[WIP] Ship Silhouettes - Modder's Resource

[DanielCoffey]

Thanks for looking at the Battleships. Hopefully there will not be any need to revisit the silhouettes much. Any minor cable edits will be too small to affect the silhouettes but there might be some gun colour changes that you want reflected int eh silhouettes.

If you want to see a real horror story of a DAT file, check the NBC_Repulse. It will give you nightmares!

The model is black despite resetting the normals but it displays properly in game and when rendered in Blender. There are mis-named parts (the plane on the deck) and the M01, S01 and A01 naming convention is thrown out of the window. There may also be a missing cable between the two masts too.

[DanielCoffey]

DOWNLOAD Battleships Pack 12 : http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/sile...ttleships12.7z
File Size : 1.6Mb
Version : 2.1
Release Date : 20/09/2020

Included vessels : NBB_Alabama, NBB_Bismarck, NBB_Colorado, NBB_Fuso, NBB_Iowa, NBB_Ise, NBB_Ise2, NBB_KgeorgeV, NBB_Kongo, NBB_Missouri, NBB_Nagato, NBB_Nelson, NBB_Nevada, NBB_NEW_MEXICO, NBB_NewJersey, NBB_North_Carolina, NBB_Pennsylvania, NBB_Queen_Elisabeth, NBB_Ramillies, NBB_Revenge, NBB_Tennessee, NBB_TennesseeEarly, NBB_Tirpitz, NBB_West_Virginia, NBB_Yamashiro, NBB_Yamato, NBC_GrafSpee, NBC_Repulse


Please note there may be some turret colour changes pending on some of the American Battleships.

[s7rikeback]

Originally Posted by DanielCoffey

Thanks for looking at the Battleships. Hopefully there will not be any need to revisit the silhouettes much. Any minor cable edits will be too small to affect the silhouettes but there might be some gun colour changes that you want reflected int eh silhouettes.

If you want to see a real horror story of a DAT file, check the NBC_Repulse. It will give you nightmares!

The model is black despite resetting the normals but it displays properly in game and when rendered in Blender. There are mis-named parts (the plane on the deck) and the M01, S01 and A01 naming convention is thrown out of the window. There may also be a missing cable between the two masts too.

I will look at the Repulse now..., i'm saving the Nagato for last !!!

[DanielCoffey]

I have just updated the battleship silhouettes with the new gun colours that s7rikeback has proposed. Re-download to pull the new pictures

Only a few had to be changed as I had already picked dark guns on a couple of them. Iowa, Nevada and TenesseeEarly have updated.

[s7rikeback]

Originally Posted by DanielCoffey

Thanks for looking at the Battleships. Hopefully there will not be any need to revisit the silhouettes much. Any minor cable edits will be too small to affect the silhouettes but there might be some gun colour changes that you want reflected int eh silhouettes.

If you want to see a real horror story of a DAT file, check the NBC_Repulse. It will give you nightmares!

The model is black despite resetting the normals but it displays properly in game and when rendered in Blender. There are mis-named parts (the plane on the deck) and the M01, S01 and A01 naming convention is thrown out of the window. There may also be a missing cable between the two masts too.

# There are mis-named parts (the plane on the deck) - fixed
# M01, S01 and A01 naming convention is thrown out of the window - looks strange, but they are all numbered in sequence as in no gaps, so no problems. Also matches eqp in number links.
# The cable in between the masts is now fixed.
# internal name dat names have been changed to NBC_Repulse from NBB_KGeorgeV.

[DanielCoffey]

I have a question about the models used for the submarines in the Sea folder such as AI_Uboat9d2 and NSS_C3 or NSS_Kaidai4.

Are they used by the player as on-deck models for the actual player sub or are they exclusively for AI models?

If they are exclusively AI models, now common are they? Almost all the Subs are grossly excessive in their vertex count. For example one AI_Uboat9d2 is "worth" 8 carriers or 6 battleships or 12-18 merchantmen in terms of its model complexity.

[s7rikeback]

Originally Posted by DanielCoffey

I have a question about the models used for the submarines in the Sea folder such as AI_Uboat9d2 and NSS_C3 or NSS_Kaidai4.

Are they used by the player as on-deck models for the actual player sub or are they exclusively for AI models?

If they are exclusively AI models, now common are they? Almost all the Subs are grossly excessive in their vertex count. For example one AI_Uboat9d2 is "worth" 8 carriers or 6 battleships or 12-18 merchantmen in terms of its model complexity.

They were built as playables by Keltos, for a mod he was working on.

I converted them from playables to AI with Keltos full permissions. Now, before you look at those subs, JapLance had agreed to look at these models, roughly a week ago. but i'm not sure how far along he is, or if he has started yet, as he may have other projects on the go... I would not want either of you clashing work-wise and losing time working on the same models...

Let me PM JapLance and see what the score is please before you proceed?

[DanielCoffey]

I have already done my silhouettes based on the current models but I was thinking about the efficiency of having such large models roaming around under AI control.


I was thinking of creating a list of "overweight" models as there are about 20 candidates for a bit of model optimizing. The AI subs feature as the top 6 models in that list due to their detail and hold 9 of the top 12 slots.


I am still stymied by S3D not talking nice to Blender when editing objects with multiple texture maps but there are some low hanging fruits that can be tackled because they have a single model and a single texture.

[s7rikeback]

Originally Posted by DanielCoffey

I have already done my silhouettes based on the current models but I was thinking about the efficiency of having such large models roaming around under AI control.


I was thinking of creating a list of "overweight" models as there are about 20 candidates for a bit of model optimizing. The AI subs feature as the top 6 models in that list due to their detail and hold 9 of the top 12 slots.


I am still stymied by S3D not talking nice to Blender when editing objects with multiple texture maps but there are some low hanging fruits that can be tackled because they have a single model and a single texture.

Fair enough, go for it...

Sorry, I'm afraid I didn't start looking at those subs seriously. I opened the .dat for one of them, and they look quite different from the usual AI ships I'm used to.

Coupled with my ignorance about the subject of Japanese submarines, I decided to switch to the Russian Project 26 bis cruiser.

[DanielCoffey]

Now that the Silhouettes are completed I am working on the How To guide at the beginning of this thread to help other modders make their own Silhouettes.

[DanielCoffey]

I have been looking at the "overweight" models that have far too many vertices but have hit two complete roadblocks to being able to resolve them elegantly.


I just cannot find a way to export and re-import the parts of vessels that have both a regular texture and an occlusion/normal/specular map. On re-importing, S3D only seems to merge all uv maps into a single layer which is no use.


The second issue is probably to do with Blender and occurs because of its workflow. If I take a part of a vessel and simplify the mesh, Blender messes up the uv mapping. Blender's workflow is usually to make the high detail model, simplify the mesh and then wrap the texture. If you simplify the mesh at a later stage you have to redo the texture wrapping. Since the original models were not created in Blender we don't have the models wrapped nicely with seams. It would have to be done completely from scratch.


Sadly I simply do not have the time to redo the complete texture mapping on the models that are overweight.


Apart from the AI submarines which are grossly overdetailed in terms of their meshes (by a factor of ten in some cases), the rest of the vessels will have to manage. There are about 15 that could be at least halved in detail without affecting their appearance but they would have to be done one by one and would require an understanding of which areas of the texture maps are intended for which parts of the vessel.


So we will have to put up with overweight models I am afraid.

[propbeanie]

Everybody likes curves though, don't they?... :wink:

Thank you very much for trying DanielCoffey. Maybe someone else will attempt that at some point in the future. We are heavily indebted to you just for the sil files, good sir!

[DanielCoffey]

UPDATE : Merchants Pack 01 has been updated with a new silhouette for the NKSCS_Taihosan as I had forgotten the funnel and two cables. Vessel dimensions remain unchanged.


LINK : http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/sile...sMerchant01.7z

[DanielCoffey]

I have completed the Guide on how to create Silhouettes for vessels not currently in the FotRSU mod so hopefully other modders will find it useful.

I would appreciate it of someone could have a look over the Wall of Text and see if I have missed out anything important or contradicted myself. If there are any questions or corrections, post them here and I will try to tidy up my Guide.