Cars [WIP] Caterham

[AlleyViper]

Please check the last post on this page and Marek's response on the next for the rim blur issue.

 

[Ben O'Bro]

thanks, i will look into the blur rims, probably a naming issue, i haven't been very strict about it...
i'm done for today.
After tonight i probably start seeing the whole picture of making a mod aha!
Good luck me.

Hello there.
It's time to do the neeews!
A couple pictures will do that just well. After 4 hours struggling tonight. The time keeps passing me by...

And now is the time where i ask for help
I left 3dsmax and my safe zone and went to a dark unknown road... ksEditor.
As you can see, i managed to export a basic model into the game. (i kept it simple for now)
I can't launch a race though (i guess it's missing too many things suspensions etc.), but the showroom works.

I read the PDF included in the sdk files, i watched few tutorial online, but it's still a little blurry.
So i guess i got the basics right. Scale of the scene, doing hierarchy, naming, although the blurry alloys are showing, so maybe i didn't do that well?! And where did the seats go...

I took the sample car fbx with all the dummies in the sdk folder.

and linked everything before importing to the editor

I duplicated the caterham academy mod for now, and renamed it, as well as the ui file, car.ini lods etc. to match the new name. It doesn't show any error so far. (*success kid*)

I have questions regarding how to proceed. Maybe you have a link to a good tutorial, written or video, that would advise me!

• Is there a way the ksEditor will detect the maps i use in 3ds max ? Or will i have to relink everything there manually ?
• does the mesh need to be renamed, or just the dummy+hierarchy is enough ? (i saw two different things on tutorial, was it patched at some point ?) >
  
  (like geometry83 should be Wheel_LF_001 ?)
• What is the best plan of action now ? Is it better to start some test exports now, or finish the model properly first ? (i still have few things left to do, like belt and small details, or can i finish that later)
  >> in a general matter, all the things useful to do first not to waste time afterwards... (for example the order: finish 3D model in order for a proper unwrap and then baked textures) and other things i wouldn't know because i've never done them
• if i copy the formula_k template, the game shows an error at launch, is there a template up to date?
• is there a debug or logs somewhere to show me the errors ?

I guess the general message i'm trying to send is...

boy it's already eleven.
Thanks in advance for your time...

 

[NightEye87]

Let me start by stating I'm not your particular go-to guy when it comes to cars, but I've managed to do a few basic ones so allow me to atleast try and help you

And now is the time where i ask for help
I left 3dsmax and my safe zone and went to a dark unknown road... ksEditor.
As you can see, i managed to export a basic model into the game. (i kept it simple for now)
I can't launch a race though (i guess it's missing too many things suspensions etc.), but the showroom works.

The showroom is independant of physics and will simply show your FBX scene (that's why the Caterham Academy is so high on its wheels in the showroom but not ingame). So if anything physics related isn't correct, the showroom works and ingame will not. See below.

Is there a way the ksEditor will detect the maps i use in 3ds max ? Or will i have to relink everything there manually ?

ksEditor will not detect any materials you've set (apart from name main texture file applied). Whatever work you've done in Max has been useless for AC sadly.
But..! ksEditor will remember what you did inside the editor with regards to shader settings, textures, etc. As long as you have a /workfolder/car.fbx and /workfolder/texture/textures.dds hierarchy. For this, simply press File > Save Persistance. It will create a car.fbx.ini file with all this stuff in it (it all makes sense if you open it), and will load whenever you import the same FBX again.

does the mesh need to be renamed, or just the dummy+hierarchy is enough ? (i saw two different things on tutorial, was it patched at some point ?) >

(like geometry83 should be Wheel_LF_001 ?)

Dummies are all that matter (apart from some stuff like mirrors or needles which need the object name rather than parent name? Not quite sure). Anything parented to RIM_LF will be recognized as the left front rim.

What is the best plan of action now ? Is it better to start some test exports now, or finish the model properly first ? (i still have few things left to do, like belt and small details, or can i finish that later)
>> in a general matter, all the things useful to do first not to waste time afterwards... (for example the order: finish 3D model in order for a proper unwrap and then baked textures) and other things i wouldn't know because i've never done them

My advice is to try and get it working ingame. This will give you something to play with and might give extra motivation to do all that tedious work you've never done before - like UV mapping. I wouldn't go into details with shader settings yet, because when you change the 3d model again (be it object names or material names), the persistance file sometimes cannot work out what's what and will fail to load the settings for the altered object. But a rolling chassis is great to have ingame, even if it's just a plain grey car.

if i copy the formula_k template, the game shows an error at launch, is there a template up to date?

I think the template is up to date, but it features a lot of stuff you don't need. For instance, there's a whole section for heave suspension that isn't used on a Caterham, so that's a thing to look out for. Then stuff like digital_instruments.ini (or analog_instruments.ini) can contain stuff you don't have, so will turn up with errors. The lods.ini might contain names that you don't have, animated suspension might be enabled while you have no animation files, etc.

is there a debug or logs somewhere to show me the errors ?

/Users/My Documents/Assetto Corsa/logs/
It shows log.txt which has very valuable information when the game crashes (scroll down to the very end, it tells you why it crashed. It's not always 100% clear but might give you an idea). Then, if you have "show warnings as errors=1" inside one of the usual cfg files, it will show a list of errors in the errors.txt. This can be something like "object arrowfuel is missing", etc.

I hope I atleast gave you a little bit of an insight. If not, just ask again and someone more capable will explain

 

[Fonsecker]

After tonight i probably start seeing the whole picture of making a mod aha!

You are doing a great job! First time export into a game is always a pain, but if u know how to do it, it´s easy ( i think )

Don´t give up!!

 

[AccAkut]

I'll add a few things:

This thread (http://www.assettocorsa.net/forum/i...odelling-stuff-add-your-knowledge-here.19704/) contains a whole lot of information on details and shaders, how to make lights and so on

regarding Nulls/Empties, the mesh you parent to it does not need to have special names. And you need less than shown in the example fbx files. I attached a fbx with the very basic empties to this post (you need to rename it).

I made the mistake of only building the model without any testing for too long. Test ingame as soon as possible, just to make sure you are using the right scale, Normal orientation and so on. As Nighteye wrote any material settings apart from texture name are ignored by AC (and the KS Editor), so don't waste any time on it. I just recently got in the habit of using very colourful material settings in Blender just to keep track of the materials used. The lower the number the better it is for performance in AC.


Overall in terms of handling the files I save the model in a new blend file every time I make bigger changes to it, so for the Audi for example I the most current file is named krb_animated_74.blend (I archive the older ones in case I need to revert back at some point)
To test in the Editor I then export it to fbx and overwrite my export.fbx every time, so that the KS Editor keeps all the settings. Apart from that always keep backups of older files, the danger of overwriting important things is always present

 

[Ben O'Bro]

Thanks you for the help.
So I focused the effort in making the car drivable, but can't load a game.
I am wondering whether it's the model's fault, or too many missing features in the ini files in the folder ?

The logs aren't helpful either.

ERROR: SymGetLineFromAddr64, GetLastError: 487 (Address: 00000000772359ED)
00000000772359ED (kernel32): (filename not available): BaseThreadInitThunk
ERROR: SymGetLineFromAddr64, GetLastError: 487 (Address: 000000007746B371)
000000007746B371 (ntdll): (filename not available): RtlUserThreadStart​

The F3 key to switch between high and low poly works for the cockpit but not for the blur alloys. I tried importe their TEMPLATE_CAR_demo_V1.fbx into the editor, but f3 does nothing there either.
I checked too many times theses helper names, i'm not sure what to do next.

If a good soul wants to have a go with my model... (it's juste basic body and wheels)
* edit deleted *

ps, i did a repair on the game through steam, just in case.
I retried, like in the video published by Kunos, to copy paste the formula_k without touching anything, and the game shows an error loading XD

 

[AccAkut]

,
I retried, like in the video published by Kunos, to copy paste the formula_k without touching anything, and the game shows an error loading XD

That's the problem, Formula K always has the line "animated_suspension=1" in its car.ini

Set it to 0

 

[NightEye87]

Your FBX should be fine for the rim blur to work. Are you sure your blurred_objects.ini is correct?

 

[Ben O'Bro]

Aha! Now we're talking!
i changed the animated to 0 but still couldn't launch it. I started removing folders from a random mod to see what was needed or not... and finally found out.
And the lucky winner was... the SFX! I didn't rename the sfx (sound) files. Congratulations me.
I present you a giant leap for mankind... be ready to see the images below all over the news tomorrow.

so i took it to the wall for a start, thing i couldn't do in reality...

and the rim/blur are working properly ingame, which is good as well.

i've never been so happy to see such an ugly mod
thank you guys for your help

 

[AccAkut]

Good work!

 

[NightEye87]

I think it looks fine as it is, just release the darn thing already

From here onwards to a great result!

 

[Ben O'Bro]

Few screenshots before going to a well deserved bed.
I stopped writing down the hours i spend on this, in order to keep my sanity... well, sane.

the mapping is terrible at the moment, i have one png or dds for each part, it's all temporary so i can understand dds, and alpha, and editor materials.

I moved my dummys to the actual pivot point of the wheels (before relinking everything in 3ds), but now they appear extra wide... is it the "save persistence" fault? Or is there another file somewhere keeping the wheel position ?
Same with the back wheels, i don't understand how to put them back to the correct position... they are fine in the editor :/

Anyway
good night!

 

[Ben O'Bro]

It's becoming addictive, i'll tell you that.

i linked the rpm, and speedo, not sure if they are sync, but they work good
the water oil and petrol don't seam to be working even though i added the lines in the ini files
i'll look into that later

 

[DutchDevil79]

Great progress of you need help with physics, I know someone who will be willing to help probably.

 

[Phil Dufour]

Nice job Mr Ben

 

[unseen]

It`s definitely getting there

 

[Philip Antonia]

My son is just getting into Assetto Corsa and he had a ride in a Caterham at the Dunsfold Supercar event last month. This is his most eagerly awaited mod now and I'm pretty keen on it too!! . Looks gr8!!

 

[unseen]

My son is just getting into Assetto Corsa and he had a ride in a Caterham at the Dunsfold Supercar event last month. This is his most eagerly awaited mod now and I'm pretty keen on it too!! . Looks gr8!!

Normally with that sort of post, you`re supposed to back it up with a linked youtube video of said son hooning it up at the event in the caterham. Missed opportunity.

 

[AccAkut]

If you ever think about adding a R400 variant I may know a guy

 

[NightEye87]

Inside the suspension.ini there obviously is the track width and offset. If they are correct and your dummy is placed correctly, ingame it should match reality. For all I know, it's not a persistance thing unless you played with the position values.
Perhaps there is something mentioned inside the grshpics offset ini? Not sure if that can apply to wheels.