arma3_model

[bright echo]

again will need to full screen, note the flickering on the compass

[stuck oyster]

Z fighting?

as in the background plane and dial plane are too close together

[bright echo]

I thought this might be the case but in the first example I deleted the glass and the emissive texture so it was just the single dial texture

and it was still happening

so there was no faces to Z fight

[stuck oyster]

Then it might be moire effect from monitor just not having enough pixels to draw the tiny lines

[bright echo]

its weird cuz I dont notice it with the vanilla a3 compass and i'm using the same rvmat / slightly modified texture for the face

[charred bolt]

Do you have an smdi texture map linked through the rvmat? If so, try reducing it's intensity.

[bright echo]

it was using the vanilla compass' smdi, we actualyl found a uh, strange solution, atleast for the compass

and this solved it. the solution was switching from 100% transparent to 99% in the textures alpha channel, which stops it from happening it seems

yet to try it on the plane instruments

[charred bolt]

Ah yes, that was going to be my second suggestion, also a common fix.

[round bloom]

Whats the correct way to hide the whole players head when wearing a headgear item?

Just a hide anim on model cfg or is there a more standard config way to do it?

[stuck oyster]

theres no way to do it.

well possibly setting the character to use "empty" head type 🤔

[round bloom]

I'm doing it purely on a headgear item, I've got to avoid using a modified character

[stuck oyster]

if its worn on the head, it should be fitted to the head mesh

[inland pawn]

How far off the ground should bound points for wheels be?

https://streamable.com/joaghj And what could be causing this?

[plain dew]

Hey! I would like to ask for advice. I have a model, but it is larger in proportions than a human, is it possible to enlarge the skeleton for the character?

[frail pumice]

my understanding is that the ARMA engine doesn't actually use skeletons; the "skeleton" config files just define selections of vertices

in order to get this to work you'd have to rescale/retarget all the relevant animations (since they operate directly on selections of vertices)

if your model is just a scaled-up human (exactly same proportions) i wrote a python script that can do that with RTM files

if it's not then you'll have to probably retarget all the animations by hand in blender or something

[plain dew]

The proportions are slightly different, but it should work, can you share the script and tell me how it works?

[frail pumice]

well, are you familiar with python

if not, it probably won't be super useful for you

[plain dew]

To an extent. I wrote addons for blender

[frail pumice]

hmm i can't upload files lol, 1 sec

[plain dew]

O_o
arma and discord hates me

[frail pumice]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/694991169867743283/914618961457467392/rtm.py

should be pretty self-explanatory

it's just standalone, reads RTM files, writes RTM files, there's a scale_rtm method that immutably creates a scaled copy of the RTM in memory that you can then write

it only handles debinarized RTM files, but e.g. mikero's tools includes a debinarizer for RTMs (deRTM)

[plain dew]

Okey. I`m try this method. Thank you!

Can I write you if I have a trouble?

[frail pumice]

sure although i'm on the road for a lot of today so may not be super responsive

there's documentation on the actual format for RTMs here if you want btw https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Rtm_(Animation)_File_Format

although you shouldn't need to look at it

[plain dew]

OK, thank you
One way or another, it will take me a while to try all the methods available to me before contacting

[frail pumice]

oh also if you play with non-uniform scaling it's worth pointing out that rtm file coords are stored as -x,-z,-y (w.r.t how they show up in the engine as x,y,z) but that shouldn't matter if you just want a 2x mans

[sage stag]

anyone making characters for A3 can you tell me if your model.cfg has a Hips bone on the skeleton?

[desert notch]

I don't remember seeing Hips. there is pelvis tho

[sage stag]

right. the sample fbx have a hips bone. i'm thinking it might just be for motionbuilder which likes having a hips bone at the root

though i have seen Hips in unbinarised sample RTMs

[desert notch]

I don't see hips in any animation masks

might be a legacy thing

wholeBody is:

["Pelvis",1,"Spine",1,"Spine1",1,"Spine2",1,"Spine3",1,"Camera",1,"weapon",1,"launcher",1,"neck",1,"neck1",1,"head",1,"LeftShoulder",1,"LeftArm",1,"LeftArmRoll",1,"LeftForeArm",1,"LeftForeArmRoll",1,"LeftHand",1,"LeftHandRing",1,"LeftHandRing1",1,"LeftHandRing2",1,"LeftHandRing3",1,"LeftHandPinky1",1,"LeftHandPinky2",1,"LeftHandPinky3",1,"LeftHandMiddle1",1,"LeftHandMiddle2",1,"LeftHandMiddle3",1,"LeftHandIndex1",1,"LeftHandIndex2",1,"LeftHandIndex3",1,"LeftHandThumb1",1,"LeftHandThumb2",1,"LeftHandThumb3",1,"RightShoulder",1,"RightArm",1,"RightArmRoll",1,"RightForeArm",1,"RightForeArmRoll",1,"RightHand",1,"RightHandRing",1,"RightHandRing1",1,"RightHandRing2",1,"RightHandRing3",1,"RightHandPinky1",1,"RightHandPinky2",1,"RightHandPinky3",1,"RightHandMiddle1",1,"RightHandMiddle2",1,"RightHandMiddle3",1,"RightHandIndex1",1,"RightHandIndex2",1,"RightHandIndex3",1,"RightHandThumb1",1,"RightHandThumb2",1,"RightHandThumb3",1,"LeftUpLeg",1,"LeftUpLegRoll",1,"LeftLeg",1,"LeftLegRoll",1,"LeftFoot",1,"LeftToeBase",1,"RightUpLeg",1,"RightUpLegRoll",1,"RightLeg",1,"RightLegRoll",1,"RightFoot",1,"RightToeBase",1]

[sage stag]

yeah, i gather it's just a motionbuilder thing

the sample fbx have

Hips
+- Spine
+- Pelvis

do you have a model.cfg man skeleton definition you can post?

[desert notch]

see the pinned message in #arma3_animation

[sage stag]

the fbx also has weapon and launcher under Spine instead of Spine1

[stuck oyster]

There is a sample model.cfg for character in the example character folder.

I think the fbx has some differences though like you said. Probably BIs workflow related.

[marble orchid]

Hey guys, I've been trying to get blender to work with the arma3 tools but the features it should come with are either partly missing or blender crashes, is there anyone here that has a working blender setup? I've spend a collective amount of 15+ hours figuring it out and for the last few hours I have been stuck at the current issue so here I am asking for help.

Please ping me if you may have a solution and/or are willing to help me out

arma3 tools as in ArmAToolbox (I also know I can create objects directly in Object Builder but like anyone I'd rather build models using Blender)

[stuck oyster]

Multiple people uses it just fine. How does it not work?

[marble orchid]

Whenever I activate the addon in blender this is the result in the materials tab: https://prnt.sc/210guny

A blanco arma toolbox material settings and a dropdown box for the hidden selection maker without any content.

I will try it again on my main pc later today to see if I can get it to work. I'm using 2.8 blender by the way with the 2.8+ version of ArmAToolbox

Oh and feel free to ping me again (if/when you reply) 🙂

[stuck oyster]

Does your object have arma properties enabled

[marble orchid]

That's the thing, those options don't display, I've just received word that 2.8 and above does not work with blender so I'll be downgrading to the legacy versions :) see if that works

[stuck oyster]

I run 2.9 blender and latest toolbox just fine. @marble orchid

Dunno where you got your info

[desert notch]

are you using the latest version of ArmaToolbox?

I mean the latest master branch

not release

[marble orchid]

Yeah, I currently am running the latest ArmaToolbox (on Blender 2.8) The export functions are there but again no options on the right hand side to enable arma properties

[stuck oyster]

Did you look into the arma3 tab

Right edge of the 3d view

[marble orchid]

Ahh there it is 🙂 It doesnt contain the checkbox though (as shown in the only 2.8+ tutorial i could found)

Oh nevermind, right above it arma heightfield properties, that was the one I needed I think

thanks 😄

[stuck oyster]

[marble orchid]

Well here we go again, setting up p drive (nightmare of working across two workstations)

im happy to have made progress though 🙂

[marble orchid]

Just got my first object in 🙂

[onyx condor]

can i pay somone to make a child soilder mod

[stuck oyster]

Unlikely

I doubt many people would want their name associated with that

and it is a bit bad taste topic.

[onyx condor]

not really its realistic

[inland pawn]

What could be the cause of a vehicle leaning backwards when going forwards?

Could that be PhysX related or model?

[inland pawn]

Think I may have figured out what was causing it

[inland pawn]

Nope

[charred bolt]

The problem with trouble shooting vehicle physx is that there are multiple places where you could have gone wrong, and all the parts interlock with each other.

Here's a few to check:

• centre of mass in Geometry LOD is in the centre of the vehicle
• bounding memory points are on the tyre edge, which is on the ground level, and directly vertically below the wheel axis memory points
• damper movement is in the correct direction on all wheels
• spring strength is set to correctly distribute the vehicle weight over the load bearing wheels
• damper translation values (offset0 and offset1 in model.cfg) are correctly calculated based on class Wheels compression/droop and length of damper axis

[fluid copper]

while vehicles are being mentioned, I was working on a small drone style vehicle awhile ago and ran into issues, they seemed to stem from the size of the wheels. Is there a known minimum size that wheels need to be for physics to work correctly?

[stuck oyster]

Not know minimun. How small you haf

Very small and light things do often behave poorly though.

[charred bolt]

Per real life, one imagines that as objects get smaller and lighter the basic modelling of weight on sprung suspension starts to fail. Aerodynamics begins to dominate and forces like surface tension allow insects to walk on the surface of a pond. So once you push Arma out of its normal range, expect weird things to happen.

[woeful viper]

its not just Arma. There are cutoffs and tolerances that make physx not suitable for very small vehicles, because it is based on assumption of car/truck sized vehicle.

[inland pawn]

Problem was my bounds weren't 100% exact same. Fixed

[stuck oyster]

😄 that would mess things up for sure 😄

[inland pawn]

Now, a minor problem of it sinking into the ground

[sleek estuary]

Having a problem with my .p3d not wanting to save when i add the geometry for a building... anyone know why?

[inland pawn]

So, apparently both Blender and Object Builder aren't assigning the weight properly and it sinks into the ground and holds at 16-17 kph

Nvm, it just started working for some reason

[rough idol]

as for size limits - I made 4 wheels drone smaller than mini ugv during Contact preproduction and it was working surprisingly well, although you could easily notice in many places that environment is simplified in many places

[ocean patio]

What can lead a static emplacement to bounce about dozens of metres into the air whenever it touches the ground, even if it had been spawned perfectly aligned with a perfectly flat floor? Do statics need -gravity1 through 5 like aircraft in their Geometry LOD or something?

[willow lotus]

We ran into the same problem with the Black Hornet Nano Drone we were trying to get done. The weights and size would never allow proper function in the flight dynamics. It would get off the ground but we never could figure out how to get it under control. I have since given up.

[ocean patio]

Added gravity thingies, it does at least have proper rotational velocity now but it is still bouncing like a rubber ball during an earthquake. halp?

Also it flies away if its weapon is fired - it's like it has no/very little physics mass or something

[stuck oyster]

bossibly no or too little mass

[ocean patio]

Where do I see/set the mass?

[inland pawn]

Geometry lod

Also had this problem

The geometry could also be too complex

[ocean patio]

Ahhh so it's just a named property then

let's see if that did the trick

[stuck oyster]

@ocean patio

no

there is a specific mass dialog to apply mass ot geometry lod verticles

[ocean patio]

Okay, found it. Can that be set using the Blender addon, or does it have to be done in OB?

[inland pawn]

It can be done in Blender and Object Builder

[ocean patio]

How

[ocean patio]

Okay, I must've changed the wrong thing, it's still bouncing and still being thrown back if its weapon is fired

[stuck oyster]

what kind of weapon you have on it?

how much mass did you give it?

how stable geometry do you have for it?

also that bouncy part when placed is not good

[ocean patio]

Screenshot of Geometry LoD in OB https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/244119488826441729/915758913767485490/unknown.png

I've got CUP's D30 on it, specifically CUP_Vcannon_D30_veh loaded with CUP_30Rnd_122mmHE_D30_M
I gave it 100000 mass, or at least I believe I did - I used that thingy on the top of the window there
It's got sandbags built into it, so the bottom is completely flat

[stuck oyster]

Id try some other cannon first

just to see if there is any difference

[ocean patio]

Okay

[inland pawn]

I’d recommend doing it in Blender with ARMA toolbox

Distribute mass on selected

[ocean patio]

Only difference is it didn't roll away backwards after firing, but it's still bouncing around

[ocean patio]

Where's that at

[stuck oyster]

in edit mode in one of the 3D view right side toolbars

[ocean patio]

Can you take a screenshot of it please? I can't seem to find it

[ocean patio]

. _.

[inland pawn]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/221488699484012566/915793219420307496/Capture.PNG

[ocean patio]

Image won't load for some reason

[ocean patio]

halp mich

[ocean patio]

Found it, it was on the left side T panel (2.79)

It is now working correctly

[lime quest]

How do you assign more than one material to a helmet in object builder and in the RVMAT?

Im looking at some documentation for multimaterial but its not exactly crystal clear

[shrewd jay]

You normally assign textures and RVMats by face, multimaterials are rarely used outside of map objects.

[lime quest]

I've already set up a multimaterial for my helmet, It has a netting that goes over it that I want to be transparent, is this still possible?

https://i.gyazo.com/d0664ff6714d1840f1e59d2b92eb4f83.png

(In blender it has 2 material sets)

[shrewd jay]

Well I don't know if multimat's are usable for normal models, I have used them only once for a map object. As a rule, you cannot make a part of the model transparent and have a different texture come through, that is usually part of the texture itself and a normal map.

[lime quest]

What do you mean by "come through" exactly? as in having the blacks appear non transparent for whatever is "under" the transparent net (In my case)

[shrewd jay]

Yeah, if you have a net on the helmet and the original helmet underneath should be visible, you need to "bake" that into the texture.

[lime quest]

I could probably do another texture bake but that would be a huge pain in the ass lol- My other fallback was to just separate the scrim net and helmet into different categories (helmet, glasses/balaclava) In that case how would I actually make the scrim net transparent? because the blacks are appearing for me?

[shrewd jay]

For transparency you need a texture with an alpha channel. If your net is a separate mesh part from the helmet, you can do it in a single model, usually netting on helmets is done as a normal map only but that doesn't mean it isn't possible. In that case, you can give the net part an extra RVMat with a _ca texture that has transparency. Major problem with that is that you might be able to look "under" the net and see that there is nothing, but that problem persists whether you have it separate or not.

I would really do it as a single texture and have the net as a bump map, it's the least amount of hassle really. Only downside is you might need more texture variants.

[lime quest]

So pretty much my Diffuse map just needs to have an opacity channel? Is there a substance painter arma export preset thats up to date?

I thought I had opacity in my diffuse map(Also exported an alpha channel)

(this was transparent)

shit cant post images ugh

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/483604887947706377/916034438708731954/unknown.png

but crunching the PBO actually turns the whites black

[shrewd jay]

Note that transparency in this case only works if the net is a separate mesh. Otherwise the helmet simply becomes transparent

[lime quest]

well wouldnt the helmet become transparent netting as well?

Instead of just invisible

And by separate mesh you mean like a full on p3d, correct?

sorry for being so specific modding for arma is just the hardest ive done

[shrewd jay]

Only if it is a _ca texture, and it also needs proper sorting.
No by separate mesh I mean a separate "layer" of polygons. i.e. you cannot map the netting onto the same surface as the helmet.

[lime quest]

I'm pretty sure this is what I have then?

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/483604887947706377/916035348604276756/unknown.png

The scrim net is just simulated over the helmet in marvelous

different set of polygons

[shrewd jay]

Ah yeah, that is what I meant. So yeah, transparency on that should work. Note though that due to backface culling, you will need to duplicate the net itself and flip the normals on the duplicated part, otherwise the inside will disappear

[lime quest]

there is no double_sided In arma 3?

[shrewd jay]

I don't think so, no.

[lime quest]

Oh well, duping and flipping is easy enough still

[shrewd jay]

Yeah, it's a bit annoying but nothing really problematic.

[lime quest]

yeah- SO a CA texture isnt the diffuse right?

Im like frantically looking through my documentation tab

that has the texture abbreviations listed

[shrewd jay]

I had the same issue on the camo nets of the Abrams. Needed to duplicate parts of the polygons to prevent people from looking under it.

yeah _ca is a color texture with Alpha, _co is without alpha

_ca is diffuse as well, just has an additional alpha channel

[lime quest]

Ah, So its the diffuse but different abbreviations for alpha/without alpha

[shrewd jay]

Yeah

[lime quest]

Okay cool! I think the issue just be my texture doesn't have an alpha channel for whatever reason

I can check the export in substance to see if thats it

Because deleting the blacks in gimp and packing the PBO just essentially make the transparent portions black again

[shrewd jay]

You should be able to simply add an opacity channel to the texture on export in Substance.

[lime quest]

and I looked in hidden identity v3 and their textures still had transparency in the packed PBO

Yeah lemme try that

[shrewd jay]

What do you export the texture to? I had issue sometimes with png, tga usually works best for transparent textures

[lime quest]

Yeah PNG, I probably should export to TGA since thats what arma wants to convert to .paa

I had too many issues with imageToPaa that I just use the .paa plugin for gimp

to export to paa

[shrewd jay]

Depending on what tools you use png should work too, but tga for transparent textures is usually my best bet

[fast ore]

This looks sick, is it going to be public? If so I’d 100% download it, I’ve been looking for a Jaeger Corps veil

[lime quest]

Its going to be private to my unit but I can still link you the workshop file once its done 🙂

I guess the better way of putting it is it isn't going to be obvious

to find on the WS

[lime quest]

Alright I got transparency functioning, and like we discussed the helmet under the scrim net is sharing the texture, how could I get my helmet texture in there?

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/483604887947706377/916041264514859018/unknown.png

[fast ore]

That would be awesome!

[terse sail]

How do i setup a finished weapon to start working in arma? can someone send a brother a link to read

😄

[stuck oyster]

some basics. model is made out of polygons/triangles and each polygon can have its own texture/material combo set on it. Not multiple on same polygon

So your helmet would need to have a no alpha helmet texture/material assigend to it (material_01) and the scrin would have to have its own alpha transparent texture/material assigned to it (material_02)

This is how it works basically everywhere.

[lime quest]

No I understand that- I have it set up in my blend file; I'm just not sure how to get my second material in arma 3

[stuck oyster]

you set the first material to have helmet.paa and the second material to have scirn.paa

[lime quest]

Is there a portion of the RVmat that allows you to make a call for the second material being mapped?

[stuck oyster]

no

[lime quest]

So I make two RVmats?

[stuck oyster]

you assign each blender material their own paa/rvmat

[stuck oyster]

ys

[lime quest]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/483604887947706377/916053152900448317/unknown.png

Because I have both materials set up in blender correctly

[stuck oyster]

this does not look right at all

[lime quest]

The materials just dont have names

[stuck oyster]

you should be seeing these boxes where you assign the arma materials

this is what gets saved into the p3d

blenders internal materials do not transfer

[lime quest]

Okay so its important that the materials are marked by name

in blender

[stuck oyster]

no

[lime quest]

OH!

the arma toolbox shit

[lime quest]

AH!

So currently they both share the same face/RV material file location- and one of them needs to be assigned to its own map and RVmat

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/483604887947706377/916054030223032400/unknown.png

[stuck oyster]

from the picture seems so yes

[lime quest]

okay so to clarify once more- if I have an object with two material texturesets- they both utilize their own RVMat for each material in game item

[stuck oyster]

usually yes since different textures usually mean different uvmapping etc so the supporting material textures like normalmap etc that are defined in the rvmat would not fit

[lime quest]

Okay thank you, I'll try that right now and see what happens, If all else fails i'll be back 🙂

I figured the RVMat is a singular file that contains all of the materia data

Didnt realize you could have more than one RVMAT per item

[shrewd jay]

With the Toolbox shit being my shit, I take offence 😄

[median bough]

🔥

[stuck oyster]

I would guess "shit" in this case translates to "thing"

[modest portal]

where should i start when learning how to use Blender?

[stuck oyster]

youtube has quite large range of tutorials. also might be good idea to one of the bigger Blender community Discords

[worn pecan]

Am I allowed to look for a Model Designer here? I have something I'd like to get modeled and textured.

I looked for a pin stating otherwise

[median bough]

#creators_recruiting
@worn pecan
and please use the pinned template

[shrewd jay]

I know, that's why I did a " 😄 "

😉

[inland pawn]

So, update on the missile firing location changing spots

It works

But doesn’t when a missile is fired

It’s switching

Just not the missiles

[stuck oyster]

you probably should tie it to the ammo count

[lime quest]

Do you have a shareable arma export preset for substance? Mine isnt generating a correct SMDI for one material of my helmet. It exports a good SMDI for the scrim net however which is weird

[inland pawn]

Are you using the apex shader

[terse scroll]

The reason why this didnt work was because you cannot use animationSourcePhase on an animation source unless it is used in the model. I will add a note to the wiki

[junior saddle]

Hi guys. To make a helmet or other body armor effective (character receive less damage), do I need to make a FireGeom lod for the p3d file, or is there a config I need to use? I usually do vehicles, so that's where my train of thought goes.

[inland pawn]

Config value

[junior saddle]

ty

[lime quest]

Does anyone know how to fix this transparency im getting on my secondary material (the Helmet underneath the Scrim-Net)?

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/745924845698809876/916319543612309514/unknown.png

It's more obvious with a facepaint

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/745924845698809876/916319627951341628/unknown.png

I switched from a _CA Suffix to a _CO Suffix both in the material in object viewer and it seems to have no effect

[shrewd jay]

Is that the same mesh? If so, you need to make sure that the faces are sorted properly

Same p3d I shouldsay

[lime quest]

The normals are facing the correct direction I checked face orientation

They are the same object but not the same mesh

[shrewd jay]

Yeah the problem then is the face sorting.

[lime quest]

the scrim net is just a separate plane simulated on top

[shrewd jay]

are you using my Blender toolbox?

[lime quest]

ye

these slots right here?

[shrewd jay]

If you have the latest version, it should be able to make faces transparent.

Hold on...

[lime quest]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/745924845698809876/916320968899706920/unknown.png

[lime quest]

Maybe I dont have the latest version?

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/745924845698809876/916321261444026398/unknown.png

Or am I blind

[shrewd jay]

No, you probably don't have it. Hold on, I give you a download link

[lime quest]

Cheers! 🙂

[shrewd jay]

Go here https://github.com/AlwarrenSidh/ArmAToolbox

Go to the green button on top, click it, then "Download ZIP"

[lime quest]

Its a master file I always find myself downloading a master file

is that correct?

[shrewd jay]

I really need to make a new release, I've added quite a ton of additions.

It should be a zip file

[lime quest]

ArmAToolbox-master.zip

[shrewd jay]

Ah yeah... rename it to armatoolbox.zip afterwards

[lime quest]

I just want to make sure because its a recurring thing that I download masters from github for literally everything I mod

[shrewd jay]

That's the branch name, downloading a repository from github always adds that name

[lime quest]

Im not a programmer so i always associate the master as being the raw code for people who want to do their own additions idk LOL

[shrewd jay]

master (or main) is the branch of the code were people usually work in. Sometimes, there are other branches, like, I maintain a 2.7x branch for bugfixing the old Blender 2.79 code

[lime quest]

Ah I see

Also- I link the o2 path to armas object builder right?

[shrewd jay]

It's the o2script.exe in the object builder's folder.

[lime quest]

gotcha

[lime quest]

It worked! thank you so much @shrewd jay Now to get double sided normals working and i'll be done

[shrewd jay]

if you set the O2script path correctly, it should do.

[lime quest]

Should make normals double-sided?

I thought i needed to duplicate>flip normals= profit

even though that doubles polycount

typically other games have a double sided option but im not sure if arma offers that

[shrewd jay]

Ah, that's what you mean. Yeah, you need to duplicate/flip

[lime quest]

rats!, Oh well

[lime quest]

How do I change an LOD view distance? is it just increasing the resolution under arma object properties?

[shrewd jay]

Yeah, you put it on "Custom" and enter the number in the resolution box

[lime quest]

and what does each integer translate into in terms of distance?

like is 1 just 10 meters or something

[shrewd jay]

It's arbitrary, and depends on the detail settings the user has. Usually, for something like a helmet, I do LOD resolution 1 to 5, with each level being about half the polygons and the final level being as low as possible without completely losing the shape.

[lime quest]

What do you mean by detail settings?

sorry

essentially I just want to increase the highpoly LOD distance

because in game its dissapearing too quickly

[shrewd jay]

Detail settings of the game, whatever the user selects in the options menu.

[lime quest]

Ah

So the higher the number the more distance

[shrewd jay]

Yeah

[lime quest]

I think its probably my settings since theyre all low

[shrewd jay]

Yeah if you are on "Low" the lods degrade pretty quickly. For testing, you should try to set to the highest details, even if the game turns into a slide show

[lime quest]

Does anyone know how to prevent this odd blue color from bleeding through?

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/483604887947706377/916360140364611674/unknown.png

[stuck oyster]

You need to do face sorting to put the skin mesh to be drawn on top

[lime quest]

how would that be done?

[stuck oyster]

There's a menu for it in OB. Latest toolbox might also have something but don't remember exact details

[lime quest]

what exactly is face sorting and where can I find the menu in the OB?

Ive never heard that term before sorry

[lime quest]

Okay so everything is nearly finished- I just need to stomp out one issue- my model kind of flickers on and off? The helmet portion of the mesh will dissapear sometimes and reappear, and sometimes the mesh will alltogether dissapear and appear between their legs (as if they arent rigged) and then they will swiftly teleport back to the head where they should be

gif

https://i.gyazo.com/9ce5ee51e9d810b5f12161b585f3cdc0.mp4

https://i.gyazo.com/79a5e29d5cb691a8bae407b459fd21cb.png

[plain gulch]

Anyone familiar with emission values in rvmats?

emmisive[]={100,20000,11000,1};

bit confused on which numbers mean which

and im trying to get a different colored glow by changing the emission,

does somewhere along the numbers in the emission change rgb?

[polar fiber]

They are rgb-a. Emmisive values just get ramped up a lot higher than the usual 0-1 rgb range used for other values, to increase the intensity of the glow

You could think of the above as rgb {1,200,110} with an intensity factor of *100

[plain gulch]

Ah, so if i emmisive[]={255,0,0,1}; the glow would become red? intensfying it by 100

[stuck oyster]

by 254

since those values by default are between 0-1

but yes it would be bright red

you can test this in ObjectBuilder/Buldozer

[plain gulch]

254 as in?

ah nvm i see what u mean

[plain dew]

Hi. I have a question.
I created custom skeleton and after re-export(RTM from OB) I have a this message in game "no entry 'bin config.bin.cfgskeletons'". All animation what I add stay in A-pose and not moving. Based on this, my question is, what could this error indicate? Into the model. cfg i added link to cfgSkeletons

[stuck oyster]

there is also config.cpp cfgSkeletons class that you need to define for ragdolling to work right

I hope you did not expect custom shaped characters to be easy

also we want pics

[plain dew]

In no case)

[plain dew]

w8

I took the webnight dreadnought config for the reference, I hope this is not critical and there were no references to the cfgskeleton. Perhaps a mistake was made when I took a reference and had to do it myself.

[stuck oyster]

[plain dew]

you need screen from game?

or config?

[stuck oyster]

if you use his config for refrence might be best to ask him for details

Im just interested what kind of custom stuff people make

[plain dew]

https://imgur.com/a/c4SZVGM

[stuck oyster]

Ooh Ogryn

ugly bastard

in a good way

[plain dew]

Heh. Well, I'll cover it with armor from the tank)

In general, I did not find options other than how to make my own skeleton and animation, so I happily climbed to study this issue, but in some places there are hiccups

[stuck oyster]

yeah that is the only way

[hot hornet]

Can you show me your config? I can probably help you. You can also ask webknight. :)

[tardy ember]

Any model makers out that could make this id pay for their work. https://eberlestock.com/collections/military/products/x31-lodrag-ii-pack and have it show the rifle in the rifle scabbard.

More for m110 and similar length rifles.

[cedar garden]

Hey, so I'm working on a few models. Can someone explain non-convexity and non-closed in Arma? Is it only for shadow LODs, or all of them?

[small olive]

checkout the Arma wiki page about LOD

[stuck oyster]

its not quite possible

at least in "normal" gameplay. would require pretty hacky solutions

[tardy ember]

lIKE i SAID ILL PAY FOR IT!

Sorry caps

[round bloom]

Not really, surely could just proxy in the gun like the holsters do on vests?

[stuck oyster]

no

would have to play with gestures but they are prone to be overwritten at times

for more stable but still hacky method would need to make new animation moves set

[tardy ember]

Would really be cool if it would work.

[frail pumice]

So I want to make a vehicle that passes through and doesn't collide with everything except the terrain surface

Would removing the geometry lod from the p3d accomplish this without horribly breaking the game?

[white jay]

idk weather this would be in texture or model but i would be willing to pay for some British Army formal wear as i cant seem to find any anywhere and its annoying me haha. If anyone can make British Parade Wear please message me! money is there ;))

[runic plover]

doesnt work, works only for soldiers but vehicles will still collide with other objects and vehicles.

[runic plover]

#creators_recruiting is the channel to ask for such

[candid ingot]

Can anyone help me with the isSelected stuff for my mod I’m working on? Flux Defense Raider, configged as a pistol. So the stock extended when the pistol is out, retracted in the holster. It’s really beyond my skill level. I’d need the memory points set up in my p3d and the modelcfg work

[inland pawn]

I don’t think a “holstered” source exists

So, not quite sure that’s possible

[candid ingot]

well its more like isSelected is when its unholstered, like in the hands

i might not have worded it well

[runic plover]

model.cfg
source = "maxHoldsterValue";
also add animPeriod if your animation needs a smooth translation

config.cpp
in cfgWeapons your weapon class add this
holdsterAnimValue = 1;

[polar fiber]

that's for vehicle weapons, not handguns etc

[runic plover]

So will isSelected work for handguns etc?

[polar fiber]

Not 100% sure on handguns - only because I haven't used it on one and perhaps the proxy handling is different. But it definitely works on rifles and launchers

IIRC though you must have the weapon model in the holstered state in the p3d and use isSelected to put it in to the unfolded/extended state. I don't think it works backwards

Also weapons in the Arsenal will appear that way until you click the button to "Try" the weapon, as will the weapon when dropped on the floor or in a weaponHolder

[small olive]

how do I see only the Geometry LOD in game? it was something like drawonly but I couldn't remember

[shrewd jay]

You need the diag binary for that, then you can do diag_drawmode "GEOMETRY"

[small olive]

ok thanks

[round bloom]

has anyone ever seen a scenario where lights (reflectors) just refuse to work in a model? I've got the config set up right (as I've done without issues multiple times before), got the memory points and hitpoints all defined too. Yet for some reason the lights just refuse to work

[rough jewel]

i cant send a screenshot but whats the correct way of importing the base arma figure for modeling vests etc? the template ones have spikes and doesnt look like the base game figure at all

[stuck oyster]

that is the correct way @rough jewel what you see is collection of the different lods

• the proxy locations

if you need just a size reference you can delete other lods but the 0 one

and edit it to delete triangles

[rough jewel]

i dont see a zero one, can only see 1 - 10.0

[stuck oyster]

well then the 1

#logic

[rough jewel]

i mean it doesnt look like the one from ingame, but i guess it works for size comparison

[stuck oyster]

its the same as the underwear/unclothed character

[rough jewel]

mine has some cold war soviet equipment

[stuck oyster]

you probably imported wrong one then

[rough jewel]

Male.p3d from Arma Samples?

[stuck oyster]

no

no

[rough jewel]

ManSkeleton_pivots.p3d?

[stuck oyster]

a3_character_example...

[rough jewel]

oh wrong file

my bad

was looking in TemplateRTM

[stuck oyster]

yep. wrong folder.

[rough jewel]

thanks for the help

just out of curiosity, whats the difference between a3_character_example and a3_character_template?

[stuck oyster]

open them up and see

[rough jewel]

template looks low res compared to example

or am i missing something?

[stuck oyster]

template has only the skin parts

[rough jewel]

oh yea

so why would you use template instead of example vice versa?

both has the skin so is it just easier to use template for skin stuff for some reason?

[stuck oyster]

you are overthinking it

it does not matter

[rough jewel]

ah i thought they were used for different things

thanks for the clearance

[pale valley]

Now then folk I was wondering if you could help me, four questions that I'm sure have been asked a million times but I'll ask regardless.
1a. what is a good poly count for a helicopter in arma 3? (I've heard 32-40k but wanted to make sure).
1b. is it just polys that count or do I also have to consider other things? (I have 40k verts, 113k edges, 74k faces & 74k triangles, currently).
2a. Do I add things like pylon markers (for example) in the object editor or is it easier to do that in the regular editor (blender) before I port it over?
2b. Do things like pylons have to be a specific size/shape or is it just any triangle labelled a pylon?
Thanks

[stuck oyster]

1a 1b are basically all same. tris count is just easy way to count it. 40k should be alright for a chopper.

2 if you create proxies in OB they will be the default size. aand if I recall right if you make them with the proxy tool in ArmaToolbox they probably are same. size should not matter though.

[shrewd jay]

1b - one of the things you should take care of is section count. If you are using the Blender toolbox, it should (depending on version) either automatically optimize that or have a function available to do it.

About the number of polygons, I would go with whatever is needed. 40k is fine, but you can go higher. The biggest model I have made (Abrams) had 100k, which is kind of borderline but still works.

2 - proxy size doesn't matter, it just needs to be non-zero so that the orientation can be deduced. Arma Toolbox can place proxies. Generally, I only use O2 if I want to check something in buldozer, and do all other modeling in Blender

[pale valley]

think that's pretty much got everything covered, hopefully I can get it working soon enough. thanks guys! 😄

[shrewd jay]

Good luck

[frail pumice]

@stuck oyster do you know if there was ever an update on the "projectile hit detection doesn't work when model is too big" problem?

[stuck oyster]

No don't think so. I'll have to try to cook up some more testing perhaps.

[silver zenith]

hey the rifle bone is just called "rifle" right?
can't check atm

[stuck oyster]

weapon

@silver zenith

[silver zenith]

oh thanks

[candid ingot]

quick question, when save as my p3d as a new name, my zasleh gets messed up and i see a muzzle flash despite renaming everything in modelcfg
what am i doing wrong?

[stuck oyster]

probably a typo

[bright echo]

also make sure you dont have it in another selection like 'camo'

[candid ingot]

it works in my first p3d, just when i save it as another name the zasleh shows a flash now. for sure no typo in modelcfg

[stuck oyster]

other animations work alright then?

[candid ingot]

i see my error, good shout

[stuck oyster]

what was it?

[frail pumice]

makes sense. i saw the 40k dreadnought mod seems to handle it by making an invisible box via subclassing House_F and attaching that to the guy

[stuck oyster]

yeh

[candid ingot]

what would i be looking for in terms of trying to move my gun model higher up in game when my character holds it, like this to the pdw2000 height https://gyazo.com/6fdcfdfa7c34ee88b12560334f9eb6aa https://gyazo.com/ffdfd45df95a7ecf12bd929752812891

[stuck oyster]

move it more behind in model space and fix the hand animations to same position

dont move the weapon bone though

[marsh fox]

Can't figure this one out, Roadway works allowing players to walk ontop of the object, but cars and grenades phase through, players also phase through if the object is tilted unless walking at the roadway side where they snap onto the roadway. Fire Geo works as intended.

[candid ingot]

perfect. is it possible to have a second hand animation that's different in the view pilot?

[stuck oyster]

no

[stuck oyster]

normal geometry lod is invalid most likely

firegeometry is only for shooting

[marsh fox]

Wdym by "Normal Geometry"? And I cant figuire out why basically a cube would be invalid.

[stuck oyster]

no mass, no componentXXX name

[marsh fox]

It does have Component, but how do I check mass?

[stuck oyster]

if you have to ask then that is 99.9% the issue

OB has a mass dialog that youll need to toggle on

[marsh fox]

Well in blender I see ARMA group weight 0.57 on this object, 1000 on another

[stuck oyster]

or in case you use Blender with Armatoolbox addon it has tool for that too if geometry lod object is selected and in edit mode

[marsh fox]

Oh I see the tool here

[stuck oyster]

0.57 would not work

[marsh fox]

What would the minimum mass need to be?

[stuck oyster]

if its static object put like 10000 at least

so that every part gets covered

[marsh fox]

Ah thank you.

[frail pumice]

is there any way to get the viewpilot LOD of a character to not render in front of everything else (specifically e.g. stuff attached to hands)

or, alternatively, is there a way to get the engine to just ignore viewpilot and render the 1.00 LOD in first-person instead

[stuck oyster]

No

Tricky business making big things with attached parts

[frail pumice]

yeah makes sense :/

hmm is there a way to just copy the animation state from one model to another

then you could in theory create an agent or something with a special transparent-head identity that just plays all your same animations

[rough idol]

you could also create scripted camera and attach it to the head but this is more for #arma3_scripting

[frail pumice]

hmm ok ill ask there

[stuck oyster]

can you elaborate what kind of a thing you need to attach on the character?

[frail pumice]

any object, ideally

[stuck oyster]

ah

that is rather problematic 😅

[frail pumice]

yes :/

it seems to kinda work in 3p but it just looks extremely strange in 1p due to this z-ordering issue

[stuck oyster]

indeed

it is unfortunately a bit off the intended use of the engine

the camera method Reyhard mentioned could work though

[frail pumice]

yeah, i tried it out; the camera attaches and gets the "view" correctly but it blocks player control input :/

i posted about it in #arma3_scripting so maybe someone knows a way to fudge it

however google suggests that people have asked this question multiple times in the past with 0 replies on the BIS forums lel

[stuck oyster]

yeeh I've tinkered with similar issues. I dont think there is any very good solutions

especially for characters

You could try attaching an invisible character/turret on the head of your char and remotecontrol its view

hacky

but might be the only way

[rough idol]

ahh, yeah. It was remote character. In this video I'm controlling mini gun gunner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ3TxdSZNN4 & using switchCamera

If I remember correctly, observer doesn't have to be visible and hideObject can be used

[hallow steeple]

not sure where this goes but- Does it take less resources for a large object that doesn't have collisions? (Static ship I have doesn't have any collisions. I assume that's why.)

[grim crag]

and how can i make a png into them with GMP

[candid ingot]

https://gyazo.com/205d7904b18114bb6b9d23eea742752f
any idea why there's a tiny magazine there whilst reloading

[stuck oyster]

your magazine is part of 2 animated selections and thus they conflict with each other

only the last bone of a parent-child skeleton bone structure can be used as selection

[frail pumice]

dang this works great, thanks!

hm does anyone know if there's a selection that corresponds to the 1p camera?

[stuck oyster]

eyes

[frail pumice]

oh is it actually just eyes

[stuck oyster]

or eye

[frail pumice]

that makes sense i guess lol

[stuck oyster]

its in the memorylod

[frail pumice]

oh there's a pilot lod in heads too

anyways that makes sense i guess, as it's memory points

[stuck oyster]

oh no not in the head proxy model

or maybe in there these days actually

since the proxy is the head 🤔

just not sure if those points are also accessible in game

but worth a shot

[frail pumice]

hmm so the head just contains a bunch of eye memorypoints and a pilot

[stuck oyster]

its probably the pilot memory point

[frail pumice]

the body also contains pilot but no eyes

hm i guess that makes sense since mans are technically vehicles

[stuck oyster]

yes

everything is a vehicle 😄

[marsh fox]

What would make FireGeo invalid? having reverse problem with another model of Geo working fine but FireGeo not working,

[stuck oyster]

no component names, non convex parts

too big

[marsh fox]

must be a convex issue hidden somewhere then

[marsh fox]

everything checks outs, but still does not work.

[runic plover]

do you work with Blender or OB?

with OB check this:

-Convexity/Find Non-Convexities```

Every single part needs the Selection Name __"Component01"__ - __"Component25"__ as example, depends how many you have

make the Geometries simple as possible

[marsh fox]

I use Blender, and OB flags the whole model as non-convex (or at least puts red squares on the vertex points.) The model is very simple which is why im confused.

[runic plover]

as long red vertex points will show up, it will not work correctly

[marsh fox]

I realized the issue cause im dumb

I should've split the model and used components. Was overthinking it.

[leaden sun]

Whenever you convert convex objects in blender be sure to set the number in the popup box to 0.

[sage stag]

Am i imagining things or does the game skew certain objects such as walls on a sloped terrain?

[stuck oyster]

it does yes

if the object is set up for that

but also it only works with terrain objects

[sage stag]

Yes that's fine. Do you know what controls the skewing?

I'm wondering if the skew is just baked into the .wrp 3x3 matrix

[stuck oyster]

named property slopeLandContact in p3d activates it. land contact points define the plane that gets skewed on the terrain

no idea how exactly it gets saved.

[sage stag]

I see. Thanks. I'll figure out the mechanism myself

But i suspect they must just store the skew directly in the .wrp 3x3, i mean why not right

[stuck oyster]

it could be done runtime too

[sage stag]

Yeah that's possible too

If it is though, it would be kinda weird for it to only apply to terrain objects

Anyway, it'll be easy to find out. Just open up a .wrp and check the 3x3 of some skewed object

[stuck oyster]

It does work in runtime in buldozer.

[sage stag]

Buldozer has to do it at runtime, and it's buldozer which bakes the map too, no?

[stuck oyster]

No, dozer is just visualizer

or well. could be binarize works with it when packing terrain

[sage stag]

Yeah pretty sure it's buldozer which craps out the binarised .wrp

[warm leaf]

Is there any way to have a flashlight attachment have a secondary light or animate other parts when the flashlight is turned on? like e.g. an indicator light or switch

[terse sail]

guys, do all weapons need to be rigged?

[warm leaf]

in what sense? What's the context?

[terse sail]

for reloading

[stuck oyster]

If you want moving parts then yes.

[terse sail]

fancy teaching me how to rig a weapon? i can already animate, so got some basis to work off, will pay

[warm leaf]

I'm planning on making some youtube videos soon

[terse sail]

well get me on that VIP list, priority tickets please 😂 😄

hey goat, have had to do source the .p3d job to some pro dude, as it was an absolute mess of .p3ds in the end

[stuck oyster]

Weapon animations are done in model.Cgf the the wiki pages explain pretty well how those work and there are some tutorials already online if I remember right

[terse sail]

will starting learning and working on this from tomorrow, wont take too long now, figured out the cfgweapons, anims and gestures stuff, thanks to your help, and some others 😄

[stuck oyster]

Also the sample weapon has animated parts.

[terse sail]

may i speak with you on direct message about this rigging stuff, if thats ok

[warm leaf]

I don't have the spare time right now, there's plenty out there and like I said I'll be looking to make some videos that explain things, I'd rather work on one to many than one to one

[terse sail]

understandable, will video tutorial watch again 👍

[frail pumice]

is there a reference weapon model.cfg file anywhere?

that lists what the bones should be called in the skeleton etc

there's a test weapon in the samples but it doesn't seem to have all the bones that i see when i decompile an actual p3d odol

[inland pawn]

You can technically name the parts whatever you want. But, some places are easier to be named default than custom

Like the tracks on a tank. You don’t need to do anything besides adding them to the sections of your cfg models. If they’re named the default name

[stuck oyster]

This.

The skeleton and animations can be whatever is needed.

[brazen prism]

hey guys , what p3d importer do you guys use for blender?

[marsh canyon]

Import to Blender or Import to OB?

[terse sail]

Blender - use this addon;
https://github.com/AlwarrenSidh/ArmAToolbox - check license/read me also

Object Builder - do not know, someone else may know

[stuck oyster]

Blender to OB -> the toolbox

OB to Blender -> the toolbox

[terse sail]

the arma toolbox covers both?

[stuck oyster]

it has p3d import and export

[terse sail]

hey guys, showing this dude how to use arma toolbox, and for some reason it wont install?

1. tried installing from direct zip - not working
2. tried installing from unzip- not working

what am i doing wrong?

[desert notch]

You must install the zip

And you must grab the latest master and zip it yourself

[terse sail]

its already got a master version?

[stuck oyster]

github download adds another folder in the zip

the data has to be moved down a folder for it to install right

[bleak heart]

I'm converting a car, I need to get a gunner image of the interior of the car, but it shows 144p.

Is there a wiki on this topic?

[stuck oyster]

converting it from where?

and what exactly shows 144p

none of this makes quite sense

[bleak heart]

I'm converting from object builder

I'll post an image here.

[stuck oyster]

youll need to upload/post the image somewhere else like imgur

and paste the link here

[bleak heart]

https://imgyukle.com/f/2021/12/14/kfSYbP.jpg

[stuck oyster]

oh you mean the picture in picture (PIP)

you probably need to set your PIP video settings higher

[bleak heart]

My settings are on ultra but thanks anyway

[stuck oyster]

how do you have the PIP texture configured in the model?

[bleak heart]

https://imgyukle.com/f/2021/12/14/kfuhOs.png

[stuck oyster]

you could try increasing the 512 to 1024

[bleak heart]

What happens if I do 1080p?

[ocean stump]

Okay, having some trouble having my Ski Pack display correctly on the players back when they have it equipped. Currently the pack is halfway underground (https://imgur.com/a/j714yY3).

Config:

{
    class skiis
    {
        units[]={};
        weapons[]={};
        author="gnomi";
        requiredVersion=0.1;
        requiredAddons[]={"A3_Weapons_F"};
    };
};
class CfgVehicles
{
    class Bag_Base;
    class Ski_Bag : Bag_Base
    {
        author = "gnomi";
        scope = 2;
        model = "\P:\@SKIMOD\Addons\SKIPACK\Skipackb";
        displayName = "Ski Pack";
        picture = "\A3\weapons_f\ammoboxes\bags\data\ui\icon_B_C_Compact_dgtl_ca.paa";
        hiddenSelectionsTextures[]={"\A3\weapons_f\ammoboxes\bags\data\backpack_compact_digi_co.paa"};
        maximumLoad = 0;
        mass = 5;

        class AnimationSources {

            class mountski_Source  {
                source = "user";
                animPeriod = 1;
                initPhase = 0;
            };
            
        };

        class UserActions {

            class MountSkiis {
                displayName = "Mount Skiis";
                position = "ski_axis";
                radius = 3;
                onlyforplayer = 1;
                condition = (this animationPhase 'MountSki') < 0.5;
                statement = this animate ['MountSki', 1];
            };
            class PackSkiis {
                displayName = "Pack Skiis";
                position = "ski_axis";
                radius = 3;
                onlyforplayer = 1;
                condition = this animationPhase 'MountSki' >= 0.5;
                statement = this animate ['MountSki', 0];
            };
        };    
    };
};```

Model.cfg:https://pastebin.com/DPRgPzD2

[stuck oyster]

probably wont work

[stuck oyster]

is it weighted with character fitting named selection

also im pretty sure you wont get the skileft animation to work

you cant add bones to the character skeleton

[ocean stump]

No, would that be parenting the backpack bone to a bone from OFP2_ManSkeleton?

[stuck oyster]

that you cant do

like I said

cant add bones to the character skeleton

[ocean stump]

ah, that's a damn shame

I'm assuming then I have not weighted it to the selection. Not quite sure how to go about that.

[stuck oyster]

in OB select model, create new selection for it named Spine3

new selection is automatically 100% weighted

[ocean stump]

Would that go to all LOD's or just resLOD?

[stuck oyster]

all lods

[ocean stump]

Nice, I had it as Spine 2 and just in the reslod.

[stuck oyster]

id recommend Spine3 since its the top torso bone

if you got any straps they might need different weighting

[ocean stump]

alright, ill see what looks best, the pack is literally a pair of skiis and sticks. Trying to keep it as simple for now just to have it looking somewhat correct ingame.

[marsh fox]

Idk what is happening, but it seems like the UVmap is wigging out in game, it appears completely fine in blender and OB.

[stuck oyster]

perhaps you got too many uvsets

[marsh fox]

Just one

[marsh fox]

Could it be the rvmat doing something wrong?

[stuck oyster]

could be

if you are trying to call nonexisting second uvset forexample

[marsh fox]

Nope

The texture renders on the model, just as if the uv was offset or something

[charred bolt]

Check uv transforms in the rvmat

[marsh fox]

They are the defaut super shader ones

  class uvTransform
  {
    aside[] = {1,0,0};
    up[] = {0,1,0};
    dir[] = {0,0,1};
    pos[] = {0,0,0};
  };
``` they worked just on other models before so im not sure why it has an issue.

Here is what the error looks like, forgot to upload it somewhere.
https://litter.catbox.moe/g4q4p2.png

[stuck oyster]

you should clean up that mesh

cylinder like that does not need that many segments

[marsh fox]

Clean up as in broken geo?

[stuck oyster]

make it cleaner

[marsh fox]

Any lower amount amount segments would look bad up close, and thats what the lods are for.

[stuck oyster]

optimized

[marsh fox]

Its not split in half, each side is one whole face.

[stuck oyster]

odd

the uvmaping says otherwise

[marsh fox]

Hence why im confused, it appears fine in blender and object builder

[runic plover]

Just check it in the OB viewer, if it is bad there, its also bad ingame

For me it looks like it has segments and the UV map is disturbed/stretched

Also check if you have unused UV Sets in OB

[runic plover]

I see this, poly points which are not used to be there if it should be a clean face

[fringe spire]

Didn't know where to post this:
Is there a way to access ACE clear jam animation via weapon model.cfg?
I wanted to create a custom animation for clearing jams but I don't know if I would be able to for ex. move the magazine, charging handle etc.

[runic plover]

You have to ask ACE for model.cfg, because while binarizing the p3d model, the model.cfg gets merged into it

Or ask ACE for the animation part

[fringe spire]

will do, thanks

[stuck oyster]

character animations are not in model.cfg

so no

[fringe spire]

i know that, but you can define custom jam animation in the weapon config

[stuck oyster]

you cant add animations to p3ds though

[fringe spire]

I can do that through model.cfg if I can access the ace clear jam animation

it would basically work the same way as reload

[stuck oyster]

you cant access the model.cfg

model.cfg gets baked into p3d

[polar fiber]

Is it triangulated in OB or quads?

I've seen something like that where UV coords collapsed towards another UV when the mesh went from being quads to triangulated. It usually happened where two sides of the model had mirrored UVs and the verts along the seam between the two halves, were still welded

If it's quads, triangulate it in OB then check the UV window to see if anything changes

[fringe spire]

I'm talking about animation source for ex. it's reloadmagazine for reload, I'm looking for the equivalent for ace jam animation

[stuck oyster]

I dont think ACE adds any animation sources for weapons

as you cant animate weapons with script commands

[fringe spire]

I thought it does since you can define custom jam clear animation (it's the reload anim as default)... just looking for a way to unload the mag, pull the charging handle and put the mag back in basically (ofc. I would have to do that in model.cfg in animations)... but since ace doesn't add the anim source I'll have to live without it I guess

[stuck oyster]

yeah cant do that

cant add animations to weapons

you could do the hand movements but thats it

[fringe spire]

well I've found out that you can add animationSources into cfgVehicles, define an animation inside model.cfg using that source and then call it through userActions.
What I don't know is how to put that inside the ACE Clear jam interaction without breaking ace itself

[stuck oyster]

yes for vehicles you can do that

but not characters or weapons

[livid canyon]

Can object builder show the center of mass?

[bold flare]

Pretty sure it can. If you select all points that have mass, it also shows Center?

[livid canyon]

oh, yup. it was just cluttered.

[livid canyon]

I re-opened OB and now i can't find it again. Aer there some cases where it's not shown?

[stuck oyster]

only when DX draw mode is off

[molten fractal]

Doesn't Eliteness let you extract the skeleton?

[stuck oyster]

you cant do anything with it

you cant inject changes back into p3d

what he wanted to do just is not possible

[molten fractal]

Ah, i understand now

[fresh lichen]

hi

How can I import a design made by me to the armaa 3 game?

In my case, I did a halo 3 brute and I want to play it in armaa 3, but I don't know how to import it into the game

[median bough]

@fresh lichen
https://forums.bohemia.net/forums/topic/207631-from-blender-to-arma-3-complete-process-tutorial/

[fresh lichen]

I already read it and that post did not help me:, c

[median bough]

then nothing can

[marsh fox]

Thank you for all the advise so far, texture is perfect on the model, but the last hurdle is the shadows acting strangely. https://litter.catbox.moe/yfordf.png
The shadows seem to be banding.

[runic plover]

are you using
sbsource : visualex
?

[inland pawn]

What's the default names for front left/front right headlights and rear lights?

I have L svetlo and P svetlo and that isn't doing anything

Along with reverse_light

[runic plover]

            class Left {
                color[]     = {1900, 1300, 950};
                ambient[]    = {5,5,5};
                position     = "Light_L";
                direction     = "Light_L_end";
                hitpoint     = "Light_L";
                selection    = "Light_L";
                size         = 1;
                innerAngle     = 100;
                outerAngle     = 179;
                coneFadeCoef = 10;
                intensity     = 1; //17.5
                useFlare     = 0;
                dayLight     = 0;
                flareSize     = 1.0;
                class Attenuation {
                    start         = 1.0;
                    constant     = 0;
                    linear         = 0;
                    quadratic     = 0.25;
                    hardLimitStart = 30;
                    hardLimitEnd = 60;
                };
            };
            class Right: Left {
                position     = "Light_R";
                direction     = "Light_R_end";
                hitpoint     = "Light_R";
                selection     = "Light_R";
            };
            class Right2: Right {
                position     = "light_R_flare";
                useFlare     = 1;
            };
            class Left2: Left {
                position     = "light_L_flare";
                useFlare     = 1;
            };
        };
        aggregateReflectors[] = {{"Left","Right","Left2","Right2"}};```

might be Light_L / Light_R

[marsh fox]

No

[stuck oyster]

Halo brute will not work in Arma without a lot of extra work. I'd recommend starting from something simpler to get familiar with how things work in Arma

[rough idol]

you can try using ASDHQ instead of AO (ah, sorry Sentry - replied to wrong message)

[marsh fox]

I'll give that a look into.

[marsh fox]

Cant find any info anywhere about what ASDHQ is.

[marsh fox]

Extactly what i searched and nothing showed up huh

Oh its not ASDHQ its adshq

[stuck oyster]

Oh true

That explains it

[marsh fox]

Thank you for the correction I see the info now

Not sure if its AS though cause if I use super shader defaut rather an a baked one the same banding happens

[rough idol]

ahh, sorry for the typo 😓

[calm cedar]

Hey ! i have a pretty dumb question. With my unit we are working on creating our own equipment mod. we were thinking on buying this 3D files: https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-model-collections/asr-all-variants
But i don't know if it will be working. Is there a tutorial like how to mod for the noobs ?
Cause i don't really want to spend 30 bucks to have a file that i can't use

[stuck oyster]

if you have no one with 3D experience buying models will be shooting your own foot

as it will not give you any advantage in learning what is needed

that model probably will work in the end

but it will require a lot of Arma requirement work

and no there is no exact tutorial for that either

[calm cedar]

well i'd love to learn but idk where to start even if i learn pretty fast.

[calm cedar]

so the file is not important ?

and so to learn to do a mod i need to start randomly on internet ?

[stuck oyster]

well its naturally important as without a model and textures you have nothing to put into game

but the model will require things to be done that are harder to learn with ready model

instead of starting to use modeling software from the basics

[calm cedar]

ok yeah i see. So better to learn from scratch. Do you have any videos of platform i can learn from ? And i guess i should work with Blender ?

[tawny atlas]

Turns out you can put .p3ds in the mission folder and load them in mission, is there any way to actually texture them?

[stuck oyster]

its not a good way

😛

it slows down the mission quite a bit

[tawny atlas]

I know but it's cool so I'm experimenting

[stuck oyster]

you probably would path the textures to the mission folder as root

[tawny atlas]

yeah that's what I thought, having to make the model for the mission especially

[ebon orchid]

this might also be considered something for texturing but idk, i just cant seem to find out why parts of my models are being see trough-ish and everything else is fine (this is in substance painter btw)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13zmWGbtxSfTji-3gGtOqeS_q5EK3qqfr/view?usp=sharing, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ha6yUREYA7c5nXjjeWO3H6KwCEH9nMGL/view?usp=sharing

[stuck oyster]

your faces are inverted

[ebon orchid]

ye i noticed 😁

FYI it is extremely late for my rn so i wont responded for a sold 8 hours from now

[ebon orchid]

soooo...... no solution then :/

[stuck oyster]

like I said

your faces are inverted

so they are backwards

you need to turn them to face outwards

[ebon orchid]

but the thing is they are both completely un touched other then making a few extrudes so i dont understand how they would be inverted

[woeful viper]

always model with backface culling enabled...

[ebon orchid]

whats that?

[stuck oyster]

it shows only front of the face

you have modeled it backwards from the beginning

[ebon orchid]

hmm weird

[woeful viper]

both completely un touched other then making a few extrudes so
where did you get the model from then?

[ebon orchid]

i made it all my self, i meant with un touched that i basicly added a mesh (cylinder) and then extruded some bits outward and thats it

[woeful viper]

in OB you can flip face direction by W iirc, no idea about blender.

[ebon orchid]

hmm i think i may know what went wrong but still not sure because i did not do this for other models but for the second example i showed, i extruded it inwards first so that i could extrude 4 extensions to the cylinder on the edge https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hA3zhCKMLSQ8rwjuNhTDAgADJ8FFFc-k/view?usp=sharing

[stuck oyster]

there are many ways to get the face directions mixed up

just turn on backface culling (internet has instructions)

and flip the face normals on the part that has them wrong way around

[ebon orchid]

alright

[leaden sun]

Blender is free and some great software I'd say not just for beginners at this point.
There are many a tutorial, the most often cited being the infamous "doughnut". I recommend Blender Guru's series as he goes into light depth about the user interface and keybind shortcuts that you'll be using most often, these first steps are the most important to build a strong foundation of understanding.

After that I recommend starting with simple things, the usual chair, tables, learn about a few booleans as they 'can' speed up your workflow greatly, but also be infinitely frustrating if you don't understand their behaviors.

Start small and build up, don't try to tackle a fully formed weapon with all of its unique surface details and beautiful smooth curves, begin with something blocky and iterate on it.

Once you've got a strong grasp on the interface and functions then you can move onto modifiers and addons, these can be tremendously useful, especially the "Looptools" addon but again, this is more of an advanced step, the last thing you want to do is cram as much information as possible and come out light headed, because there is MUCH to learn.

Lastly, the key to all is patience and iteration, like all things you need to dedicate time to learning the craft, and what techniques best suit you.

[calm cedar]

Thanks you very much for this complete answer. I'll have a look for the Doughnut tutorial and learn slowly to be sure to understand.
Is there anything else i should know before hopping in ?

[leaden sun]

I've a few more recommendations.

Don't rush things, playback any parts of a video that you don't understand multiple times, and if ever you're watching a tutorial on something try to model along with it as opposed to simply watching.

Whenever you watch a video pertaining to any information, try to interact with something of your own along with the video in the same way as this will help cement its function in your mind, and while tutorials are great you don't want to limit yourself to what they show you.

Do some light modelling whenever you have downtime, there will be many "Aha!" moments even years down the line, you're going to discover new techniques, likewise look at what others are doing, as you may discover new techniques and workflows that you were close to but hadn't considered, or considered at all.

Use additional resources such as Pinterest or CG forums, especially the "how the f do I make this" thread, even if the program isn't specifically what you are using.

Lastly is to focus on the basics, learn something new, give your mind time to rest, try the technique out on multiple things and then expand.

as with all things, practice practice practice

Oh and subdivide responsibly so you don't murder your PC

[stuck oyster]

save often

protip 👆

although blender does keep a "working" copy around too but it can be accidentally overwritten by loading older save

[leaden sun]

oh yes definitely save often and set your undo steps to max (256) in the Preferences-System tab.

[stuck oyster]

just remember to set it lower if you are working in something massive xD

[cedar garden]

Hey, so I have a question about hidden selections. I have all my selections setup in OB, and in the model cfg I have all the selections defined, but in the config when I remove one from them from the hiddenSelections, it will still appear. I'm assuming I'm doing something wrong along the way. Could anyone guide me in the right direction?

[stuck oyster]

you should not be hiding things via hidden selections

[cedar garden]

What's the best way to go about it then? I don't want to make a bunch of separate models

[stuck oyster]

but also removing the hiddenselection entry does not mean it gets hidden

@cedar garden you make bunch of models

that is the best way

if you have 100 different variants you will want to reconsider your design concept

sometimes less is more

if its a vehicle you can use hide animations for some parts

[cedar garden]

Kinda surprising. I'd assume if you had the same base model, and wanted small changes (like adding a flashlight) you would do it via hidden Selections rather than make a separate model

(like on a helmet)

[stuck oyster]

nope.

such details would be put as part of the vest normally

uniform is very plain

and in that sense, Id suggest limiting your variant design

[round bloom]

I've got a bit of a weird issue. I've got a plant with an animation on it to move it up over time to simulate growth. In my case it needs to start below ground and as it grows become more and more visible.

However at the moment, even once grown out can't get cursorObject on it

However if I start it floating, I can track the cursorObject just fine

Seems arma just doesn't like it starting under the map

Any suggestions?

[stuck oyster]

you cant animate geometries beyond the original bounds

so either increase the bounds size

or model if first in full position

then make the initial animations in under ground state

[round bloom]

What do you mean with that though? The geo is the size of the plant and set to move with the animation

[stuck oyster]

the model is X size and your animation tries to make it X+Y size

but the geometry works only up to X size

[round bloom]

It's not scaling/sizing, it's animating on a translation axis

so just moving up

[stuck oyster]

yes

that is what I mean

you can not animate parts beyond the original bounds

I dont know how to else say this

[round bloom]

I'm not though thats what I am saying, the animation moves the plant from just below ground to at ground level, what "bounds" are you trying to talk about here...

[round bloom]

I thought geo moves with the animation though

Like with doors?

[stuck oyster]

geo moves yes

but it does not exist out of the BOUNDS

😛

[round bloom]

But how does the game draw and define bounds

because I've never seen that as a thing or issue to date

[stuck oyster]

the overall bounds of the model in its p3d shape

bounding box

those bounds do not dynamically change

[tropic jewel]

2 questions does animations (in model.cfg) work with backpacks and is it possible to sqf within the source for example source = "{whatever statement == true}";

[stuck oyster]

not possible afaik

[round bloom]

I believe animations should work for a backpack type item, the use of SQF isn't possible in model.cfg, you'd need to do that externally in the mission or possibly run it (on a user action) on the config.cpp

[stuck oyster]

backpack still runs on character skeleton and rtms

[amber swift]

hello guys, so i have already made a 3d model and textures in p3d an paa format respectively, but cant advance past this fase, i dont have much programing knowledge, so despite already have watched a few tutorials, i still dont know how to make the config and model cfg.

can anyone help?

[woeful viper]

look at the samples BI provides

[amber swift]

the Test_Weapon_01 folder?

[woeful viper]

yes

[amber swift]

so should i just do a copy of this folder replace the p3d and alter the config so that the model refered is the one i made?

[woeful viper]

you can use it as a starting point yes

[amber swift]

alright i will try it out thanks

[rough jewel]

is there any other reason ,than to cut down the vertices, that tracked vehicle treads are just a moving texture?

[stuck oyster]

No other mechanic has ever been implemented

[rough jewel]

so can you have fully modeled tracks for a vehicle?

[stuck oyster]

No

There is no mechanic for that

[rough jewel]

ok

[round bloom]

Is there any documentation out there on snapping? I get it uses mem points, but I assume there is config stuff to set up too

[stuck oyster]

No config stuff. It's just TB functionality with memorypoints. BI forums have couple of threads about it.

[white jay]

hello

can anyone tell how i can export a weapon model from blender to arma3?

[shrewd jay]

Are you using the Arma Toolbox?

If so, it can export to p3d directly, otherwise you need to export to 3ds first and import into ObjectBuilder

[white jay]

yes

[shrewd jay]

Then just go to File -> Export -> Arma 3 .p3d

[stuck oyster]

Also needs the object(s) to have arma properties ticked enabled

[white jay]

ok

but what if I want the weapon to be useable?

then what do i have to do?

[stuck oyster]

config

so a lot

[white jay]

config?

[ebon orchid]

coding

[white jay]

oh

[white jay]

How do I export the models from to arma 3 as props?

[stuck oyster]

you export an object as p3d and create a config for it that defiines it as a prop

[analog mason]

Is there a way to define on the model where a parachute spawns from when it is dropped from an aircraft? or does it always attach near the centre of the model as it would lie on the ground?

[vernal meteor]

so where do i start making vests like i have blender is there any good things to go off of or what should i know

[sharp coral]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfS9fBOE7Gw check this out, sokolonko's guides are one of the best out there

[ocean stump]

Hey people, having trouble applying mass to the Geometry LOD on my vehicle. If I'm getting this right, there should be a "Mass" option in the Arma 3 Object Properties window in Blender, but I don't have it. Checked Geometry and Geometry Physx, both in Object and Edit mode but no luck. I have the newest version of the Toolbox, with the extra folder removed so it should be installed correctly, and the newest version of Blender.

This is what the window looks like for me: https://imgur.com/a/DYe8RYx

[shrewd jay]

It's on the Arma 3 Tools tab

Only appears in Edit mode.

[ocean stump]

Right you are, thank you!

[shrewd jay]

👍

[calm cedar]

Hey ! I'm working on config.cpp but i can't understand how CfgMagazines and Ammo works. I have this:

    class 30Rdn_762X39_AK12_Mag_F : B_762X39_Ball_Green_F {
        ammo = "B_762X39_Ball_Green_F";
        count = 30;
        descriptionshort = "7.62X39mm mag<br />Rounds: 30<br />Used in: AK12";
        displayname = "30Rdn 7.62X30mm";                        
        initspeed = 930;            
        lastroundstracer = 0;
        picture = "tb_arifle_ak12\UI\gear_ak12_mag_ca";                
        model = "tb_arifle_ak12\ak12_mag";                        
        scope = 2;
        tracersevery = 5;
    };
};
class CfgAmmo {
    class B_762X39_Ball_Green_F {
        airfriction = -0.001425;
        caliber = 0.9;                            
        cost = 1;
        deflecting = 20;
        hit = 8;                            
        indirecthit = 0;
        indirecthitrange = 0;
        model = "\A3\Weapons_f\Data\bullettracer\tracer_red";        
        nvgonly = 1;
        tracerendtime = 1;
        tracerscale = 1;
        tracerstarttime = 0.05;
    };
};    ```

But it don't works and says that ammo is not defined.. 
I don't know much about coding i mostly learn it by doing it so i'm kinda stuck rn.. :/

[charred bolt]

Try this:

    class 30Rnd_762x39_Mag_F;
    class Papa_30Rdn_762X39_AK12_Mag_F: 30Rnd_762x39_Mag_F {
        ammo = "Papa_B_762X39_Ball_Green_F";
        count = 30;
        descriptionshort = "7.62X39mm mag<br />Rounds: 30<br />Used in: AK12";
        displayname = "30Rdn 7.62X30mm";                        
        initspeed = 930;            
        lastroundstracer = 0;
        picture = "tb_arifle_ak12\UI\gear_ak12_mag_ca";                
        model = "tb_arifle_ak12\ak12_mag";                        
        scope = 2;
        tracersevery = 5;
    };
};

class CfgAmmo {
    class B_762x39_Ball_F;
    class Papa_B_762X39_Ball_Green_F: B_762x39_Ball_F {
        airfriction = -0.001425;
        caliber = 0.9;                            
        cost = 1;
        deflecting = 20;
        hit = 8;                            
        indirecthit = 0;
        indirecthitrange = 0;
        model = "\A3\Weapons_f\Data\bullettracer\tracer_red";        
        nvgonly = 1;
        tracerendtime = 1;
        tracerscale = 1;
        tracerstarttime = 0.05;
    };
}; ```

Note that it is good practise to put your tag as a prefix to any class that you create (eg Papa_)
Both your new magazine class and ammo class need to inherit from existing magazines and ammo classes in the game, so I made a guess as to which that would be. Those existing classes need to be declared as ready for use in your config before you can inherit from them.
Once you have inherited all the properties, then your new class code that follows changes those specific parameters. In your magazine, you tell it to use your new ammo class.

[calm cedar]

Ok i see, i've done it and now the magazines disapeared.
My mag classname Papa_30Rdn_762X39_AK12_Mag_F need to be linked on what ?

like another file or ?
Cause i'm really starting this type of codingf

[charred bolt]

Presumably you have a weapon that you want to use that new magazine in?

[calm cedar]

yeah we have a weapon and a magazine that someone 3d modelled and prepared to be implemanted in game

ak12_mag.p3d

[charred bolt]

Put the new magazine into the config for the new weapon

If you haven't done already, look at the Arma 3 Samples (free Steam download), Test_Weapon_01. It has sample models, configs etc.

[calm cedar]

 {
    requiredaddons[] = {};
    requiredversion = 0.1;
    units[] = {};
    weapons[] = {"tb_arifle_ak12",};
    magazines[] = {"Papa_30Rdn_762X39_AK12_Mag_F",}; // HERE ? ```

[calm cedar]

downloading it rn

[median bough]

magazines[] = {"Papa_30Rdn_762X39_AK12_Mag_F",}; // HERE ?
remove the last comma...
@calm cedar

[calm cedar]

yeah cause if there is the comma i need to add another magazine

but is that at the right place ?

[charred bolt]

That's a CfgPatches entry by the looks of it. He needs to add the mag into the weapon class.

[median bough]

yep. you also have a trailing comma in the weapons array

[calm cedar]

yep just saw that

[calm cedar]

I used Zach Gibson's tutorial files but there is not that much info

[charred bolt]

Papa, continued at config_makers channel...

[calm cedar]

yeah just saw. Thanks ^^

[open radish]

One message removed from a suspended account.

[stuck oyster]

Are you having some problem? Turret has nothing really special over the tank sanple

[livid canyon]

I'm getting this repeated in rpt with an edited character model

No point in selection proxy:\a3\characters_f\proxies\weapon.001.
 ➥ Context:     [] L4 ()

Apparently this happens when you try to attachTo a proxy. It works but it doesn't like it.

[stuck oyster]

@livid canyon what does attachTo a proxy mean?

[bold flare]

it tells you, the selection you tried to attach to, doesn't exist in the model

wrong name

[livid canyon]

I did _obj attachTo [_unit, [0,0,0], "proxy:\a3\characters_f\proxies\weapon.001", true];

So, wasn't a model issue.

[runic plover]

Are you sure its called weapon.001?

Maybe its weapon001.p3d or weapon.001.p3d

.p3d is missed at the end

[shrewd jay]

It's weapon.p3d

[runic plover]

I was thinking this and wrote it but deleted it cause i wasnt sure if its just weapon.p3d, cause 001 is the proxy index i think

[desert notch]

the selection name itself is correct

@livid canyon do you attachTo right after creating a unit?

also I think this is a #arma3_scripting question

[shrewd jay]

Wouldn't "weapon" be enough in general?

[desert notch]

I don't think so

yeah no

@livid canyon I just tried it and I get no such error, so you're doing something wrong

[shrewd jay]

Hm, weird... I thought that "Weapon" would be part of the model selections 🤔

[desert notch]

it is, but its orientation and position are weird

[shrewd jay]

Uh-kay... really weird 😐

[amber swift]

guys i have 2 questions, Why is the shading ingame in my weapon model smooth when it was set to flat, and is 14000 triangles a reasonable size for a rifle model ?

[small olive]

which modelling software you're using?

[amber swift]

blender

with the arma toolbox addon

[small olive]

be sure to set up the filepath for o2script.exe

in preferences: https://prnt.sc/24chb4f

[amber swift]

cant see the screenshot

in blender preferances that i do that ?

[small olive]

Edit - Preferences - Add-ons - 3D View: Arma: Toolbox

Preferences o2Script Path

[amber swift]

oh i see it now

[small olive]

Steam\steamapps\common\Arma 3 Tools\ObjectBuilder\O2Script.exe

[amber swift]

thanks!

[glad crystal]

Also a blender/ArmAtoolbox question - I have a p3d I'd like to alter the weight on. I know weight is connected to the geometry, and can currently see 'ARMA group weight: 20.00' in the 'Object Data Properties' dialogue, when selecting the geometry in 3D view. Is there a way to edit said weight, either as a whole, or component-by-component?

(I've found FHQWeights, which is a vertex/float attribute, just don't know 1> if thats the target, and 2> how to edit)

[shrewd jay]

@glad crystalOnly by selecting the group and re-assigning a weight via the "normal" means

Yeah FHQWeights is the per-vertex data layer with the weight of each vertex

[glad crystal]

Oof. OK. Thank you - I'll see what I can work out!

[shrewd jay]

Just unselect everything in the model, use the vertex group list to select the vertices, and go to the Arma 3 Tools tab. Then enter the new weight and click "Distribute to selected"

I'll see if I can add a "change weight" box to the weight panel directly.

[glad crystal]

Maybe I'm using an old version of the toolbox?
Weight Tools has two grayed-out buttons: Problematic Weight Vertices, and Prune Weights to 4 Bones Max... (Then I have other sections - Arma Tools, Relocation Tools, Material Relocation, and Proxy Tools, none of which seem right...?)

[shrewd jay]

It'S called Mass Tools

[glad crystal]

Yeah, I think I have an old version - that's not on my tab... going to re d/l from github to double check.

[stuck oyster]

Mass tool only appears on geometry lod

So are you trying to alter how much geometry weights (mass)

Or are you trying to alter mesh vertex weighting for animated selections

[glad crystal]

Mass.

[stuck oyster]

Is your lod object set as geometry lod?

And are you in edit mode

[glad crystal]

OMG. I'm an idiot. I was in object mode.
Merry Christmas, and where can I get more coffee?

[shrewd jay]

I should probably make the panel appear always and grey out the buttons when not in edit mode, as it is now it's rather confusing I admit 😐

[glad crystal]

Well, I mean, I'm a relative newb on blender, but know enough I should have checked that. I'll blame lack of coffee, and being at the in-laws.

[shrewd jay]

Both valid reasons 😄

[white jay]

anyone have a link to the arma 3 blender toolbox?

[shrewd jay]

https://github.com/AlwarrenSidh/ArmAToolbox

[white jay]

thank you

[white jay]

I've been trying to sort alpha on my object but it starts saying 10 seconds remaining and ends up saying something ridiculous like 722 minutes and it just keeps extending the time remaining

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/566060230824165383/924875088728309790/sorting_alpha_2.PNG

also I don't remember if I'm doing it right but I know alpha sorting is how you get mesh parts inside an object to be visible through transparency like this
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/566060230824165383/887093561361829908/20210913175243_1.jpg

or this https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/566060230824165383/924876859446014052/20210913175617_1.jpg

[stuck oyster]

the auto sort works only on simple objects

you just need to bring alpha transparent parts on top

[white jay]

So basically select just the windows on a house and go to faces > move to top

[stuck oyster]

yes

though if you have many surfaces on top of each other then you have to move them to top in order too

[terse sail]

what does one need with a weapon model to make it successfully port into arma 3? (included in config.cpp, model.cfg?) anything else?

[stuck oyster]

p3d, textures, materials (2 latter are optional but without them you get white model)

[terse sail]

so config.cpp, is the model.cfg even necessary?

[stuck oyster]

no if it does not need any animations

Its almost like I've told you this already

[terse sail]

https://imgur.com/RldZrqa

what is causing this issue?

indexerror: bpy_propr_collection[indeix]: index 0 out of range, size: 0

[stuck oyster]

probs nothing has arma properties enabled

[terse sail]

https://imgur.com/NYwLF4t this was after untick arma properties

[stuck oyster]

no you need to tick arma properties to export a thingy

[terse sail]

i am completely clueless as to how to fix this, getting the same error for all three objects

[shrewd jay]

Check if you have an empty material slot on an object.

Although wait... Let me check what this line actually does

That is weird, it is trying to access a non-existent vertex group

@terse sail Can you tell me what you do to get this result?

[terse sail]

to be honest dude, inital issues were quads, 130k tris, stuff like that, got them down to like 9k polygons, but the objects were made by someone else, not familiar with a3, not by me

[shrewd jay]

🤔

You should definitely put a triangulation modifier on the Pilot View LOD, it has n-gons

[terse sail]

have done that, but the issue still pops up (https://imgur.com/BZ5PARb)

[shrewd jay]

Hold on...

What version of the toolbox are you using?

[terse sail]

got someone to fix it, said person will inform me of the issue tomorrow, as per my request, so will let you know result then, but thanks for trying to help 👍

[shrewd jay]

Would be interesting to know, yeah

[sage abyss]

say I wanted to make a vest or a helmet how would I do that?

[shrewd jay]

Create a default cube and remove everything that doesn't look like a vest or a helmet

(SCNR 😊)

Seriously, though, check the Arma 3 samples on Steam, there are examples for vests and helmets there.

[stuck oyster]

first step is learning 3D modeling

using Blender for example

or some other program if you like

[round bloom]

Is there anythin special you need on stairs that are in water for arma to recognise them properly? I've got a building with stairs go down into the water. Going down works fine but it's impossible to walk back up them

[stuck oyster]

you will likely need a platform under them so the character can transition from swimming to walking

[round bloom]

https://i.gyazo.com/06bc5711bc1e8f17fd23bd7a0e64579c.png

The problem is the stairs go way below water because the water level won't always be at the same place

Depending on the location & terrain

I've got that roadway linked above

[stuck oyster]

perhaps you need to make a small platform object then that you can place at the bottom of the stairs at any level

[round bloom]

But how will that make a difference if the geo/roadway now doesn't seem to pick anything? https://i.gyazo.com/d14992b1a1483ad0c646610618a097b6.png

[stuck oyster]

if I remember righht it needsto be more flat and at correct depth

[unreal jolt]

alright so still pretty new to the modeling scene but right now I am having a simple issue. I have my model in OB and when I see it in game all the text is reversed. like all the words on it are backwards as if the texture went onto the model backwards. where in OB do I go to fix this?

also I press w to reverse it and in bulldozer it looks fine but then in game its like its see through and the textures are on the inside of it or somthing

nermind I figured it out huzzah

[wet quiver]

What was the issue?

[round bloom]

It would have been his UV needs mirroring

[terse sail]

how should one make a new picture .paa for a weapon?

[desert notch]

make picture

convert to paa

¯_(ツ)_/¯

if you don't know how to use the A3 Tools one just use this site:
https://paa.gruppe-adler.de/

[terse sail]

ok, but what does the 2n x 2n mean? and how to achieve this?

[desert notch]

power of 2