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meshcarver

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Everything posted by meshcarver

  1. Cheers fo the suggestion Robster, but the ones I'm doing are symbolic things like hazard signs etc...
  2. Lol... that's mad. Mind you, I suppose they're overlaying all the alpha texts of place names by the look of it..?
  3. Hi Max, Thanks for letting me know that- it puts my mind at rest a bit, as I'd heard it's best to cull the amount of textures for some objects where possible. I suppose in some places, it's plain impossible to use just one texture for say, a huge complex building. cheers man.
  4. meshcarver

    "Wonky" model geometry collision.

    You've hit the nail on the head for me there Max. Aye, I get mixed up with the "geolod and the "firelod"- basically, the geolod is for the player collision in effect yes..? Where he bumps into it etc, and if it falls over, it'll roll depending on the geolod? Then, the firelod is what the projectiles hit..? So it sparks etc depending on firelod, hence make that one a bit more true to form to an extent..? Thank you again man...
  5. meshcarver

    Exploding then collapsing object?!

    ..nice one, cheers again PuFu- I've changed it to destrType = "DestructNo"; and it's cool now! :D
  6. meshcarver

    "Wonky" model geometry collision.

    cheers man... I'll bear that in mind for next time.
  7. meshcarver

    "Wonky" model geometry collision.

    Hi Max, aye man, I should've already mentioned I do understand (And have encountered and corrected) the concave problem. This isn't a thread about convex/concave. I duplicated these res lods to get my point across to you quickly. I agree for things like the lid/wood/little "edges" around the barrel body there's no point having them in the other types of LODS. As a compromise to details, would a 20 sided cylinder do it, to match the curve of the barrel itself? I guess I was trying to work out if its not a VERY accurate geo/fire lod, then the bullets will fly thru some parts of visible mesh- I encountered this recently firing thru those dragons teeth roadblock things. Bullets were hitting fresh air next to them and sparking. Also, I could make it so it's pretty massed up, so is very difficult to knock over? Is that possible? Again man, thanks for your help. Edited on: a 12/20 sided for the geolod, but would it be worth it to include basic blocks for the wooden pieces into the firelod?
  8. meshcarver

    "Wonky" model geometry collision.

    Here's a picture, basically as I've made the oildrum battered and wonky, does this mean the geo/fire/shadow lod etc have to match it curve for curve? Like in "A" and "B"..? Or can I use a simpler geo/fire/shadow lod like "C"..? cheers guys. http://www.flickr.com/photos/86890612@N02/7956882130/in/photostream
  9. Hey up, This is just a quick question about the overall 3D quality of models (Mostly buildings/structures) in ARMA 2 and it's many amazing mods. I've noticed this myself to an extent, and also when I recently showed one of my friends ARMA 2, he commented; "It looks a bit dated..?" . I asked in "In what way..?". "Well, all the buildings seem very basic and low poly..? Really blocky like...". I know it's a good few years old now, but is there ANY reason why most buildings and structures do seem to be lacking in the polished/poly department guys..? All in all I find the OVERALL impression and feeling of ARMA 2 to be up there with the best imo- sometimes it looks like nothing can touch it visually, but other times, up close to buildings or whatever- it's very low polytastic. So, is there a reason for this do you know? Is it some mod makers don't have too much experience creating objects, or is it a conscious design choice to basically keep poly counts as low as possible..? I know ARMA 2 is doing LOADS of things behind the scenes aswell. Also, would someone starting now to make buildings and assets that could be used in ARMA 3 engine be well advised to up the poly count a bit where it's needed..? Round structures/corners etc..? I'm asking all this so I can hopefully gauge what/why the buildings are made the way they are and then hopefully work inside those constraints too, or maybe push them a bit. Thanks for your time guys, Marc
  10. meshcarver

    Overall 3D Model quality in ARMA2

    Hi Robster, Aye man, thanks for your advice about this and it does make it more clear to me. I reckon I might aswell hold off on the terrain questions for now, as I'm going to model all the buildings/objects first and then start on the terrain when they're finished. I'm not as read about the subject of terrain now as I should be, but I have done the Mondkalb tutorial so have a grasp on the process. So all in all, right now, I'll just concentrate on the O2 side of things mate..!!! Thanks again, Marc
  11. meshcarver

    Overall 3D Model quality in ARMA2

    Hi chaps, sorry, I think I've explained this in a really bad way..! Basically, all's I was wondering is WHERE is it set from where you will tell the terrain how many times a tillable grass/soil ground texture (1024 x 1024 pixels say) will tile in say, 10 meters areas..? So in a 10m x 10m area of ground, how to set the texture to tile say once or four times? I hope this is clear- but do bear in mind I@m a complete Visitor newbie!!! ;) Cheers fellas.
  12. meshcarver

    Overall 3D Model quality in ARMA2

    Hey Robster, Thanks man, some amazing info and ref in your post. And no, I hadn't seen that particular wiki yet, so I'll give that a read when I get back from work tonight- cheers. When you say the ground texture quality won't change, then how does it know over what area a, say, 1024x1024 tilable grassy/dirt ground texture should be over before it repeats, like every 1 meter/2:5 meter/5 meter..? Where is that defined or is it standard across islands..? Thanks for the heads up mate...
  13. meshcarver

    Terrain Underground complexes?

    Cheers guys, as far as trying to blend in the look of the top of the complex area, could you just make it so that areas basically "off limits", like with a huge un-enterable warehouse or something..? Would that solve all problems..?
  14. meshcarver

    Terrain Underground complexes?

    Cheers Baraka, this is looking more and more possible with all these posts advice. One other relevant question I reckon is, is it best to have ANY underground areas ABOVE the sea level..? Because if they were BELOW the sea level, wouldn't they be classed as underwater or something? Thanks
  15. meshcarver

    Overall 3D Model quality in ARMA2

    Hey up, Aye, I use MAYA man, and it's set to METERS as the working unit. 1 meter is 1 unit etc. Basically, I reckon I'll use the Chernarus size dimensions for my template, so end up with a landscape roughly 20x20 kms yeah? For this would you recommend 10m or 7:5m terrain grid size then..? Will it save me a LOT of performance to go with 10 in stead of 7:5m. I mean, the visual quality can't be THAT much more impressive with a saving of 2:5 m can it..? Or is it? Thinking about it, are the MAIN three things grid size affects: ground texture quality resolution per cell? landscape detail/flow/silhouette of terrain polys smoother kind of thing? performance? Is this a correct assessment please gents? Also Robster, when you say to define a template of single objects, do you mean things like telegraph poles/signs/bins/street lights etc..? Basically generic objects that will be more or less used evenly across the whole map? Again chaps, thank you for all this ongoing help... MArc
  16. meshcarver

    Terrain Underground complexes?

    Wow, some great feedback here guys... As far as the AI side of it goes for my intents- it's NOT essential tbh. As long as I could have some pretty decent sized underground tunnels, sewer, rooms, cave structures, I'll be happy. For these purposes (NO AI), is it a case of when making the terrain, I basically "cut/scoop" out a large deep hole of the the terrain (Size will cover the dimensions of the underground), then place an object (System of ready-made tunnels/rooms) custom made into said hole..? Is that what you mean in the description please? In that case, I'd also have to build a sort of "terrain like hat" to cover the top/ground hole area, and make it unenterable yes? High fence etc? If so, that sounds pretty straight forwards (I'll regret saying that lol..!). As I say, I've no issue with not being able to stick AI down there- it's more of an atmospheric/exploration thing I'm trying to do here. So all in all it IS doable yes..? Also, just an aside- do the AI problems occur because the underground structures have multi level floors, or because if they walk on the terrain OVER the underground, it'll confuse them basically? Cheers again guys, Marc
  17. meshcarver

    Terrain Underground complexes?

    Hi Old Bear, I'm a newbie here, so don't really understand what you mean man..? I've played Namalsk (Great map!) and the underground part with fighting the AI soldiers down there too. What was the method Sumrak used to accomplish this please..? When you say a "hole", do you mean the area ABOVE the underground section is sort of off-limits to the player and AI..? Like a terrain deadzone sort of thing? I don't really understand- but bottom line is, we CAN have UNDERGROUND complexes yes..?
  18. meshcarver

    Terrain Underground complexes?

    Damn... this isn't good news really is it..? I was hoping to hold off on the terrain of my new island, so I could incorporate a LOT of underground areas for exploration... Basically, it's possible though..? Multi layered underground tunnels etc..? Tbh, for immersion and atmosphere, I'd consider putting them in anyway even if I couldn't include AI paths etc- it's just be cool to wander down into them... ;)
  19. meshcarver

    Overall 3D Model quality in ARMA2

    Hi Robster, thanks for your input man! :) I THINK I'll be going with a 2048x2048 10m cell setup..? Is that more or less similar to Chernarus..? It'd give me about 22kms x 22kms would it, that setting? I want a fairly large sized map, so there can be LOTS of roaming and getting "lost" in it all- that's my aim. Do you mean a good process for this is to make ALL the buildings first, with their LODS etc then start placing them on a pretty much freeform map, then do the terrain planning AROUND that..? Sounds like a plan if so...
  20. meshcarver

    Overall 3D Model quality in ARMA2

    Hey up, first- thanks for your input guys. This has got to be the most active games community going. ;) Aye, I know it's gonna be relative at the end of the day, and areas can be tweaked to reduce clutter and tress to accommodate one/two higher complexity building etc. I suppose I was looking for a more or less definitive answer, but what you've all said ties in to one another's take on it, so that's a good standpoint to go off really. The best point that this has brought up here, is that because of the nature of ARMA 2, ANY area can be viewed entered from ANY direction- so it almost cancels out the "tailored linear" high/low poly design of any specific location. That's very relevant. I think because of the nature of the island I'm going to create, which will be sparse/grim/desolate, that should lend itself to pockets of higher poly density than normal detailed villages/buildings etc- the only thing I'm not sure on as a newbie is how FAR in kms do I have to go from centre of said village/building, if every persons draw distance is alterable (In ARMA 3 up to 20 kms..?) by a lot..? Do I have to take MAX view distance into account before I start another village..? I hope I'm understandable here- I've just done a bottle of wine lol... ;) cheers guys!
  21. Hi all, another newbie question here. I'm going to start building various small house/huts, and ideally I want to throw them straight into the editor to check purely their geometry and textures etc. Once I've set them up to do this, then I complete the O2 side of things like LODS and ROADLODs etc, is it an easy affair to change them so they are basically placed by me on a terrain I'll do, then will "ship" with that island when it's released? If not, is it a MASSIVE chunk of effort to get them to go onto the island as part of the terrain, after being in a class group in the editor so to speak..? Thanks chaps, Marc
  22. Hey up PuFu, cheers man, it's good to know it's possible and not a hindrance at least man- thanks. ;)
  23. Looking amazing Sled88, keep up the good work! ;)
  24. meshcarver

    Overall 3D Model quality in ARMA2

    Lol XD Really though ,I'm asking to get a good few answers about this, as I'm starting an island complete with buildings so want to make it look as good as possible where I can, without game-breaking it. Things like rocks/trees etc already look fine to me, it mainly JUST the buildings and structures man- they could use some love around the edges, things as simple as beveled edges literally at times, so they catch the light on angle etc. It all helps the immersion.
  25. meshcarver

    Overall 3D Model quality in ARMA2

    Hi Myke..! Aye, thanks for that reply btw. Yup, I thought it would certainly be related to the poly count on screen basically. As I said, imo the whole impression of ARMA2 for me is never below par- it looks fantastic tbh- but it's just the individual parts of the sum that have to be "culled" back a bit to make it all reasonable. I wonder if this could be countered by having a sparser landscape in general, then you could up the poly counts on little villages/huts etc so it still holds up very well when close up? Either way- I hope my OP wasn't taken as insulting. It's a beautiful looking game at the worst of times, and the sense of scale is unmatched anywhere else! I think it's the huge landmasses that are one of many reasons why it's got so much going for it. :D Cheers, Marc
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