What is the best way to get Slugs out of the garden?

[SMMDigital]

Almost painted. No weathering, .fx, or decals applied yet.

Capture3.JPG

[SCLALINE]

Nice work

[SMMDigital]

I'm assuming that lights (lenses, number boards) are renedered by a "switch" somewhere in the engine script, much the same way signal lights are rendered. So what do I need to name those lit parts so that the script can find them when the end-user turns them on?

[MadMike1024]

I'm assuming that lights (lenses, number boards) are renedered by a "switch" somewhere in the engine script, much the same way signal lights are rendered. So what do I need to name those lit parts so that the script can find them when the end-user turns them on?

You'll need to furnish the lightglow elements at the lamps themselves as a switchable. PapaXpress has done this recently, so he may be able to help you. The engine control code has a command switch that is passed through the train.

The Kuju beam element for the slug (if you make the lighted end the rear) would look like this:

Code: Select all

<cEntityContainerBlueprint-sChild d:id="67643000">
                     <ChildName d:type="cDeltaString">Bwd_Headlight_1</ChildName>
                     <BlueprintID>
                        <iBlueprintLibrary-cAbsoluteBlueprintID>
                           <BlueprintSetID>
                              <iBlueprintLibrary-cBlueprintSetID>
                                 <Provider d:type="cDeltaString">JCornell</Provider>
                                 <Product d:type="cDeltaString">EMD</Product>
                              </iBlueprintLibrary-cBlueprintSetID>
                           </BlueprintSetID>
                           <BlueprintID d:type="cDeltaString">RailVehicles\Diesel\GP38-2\Lights\Loco_Headlight.xml</BlueprintID>
                        </iBlueprintLibrary-cAbsoluteBlueprintID>
                     </BlueprintID>
                     <Matrix>
                        <cHcRMatrix4x4>
                           <Element>
                              <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="00000020B9FCEFBF" d:precision="string">-0.9996</e>
                              <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="000000E061A1963F" d:precision="string">0.0221</e>
                              <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000006029CB90BF" d:precision="string">-0.0164</e>
                              <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000000000" d:precision="string">0</e>
                              <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="000000208716993F" d:precision="string">0.0245</e>
                              <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="000000203A92EF3F" d:precision="string">0.9866</e>
                              <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000004008ACC4BF" d:precision="string">-0.1615</e>
                              <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000000000" d:precision="string">0</e>
                              <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000002075028A3F" d:precision="string">0.0127</e>
                              <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="000000C0DCB5C4BF" d:precision="string">-0.1618</e>
                              <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="000000E00B93EFBF" d:precision="string">-0.9867</e>
                              <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000000000" d:precision="string">0</e>
                              <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="000000403333A33F" d:precision="string">0.0375</e>
                              <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="00000020AE470F40" d:precision="string">3.91</e>
                              <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="00000000D7A321C0" d:precision="string">-8.82</e>
                              <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="000000000000F03F" d:precision="string">1</e>
                           </Element>
                        </cHcRMatrix4x4>
                     </Matrix>
                     <ParentNodeName d:type="cDeltaString"></ParentNodeName>
                  </cEntityContainerBlueprint-sChild>

it would light when the slug is going to the rear, and the matrix should put it about where you need it... change the file pointers to the Kuju lights folder if you don't want to maintain a seperate one.

One cool thing, you can make the slug act as an engine, without sound or smoke, but it would pull based on the main engine's throttle settings.

[SMMDigital]

I will be giving the lights a try early next week.

My plan right now is to have bogie and engine sound aliased to the default F unit that comes with Railworks. I could alias it to the GP-9, but that would mean you would have to buy that DLC in order to run the slug. I know that the only sounds a slug would make would be traction motors and dynamic brakes, but I don't have a spare GP 9 that I can glean sounds from.

Unfortunately, the poly count will be around 20,000, after adding the couplers, air-hoses, etc. I've gone through and cut jus as many unseen faces as I can without sacrificing looks. The count really blows up when you start adding cylinders to the model.

[PapaXpress]

its not as big as a SD40. It was based on a much smaller engine (like the GP9). The F7 should do just fine in this case unless *someone* creates a GP9 sound package.

[SMMDigital]

Yeah, it wouldnt take much - bogie noise, traction motors, dynamic brake. There is a GP 7 that runs weekdays at the RR museum near me, but they won't be open again until the emd of March.

Speaking of SD40, if I ever succesfuly get this first one in the game, I want to do a variation of it without dynamic brakes, but also want to do an RPU6, which is the "new" model slug NS has built in the last few years. Some of them are made from old SD40-2's.

[PapaXpress]

Actually I wasn't thinking of you Jerry :)

[MadMike1024]

If I recall correctly, the slug has a concrete block instead of a motor-generator set. It is powered from the mother locomotive over a set of large connecting cables. You'd here traction motor noise, dynamic brake whine, and clickety-clack.

[micaelcorleone]

Great model Jerry!

[SMMDigital]

This is it. The build is finished. It's got all the parts that it's going to get, and weighs in at 21,376 polys.

Capture9.JPG

I placed it in the game, as a static scenery object, and there doesn't seem to be any problems with slow-downs as the camera passes by the locomotive. I made a few comparisons with the GP9 to be sure of couple height, placements, and such.

Capture8.JPG

Capture6.JPG

Now it's time to get down to the serious painting and .fx. Running out of time. If she's not on the rails and running in 13 days, she'll be shelved until April. Got a route to release, ya'know.

BTW, thanks Hawk for removing the 1024 size restriction on the photos.

[PapaXpress]

Its looking good.

One thing is nagging me and it could be just my imagination or perspective playing a trick on me. I think its just a bit too tall.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=1441012
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2115082
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2618268

[SMMDigital]

I haven't checked it against a GP40-2, which is what most slugs of this type are mated to, but they are shorter, by about 2-1/2', than the mother locomotive. Another thing that may get some adjustment is the deck height. The measurements were followed, but the deck on mine is about six inches lower than the RSC GP9.

[eyein12]

I will be giving the lights a try early next week.

My plan right now is to have bogie and engine sound aliased to the default F unit that comes with Railworks. I could alias it to the GP-9, but that would mean you would have to buy that DLC in order to run the slug. I know that the only sounds a slug would make would be traction motors and dynamic brakes, but I don't have a spare GP 9 that I can glean sounds from.

Unfortunately, the poly count will be around 20,000, after adding the couplers, air-hoses, etc. I've gone through and cut jus as many unseen faces as I can without sacrificing looks. The count really blows up when you start adding cylinders to the model.

are you using blender? or canvas? you should be able to make your cylinders with 8 or less segments and make sure your bends are as rigid as possible verses smooth. no need to use more polys for more smooth surfaces. smoothing groups help achieve this affect. and when your adding spotlights it gets tricky. you need to actually name the spotlight dummy asset part as you would a light part on a loco. i.e. _revhead and _revtail this way the light turns on and off with the default keys, but youre a scripting wiz, you may be able to script it too.

[SMMDigital]

Thanks for the info Ian. I am using 3DCanvas for my modeling. On the next loco I will be cutting my cylinders down to 10 sides or less for all rounded parts. As far as the scriptings, i'm no whiz. I pretty much just adapt what came with the game or someone else has made and name my parts accordingly.

Also, as far as polys, i've been able to reduce a few more. I went into wireframe mode and found several parts that had "fractured" because they were an odd shape that had been pushed, pulled, or stretched to make the part. After deleting several edges and points, I got the parts back down to their simplest forms again.