[WIP] Lighthouses mod

Wow, that's really beautiful !

But could we do a bit less detailed LH ? I mean details that allow us to recognize this LH as the La Vieille LH. Thus, we could use this model at different locations. So, I think that we should delete the small devices around the building (red arrows) :



And could you create a transparent glass at the top of the LH ?

Originally Posted by gap

Other than that, I would like to bake an ambient occlusion map for the model.

Yes, but what's that ?

[gap]

Originally Posted by Kendras

Wow, that's really beautiful !

Thank you

Originally Posted by Kendras

But could we do a bit less detailed LH ? I mean details that allow us to recognize this LH as the La Vieille LH. Thus, we could use this model at different locations. So, I think that we should delete the small devices around the building (red arrows) :

I am striving to make the present model as similar to the real thing as I can. I nonetheless had your same thought. All the details that you pointed to, are in separate meshes than the main model, and they are removable with just one click. Once I release the model as La Vieille, it will be easy for me creating another generic light house model based on the previous one.

In general, my idea is having a few basic lighthouse models which can be placed in various locations in game (where real lighthouses are/were to be found during the 40s), and then slowly replacing at least a few of them with realistic representations of real lighthouses. SHIII has not a Real Navigation mod yet, but in SH5 with RN, landmarks can be as important for the calculation of position fixes as they were in real life before the GPS era

Originally Posted by Kendras

And could you create a transparent glass at the top of the LH ?

It is. If you look closely at the detail of the gallery in the picture at the bottom of my previous post, you will be able to see the lantern (a Fresnel lens) through it glasses.
Onestly I didn't put much attenction in fine tuning the material properties in the obj model that I am working on. Anyway how transparent those glasses are going to be in the release (dat) version, is a matter of setting their material properties properly in S3ditor.

Originally Posted by Kendras

Yes, but what's that ?

An ambient occlusion map is a texture featuring prerendered shadows, calculated by some 3D editing programs based on the geometry of an object, and it is meant to represent the shadows that the various parts of the same object would cast on each other under a diffuse light. Simplifying, you can see it as a texture with shadowing, enhancing the perception of 3-dimensionality of a model rendered on a 2D surface.
Usually I overlay AO maps on the diffuse map (the one which is currently referred to as "texture"), but due to the complexity of the current model I had to make its diffuse UV map overlapping, otherwise its textures should have been gigantic. As a consequence, if we want the model to have an AO map I will need to create a secon channel (i.e. a non-overlapping UV projection) that the AO map will be rendered on (due to its topological nature, AO map "baking" doensn't work well with overlapping UV projections). Doing that is relatively easy in SHIV-5, but it is my understanding that this feature is only partly supported in SHIII. The lack of AO maps is why most stock ships look "flat" in SHIII compared to its later reincarnations (besides its models having a lesser number of polygons)

Originally Posted by gap

In general, my idea is having a few basic lighthouse models which can be placed in various locations in game (where real lighthouses are/were to be found during the 40s), and then slowly replacing at least a few of them with realistic representations of real lighthouses. SHIII has not a Real Navigation mod yet, but in SH5 with RN, landmarks can be as important for the calculation of position fixes as they were in real life before the GPS era

I have exactly the same ideas as you !

Originally Posted by gap

Once I release the model as La Vieille, it will be easy for me creating another generic light house model based on the previous one.

Could this generic model be a little different in aspect (3D and texture) ?

Originally Posted by gap

It is. If you look closely at the detail of the gallery in the picture at the bottom of my previous post, you will be able to see the lantern (a Fresnel lens) through it glasses.

Ah, I saw it ! But I though it was a texture ! I didn't dare to ask you to model a Fresnel lens, and that's just great that you've already done it !

Originally Posted by gap

An ambient occlusion map is a texture featuring prerendered shadows, calculated by some 3D editing programs based on the geometry of an object, and it is meant to represent the shadows that the various parts of the same object would cast on each other under a diffuse light. Simplifying, you can see it as a texture with shadowing, enhancing the perception of 3-dimensionality of a model rendered on a 2D surface.
Usually I overlay AO maps on the diffuse map (the one which is currently referred to as "texture"), but due to the complexity of the current model I had to make its diffuse UV map overlapping, otherwise its textures should have been gigantic. As a consequence, if we want the model to have an AO map I will need to create a secon channel (i.e. a non-overlapping UV projection) that the AO map will be rendered on (due to its topological nature, AO map "baking" doensn't work well with overlapping UV projections). Doing that is relatively easy in SHIV-5, but it is my understanding that this feature is only partly supported in SHIII. The lack of AO maps is why most stock ships look "flat" in SHIII compared to its later reincarnations (besides its models having a lesser number of polygons)

Thanks for these explanations ! Really interesting !

I managed to create an icon for the LH which is not so bad looking.

[gap]

Originally Posted by Kendras

I have exactly the same ideas as you !

Originally Posted by Kendras

Could this generic model be a little different in aspect (3D and texture) ?

Of course it can. I think the Phares des Triagoz and du Four are simple enough that they can be used as "generic lighthouses models" as well, what do you think?

If you accepted my proposal of setting lighthouses either as sea or land units rather than as simple terrain objects, it would be easy customizing them through eqp/cfg files without having to duplicate the 3D model for every slight change. Another advantage would be that each lighthouse might be given its own light beam effect, and that some of them could be given a soundsource controller simulating fog horns

Originally Posted by Kendras

Ah, I saw it ! But I though it was a texture ! I didn't dare to ask you to model a Fresnel lens, and that's just great that you've already done it !

It is just a cylinder surmounted by a truncated cone. I didnt add any other detail to it, because it would be hard spotting it anyway. The hard part was looking for a picture that I could get a good texture from, but I stealed both the model and the texture from one of my previous models with just a few changes

Originally Posted by Kendras

I managed to create an icon for the LH which is not so bad looking.

Looks nice, but its borders might be smoother, and I think in modern charts major lights are marked as five-pointed stars with a tear-shaped beam departing from them:



See the following link, under the Chart symbols paragraph for further reference:
http://www.sailingissues.com/navcourse9.html

It is my understanding that lighthouses are internationally classified as "major lights"

Originally Posted by gap

Of course it can. I think the Phares des Triagoz and du Four are simple enough that they can be used as "generic lighthouses models" as well, what do you think?

I think so, that's why I've shown them in my first post.

Originally Posted by gap

If you accepted my proposal of setting lighthouses either as sea or land units rather than as simple terrain objects, it would be easy customizing them through eqp/cfg files without having to duplicate the 3D model for every slight change. Another advantage would be that each lighthouse might be given its own light beam effect, and that some of them could be given a soundsource controller simulating fog horns

I understand, but a land unit is always placed on the ground, so it depends on the depth ... so same LHs have to be placed at the same depth... or not, if the rock is big enough. In this case, the rock will be more or less visible above water. We have to try.

Originally Posted by gap

The hard part was looking for a picture that I could get a good texture from

Maybe on the Hotelnau model I've sent to you, there is a glass texture for the lens.

Originally Posted by gap

Looks nice, but its borders might be smoother, and I think in modern charts major lights are marked as five-pointed stars with a tear-shaped beam departing from them

Yes, I tried this icon first (I wanted this icon too), but the problem is that, in game, the picture has no colors (green if not black) and is bad rendered (pixelised) if it's too small, so I chose a black and more simple icon. Moreover, the icon is turned if the object is not facing towards north, as it is the case in my work (see in mission how it looks).

[gap]

Originally Posted by Kendras

I think so, that's why I've shown them in my first post.

Originally Posted by Kendras

I understand, but a land unit is always placed on the ground, so it depends on the depth ... so same LHs have to be placed at the same depth... or not, if the rock is big enough. In this case, the rock will be more or less visible above water. We have to try.

We have two ways to mimic lighthouses based on rocky reefs: we can raise the seabottom so to create a little island big enough to house a lighthouse set as land unit, or as I told you a few weeks ago, we could make those lighthouses into floating sea units. With the correct settings, their swinging would be hardly noticeable. Some adjustement in Terrain Editor might still be required to match the seabottom with the bottom of the rock meshes

Originally Posted by Kendras

Maybe on the Hotelnau model I've sent to you, there is a glass texture for the lens.

No need for that, my Fresnel lens is already textured

Originally Posted by Kendras

Yes, I tried this icon first (I wanted this icon too), but the problem is that, in game, the picture has no colors (green if not black) and is bad rendered (pixelised) if it's too small, so I chose a black and more simple icon. Moreover, the icon is turned if the object is not facing towards north, as it is the case in my work (see in mission how it looks).

Maybe a simple black five-pointed star then?