Without a proper map (PSD) the heavy weathering kinda looks strange VB a light dusting would do nicely in its place though i think. Really wish you would map just one model and bake it too see what ya think of the end result one day Vinny but each to their own mate and if your happy with how they are done then so be it, Keep up the great work.
Mick.
What has a PSD map got to do with it? I use TGAs and my idea is NOT to bake or include or paint this on the original texture of the locomotive. It is an OVERLAY which can be merged with any clear/clean painted locomotive of the same class made by the same creator as this overlay is the same shape suiting that particular class. Hence by modifying ONLY the overlay ITSELF, which is MUCH easier to do than to re texture a whole locomotive, one can easily create some small and different extras on such locomotives like rust, dust, grime, graffiti and so on and modify anything to a heart's content ON THE OVERLAY, not on the MAIN MESH for that particular Class. Get it?
I even placed "bullet" holes, bird droppings, cracks in the glass and dirt onto the locomotive's wind screens, AGAIN, ONLY on the overlay which looks very realistic. As said above, I only tried all this out for a couple of hours a couple of days ago while I had that idea, it IS working and once I get the next patch of G Classes uploaded, I will spend MORE time experimenting with this and might even make a tutorial for this. There is nothing worse IMHO to see freshly painted locomotives in Trainz, coming straight from the paint shop with only the numbers on these differing. Wouldn't it be much nicer, should I, say, upload some of these overlays with different features on these with an attachment point provided already, so one can d/load these and sort of modify one's of the same looking installed locomotives (after aliasing with a different KUID) to make these somewhat a little different from the others of the same kind, as it is seen in REAL life on the tracks.
That crude overlay mesh I used in the pictures further above was only 10 polygons in size but one suiting proper the G Class should still be less then 100 polygons, so what is that in the grander scheme of things when the 1st LOD of my G Class is 50K of polygons? Plus making only one extra texture map needed for the overlay as well.
Me thinks this is all very good so far and I presume others are creating such extras already in a similar way. Good for them but I have never seen here someone explaining this before. I, at the very least am willing to explain this and like to pass on what I am finding, which can only benefit the whole Trainz community here.
One problem area I can see, this overlay might interfere with the shadow mesh but I personally NEVER use the shadow mesh and have shadows switched off in Trainz as the dark areas on the locomotives away from the sun are darker and somewhat shaded anyway than the sun lit areas are.
Doesn't that above sound good?
As an afterthought, why not rename this forum the
NSWGR_46Class and
NSWGR_5910 Screenshot Forum, you boys REALLY clutter up this forum here where and when you could EASILY place answers and further questions and even your chit chat in some of your "edited posts" or use PMs for these. This IS after all a screenshot forum, isn't it? Not meant to antagonize or attack you two, only speaking of my personal observations here.
Cheers
VinnyBarb
