Help with automata modding

[vester]

Let me have a look at it.
To see if I can figure out what you are doing wrong.


Send a link in a PM.
When sharing a file with someone, I add the file to my Dropbox folder. Then right click -> Copy Dropbox link.

[vester]

Is there anywhere is a list of Maxis' road vehicle automatas IID?

Started to extract the IID. It will take some time before its done.
Will post it in my automata tutorial when its done.

The parent cohort is that of any interest ?

A list of the cohort I have seen so far:
Bus
CheapCarCohort
Commute Train Cohort
Default Aircraft
Default Vehicle
Default Watercraft
ElTrain Cohort
FarmVechicles
Fire Vehicle
Freight Train
Freight Truck
Gabage Truck
Moving Van Cohort
MySim Vehicle Cohort
Police Vehicle
RichCarCohort
School Bus
SoccerMomCohort
SubwayCohort

[vester]

Have posted a list of vehicles and their IIDs for the other type of automata beside trains.
Hope it is going be a help.

[bombardiere]

Thank you Vester. This is exactly what I was looking for. Yes data is in the Dat files, but this kind of list is more user friendly.

I attach my sad attempt. The model is from another game, so I can't distribute it. For a test I took a bus replacement model and add the model in to it. It is wrong way around and I did not replace the textures. I just wanted to see it in the game so I could see how automata modding works.

It is ok in the ILives preview.

I think that I don't understand the Anim tab blocks. The model is imported from 3DS MAX. I went and set blocks 0 as for the Group 0. This made the game crash to the desktop.

[vester]

You will need to reduce the number of trianglers 55771 and vertices 64784.
One examples where you can reduce the numbers:
The wheels are now 4x15 triangles. I would use just 4. More than that is wasted, due to the scale of the game.
That is the first 41 triangles.

You might reduce the numbers of vertices by welding vertices that shared the same coordinate in space as well as on the textures.

Maybe take a look at what I and others have done with quite simple models.
What I would do, was make a low poly model and the render the current model onto the low poly model. (baking/render to textures)
Have a look at that my list of youtube videos on 3dsmax modeling.
I have use Mike Pickton's: Baking normals, AO and more in 3ds Max (render to texture)
and Clint DiClementi's Baking Ambient Occlusion Maps - 3DS Max.

Also I think Mr Bluesummers has a good one on the subject.

Looking in my thread VDK Transport around page 43 and on. Here you can see how I used Ambient Occlusion maps to add all the details.

[bombardiere]

All right, thanks. I think I get your message. The simple is the better.

Ok, but does this bus model crash the game because it is too big? Or did I do something wrong while modding it? Because I tried with a more simple model and that did not show up in the game.

I wanted to test automata modding, before I spent time to learn and model my own automata models. Which for certain would be much simpler models than this Routemaster bus from Cities in Motion 1 game.

[vester]

Try to remove the Exemplar file. It points to a cohort 0x00000000;0x00000000;0x00000000
First off it should point to 0x05342861;0x096e6739;0xea20aca6

but as you don't have any properties in there beside the cohort, it doesn't add anything.

[koumus corporation]

Can someone tell me how to turn off shadows on s3d models ? The boxy ones are way too dramatic.

[mgb204]

I'm not sure it's as simple as a setting for on/off, which is possible for Props. If the Exemplar for the automata is given the Property IsGroundModel and it is set to False, that may be sufficient. But I believe you need to remove the shadow from the model itself to prevent its appearance.