Tower

[ChrisS68]

Finally got some more work done on the tower I'm working on. Made the first port to a shape file. Works fine in the sim.

One thing I've struggled with is getting the UV maps from Lightwave into GMax, which I was finally able to resolve. I wanted to do the mapping, etc. in Lightwave in order to take advantage of texture baking/global illumination.

I think I still need to work on the textures some. That, and I need to decide what, if anything, I'm going to do for an interior.

Chris


http://forums.flightsim.com/vbts/up1/114012.jpg

[CARex]

Excellent piece Chris!!
I can see that on the VNHRR. :)

Have a sparkling day,
Bob

[MRRextreme]

beautiful work!

[ChrisS68]

Thanks guys!
I'm trying to decide how much (if any) optimizing of the model I need to do. The way it sits now, the model consists of 2098 polys. I had thought that might be alot, but Shape Viewer shows it coming in at .24 Kujus, which, relatively speaking, doesn't seem so bad. Any opinions?

Chris

[CARex]

Chris,

It appears that all of your doors, windows and some architectural elements are recessed. These effects add considerably to your poly count.

However, the masonry seems to show shadows (darker bricks at the widow, door and other relief edges), I presume these darker areas are from you original art/photos. As opposed to being created by the Shape Viewer’s lighting source.

If that's the case, then you may consider just using flat planes at these areas and just let the textures create the illusion of relief. This revision should reduce your poly count dramatically.

http://forums.flightsim.com/vbts/up1/114106.jpg

The walls of this structure are simply flat. Yet the texture does a fair job with window relief’s and architectural details. The poly count on this example is 157. And there are four sides of similar detail and varying building heights.

Have a sparkling day,
Bob

[REMaster]

Bob,

Do you ever plan releasing those buildings in packs? I could surely find a use for those buildings :) :) .

[pvoxland]

That's a supurb looking model. I have not attempted many buildings, but I have worked on some little depots and sheds. I think some recessed doors or features add a lot to the quality. So for objects that will appear very near the track I think it's worth the effort. On the other hand for other buildings that are further away then depending on textures for structure details is a better idea.

In other words, I wouldn't change a think on your tower, because it's a near track building. You might try to hunt down some polygon faces that are simply not visible and delete those. But you've done such good work already, I would guess you've already taken care of things like the bottom face of posts, doors, etc.

[ChrisS68]

Thanks again everybody, particularly for the kind words.
Yes, it is to go near the track, so I don't want to lose too much detail; little details really pop in sunset lighting. I imagine that one place I might be able to cut out some polys is in the windows. The real killer is the stairway, and there isn't much more I can do with that. As I said, the way the mapping works, I'm somewhat limited in how I can get the results I'm looking for without a lot of extra work (and frankly, I'm lazy!) ;)
Actually, this is still a learning process. I've been working in LightWave for some time, but am just now exploring ways to port models to MSTS, and am trying to formulate a process.

Anyhoo, back to it.

Chris



http://forums.flightsim.com/vbts/up1/114341.jpg

[rpicardi1]

For a close up viewed object, go ahead and use the ledges and recessed windows. (Just watch the poly count.) The flat textured objects are fine for most cases where there is some distance. In those cases, watch the size and number of textures in use. Large numbers of large textures will quickly use up resources and cause MSTS to phone Bill.

Its a trade off when designing structures. A structure like yours could be using 6 or more textures. However, those textures could also be shared by hundreds of other different structures. Wood texture in the stairway, roof texture on the roof, concrete texture shared by lots of things such as bridge piers to sidewalks.

SRV Ron