (2x Z), but maybe a new key binding

I was thinking about starting some tutorials for making addons. There is always more to learn, but I have learned a great deal so far and may be able to help mod makers, especially artists, bridge some gaps in the process. As some of you may know, I have an ongoing addon featuring vehicles and gear inspired by GI Joe. To demonstrate the development of these assets, I have created videos highlighting their current performance within the Arma 3 environments. I have also held a couple of live stream demonstrations. This is mainly for publicity, in hopes of making Arma 3 and GI Joe fans aware, and to get more fans excited about the project. It recently occurred to me that even if people aren't fans of GI Joe or the mod, I can still use some of my models to instruct artists on some finer points to creating excellent real-time game assets. If this sounds interesting and useful to you, let me know! With enough interest I could help other mod makers hone their craft, for Arma 3 or for general purposes.

Hey guys, in light of the awesome discussion here, I want to try something. I am making live asset test streams free to watch, but by invite only. These streams are not tutorials, but are instead a way to give a working progress report of models that I am developing. Live chat and interaction is encouraged, and I will be attempting to answer questions. If you want to participate, then PM me before 3:00 PM US Pacific Time, tomorrow, Sunday, May 20. Afterwards, be looking for a response with the link to the stream. Any PMs received after that may not be seen, as I will be prepping for the demo.

I should mention that I'm making the Stream demonstration available for free to interested individuals. If you want to participate, then PM me before 3:00 PM US Pacific Time, tomorrow, Sunday, May 20. Be sure to keep a look out in your PM inbox for my response, which will have a link to the stream. You may share the link with your friends outside of this forum. Any PMs received after that may not be seen, as I will be prepping for the demo.

Then, it might not be making tutorials. Just like harvesting and building the knowledge in the first place, making tutorials would take me away from the hands-on work of making my models. I don't even like to edit the scripts, but that is a necessity at this point. All of this discussion about donations is driven by a single goal: I want to produce my mod at a faster rate. I am hoping that some kind of income will incline inventive individuals interested in immediate involvement. Pardon the alliteration. You have a good point about not chasing the money, though. Before this thread I didn't want that to be the driving force, and I still don't. I just don't see how it can be done, on my part, without monetary support. @ProfTournesol Great input! Respectfully, there is no such thing as free knowledge, but this is probably more of a philosophical statement.

Thanks, @laxemann, and some very good advice from the previous three members, @PuFu, @Macser, and @Rich_R. Thank you, gentlemen, for all your insights and kind advice; it is very much appreciated! It is often hard to tell whether someone is having fun or making fun, but I generally have a naive outlook and want to give everybody the benefit of the doubt. When I feel like that is being abused, I can get a little snarky. My bad, everyone. I started the Patreon after receiving a few requests for it from my followers on youtube, deviantart, etc. I don't want to charge them for the mod, so it's all about the rewards. If the mod stops or takes on a new direction, then at least I will have provided some entertainment for them. I agree with throwing a broader net. I guess my idea was that there are plenty of other broad nets out there, and very few Arma 3 specific videos that instill confidence in the artists and cyber-protegees that are viewing.

I don't find trolls offensive; I find them irritating. There's a difference. ;) I was relaxed, but now it's hard to be at peace knowing my biggest fan is leaving... :) To clarify for others, I don't see anywhere in my original post that implies doing any tutorials for free, and I think if it were such an easy task, then more tutorial videos would have been done for free already. I empathize with you if you felt misled, but as clever as I can be with words sometimes, I can't even see any accidental trickery regarding free videos. (Reading it back a few times, the only misleading part might be where I talk about using my mod assets to help people learn, but as I clarified in a previous post, I'm only saying that they would be useful in a video and that I'm not offering models for dissection.) I'm here getting a feel for any interest there may be for better tutorials and simply wanted to propose the idea. I did a little number crunching after the initial post and then realized it might not be so easy. IT'S GOING TO COST SOMEBODY SOMETHING, so it only makes sense to pass it on to the ones who would benefit from the information. $500 is low, like ridiculously low, especially when being spread out among 25 people. Honestly, I would like it to be $5 for 100 people or $1 for 500 people, but I didn't think I could get that many supporters. Don't be afraid of a little capitalism; everyone is just trying to make ends meet. Looking back on my experiences, if any one person or group made a comprehensive, understandable, and effective series of tutorials for modifying this game, I'd have gladly paid them for the efforts because it would have saved me time and headaches. The good thing about having subscribers, in my mind, is that I would build a rapport with them. I'm imagining they would tell me something like, "Hey, I watched such and such video, by another mod maker, on making SMDI textures, but it seems to miss out on something. Help!" At which point, I could simply explain the missing steps, or I could even create a better video if the problem was large enough. For future reference, it's not necessary for anyone to come into this thread and say things like, "good luck, lol." We all know it's mocking when otherwise well wishes are topped off with laughter. If people don't like the idea I'm proposing, then they are kindly invited to close their pie holes, or go elsewhere if they wish. :)

Yeah, that's about right, but... oh I see. We have ourselves a passive-aggressive naysayer who's too passive to actually say nay. I get it, though. It's a good chunk of money. I actually doubted making tutorial videos would be worth my time, and started having second thoughts about doing any of this. Then I decided to set up the payout the way it is, in hopes of actually dissuading people who talk game but have no follow through. That's why it would be for the serious and multiple people. I suppose I could do it for less, but as an instructor I've noticed people stay dedicated when they actually invest in themselves. The more people would sign up, the less pricey that subsequent videos could *possibly* become, because, hey, I'm not tryin'na make big bank here. I'm just putting feelers out at this point, anyway; no need for mockery. If I did not propose the videos, then I would not know the level of interest. In case anyone is wondering how good my own creations are - you know, as a kind of yardstick of what I can actually do - then you can get a look at them here: Works In Progress - judge for yourselves (but please don't bother with leaving cynical remarks).

Hey y'all! This Sunday, at 5:00 PM, I will be conducting a demonstration of a vehicle in flight. If you're interested in participating (in the chat room) in the Live Asset Test Streams, and you want to watch me demonstrate these fine vehicles, then be sure to subscribe here: I will be talking via microphone with subscribers in the chat room (via their keyboards), in a typical Twitch-style session (although, this is not a Twitch session). I will show things like up-close what the plane looks like, how it flies, and what other features it has, and I will answer any other possible questions. Be sure to check it out!!!

LOL Maybe I am being misunderstood. I'm not offering my models and textures for dissection; I'm offering to show viewers certain techniques I use to create them. I'm okay with people making their own, unique models and textures from watching the videos, and that would be the expectation. Furthermore, the videos would not be a start-to-finish coverage of any one of my projects; rather, they would show various examples of how people can make more than basic mod assets. I would be a fool to think that people wouldn't try to copy what I do, but I think that's the exception rather than the norm. Perhaps, you're right about it not being worth the effort, but there is definitely a need for edification in this community. AmmAyeRite?

It's a valid concern. I remember scouring for written and recorded tutorials (and occasionally still do); it's often frustrating. I can't say how up to date I can keep them just yet, since BIS are ever-changing as well, but I do make a point of trying to be thorough in all my endeavors. Also, I assume there are many techniques and procedures that I don't know about. Off the top of my head, here is a list of some of the things I could cover: Making textures (*.paa files) - _co, _ca, _smdi, _nohq, _as, _ti, and _dm; What they are, where they are used, and how to create and convert them (a mix of advanced and easy stuff). Editing Materials (RVMATs) - basics, like how they serve as a texture container, but also some advanced set ups for a variety of surfaces. Modeling and special materials and texturing for lights turning on and lighted dashboards. Techniques for creating shadow maps (for _as and _co tex) on static AND animated/dynamic objects - how to make them still look plausible when motion is involved. Modeling for animated parts, especially mechanical and flexible - helps addon vehicles and objects look less stiff and out of place. Personal experience tips on how to create models in the first place so that they can be quickly re-rigged in the Object Builder and model.cfg. Further explanation of instruments and gauges - how to make them and get them working. Personal experience tips on creating assets based on real life. Personal experience tips on creating fictional assets. Making a set of color options for an asset and getting them to select one randomly when it's spawned. How to make a tank's ground wheels of different sizes look good - a combination of modeling, model.cfg setup, and config.cpp setup. How to make PiP and video feeds. How to make tank tracks. How to make tires and rims. How to make glass and other alpha, plus the difference between _co alpha and _ca alpha, and when to use them. Also, more on how to set up different materials to utilize the same alpha file. I'm sure there's more I have forgotten to list, but as I think of them I can update it. Keep in mind this is contingent on how serious people are to get them. Many of these techniques aren't even covered in outdated or hard to understand tutorials. That being said, I have a Patreon page already set up for videos and streaming of my current addon vehicles - assets that are works in progress. As of this writing, it's a brand new site, and I only have five followers at various levels. I would need at least twenty-five followers at the "Apprentice" tier to justify the effort. This would cover the cost of making it exclusive to those who are serious about upping their craft. This idea could fly or flop, but I'm prepared for either way.

This is what I'm thinking , but I also wanted to include some things that aren't explained very well elsewhere. I have some advanced techniques that add some polish and shine to mods, and I think it could bump mod'ers and their mods up to a new level. This is all subject to how much of a need it would fill. It's not easy making those videos, so if I only get a handful of people who are serious enough about it then the effort would be too high for the outcome.

The live stream went smoothly, but I have a few followers request me to do it again. I will, and this time it will be during the weekend so that more people can watch. If you missed the last session, and you love airplanes, especially VTOLs and A-10s, then you don't want to miss this!!!! Stay tuned here in the next 24 hrs. for time announcement. Actual live stream will be held on the coming weekend, likely in the late afternoon PDT. EDIT: I'm sorry I forgot to make the announcement on Tuesday [kicks self in teeth, Cantrell style]

https://www.patreon.com/Rooster3D At 1:00 PM PDT (about 5 minutes after this post), I will be conducting a live stream of the "Diamondback" VSTOL aircraft. For those of you familiar with GI Joe and Cobra, this is the name I chose (tentatively) for my homage to the Rattler. For those of you out of the loop, it's an A-10 with VTOL capabilities, and some other modifications. If you miss the demo, and want to see it again, I can hold another stream session later today or tomorrow, granted enough requests. The Live stream can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/Rooster3D

I had already moved on, but since you want to poke the bear... There's documentation to some of your free stuff as well, and there's only a small piece of information floating around implying the documentation to the free stuff is outdated. Having been a paid subscriber in the past I can attest that the paid tools documentation has also been outdated and/or unintelligible (during my subscription period - 2016). Your consistency is compromised, thus my argument stands valid. I'm not here to argue, though. I just want to get to the best way to compile my work. Some people say Mikero Tools is best, and that's fine. Others say there's no need for the subscriber version. Still others say stay away from it all together - also fine. I've tried all three ways and found that pboProject is more thorough, but setting it all up jacks up my work environment. Its thoroughness is redundant in my case. You've got your reasons for making the tools whichever way you did; that's very clear. However, my confidence in them has been shaken, as I'm sure is the case with many others. I don't have any beef with you, but I do get annoyed with your fanboys that try to solve every problem with, "that's because you're not using Mikero's Tools," rather than offering any insightful input. The initial statement stands true, but perhaps it requires a qualifier that it stands true for the free version of pboProject.

Recently, I switched away from BIS' Addon Builder to Mikero's pboProject. Animations that were working in AB are now causing errors in the Mikero method; thus, binarizing is failing. Click the spoiler to see my binlog, which is the the only indication that there might be something wrong with the RTMs: binlog When I comment out the custom driver/cargo animations from the config.cpp the problem persists, giving the same report above. When I actually remove the RTM files from the Anims folder AND comment them out, the pbo packs successfully (despite the other warnings about textures and shadows). Now that we have established that the RTMs are indeed the problem, what could I possibly be doing in creating them that does work with Addon Builder, but does not work with PboProject? ADDED, in case these are needed: model.cfg config.cpp

Hi all, I'm trying to figure out helicopter rotorheads. I was looking at the fully articulated rotors on the Pawnee, and watching their behavior in motion. Fully Articulated means they have flap, pitch and lag pivot movements, but the game really only seems to deal with the articulation if it's visible in-game. Having a look at the code and seeing what it actually does can be a little hard to follow; there's a LOT going on now. First, the droop of the blades is gradually straightened out as the rotor shaft turns faster and faster. Second, as the blades straighten, the flap of the blade is raised; this is not so graceful and looks similar to a strong gust of wind suddenly inverting an umbrella into a bowl. Incidentally, it appears in the model.cfg that each blade pitch axis is defined, although I do not notice a change in-game. On a real chopper it would look like if you hold your arm out the side of your body, hand flat and horizontal, and then rotate your forearm 90 degrees to where your hand is vertical. The super detailed AH-64D Apache mod by Nodunit and Franze actually does this. Though the Pawnee appears to be rigged the same way, I can't see the result. Blade pitch isn't all that important, at the moment, so getting back to the topic... Third, in addition to the blade straightening and flap raise of the blades, they can be angled depending on the direction the pilot stick (cyclic) is moved. This is where it gets tricky, because in-game the blade flap is initiated by the cyclic controls (leaning forward, back, left, or right). On the Pawnee an individual blade also adjusts its flap angle up or down depending on its progress in the 360 rotation of the hub and is independent of the other blades' flap angles. Look at the image of the rotation path as I applied a left cyclic lean: The hub stays in place while the blades individually tilt. It looks excellent and mimics the behavior of an articulated hub quite well. Now that we've established all that, however, the challenge I am facing is how to do this with a semi-rigid rotorhead system, as seen on the Hueys and Robbies. On the semi-rigid system there are usually just two blades that are rigidly connected. When one blade is "flapped" upwards, the other is "flapped" down; for this reason it is also sometimes called a teetering rotorhead. A picture of this would depict the entire blade assembly to be in a straight line no matter what the angle (except for blade flexing/drooping). In a real semi-rigid heli, the blades are rigidly attached to one another but still have pitch and sometimes even lag pivots (like folding blades but less range of motion); hence, it is called semi-rigid. Now that I see it in action, the lack of it has become a sore thumb on all the non-updated choppers. If it's a noticeable effect enough to use with the Hummingbird/Pawnee and the Mohawk, then it would be even more noticeable on my semi-rigid heli, but how do we set up the skeletal hierarchy?

I love how you say "futuristic" for stuff that was around in the '80s! LOL I get what you're saying though. Some of the aspects of modern war, and not just in games but also in real life, are kind of de-personalized. But conflict, war, violence - whatever you want to call it - has always been in a constant state of refinement since Cain killed Abel.

Looking at most of the BIS vehicle models, there's a section listing "Potential Axis." Does anyone know the purpose of this list, and should I be using one in my model.cfg files? BTW, for BIS devs the plural of axis is axes.