We shall build a locomotive not because it is easy...

[SMMDigital]

Anyone that wants to complain about RSC or third-party loco builders re-using cabs from other locomotives obviously hasn't tried to build one themselves. I'm about a quarter of the way through the Cabview.

cabview1.JPG

[jpetersjr]

I can understand them re-using a cab for the same kind of engine, but I hope they won't do that for a completely different type of engine. For instace, a F-unit cab wouldn't look right in a Alco FA-1

I probably will do the same thing when I finish with buildings and build some locomotives of my own, as if I make two that both are very simular.

[eyein12]

Anyone that wants to complain about RSC or third-party loco builders re-using cabs from other locomotives obviously hasn't tried to build one themselves. I'm about a quarter of the way through the Cabview.

cabview1.JPG

I see those buttons on your radios and stuff modelled but wonder if that might be redundant. I used 2d photo textures and simulates a nice looking radio. your welcome to clip it out of my textures to use. may save you on some unnecessary polys. just a thought. and isnt it alot of work to build that cab? try building 3 different cabs and just wait until you have to animate them and align them to view. a nice learning curve still lies ahead, making these is the least amount of fun when building a loco.

[SMMDigital]

The part about 3D Cab that drives me towards lunacy is that there are so many small parts that have to be dealt with. It seems that when you get one control done, there are still a hundred more to do.

The buttons on the radio were the simplest to make. When i'm finished, i'll be going through the process of eliminating unneeded faces, and whether the extra buttons and switches stay will depend on just how overloaded the poly count is.

BTW, what is a good upper limit for the poly count on a cabview? Right now this one is around 11,000, including what you see when you put your head out the window.

[Chacal]

Idea for better collaboration and for helping get more rolling stock on the rails: modelers could start sharing parts.
For example, there is a limited number of loco trucks, car trucks, wheels, handbrakes in use.
Same thing for control stands, chairs, wipers, door handles, radios. It is far easier to adapt an existing control stand than to start one afresh.

It would be easy to publish a zip file in the RWA library containing shape file in max, blender, 3DC or SU formats, textured or not, or even simple .obj shape files that can be imported in modeling software.

[eyein12]

when you put your headout, it switches back to your original loco geometry as if you were outside looking in #2 or #8 view, it shuts off your cab geometry until you re-eneter the cab. i noticed that when I was playing with the head out views you can put the camera position anywhere you want and it was my loco geometry. I had it on the front deck for the dash8W as if i was coming out the door, so i can see the couplers.


So the upper limit for the cab is basically the same if you can get it as low as posisble thats better, but my dash8W is pushing 28K for loco geometry, my cabs have always been around 18K-20K with all the details. I have no stuttering and no issues with multiple units in the area at 28K so the ceilign now a days must be 30K or more. So that gives a little more breething room to put more details in.

[SMMDigital]

Soooooooo, I've was under the impression that the Head Out view was part of the Cabview, and for that reason I needed to leave all of the parts on the locomotive that I would be able to see from both inside the cab and looking outside of it. If it switches to the original exterior geometry, that means I can get rid of these parts from my cabview and save a ton of polys?

cabview2.JPG

@Chacal, I think yours a good idea. The only obstacle would be format compatibility. I think that 3DC can export for the MAX format, but can't read MAX files. Still, it's worth a try.

[Chacal]

If it switches to the original exterior geometry, that means I can get rid of these parts from my cabview and save a ton of polys?

Yes. Anything you don't see from the cab. You can even cheat with the cam position if you want to cut off even more external parts. Ever notice you can't see any part of an F7 from its cab?

@Chacal, I think yours a good idea. The only obstacle would be format compatibility. I think that 3DC can export for the MAX format, but can't read MAX files. Still, it's worth a try.

I'm currently working in Blender on an AAR type B truck. If I ever finish it, I was thinking of publishing a zip file containing the .blend file, the texture file, and the exported geometry in .obj format. Then someone else could import the geometry into Max, unwrap it onto the texture, add the new max file to the zip and send it back to Hawk. And so on for other formats.

[eyein12]

Jerry,

thats the beauty, you can remove what you dont see from inside your cab like, trucks, couplers cables etc top of the hoods, except cab hood. you will put your cab controls and your "cab interior shell" inside/or in place of your exterior geometry's cab spot deleting those redundant faces, and export that as your cab geometry, completely seperate from your loco geometry.

[SMMDigital]

Excellent. More room for interior details.

[Kali]

Not any more, you can't - you need enough external parts in the cabview model to generate a full shadow or when you look out the window you'll see the shadow of a hovering cab. Fortunately generating a silhouette doesn't need that much detail.

[SMMDigital]

I'm not deleting the hoods, as they have to be seen from the inside, and should be enough to generate a nice shadow. What I can get rid of is the poly heavy trucks and brake cylinders, which I originally thought I would have to keep if I looked down out of the window.

[Kali]

You'll need some low poly trucks/wheels & some fuel tanks still, even if you can't see them from the cab - or you'll have a hovertrain :)

[eyein12]

you dont need low poly trucks. you dont need any period for the cabview, its a wast of time and extra polys. Trust me your trucks will be there on head out. focus on interior stuff keep the nose, deck and rails, get rid of the front/back couplers, cables etc..

[Chacal]

I think he means for the shadows that you can see from your seat.