gezere Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am afraid you didn't do any mistake. you are
> front of the game's limitation.
> Transparency for the "z_cockpit_visor" object is
> applied only at the Lod0. When a car is selected,
> the game uses only the Lod0, so it looks good.
> for the others cars, it depends how far it is from
> the cam. So...
>
> If you delete the z_cockpit_visor object for lower
> lods it's right that it doesn't appear in game as
> soon as the car is not selected and far from the
> cam.
> If you keep it for lower lods, the Z_cockpit_visor
> object is displayed whatever the distance from the
> cam but without any transparency. It's displayed
> with the color of the visor texture.
>
> The normals of the windows look damaged. Try to
> re-calculate the normals with Zmodeler. the
> windows will be not "transparent" as soon as lower
> lods are used by the game
> but at least they will look better and
> smoother....
Thank you Bernard for your comments , you were absolutely right . The problem was the Z_cockpit_visor object and its transparency . I solved the problem but had to do a trick , tested the car quickly in game and worked well , hopefully won't give me more headache . I will try to explain the trick for those who might have the same problem in the future .
1. Exported the car_XX_car1_lod_0 using the Gp4builder compliant with the zmodeler in 28 objects
2. Imported the car_XX_car1_lod_0 into Zmodeler
3. Exported the car_XX_car1_lod_0 into .3DS format
4. Opened the 3D Photo Browser and selected the original .3ds file
5. Reduced the car_XX_car1_lod_0 applying the following percentage of reduction for each lod ( according to Excalibur's tutorial : [
www.grandprixgames.org] )
- lod_1 = 30%
- lod_2 = 50%
- lod_3 = 70%
- lod_4 = 80%
6. Imported the lod 1 into Zmodeler and imported the Z_cockpit_visor object of the car_XX_car1_lod_0 at the same time ( step 1 above )
7. Assigned all the textures for the lod 1 and saved the file as CAR1
8. Opened the CAR1 in Gp4buider , deleted the Z_cockpit_visor object of the lod 1 that had problem , keeping the Z_cockpit_visor object imported from the original car_XX_car1_lod_0
9. Repeated the same procedures in the lod 2 ,3 and 4
10. That's it
My main concern now is: have the same problem with BMW and Audi that has not appeared so far.