scotg

Ok Good, it's not some extra step that makes things run smoother. So what you're saying is that even my finished model, packed without such a list, will have the list anyway when it is opened through eliteness? This is a little OT, but if that's the case then I apologize to BIS for correcting your spelling, when it's actually Mikero. X-D

@jandrews Hi! Thanks for the good questions. @Nichols summed up the first two answers really well - probably better than I would have since I tend to elaborate and digress past the point (BTW: thanks Nichols!). 3. This might be a consideration, but let's not hold our breath on it. I hadn't though about it until you brought it up, but there might be some problems. It's kind of on the edge of violating BIS policy regarding mods, and it might be detrimental to development if the scope of this project becomes full-scale. We are hoping the project will indeed get huge, and it will take some craftiness to pull that off. If we don't get backing from Hasbro, then we would have to alter the assets somewhat to avoid infringing on their products and whatnot. That might actually work to our advantage anyway, since this project is intended to reflect real life plausibility, and all the toys have deviated far from that. What we hope to do is to make new fans simply based on the quality of our content, who wouldn't have otherwise considered themselves GI Joe fans. I get that, because it can be a little excessively hokey/campy/cheesy, especially the cartoon. Ultimately, and if we get backing from Hasbro, we want our fans to say, "Oh, wait... This excellent game has been GI Joe all along? Dang, I guess I can be a GI Joe fan now." Now I've gone and elaborated way off topic. LOL Okay, to further answer your question, but to hopefully stay on topic, I will say what I can do for subscribers (these and more are all covered on the Patreon page): 3A: In order to demonstrate these assets in action in real-time as they are being developed, I have started a live-streaming account for Subscribers to watch the testing of the assets. There will also be an interactive chat. Subscribers will get prior notifications of these interactive sessions, and I will most likely do a few repeat sessions on streaming days, to accommodate for different time zones. As we get more artists, testers, and other team members, more assets, and of course more Subscribers, there will be more potential for more sessions and more other videos. MORE MORE MORE!!! ;-) I've left this at a lower donation level for the masses, and this is where we want the masses to be because it's extremely affordable and somewhat unique. While most other Gamecasters/Streamers are just showing their gamer skillz, shortcuts, and cleavage, we are actually giving a window to part of the production process. I hope this entices more than just GI Joe fans, Arma 3 fans, or game fans. This is Discovery/History/A&E Channel level stuff!!! 3B: I have reduced some of the older, large scale images on my deviantArt site, so that Subscribers (at the "Collector" level) can have access to updated, larger images that will be suitable for 4k wallpapers, or maybe even prints. 3C: For "Sponsor" level supporters, your name or logo or image will be placed in-game - a kind of shout-out for your commitment. It's an expensive level, though, because I want it to be reserved for serious donators and keep it from getting out of control. As a Subscriber, the best thing you can do is to recruit other Subscribers. The focus of the Patreon is to generate interest for a fantastic game with a unique setting. It happens to fit well enough into what Arma3/RV can do right now. The donations are to help perpetuate the development, live streams, and videos, and also to give the whole thing some legitimacy. It doesn't pay for product at all, and it's important to distinguish this. We want to attract professionals to develop this project, and motivate the people involved to up their game to a pro level, so we can all get paid and put out something great. If/when the project goes into AAA title production, the donations will still be used for a team set aside for the streams and other developmental coverage, whereas development itself will be funded by big brand. This is all very fluid right now, and may change at anytime for whatever really works. More info can be found on the Patreon site.

So, for a character, this practical limit would be...?

SHAMELESS PLUG!! Hey everyone! I just wanted to take this time to announce the Patreon page for this project: https://www.patreon.com/Rooster3D. Subscribers will get the benefits of watching the production process unfold. The sweetest part of this Patreon will be the inclusion of Live Asset Test Sessions, in which subscribers can watch and even have chat interaction while I demonstrate and play-test vehicles, character gear, and equipment. Whether you are a fan of ArmA 3, GI Joe inspired vehicles, other mods, unique military equipment, or game development, this should be a great value to you! There will be other goodies as well, but the details are still being ironed out. If you are interested in taking advantage of the subscriber benefits, then check out the link! As some of you may know, ArmA3 is running on the Real Virtuosity engine by BIS. Currently, ArmA3/RV provides a good foundation for assets inspired by GI Joe. When the mod is available for release, it will be a free download to everyone, of course. However, if the Patreon for the project generates enough subscribers (thus, revenue) then it will be considered for going into a full development. Many game engine developers license their engines to 3rd party developers. It may be unlikely that this will happen between me and BIS, but not to worry! If it goes into full production the game will likely switch to the Unreal Engine 4. There are some feature trade-offs between RV and UE4, which is why I don't just switch over already. One major feature is TrackIR, which I am very attached to, isn't quite there in UE4. The trade off in this case is that RV may never be VR capable, while UE4 has it working. Plus VR technology itself is somewhat low-res and looks like playing a game through a chicken-wire fence. No matter which direction the project goes, it will be a valuable addition. I still want this to be a complex, tactical-capable mod featuring large, free-roaming maps, as it already is, within ArmA3, by default.

I have recently spent time in Audacity creating some custom buggy sounds using audio from various VW engine foley. The OGG versions I've made work in game, but they are (as expected) out of sync. The WAV files do not work in game, but I can play them through any other playback program. I cannot convert the WAV versions into WSS for some reason. There are two tools that should do this, either WAVToWSS (one file at a time) or Sound Tools (appears to be a batch converter similar to ImageToPaa). For the single converter, nothing appears to happen, but using the batch converter at least gives me a message that the conversion failed. A 4-hour Web search later, I cannot find any reason that this is happening. I've tried lowering bit rates, changing to mono, exporting to 32 or 16 bit files... none of that works. EDIT: Don't know what was different, but the conversion worked. BTW, it's definitely only working on 16 bit, so... maybe starting with 16 bit and then trying 32 bit woke something up like the cpu/program said "no that's wrong... wait, you had it right before. My bad; you should go back to 16 bit. Carry on."

I just want to put in that this all about the technical aspect of the tanks' performances; it's not so much about how players or AI utilize the vehicles' abilities. That's the way I take it, anyway. That being said, how tanks are driven by whoever controls them is an important topic (whether here or elsewhere), but it's a secondary consideration of this thread. If controlling them in some way affects the manner they negotiate their environment, then it's relevant. Stay on topic to make sure you are staying afloat. This is the cusp at which the ocean floor starts to suddenly drop off from the shore, so watch your footing and bring your floaties and shark repellent.

Turns out it was on my dA site all along, but I did make a quick edit to frame it better. It's actually 1920x1200, the rez of my monitor, but you won't miss anything if you chop 120p off the top or bottom (or 60/60). Find the link to the big file here: Cobra Assets 01 (there's a download button on right column for the 1920x1200 file). Also, while you're there you may of course rummage through my galleries for any other artwork you like. Just note that if you use any of it for anything to always give credit to the author (me). :-) Cheers!

That was a cool collector's mod! The only thing I'd have done different is make the marquee backwards. It's meant to be his instructions (according to the cartoon). Kudos to people who have enough confidence to take an expensive collectible and customize it even better without ruining it. If you have an eye for form, volume, and spacial awareness along with some computer competency, then you can become a great 3D artist! Blender is free and powerful - a great tool for beginners. If you want to go the professional route, then you can use a trial version of 3D Studio Max for, I think, one month. I recommend the full version of this program. The trial period is meant to be long enough to help you decide if you want to go ahead and buy the full version or begin learning with the educational version. The educational version (EV) is cheaper (or maybe free?), but you have to be active in a certified course in the relative area of study. There are also other stipulations for the EV. I cannot remember the details, but they are on the website. You'll want to become proficient in a 2D program as well, like Photoshop of Gimp. You'll need these to make the textures of course, but they're also needed for all the little icons and pictures associated with your models.

This is not really an option, because ...but it may become more clear if you keep reading. First, for those trying to follow along: AB = Addon Builder/Breaker; MT = Mikero's Tools; RTMs = animation.rtm files; A3T = ArmA 3 Tools What, do you just hang out under the bridge of this thread waiting for innocent passersby? The funny thing is that I had AB working perfectly well until well-meaning people (for the benefit of the doubt) suggested using Mikero's Tools. It took way too long to get Mikero's pboProject (the Addon Stopper - I jest, but yeah pretty much by Mikero's own description) working right despite the thoroughly documented suite Mikero offers. After moving to the Mikero Tools I was not able to get Buldozer working properly, despite all the documentation on how it only needs to point to the one and only arma3.exe. It's a great suite for those who know how to use this kind of toolset and can concentrate more on the technical portion of a mod's development. As an artist, however, I can only allocate a little time to the setup. I have received as much help on Addon Builder in the past as I have with MT presently, so although I don't "expect" help from anyone on either method I bet there are other AB experts out there willing to help. As for MT, Mikero himself and you (RoF, and a sincere Thanks to you, btw!) have been some of the few people who actually started* to help. Just when it looked like Mikero was about to roll up his sleeves and dig in, he persisted I was not viewing a document that I have no access to - the readme for deRtm. Although most of his programs are thoroughly documented (as in abundance, not quality), it wasn't until after I decided to move back to Arma 3 Tools that I happened upon a tucked away webpage revealing in no uncertain terms that deRtm was, in fact, a subscriber only program. I have custom driver and crew static animations fitting my original vehicle models, so RTMs need to be included. It had been disappointing to finally get Mikero's Tools barely working, only to find that my mods would not pack as expected without paying for deRtm. Since AB does pack with RTMs, I have attempted to switch back to it. Now, I'm only not sure if I missed a step in the setup of A3T or if I need to fully uninstall the whole MT suite (which will allegedly remove all MT registry entries). If I can avoid going that drastic it would be best, because I'd like to keep dePbo/eliteness. Although I do appreciate the more informative error reports MT provides and the clean PBOs it produces, I need the ability to push a project into initial testing - including RTMs. When I have a big team working on this project, then maybe I can justify the annual cost of full MT. Until then, I'll be making "dirty" PBOs for myself to test these assets I'm creating. If it's okay with @RoF, then I'll wait for the advice of experienced pro-Addon Builder users and kindly ask the negative people to hold their tongues.

LOL. Yes, don't get into trouble at work. Coolness. I think having a lower-res texture for the goggle display would lend credibility to the time-period. If only I could do an overlay of the dialog box onto a model surface, then it could go on their goggle/visor. In addition to Cobra channel chat, it could include a running list of events occurring in-game (log-ons/offs, crashes, deaths, friendlies engaging in combat, enemies spotted, etc.). MASK would be a challenge to do in a game, because their whole thing was about the element of surprise. Unless you market your game/mod as a civilian vehicle pack AND keep the inclusion of disguised converting assault vehicles a big secret, then there are no surprises. Even then, eventually it will be out, and people will be watching for the red IROC Camaros and black Ford Broncos they encounter in the game: Also, if they wanted to blend into civilian cars, then they would have made more of them Honda Civics, Pontiac Sunbirds, Toyota Corollas, or even just cargo vans.

I thought maybe they can have a Speak & Spell type of vocal pattern, but I think the headset mics on Tele-Vipers did that. In the cartoon, Tele-Vipers were portrayed kind of like Lando Calrissian's cyborg assistant but with that canny, robotic voice.

Are you talking about the one in the sig? Easy enough, since it's from a screenshot at that size. Keep an eye out for it soon. I never knew of the BATs having voices, but then again I didn't read the comics. I only watched the cartoons.

...except that it's not there. Following your example above, starting with my BIG, bottom-left button, the Mikero section has shortcuts to specific (named) programs, uninstalls of said programs, a few Web links, and a bunch of unknown programs and file folders - simply titled either "docs" or "readme" (about 20 in total). Examining each of the readmes shows that they only pertain to whatever programs are included in the free suite (the named ones in the BIG, bottom-left button menu). So "ALL" of your documentations (which I take to mean does not distinguish between the free or paid status of the software they cover) are not available. If I still had a subscription, then maybe I would have found the documentation. Incidentally, I had one in 2016 and just let it sit there until it expired while I concentrated on creating my models and textures, but have since then had to tidy up the HDD and re-install the whole free package (downloaded from Maverick Apps). Maybe that's the cause of the confusion; maybe you are unaware of what's missing in your own programs since they are not regularly maintained. Granted, many things haven't been quite right since Windows 10 FCU, but the re-install came after that. Since we're talking about the non-maintained versions, I get it. No matter if it's on purpose or an accident, when you say... ...it has no meaning to me, because it cannot be verified with what I have access to.

@jandrewsThe best way would be to start from scratch and make a model, then texture it. Because of the Arm/hand detail and how it can be interchanged with weapons, new models are likely required. Now that we are talking BATs... I imagine them as strictly-AI characters, since they are intended to be low-level androids (and they have about the same kind of drone-like behavior that Arma 3 AI have). While they are cool in concept and a vital part of Cobra forces, their use in this mod is secondary. By that I mean that if we can get around to making them work in a way that makes sense, then we will have them, but the player-operated characters must be the primary focus. As you can see, I have done very little with even the primaries, having only a couple of Cobra helmets available. The BATs are going to have be put on their shelf, or maybe they can be part of an update to the mod, later-on. That being said, I find a lot of satisfaction in creating character helmets. Although I only have the Cobra brain buckets in-game, I have already begun helmet models on the Vipers, AVACs, common GI Joe helmet, and Snake-Eyes's specialized balaclava and goggles. I may have others, but it's been so long since I've started and paused those model projects that I cannot remember.

I still cannot find this documentation. For that matter, I cannot find where/how to download deRtm... I must be overlooking something. Is it part of pboProject or something else?

Since you've fixed links within the past year (i.e.: keeping the thread relevant), this is a friendly reminder that Mikero's Tools have a new host at Maverick Applications.

This is only helpful when one knows or can easily find which documentation applies to his situation. Searching for misleading or outdated (but well intended) results only adds to the frustration, yet I sift away still. In the case of your documentations, however, they are thorough and entertaining. I must admit I sometimes feel like I'm missing a key bit of information.

Hey everyone! It looks like PBOs might start packing again. I still can't figure out packing RTMs or setting up Buldozer to work in my new dev environment, but I can at least pack vehicles and gear again. The VAMP has been my pet project recently, so I thought I'd give y'all a teaser:

Well, using the model.cfg as is did not work, and renaming it awes_driver.cfg (because I have awes_driver.rtm and awes_cargo.rtm) did not work. Changing all instances of manskeleton to ofp2_manskeleton also did not work, and having just this did not work (not that is should have): class CfgSkeletons { class ofp2_manskeleton{}; }; Questions: - Do I need a PBOPREFIX file for every PBO? I have several projects that are intended to go into a group, a vehicles and gear mod, and possibly characters. I have yet to figure out how to use common folders in lower levels of the mod directory (used for textures, sounds, models - e.g.: vehicle radios, tires, etc.). - Do I need to first binarize the subfolder with the rtms, and then binarize the main vehicle folder? I'm confused.

I started with the same BIS sample model, so I'm assuming they haven't gotten a promotion somehow! LOL. However, I don't know how to tell if it's ofp2_manskeleton; it's whatever came out of the samples last fall, specifically Arma 3 Samples\Addons\TemplateRTM\Male.p3d. There is also a model.cfg in the same folder, but it only says "manskeleton" without the ofp2_. Here's what I found: BIS' TemplateRTM\model.cfg Would I need all of this, or are you saying skip all of this and just put "class cfgSkeletons.ofp2_manskeleton" at the top and then done?

I didn't get notifications for your replies, guys, so forgive me for the delayed response. I'm creating crew animations with 3DS Max 2010 for my custom vehicles, using the BIS sample models. I never figured it out, so I have been doing all static crew animations through OB. In OB I can just make a pose in a new frame (to preserve T-pose in original frame), duplicate that into another new frame, and then export as RTM. In 3Ds Max, adjusting the biped is way easier, but the details of exporting from Max and properly importing into OB elude me. Also, I'm now experiencing a setback after switching from Addon Builder to pboProject. I cannot include RTMs in my vehicle PBOs anymore. Mikero says it's because binarize cannot handle more than one type of skeleton per pbo, and the vehicle skeleton is the primary. Trying to find solutions to this is what led me back to this thread.

Lots of things need to happen. Top of the list is getting my P: drive, Mikero's Tools, and Buldozer all in harmony. While taking measures to ditch Addon Builder and get pboProject working, I lost the ability to preview models and textures in Buldozer. I also can no longer include vehicle occupant RTMs in the PBOs, for some reason. If I had a coder/scripter guy to handle vehicle configuration with more dedication, willing to take on extra challenging configs, then my output could be twice as fast, I think.

I just now realized how appropriate it is that the vehicle is a "buggy." Moving on, I tried removing only the cargo pose, awes_cargo.rtm, and its instances in the config.cpp. I kept awes_driver.rtm. Here's the report: EDIT: Okay, now I get what you're saying. The vehicle skeleton is the first one. The second one was actually the second and third one - two occupant animations. ...I think that's what I'm picking up. So, how do I get two custom crew animations into the mod if pboProject won't include them? Getting them included via Addon Builder was a strange process that didn't seem consistent, I should add, but I could at least mess with it until it worked for each vehicle.

@mikeroHey man, I'm sold on your tools, and I get the difference. We don't want to put product out there that breaks other mods or other people's computers. Although, I admit that sometimes I have trouble figuring out how to fix something even when the report tells me the problem. The vehicle is a buggy and has two occupants, a driver and a gunner. Since I have yet to set up the weapon, the gunner is actually a passenger for the moment. If possible, the final buggy will allow the gunner to turn off the weapon and set aside its controls. From here, the gunner can choose to just sit or to use his personal rifle/pistol as a human turret. That being said, I need at least two animations - one for each occupant. I have created two unique poses: awes_driver.rtm and awes_cargo.rtm. If you are interested in seeing these "weaponless" vehicle poses, as they were once included through Addon Breaker, then please see this video: I'd be willing to do some interface graphics for your tools if I could pick your brain on how to set up a mod better, make the tools more artist-friendly, and get my RTMs to work... and get Buldozer working in my dev environment. I should mention here that although the Mikero's Tools are working, I can no longer use Buldozer. Simply pointing to arma3.exe or arma3_x64.exe (as others have suggested) doesn't work.

I have several pbos, part of a larger mod, that utilize common textures and materials. Currently, these textures are copied into each sub-project's data folder, but I would like to create a common directory for them to help reduce file size of the final mod. I've tried setting up a directory system using a common folder in the root folder, but it's not a straightforward process between all the tools (e.g.: Object Builder, Addon Builder), the computer's directory, and the packed mod. So, is there some trick to it? I've searched, and the results I found turned out to be not really on point. I thought I had come across a tutorial for this kind of thing, but I cannot re-locate it. Can someone explain this process, or at least point me in the right direction?