Beta Release 0.8

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 10:46 pm

EDIT:
Version 1.0 is the latest version.
Link
Link

I'd love to hear feedback and suggestions for changes/improvements. What do you guys want to see added, changed, and removed?

Also, don't expect incredible texturing from me. I'm just an amatuer (and not very good at that). All of the textures except the leather textures were created by me from scratch, so that gives you an idea of my abilities.

One feature I've included is the ability to create your own registration number. Airplanes have a little placard in the cockpit with the tail number printed on it. I wanted to do the same thing with my cockpit. The placard in my modification is located above the left display. If you want to create your own tail number you just need to edit reg.jpg.

Finally, included in the download is a Metaseq file of my cockpit for those who are building their own cockpits and want a reference.

Here are screenshots of 3 different views from the cockpit.

-Accountant

[Edited on 12-17-2009 by Accountant]

Post by **Vice** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 10:56 pm

Looks great! That's probably a joystick control area on the right side, but it looks like a great place for a cupholder

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 11:08 pm

haha, actually, it is a cupholder

I kinda thought some creature comforts were lacking in the old cockpit

-Accountant

verbosity · Post by **verbosity** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 11:10 pm

I like it!

I'm not usually a cockpit man, but I'm tempted to use this!

BraveHart · Post by **BraveHart** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:46 am

he he he

the "Cup Holder" is cool.....good work

warsign · Post by **warsign** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 7:14 am

I want to see it with textures.
Good starting...

You may see my cockpits to give inspiration for texturing also.

[Edited on 1-16-2009 by warsign]

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 7:44 am

Hey everyone, thanks for the comments, especially concerning the cupholder

@warsign
I do remember coming across your cockpits a while ago. Thanks for reminding me, I will check them out and see what you did.

@all
this is a continual work in process, so expect updates in the future. Hopefully my texturing skills will improve as I work on this and the end product will be something worth having

-Accountant

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 12:15 am

Ok, here is another release for my cockpit modification. The modification is officially in beta stage, and the current release number is 0.8.

Version 1.0 is the latest version. See the first post for the download link.

I've been working on getting the textures to look better, and I think that they are looking ok. I've also added more eye candy to the cockpit so it looks a little better.

Below are some pictures to show the progress. As always, I would love to hear feedback and suggestions.
-Accountant

[Edited on 2-28-2009 by Accountant]

Post by **Vice** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 12:23 am

Looking great, coming along nicely. A very clean and professional 'aviation' look. Nice job!

BraveHart · Post by **BraveHart** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 1:48 am

That is Sharp Accountant......I like it

MMaggio · Post by **MMaggio** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 2:04 am

HEY! Where's my beer? I'm sure I left it in the cup holder!:mad:

Nigel_Strange · Post by **Nigel_Strange** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 6:46 am

Very nice. I am a cockpit man, as I like to crow. The cockpit really adds to the immersive quality of the game, putting you inside the ship so you feel more like a participant instead of a spectator. I will definitely download this when it's finished.

Keep up the good work!

warsign · Post by **warsign** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 11:24 am

Looking really good,really good.
I am a cockpit man too.
Glad to see another one in a row...

Daedalao · Post by **Daedalao** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 11:36 am

I think most everyone would agree, there needs to be a coffee mug in that cup holder!

BraveHart · Post by **BraveHart** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:11 pm

Originally posted by MMaggio
HEY! Where's my beer? I'm sure I left it in the cup holder!:mad:

He-He-He....Will the pilfer of Beer please get MM a new can and make sure it is Ice Cold

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:31 pm

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I didn't know that my cupholder idea would be so popular

Vice, a quick question about custom models. The nostrut mod essentially disabled the struts for the generic cockpit. Is this a built-in feature of the game, or is it possible for custom models to have such a feature (be able to disable certain parts of the model)?

-Accountant

warsign · Post by **warsign** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:49 pm

Originally posted by Accountant
Thanks everyone for the feedback. I didn't know that my cupholder idea would be so popular

Vice, a quick question about custom models. The nostrut mod essentially disabled the struts for the generic cockpit. Is this a built-in feature of the game, or is it possible for custom models to have such a feature (be able to disable certain parts of the model)?

-Accountant

I can answer this question instead of Vice because he is so busy for EL.

Nope.
Only for default cockpit.
If you want to build for a cockpit with nostrut, basicly erase the struts of your model....
Good job I say again.

Post by **Vice** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 4:22 pm

Vice, a quick question about custom models. The nostrut mod essentially disabled the struts for the generic cockpit. Is this a built-in feature of the game, or is it possible for custom models to have such a feature (be able to disable certain parts of the model)?

It is a built-in feature of the game and designed for the default cockpit (which is largely built in code). However, if you use limbs on your object and apply struts using slots 1, 2, 3, 8 , 9 , 25, and 26, then the same option would be available for a custom cockpit. It would probably be easier and more practical to simply offer two versions of the custom cockpit, one with struts and one without and the player could install the version they prefer.

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 9:15 pm

Thanks for the replies guys.

I do not know much (anything) about limbs, so I think that I will try to develop a work-around for what I want to do. I don't want to add struts to the model, I was just planning on using the nostrut feature to give players a chance at modifying the cockpit to their style in a small way. I think I might be able to make it work using transparent textures though, if I can figure out how they work.

Again, thanks for the help and the compliments

-Accountant

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 2:32 am

Ok, kind of at a loss here. How does one do transparent textures for a model (is it even possible?)? I have transparency working in Metaseq, but it doesn't seem to port over to the direct x file.

In materials property under mapping I defined the alpha texture as a small 64x64 sized texture which I either texture black for transparent or white for opaque.

Is there more to it than that?

Thanks for anyone's help.

-Accountant

Post by **Vice** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 2:37 am

My guess is, any imported mid-range alpha surface will render solid in the game (or perhaps not at all). Object transparency has to be managed in code within the game (using a rather obscure 'ghost object on' command within the development language). With that said, you can apply transparent textures to the glass on the cockpit, if desired, since those are already rendered transparent. What effect are you trying to create?

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 2:50 am

Essentially, I am trying to turn certain objects in the cockpit "on" and "off". I was hoping to set up transparency so that the player could paint the transparency texture black to make the object in the cockpit disappear, or paint it white to make the object appear.

I am experimenting right now with adding a few different style cups (a can, fast-food cup, and maybe a thermos) to the cupholder, which the player could then customize and select by texturing the appropriate objects transparent or opaque (which would then allow MMaggio to get his beer back

)

It is a bit trivial so I'm not too concerned if it works or not. I like players to be able to customize my mods to their style (hence, the registration number they can change).

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, Vice. I know you are a busy guy, so I really appreciate it.

-Accountant

XB7 · Post by **XB7** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 5:50 pm

I really like the small mod you made and i wanted to check this one out. Why would I be getting an error when i try to use it?

It says, "Not enough cockpit data, no reflective layer found".

EL v1.028

verbosity · Post by **verbosity** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 6:15 pm

Originally posted by XB7
I really like the small mod you made and i wanted to check this one out. Why would I be getting an error when i try to use it?

It says, "Not enough cockpit data, no reflective layer found".

EL v1.028

EL has a different system for cockpits, this is a cockpit for evochron renegades..

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 10:27 pm

@XB7

Everyone else is right, this cockpit modification is meant for Evochron Renegades. When the mod kit comes out for Evochron Legends, though, I do intend to port this over.

@All
I wanted to get this project finished so I added a few very minor graphical details and tried to finish all of my nonfinished textures. I am now releasing this cockpit modification as version 1.0.

Link

Included with the download link is a Metaseq file format of the cockpit object for those who want a reference to work off of when making their own cockpits.

When the customization kit comes out for Legends I intend to make the necessary changes to port this cockpit over to Legends.

Some screenshots of the finished cockpit:

As always, any suggestions or improvements are most welcome.

-Accountant

[Edited on 3-27-2009 by Accountant]