scubaman3D

I don't think 3DRipperDX would capture the geo lod - I'm sure somebody would have solved the geo problem by now if it were possible.

its in ACE

There must have been something else going on. BIS uses alpha textures on their optics like the eotech and aimpoint. you can see they're named xxx_ca in the pbo.

well just look at his post count...you don't get that many by posting about useful things ;) Just teasing plantiff... Ok, I'm here so I'd better post otherwise somebody will comment about my lack of posting a WIP. This is the TAC50 model that Dasquade and I are working on - this time I'm messing around with the "super shader" and trying to get best results. Its shaping up pretty well. This is rendered In bulldozer - 1x 2048^2 texture on the gun and 1 texture for the scope.

My guesses are that this either has something to do with binarization, or it has to do with your alpha sorting (i.e. select the model, go to faces->sort). Otherwise, I'm not sure - I haven't had this problem with A1 weapon models in A2.

But I guess this is my point. People who come to this conclusion should better determine to become established addon makers themselves. Not have a reputation of making hack-job addons. We should encourage individuals in this scenario to learn more and practice creating. This is the idea behind RKSL's project for beginners - to share knowledge and provide a helpful environment for these individuals...the rest will come down to hard work and motivation.

I can see all of your points and I don't strongly disagree. I would, however, like to point out that I am not "against" the release of any BIS MLODs - as some of you have implied I have said. I will repeat again what I wrote in my first post: "I would be happy with a couple sample models of each type[i.e. 2-3 vehicles, 2-3 soldiers, 2-3 weapons, etc...] but releasing all MLODs again might have the same result. Besides, we still have the ArmA1 MLODs to make hacked models from - for those who wish to." We all can still learn a lot from the A1 MLODs (exception character models) and to be honest, I would really be surprised if BIS releases all of the MLODs from A2.

I don't know if I agree. I think its an interesting discussion. I might suggest that the release of all BIS MLODs would stifle the addon community. I'll give 2 examples from A1 that I think illustrate my point: After the release of the MLODs, many of the weapon addons which followed were just unoptimized cut/paste jobs. It seemed that it was mostly the large mods who had their own modelers came out with truly original weapon content. A second example can be found by looking at Jonny's stuff. Same thing happened here. He came out with some original content and then many of the character stuff which followed, used his models, rearranged and retextured, etc... I would be happy with a couple sample models of each type but releasing all MLODs again might have the same result. Besides, we still have the ArmA1 MLODs to make hacked models from - for those who wish to. :) I'm not against sharing - I'm just FOR variety and originality.

nice. keep up the good work

No its not. I just checked it - the flat plain "billboard" method in lods was from OFP. Yes, there are some flat parts of the M107 model but those are not cylinders.

Right - so for the last lod, I would probably go 4 sided instead of 3 - but then you have to uv the object. Its a bit more work, I guess.

If all you had in lod 0 was a 16 segment cylinder, you would remove 1/2 of the segments in lod 1. On the other hand, if your model is made of many objects, remember that nobody said you have to reduce every object in the next lod...you just have to make sure your total face count is 1/2 of the previous one. You can let your wheels, for example, remain as 16 segment cylinders as long as the total count is 1/2. I approach lods as a bit more fluid thing than others might ...and maybe I don't have the best technique...just saying this is how I look at it.

If you think its too square, you could make the wheels 32 segments. Or make a high poly wheel (say 100 segments) and bake the normal map from your high to low. Let the materials do the work. I, however, cheat sometimes and go to 24 segs. You get 24-12-6-3...which is fine, in most instances (maybe not for a wheel though).

Scubaman/Dasquade colaboration. Macmillan TAC50. Our turn to show some sniper gear :) (WIP of course)

Don't have to keep your fingers crossed. ACE2 will rock :) IMO, ACE2 kicks ACE1's ass!

When you binarize, it gets triangulated and I believe you're right - the engine will triangulate quads of unbinarized models.

I think most agree that the scope was a bit broad. It has already been stated that the team is evaluating the content and deciding on scope, but I still don't think that weapons were the bulk of the problem. Panda is correct in his reasoning. Whether or not we include 10 M4 variants or just 5, they still all use the same textures. The textures take the bulk of the space. If there were just 5 M4, the M4 PBO might be 50MB, while 10 M4s might take up 55MB. You get 2x more versions at 1/10 size increase. The REAL problem with space is more related to character and vehicle models. As to your complaint about "resistance" weapons. We have limited resources. For a time, I was *THE* 3D guy for ACE and in addition, we relied on contributions. I am, however, interested in developing these types of weapons going forward. If you would like to donate a G3 then please do so. There is an FN FAL Para in the mod and an SA80 too. I even started to model a Lee Enfield and an SKS. I would love to texture Dasquade's TAC50 or HelpingHand's Magpul Masada for a 3rd party "SF" weapon. There just isn't enough time in the day. Sorry :(

thats a hell of a model for having come from O2...there are few people around who can use o2 and get results like that.

Is it UV mapped?

you heard what slows down FBS significantly?

nice, but I would decrease the specularity a bit.

while this stuff is way over my head...congrats on the release :)

NWD has been MIA for a while, I believe.

having the same issue with the steam version. Non-steam version worked for me.

before I got my hands on serious modeling software, I baked ambient and normal maps using xnormal: http://www.xnormal.net/1.aspx Its free and works great...possibly even better with the right know-how applied than max or modo's maps.