Making car models; Some questions for people who know about this.

Hi all.

Armed with my copy of 3ds Max 2013 and a basic idea of what I'm doing, I've decided I want to start making some cars.

They're not going to be F1 cars - I'm not even going to attempt anything like that - but rather some unique vehicles that I'd like to see (Honda Ariel Atom) or something that's a bit of a novelty (A rudimentary Go-Kart perhaps).

I've got two quick questions before I start:

1) Do I need Z-Modeller?

I see it mentioned a bit around here, and was wondering if it is necessary (or just makes things easier)

2) Object names.

Do the names of objects need to follow a set format, and do I need a certain amount?

For example, as seen in GP4 Builder, 'cockpit', 'left_front_fin', 'left_sidepod' etc.

Cheers,
Doug

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F1 Graphics Swapper --- Lensdump - Renders and Screenshots --- GP4 Performance Generator

Exciting to hear you plan to start modelling cars.
You can't export into .gp4 file from 3ds Max or any other similar software except Z-modeller. So that's what you'll need it for if you make cars in Max, to export into .gp4 file format.
I mean you can make cars in z-modeller, but if you are used to max interface it can be tricky to switch to z-modeller and do cars from the scratch there.
Yes object order and names are very important in gp4. You will have to pay attention to that, one wrong letter can cause CTD. You should always have 28 objects in lod0.
Luckely you can sort objects order easily in gp4 Builder with Action->Sort Car Objects (thanks Lo2k), given you named objects properly.
God luck.

and one great tip that i got from mitsuro sano: export your cars from 3ds max in GTA file format(plugin).
the 3ds format isnt that good(smoothings getting lost)

Greetings
TDL

BMW Sauber Ferrari
Ferrari F10
Virgin Racing
Ferrari F150
Marussia Virgin Racing

Thanks for the info guys.

RE: ZModeler, which version do I need?

I downloaded both 2 & 3 from their site, but only 3 works for me; trying to run 2 gives an error about 'side-by-side configuration is incorrect' or something like that.

Cheers,
Doug

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F1 Graphics Swapper --- Lensdump - Renders and Screenshots --- GP4 Performance Generator

Zmodeler 1 is the most handy to use, it can import gta format(.col&.dff) and then you can also extract it as an .gp4 file

PC:

Laptop:

Twitter: MisterShine13

@AUS_Doug: But you have to register for Zmodeler3 and it is not free (excepted for a 30 days trial version)

To start, you can download Zmodeler 1.07b. It is free: [www.zmodeler2.com]

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