meshcarver

Damn... even the BIS Sample House doesn't have a ShadowVolume- View Pilot..!? I have no idea... anyone... please? ...sniffle... :( x2 Multimats yes- which I've been informed it is fine to use more than one Multimat on an object. Thing is, going back through my old models that only use ONE Multimat they are showing the unit lit up inside the structures too now..! So it's probs not because of the x2 Multimats on this one...

Crap- still not working..! I have it as you said, exactly the same as ShadowLOD and done components and triangulated- basically everything I did for the main ShadowLOD? I don't know what it could be..? :(

AHHHHHhhh..! F*(& ME..!?!?!? I did not have the slightest idea what that was..!!! THANK YOU..!!! So- for ALL structures/buildings etc, you HAVE to have that LOD if you want shadows cast on your unit in FIRST person correct?

I have a shadowLOD yes that is working- casting shadows fine. What do you mean "view pilot"? Please could you spell it out for a kids brain here lol.?

Hi- could you please elaborate?

+++ BEGIN TRANSMISSION: PLEASE STAND BY... THIS IS THE ISLAND AUTHORITY. PLEASE STAY IN YOUR HOMES AND LOCK ALL YOUR WINDOWS AND DOORS IMMEDIATELY- REPEAT: PLEASE STAY IN YOUR HOMES AND LOCK ALL YOUR WINDOWS AND DOORS IMMEDIATELY. THIS IS NOT A TEST... PLEASE STAND BY... END OF TRANSMISSION +++ http://www.meshcarver.com/screenshots/INGAME_15.png

Hi Cap, thanks for saying (and for the piccie lol..!). A strong atmosphere is one of my main themes I'm trying to hit for NOVA ZONA- wait until you are stuck in this place in the dead of night with it pouring rain outside... ;)

+++ BEGIN TRANSMISSION: PLEASE STAND BY... MORE DEVELOPMENTS INCOMING- MEANWHILE HERE IS A TASTER... PLEASE STAND BY... END OF TRANSMISSION +++ http://www.meshcarver.com/screenshots/INGAME_14.png

Hi guys, is it ok to ALT + F4 to kill ARMA 3 when in the editor testing models etc..? I only ask as I have to load it up and unload it step by step so many times during testing that it must kill an hour from what little dev time I can muster... Does it harm my PC or could it harm the installation of ARMA 3 for example..? Is it bad practice etc? Cheers, Marc

Thanks very much for the feedback guys- appreciated.

Cheers man-I'll give it a whirl... Fussy I know but I really do need to scrape as much time as possible together if I'm ever going to make progress...

Looking good, but please tell me you guys have figured out a way to make a true underground/terrain system..!? If yes- then I'll have your babies...

Had my eye on this for well over a year and might try to find time to try the demo tonight... From the beautiful looking videos and screens I've seen of it, it reminds me a HELL of a lot of STALKER (Yes, I'm obsessed...). Depending on how it plays and potentially handles mods in future (Can we add buildings to the scenery?) I might move some of my NOVA ZONA buildings to Spintires to achieve a more "ZONE" like atmosphere for a modded version... I like the look of it already so much- night time looks beautiful.

Goddamn... About to go to sleep but this is getting me down, and setting foot on NOVA ZONA is looking more impossible by the day for many reasons... Not one of which is motivation or ability... :(

I must admit... These points give me pause as a mod maker- make of that what you will. No matter how well intentioned mod making is, most of my friends have repeatedly pointed these facts out to me too...

There is a difference here that needs to be addressed. ...and please bear with me as I've had a few this evening..! O_0 The grunt level workers in the gaming industry are from my experience 99% salt of the earth genuinely passionate creative folks- that's how they got there in the first place and they love what they do. To abuse this is a mistake many publishers routinely make and suffer in the long run because of it- see the burgeoning Indie scene (basically truly creative people giving the finger to the $$$ suits). These are exactly the kind of people, who, if they tread into this community with the intention of tentatively asking about starting an ambitious mod or show potential for us all we should welcome and encourage them with open arms. Don't judge everyone in the gaming industry as greedy b}%%^%s because of the actions of large developers and publishing houses. I have been absolutely disgusted by some of the actions and "artistic" direction we have had to suck up as small games devs because some suit had a "great" idea on a whim... and it is sickening when you see it happening in front of you. PS, worth mentioning is this is not directed at any individual in particular- it's a general finger poke at a lot of the vibe I've been picking up on..! So there..! ;)

Some people just want to be enabled to create AAA mods solely for ARMA3, myself included. They are not in ANY WAY concerned with "making a buck" or profiting- they enjoy and love the process for it's own sake but cannot engage fully because of financial limitations. This is a massive loss... and a full ARMA experience arguably suffers as a direct result. If there's a possible way to filter out these people then that is a start in a right direction? There are too many who get into modding and game creation for the wrong reasons it seems- to make money for its own sake; something which I've never understood personally for all sorts of reasons. I just do not understand the desire to "make more money" simply for its own sake... and it's a shame these kind of people expend so much energy and often do succeed in their own eyes and make money off of it.

Hey guys, Just thought I'd put in some thoughts on this too now it's been reheated. Don't expect to find answers here, but just my thoughts around it as I'm finding it painfully difficult to find time to develop my own mod now. I'm actually quite loathe to write ANYTHING as it happens as I don't want to inadvertently say something a huge swathe of this community viscously disagrees with and be forever banished as a heretic..! I value my little place in these forums and wouldn't want to jeopardise it for any reason as there are a lot of good people here who have helped both the community and me with modding and I don't want to tread on their toes! I'm not just mentioning this in passing- it's worth getting it out here as I think there are a lot of people who are passionate about modding ARMA3 but are not fully equipped with the information around this topic (myself included!) and the history of it's modding community which is pretty well established. That can make it a challenge to speak out your thoughts regarding this. With that out the way..! I have over 16 years experience in the games industry as a concept/2D/3D/environment/assets etc artist and have worked at many places and am currently freelancing. I have been burnt out and back again. It is a truly horrible state to get yourself into by the way- it's not some little thing. Apart from the industry temporarily or permanently losing another creative force, it's pretty shocking when you get to a point that you don't want to do anymore of what you've loved doing since you were a kid- drawing basically- and worry you might not ever want to again. This is relevant, as I noticed a few guys mentioned more industry pros coming into this recently and perhaps they are/will be burning out or just plain exhausted after a full 8/9/10/11/12 hour day sat in front of their monitors modelling and texturing, sometimes for free too in the industry!!! And then- to not turn off the PC but to immediately start working on their own mod is a huge effort. I can see how it would be easier for someone who works say, at a supermarket stacking shelves or pushing trolleys around the car park (of which I did for three or four years and it was great!) to arrive home and then turn on the PC and start work on their mod. It's like two separate jobs then, as opposed to continuously sitting at your desk for 16 hours or more. Reading these posts I can see there's a huge mix of thoughts and (most welcome!) ideas about this topic but through it all is a thread of uncertainty because of the extra problems money can introduce. I am currently trying to create a large 100% unique terrain for ARMA3, and the ONLY thing that is again stopping its development is money. Nothing else. This lack of money hits my time on the mod, because I need to work RL freelance to make money to live and fund my own mod- but in doing so have effectively lost the past 6 months on it. This is the latest "big hit" I've taken on time- one of many sometimes smaller hits. But they all add up and drag the entire process to an almost standstill. Most evenings I stop FL work at 9 or 10 and do 1 or 2 hours on my mod but by then I am so incredibly tired, and know I have to produce work for a paying client the next morning so goto bed. This process also affects the consistency of a mod- if you're having to grab little snippets of tired desperate time here and there then that is probably what it'll look like in the final product. To cut to the chase, I do not know the solution to this, but I do know a huge part of creating a mod is being enabled by money to free up time from other commitments and allowing you to spend as much time as possible on it if you're serious about creating a AAA mod here. So, if there was a situation were you knew that you would be compensated for your time, then maybe that would help people lean more to committing themselves to making a quality mod (or not so quality, as there would also be a draw for people who want to make a quick buck for its own sake?). My stance on it is I am doing this because I love it- I love ARMA and I love the STALKER aesthetic and to see them both married together in a unique form is a dream come true for me. I get my kicks from working on it. I am worried that because of a lack of time (money) not that development will cease, but that I'll simply take too long at this rate and that quality will suffer in the final product aswell. So, while there are people who just want to charge for mods because they can, there are also people who would like somehow be compensated because it enables the mod in the first place- not just to "make money" but to be supported to make your mod a reality and nothing more. I know this is a sort of personal take on this subject, but I thought it'd help as it could maybe show some people who have never modded or are thinking of modding what is required and what it takes to make a mod. I think basically it's the modders lament: "It's something that you do in your own free time...". Time is a LOT more precious and has greater value than money ultimately- you can never get your time back so chose to spend it wisely.

Hi guys, for when making a factory building say, is it best to include things in the model/texture like machinery boxes, free standing junction boxes etc (In this case every building would have the same objects inside every time), or make them as separate placeable assets for more variation? Could this separate method cause problems, and are little objects like 2 meter tall junction boxes, say, easy to place inside buildings when map making? Even thing like hanging fluorescent lights etc? Little decorative pieces in general. I'm trying to work out which is more effective/efficient in terms of section count/performance/AI pathing/ variation etc... Cheers, Marc

Hi guys, Sorry for not answering for awhile, been really busy... :( Ok, is there a really good tutorial on proxies anywhere that's worth checking out? And also, say I have a building using a multimat with 3 out of the 4 texture slots used. Then for say a large machine in the centre of the room (proxy object) would that machines texture best be the number 4 texture from the multimat or would it be a completely separate texture/mat combination entirely? I would assume it's best to keep it separate so I can place as many where ever I want across the level- but building geolods in the relevant places of those buildings where I choose to put the proxies. I hope that's clearly explained..! redstone- do you mean if I create a geolod in my proxy object it won't work? Units will still be able to walk through it?

Hey Emoglobinski, sorry to hear that mate- I know just how much effort is required to produce structures like these and add to that the effort of self motivation..! For what it's worth, they look f&(^&g great man. :)

Amazingly improved lighting so torch light etc stays inside structures. Volumetric light rays at night with lightning. UNDERGROUND structures- done properly. Anything based around the Stalker aesthetic.

Hi Grimwald, I'm pretty much finding it impossible to find time to work on this right now- hence lack of updates mate. Saying that, once it's complete (puts self into Cryostatis...) I would like to implement some gear specific to the Island yes. Sorry it's not more specific but that is so far in the future mate it's dependant on a lot of stuff... Hope you're doing well anyway Grimwald..! :)

Aye, the tree generator is pretty damn cool, will save a lot of time and effort but there would still be a lot to do, even without buildings- unless OP is talking about a seriously underpopulated terrain, literally just foliage etc..? For my own terrain, I'm planning to model everything myself, as the foliage there will be very strange so I'm not sure I would use Silvador myself..? But yeah, if you will be doing normal real world trees/plants etc it's the best way to go..! :)

Hi, yes they use the first ladder which STARTS from the 1st floor (Which is accessible by stairs) no problem whatsoever and it works great. There is seemingly no problem per say of AI using ladders in ARMA3, in single instances anyway. For example if my structure had only one ladder there'd be no problem, but because it has 4 I think it is causing issues. I MIGHT go back and put in stairs instead of the other three ladders but that's a bit of a p*(^*&er as I really like the sense of infiltration ascending ladders upto a 45 meter high rooftop gives you. Stairs just seem to civilised lol..! ;) Also, there's a lot of knock on effects from removing ladders and modelling in stairs instead- all those LODs will need rethinking... f&*k... :(