Class 73

[Irishrailguy]

You don't really need to create controllers for standard animations, it would be necessary for complex movements like pistons in that tutorial. But a simple animation using rotation or axis constraints don't need a handle or controller to be created. For a fan I find it works best if you use standard rotation and add a key frame for every 90 degrees of rotation from start to end. So you'll have 4 keys and you can change the distance between the frames to increase or decrease the RPM's. Cab animations (like a throttle) only requires you to start the animation in the fully off position and finish in the fully operating position. RW will control the animation as the control value increases and will mirror it in reverse when the control is decreased. You always need to put at least 1 intermediate frame in the animation to tell RW how to 'get' from the start to the end of it.

Kev

[MallardFan]

Ahh OK

would that still require a seperate lattice then? I just gave the fan a lattice, then followed the "Animating the Wheels" part and gave it a straight IPO curve

[MallardFan]

OK thought if something regarding my windows issue...

could my window issues be to do with the fact that my windows are double layered? ie they have two walls (like so || ) to give them thickness? each face the opposite way though

[MallardFan]

hmm I think I must have done something wrong with my animation - when I try to export it into Railworks, the IAOptimizer crashes everytime :/

It has the following info on the black screen:

Collapsing Transforms
IA File loaded
Comment : Blender249, Python 2.6.2, BlenderIAExporter2.1.71 2011-05-06
> Animation nodes : 0
> Total frames : 30
> Sample Rate : 30

Any ideas?

[MallardFan]

OK got on with doing the cab, coming along OK, I think I just really have the Automatic Brake Valve left to do, which looks rather complicated

here are some pics:




















bigger pics:

http://i50.tinypic.com/11w7tlc.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/2q2hdoi.jpg

So any thoughts? Does it look OK? fairly accurate?

[Irishrailguy]

I haven't even seen it in wireframe mode and that's looking pretty damned heavy on the polycount. The polys will only be made more numerous when you take it into Blender and it creates the extra triangles by itself. However I'd be delighted if you can get the cab working in RW with you sitting at the driver's seat with minimal loss of frames. Performance issues aside though I have to say that it's at payware level detail if I ever saw any, brilliant work.

Kev

[MallardFan]

Thanks very much

with the polys if it does make it to unstable have a few ideas to reduce them hopefully if required that would work. I assume like the main model you can keep upgrading the model by importing updated IGS files?

[Irishrailguy]

Thanks very much

with the polys if it does make it to unstable have a few ideas to reduce them hopefully if required that would work. I assume like the main model you can keep upgrading the model by importing updated IGS files?

Anything is updateable, textures models and blueprints. Just export, overwrite and re-convert. Really any automatic way of reducing polys doesn't work well on small parts, like in a cab. You'll find that welding of vertices that are close together creates bad shadow artifacts and mesh errors. I always try to make my models as optimised as possible when I first build them, it's not easy to do so afterwards.

Kev

[MallardFan]

Ahh OK thanks

as for the optimization, I was thinking of things like reducing the number of sides to circles and things like that

Silly question, but what blueprint do you use for the cab? All I can find is Cab Camera and Cab Occlusion

[Irishrailguy]

Ahh OK thanks

as for the optimization, I was thinking of things like reducing the number of sides to circles and things like that

Silly question, but what blueprint do you use for the cab? All I can find is Cab Camera and Cab Occlusion

That's the thing, the cab is actually the easiest part of the train to get working. It only requires a cab camera blueprint and the model itself is referenced in the cab section of the engine blueprint, and if you use a separate folder for the cab models and textures I think you need to put the location of that texture folder in the secondary texture set section of your engine blueprint.

Also don't forget that any object within the cab view needs a special naming convention. Since the cab view never moves away or towards you the distance parameter in the naming convention need to be 0000, e.g 1_0000_cab. The cab view doesn't work without this having been done.

Kev

[MallardFan]

Ahh OK thanks

[MallardFan]

OK so I got my (WIP) cab in

Slight issue...



I am apparently sitting way in front...

I tried adjusting the camera offset but nothing happened... what values do I need to adjust? Also how do I get where pressing the right arrow key moves the driver to the opposite seat? Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a pdf guide to cab camera functionality

[Irishrailguy]

OK so I got my (WIP) cab in

Slight issue...



I am apparently sitting way in front...

I tried adjusting the camera offset but nothing happened... what values do I need to adjust? Also how do I get where pressing the right arrow key moves the driver to the opposite seat? Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a pdf guide to cab camera functionality

Yes you pretty much can't get the coordinates correct first time round, reduce the x coordinate in the cab offset section of the camera blueprint until you find yourself in the desirable position As for the right arrow key bit I haven't tried it as of yet but try the 'camera offset' section, there's already an offset section which puts you in the starting position so I think that might be the bit your'e looking for, try pasting the offset coordinates into the camera offset section and increase the y value by 2 or 3 to see if it works. If it doesn't work maybe somebody who has actually done it can guide you.

Kev

[MallardFan]

OK thanks very much

I think I am doing something wrong somewhere though - every value I put in gives me the same forward-of-cab viewpoint - tried 6.75, 5.75, even 0, all the same

[michaeldono]

Have you tried using bigger changes? I'm sure I read something that said the coordinates needed to be changed by large amounts for a visible difference. I was probably imagining it though