[WIP] Lighthouses mod

[gap]

Originally Posted by Kendras

I prefer in .dat files.

Okay, you will need to wait until I find my working files and Import them into a dat file them.
I usually work with medium to high size textures and I scale them down for usage in game. What would be an acceptable texture resolution (in pixels) and file format/compression for SHIII? Moreover, do you prefer external or embedded textures?

Originally Posted by Kendras

Mmh, it's a good start, but we need a better model (not just flat faces with a texture for the details).

I always rework heavily free 3D models I find on the web, because they rarely have the vertex resolution and other properties which suit game models. If need be, I can add some more detail to the lighthouse mesh, but we should also keep an eye on file size; adding very complex objects near land is always a bit risky, you know
If you look at the model of the Dune light house, most of its details (such as windows, doors, rivets, ladders on the concrete pedestal, etc.) are just painted on its surface. Well made self-illumination, normal and ambient occlusion maps, together with a good diffuse textures can do miracles and bring new life even to the oddest model

Originally Posted by Kendras

Yes, not bad, the upper part is well modelled. We can also use the RoterSand lighthouse ("LH" to abbreviate) for new models, it's a very pretty LH.

Originally Posted by Kendras

We have to keep in mind that the rock model will probably be used at different locations, so we have to envisage different depths. 40 meters should be good ! In my case, I am on the La Vieille location, in the west of la pointe du Raz. I send you my files in PM.

I am talking about the rocks that the lighthouses are rising from. Those need to be integral part of each model so we can only have one fixed depth for each lighthouse, unless you want to make that kind of lighthouses into sea units. If the latter is the case, I could create a set of rocks of different heights to be placed in a library file, and to be conveniently linked to each lighthouse "unit" through eqp file. This is how we made the concrete pedestals of TWoS coastal defences (in SH5 proper coastal defences don't fire their guns).
The one problems I see, is that making generic rock models to accomodate any kind of lighthouse might be a bit tricky due to them not being totally flat, and even by setting a very heavy mass and a low center of mass, "floating" lighthouses would swing faintly on heavy seas. On the other hand, we would enjoy much more flexibility for customizing the appearance/look of them at various stages of the war (some lighthouses were destroyed during the conflict and some others, including La Vieille as I read, were abandoned/obscured late in the war). This is something we can't do with regular land units

Originally Posted by Kendras

Let's imagine something like that...

I see a reticule but wath is the scale?