Cargo weight revamping
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RulerofRails
- Dispatcher
- Posts: 310
- Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 1:26 am
Re: Cargo weight revamping
Nice work, looking good.
Re: Cargo weight revamping
Yeah I'm having some fun with it (in case you couldn't tell).
Was thinking about later eras too. Couldn't help it. For the 1975-2000 period I can use the same basic mesh as for the earlier cars. It's a pretty close match for size and shape to cars of that period, although it'd preferably have a change of eye candy. Not really a drama, since I like eye candy anyway.
The round tail observation car doesn't really fit the post-1975 period, but I can make a square-ended dining car easily enough. That's just minor skinning changes on a pax car. For the post-2000 period things get a bit different, so I did my usual trick and started looking around for drawings and dimensions.
I ended up getting quite enthusiastic about the ICE 3. They managed to build the things so that all the mechanicals are below floor level. The result is that the full length of every car is usable passenger space. The floor for the end cars just continues through to the driver's compartment, with only a glass panel between passengers and driver. This effectively turns the leading and trailing units into observation cars, with the end row passengers having a view straight out the windscreens at 200 mph. This is a pretty cool feature, and apparently is very popular with customers.
So I whipped up a mesh for the intermediate cars, which won't be hard to skin. If someone wants to make an ICE 3 end car for an RT3 electric loco at some point (which really wouldn't be hard either) then these cars will fit nicely behind it. They should also fit pretty well with any modern loco, and obviously could be given any custom livery without much trouble.
And yeah, I know I was thinking of double deck pax units a while back, but they really only fit with matching double deck end cars. They'd look wrong with most RT3 locomotives, so I decided against them.
Edit: Ok, leading and trailing cars. Why not?
First one is a roughed-out ICE 3.
Second one is a roughed-out ICE-T, with some quick and simple messing around for custom livery ideas.
I'm thinking the ICE-T shape would be good for a generic H era "dining car" (even though it isn't really a dining car).
Was thinking about later eras too. Couldn't help it. For the 1975-2000 period I can use the same basic mesh as for the earlier cars. It's a pretty close match for size and shape to cars of that period, although it'd preferably have a change of eye candy. Not really a drama, since I like eye candy anyway.
The round tail observation car doesn't really fit the post-1975 period, but I can make a square-ended dining car easily enough. That's just minor skinning changes on a pax car. For the post-2000 period things get a bit different, so I did my usual trick and started looking around for drawings and dimensions.
I ended up getting quite enthusiastic about the ICE 3. They managed to build the things so that all the mechanicals are below floor level. The result is that the full length of every car is usable passenger space. The floor for the end cars just continues through to the driver's compartment, with only a glass panel between passengers and driver. This effectively turns the leading and trailing units into observation cars, with the end row passengers having a view straight out the windscreens at 200 mph. This is a pretty cool feature, and apparently is very popular with customers.
So I whipped up a mesh for the intermediate cars, which won't be hard to skin. If someone wants to make an ICE 3 end car for an RT3 electric loco at some point (which really wouldn't be hard either) then these cars will fit nicely behind it. They should also fit pretty well with any modern loco, and obviously could be given any custom livery without much trouble.
And yeah, I know I was thinking of double deck pax units a while back, but they really only fit with matching double deck end cars. They'd look wrong with most RT3 locomotives, so I decided against them.
Edit: Ok, leading and trailing cars. Why not?
First one is a roughed-out ICE 3.Second one is a roughed-out ICE-T, with some quick and simple messing around for custom livery ideas.
I'm thinking the ICE-T shape would be good for a generic H era "dining car" (even though it isn't really a dining car).
Gumbootz Lokomotivfabrik und Bierkeller
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
Re: Cargo weight revamping
Ok, change of plan. Me, not ever using electrics, didn't realise there was already an ICE in 1.06.
It's an ICE 1, since the ICE 3 didn't exist when the game was released. So, I figured it would probably make more sense to use ICE 1 cars for late era express and have them match the existing locomotive. In terms of shape, they are a better fit to a range of locomotives, and are slightly easier to model than the ICE 3 cars. An added bonus is that the ICE 1 has a very distinctive and rather cool dining car, which is also very easy to model.
So these have all been meshed up to scale and had a rough skin thrown at them (basic project from view stuff in Blender, onto whatever images I had handy). Skinning them properly won't be a big deal. Since the existing 1.06 ICE loco model was a tad rougho, I also sorted a new version for that. This is also an easier one to deal with than the ICE 3 loco, and comes out very smooth with a pretty low poly count. It can be used as a cleaner replacement for 1.06 loco.
It's an ICE 1, since the ICE 3 didn't exist when the game was released. So, I figured it would probably make more sense to use ICE 1 cars for late era express and have them match the existing locomotive. In terms of shape, they are a better fit to a range of locomotives, and are slightly easier to model than the ICE 3 cars. An added bonus is that the ICE 1 has a very distinctive and rather cool dining car, which is also very easy to model.
So these have all been meshed up to scale and had a rough skin thrown at them (basic project from view stuff in Blender, onto whatever images I had handy). Skinning them properly won't be a big deal. Since the existing 1.06 ICE loco model was a tad rougho, I also sorted a new version for that. This is also an easier one to deal with than the ICE 3 loco, and comes out very smooth with a pretty low poly count. It can be used as a cleaner replacement for 1.06 loco.
Gumbootz Lokomotivfabrik und Bierkeller
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
Re: Cargo weight revamping
Ok, have the final decision on G and H era express cars. If anyone wants ICE cars and/or locomotives, they are already modelled. Anyone who wants to skin them up and get them running is welcome to the Blender file.
For the default set I wanted a good progression that made sense for timing and style, and that wasn't too ugly through the 1980's (when everything was ugly on principle ). So, I'm going with Amfleet II cars for the G era and Siemens Viaggio (OBB Railjet) for the H era.
This combo works for me. The Amfleets are a good continuation from the classic 1950' stainless steel cars. In the late 20th century everyone was nuts about using bare stainless cars, but the Amfleets are better looking than most. Added bonus is that there was a version that will make a passable dining car, since it has a clean rear end with windows (Budd SPV, rebuilt as a coach, if you want to know).
The Railjet cars are a good looking unit too, IMO, and are a more common style and more versatile than ICE cars. Plus ICE cars are just white, which is boring. I want these to be fun. All express cars are modelled now, and I should be able to get the set finished in the next week or so.
For the default set I wanted a good progression that made sense for timing and style, and that wasn't too ugly through the 1980's (when everything was ugly on principle
). So, I'm going with Amfleet II cars for the G era and Siemens Viaggio (OBB Railjet) for the H era.This combo works for me. The Amfleets are a good continuation from the classic 1950' stainless steel cars. In the late 20th century everyone was nuts about using bare stainless cars, but the Amfleets are better looking than most. Added bonus is that there was a version that will make a passable dining car, since it has a clean rear end with windows (Budd SPV, rebuilt as a coach, if you want to know).
The Railjet cars are a good looking unit too, IMO, and are a more common style and more versatile than ICE cars. Plus ICE cars are just white, which is boring. I want these to be fun. All express cars are modelled now, and I should be able to get the set finished in the next week or so.
Gumbootz Lokomotivfabrik und Bierkeller
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
Re: Cargo weight revamping
Have made a good start on the graphics. The previous shot was just a quick distorted application to some pictures of HO models, which is fine for getting the feel of things but not up to scratch for an actual asset. It's shaping up to be pretty easy to skin, and the UV mapping is a piece of cake (that's already sorted).
This is going to need a bit of a fudge for RT3 consists. The control car (pictured) does not actually contain the dining area on the Railjet. The control car just takes first class pax (and the driver, of course). The second car is also first class pax, as is half of the third car. The other half of the third car is the dining setup.
Dining cars in RT3 go on the end, so I'm gonna pretend the dining area is in the control car. The actual Railjet dining car can, with slight adjustments to windows, make a good stand-in for the mail car that RT3 requires. It looks more or less like one anyway, so it's all good.
Troops will get the standard Railjet coach, but with the livery done in olive green/white/black instead of the reds.
This is going to need a bit of a fudge for RT3 consists. The control car (pictured) does not actually contain the dining area on the Railjet. The control car just takes first class pax (and the driver, of course). The second car is also first class pax, as is half of the third car. The other half of the third car is the dining setup.
Dining cars in RT3 go on the end, so I'm gonna pretend the dining area is in the control car. The actual Railjet dining car can, with slight adjustments to windows, make a good stand-in for the mail car that RT3 requires. It looks more or less like one anyway, so it's all good.
Troops will get the standard Railjet coach, but with the livery done in olive green/white/black instead of the reds.
Gumbootz Lokomotivfabrik und Bierkeller
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
Re: Cargo weight revamping
Got a bit more done. Hint for young players: when working on model mesh in Blender, do not accidentally scale the entire mesh to zero length, then save the file, and not notice because you were concentrating on UV mapping.
Fortunately the X and Z coordinates weren't screwed, so fixing it was basically just a matter of dragging edge loops longitudinally to where they should be (not quite as tricky as it sounds, because I know basic geometry stuff). Having got that little escapade out of the way (with much swearing) I managed to get something useful done instead.
Fortunately the X and Z coordinates weren't screwed, so fixing it was basically just a matter of dragging edge loops longitudinally to where they should be (not quite as tricky as it sounds, because I know basic geometry stuff). Having got that little escapade out of the way (with much swearing) I managed to get something useful done instead.
Gumbootz Lokomotivfabrik und Bierkeller
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
Re: Cargo weight revamping
This is coming along nicely, although I did have the usual complications. Namely, spending lotsa time looking for more information, along with finding details I hadn't thought about before and consequently having to re-jig some things I thought were finished. However, I'm now past all of that and the end is in sight.
Among other things, I have figured out some useful points for getting the best results with DDS image compression. A while back Jim put me onto using a very small amount of Gaussian noise (around 1%), after flattening the PSD but before saving as DDS, to reduce artifacts in the final texture. This works well sometimes, but not all the time. Sometimes it can make things worse.
I found this out when I was looking at the skinned model in Blender, and thought it looked a bit bleh, so just on a whim I re-made the DDS without adding any noise first. Hey presto, the texture instantly looked a lot better in most places. It didn't look as good everywhere though, so I started investigating and trying a few things. What it comes down to is that noise before saving can work very well for some areas of a texture, but the same amount everywhere won't necessarily give better overall results.
I think the best approach is to start by saving without noise. Try that first, and see how it looks. Probably, some bits will be very good and some bits not so good. The way to get the best results is to add noise only to the not-so-good sections of the image, by using whatever trickery as patches in the PSD (pattern overlay is a good option, since it is adjustable for a wide range of effects). This isn't difficult to do. I got most of the texture figured out pretty quickly by playing with varying amounts of noise effects in a few places.
Another thing that I finally figured out: when you unwrap something like a cargo car model, with one side at the top of the texture, then the roof in the middle, then the other side at the bottom, it's best to set everything out so that it's vertically centred on pixels that are a multiple of 4. The reason for this is that DDS compression works on chunks of 4x4 pixels, so if you are centred on a multiple of four that means you get the same compression artifacts on both sides of the car. This means that if you need any tweaks to reduce artifacts, then the same fix will work on both sides. You won't have to try and figure out two different fixes.
Among other things, I have figured out some useful points for getting the best results with DDS image compression. A while back Jim put me onto using a very small amount of Gaussian noise (around 1%), after flattening the PSD but before saving as DDS, to reduce artifacts in the final texture. This works well sometimes, but not all the time. Sometimes it can make things worse.
I found this out when I was looking at the skinned model in Blender, and thought it looked a bit bleh, so just on a whim I re-made the DDS without adding any noise first. Hey presto, the texture instantly looked a lot better in most places.
It didn't look as good everywhere though, so I started investigating and trying a few things. What it comes down to is that noise before saving can work very well for some areas of a texture, but the same amount everywhere won't necessarily give better overall results.I think the best approach is to start by saving without noise. Try that first, and see how it looks. Probably, some bits will be very good and some bits not so good. The way to get the best results is to add noise only to the not-so-good sections of the image, by using whatever trickery as patches in the PSD (pattern overlay is a good option, since it is adjustable for a wide range of effects). This isn't difficult to do. I got most of the texture figured out pretty quickly by playing with varying amounts of noise effects in a few places.
Another thing that I finally figured out: when you unwrap something like a cargo car model, with one side at the top of the texture, then the roof in the middle, then the other side at the bottom, it's best to set everything out so that it's vertically centred on pixels that are a multiple of 4. The reason for this is that DDS compression works on chunks of 4x4 pixels, so if you are centred on a multiple of four that means you get the same compression artifacts on both sides of the car. This means that if you need any tweaks to reduce artifacts, then the same fix will work on both sides. You won't have to try and figure out two different fixes.
Gumbootz Lokomotivfabrik und Bierkeller
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
Re: Cargo weight revamping
Gave it a test run and it looks pretty decent. The skinning could do with a bit more tweaking, but it's shaping up well.
I'll get the other cars running too, so I can have several variations running side by side while I'm messing around with skin tweaks. That should speed up the process a bit, instead of having to restart RT3 every time I want to see how something looks.
The other cars should be a no-brainer now. Same basic layout, but simpler. I can use all the same guides and layers and just do a bit of cropping and shuffling.
I'll get the other cars running too, so I can have several variations running side by side while I'm messing around with skin tweaks. That should speed up the process a bit, instead of having to restart RT3 every time I want to see how something looks.
The other cars should be a no-brainer now. Same basic layout, but simpler. I can use all the same guides and layers and just do a bit of cropping and shuffling.
Gumbootz Lokomotivfabrik und Bierkeller
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
Re: Cargo weight revamping
Got Troops and Pax running too. Mail won't take long.
Gumbootz Lokomotivfabrik und Bierkeller
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
Re: Cargo weight revamping
Mail car, first test.
Gumbootz Lokomotivfabrik und Bierkeller
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set
LMR Samson 0-4-0 - Pennsy H3 Consolidation - Custom double tank cars set