AlexMaria reskin request: THSR 700T out of Hirochi's 700 Rebuild
I tried.
Short answer: it can not be done with the current model.
Long answer:
Evrything in trainz is composed mainly of two things: a "mesh" in .IM format, wich is the 3D model of the object, and one or more texture files (in various formats: .TGA, .JPEG and .BMP being the most common), the texture arrangment depends by the author of the original model (and often he uses the one he feels natural or more comfortable with it). A reskinner like myself only works on the latter.
Here's the attempt i've made, using Kenichiro's 700 series
Railstar rebuilt by Hirochi.
The top image is the final result, while the bottom image shows the body's file (the doors in this case use different texture files).
As you can see, the only part i've changed was the "Sides" one. The result is above.
This means that the sides don't change all the way from the front to the rear, plus there are another two bigger issues:
The front black portion on the windshield does not uses a separate part of the texture file, instead it uses (used) the black line at the height of the passenger windows, wich (since the THSR 700T hasn't) i've repainted white. This means, that you either get an incorrect black portion around the passenger windows or an incorrect all-white front.
And, you can not make the correct orange/black line all the way to the front, because the front section uses a monocolor white portion of the texture file; wich, even trying, is impossible to get right.
To rewind, here are the current issues:
This also gives me a good chanche to discuss the four texture arrangment types used on trainz models.
The first type is the "image" type, used in models by Rizky and BYADL06 and by myself (on the few unfinished models i've done).
An example using the Chuo-Sobu line E231-0 from my reskin-mega pack (top left), with it's texture file (bottom left) along with it's base model, Rizky's Yamanote Line E231-500 series (top right) with it's texture file (bottom right).
It is the best one for a reskinner as you can clearly recognise where each part of the texture file applies on the model, this enables you to make lots of different variants with relatively little effort and time.
A thing common to all reskinner is that, as already said the 3D model is left untouched, so it's up to the ability of the reskinner to "hide" some parts of the old model; for example (youll' have to look very closely and from the right angle) on this very reskin (and all the other E231 and 209-500 series reskins from the same pack) the round shape of the E231-500 distinctive headlights is still visible.
The second type of texture arrangment is the "image-fill" type, the one used in Hirochi's models.
Example using the JR Freight Omiya works refurbished EF64 from the second volume of my "Reskin Collection" (top left) with it's texture file (bottom left) and it's base model, the refurbished EF64-1002 in JR Freight's "Milk Box" liviery by Hirochi (top right) with it's texture file (bottom right).
You can still clearly recognise wich part is wich, but with this kind of arrangment, things are often hard to get right at the first right (for example, in one extreme case, i had to remake the Euroliner EF64 from the same pack not less than 6 different times because front and side textures did not match).
Another issue is mirroring, e.g. when textures are mirrored the wrong way on the other side of the loco.
This is an example using a locomotive removed from the second volume of the Reskin Collection, the EF64 1010 in JR Freight's late 1990s "Large Logo" liviery.
At the top left, the "correct" side of the loco, and on the right the "wrong" side, with the "J" of "JR" mirrored and the "R" broken-up in various geometrical shapes. On the bottom left, the texture file and on the right an image of the real loco.
The front white portion (that should be yellow) was left that way after i discovered the texture issue, as there was no point in finishing something that could not be fixed.
The third type is the "fill-image" type, used in Kenichiro's models (including Hirochi's upgraded-to-TS12 versions).
It's the worst type to use as you can not clearly recognize each part of the texture, and greatly limits the number of possible variants.
Furthemore, being usually small files (256x256 or 512x512) the reskins are often low-quality.
(for the example, see the THSR 700T above)
This kind of arrangment is the one preventing me making the hundreds different liviery variants on 113, 115 and 415 series trains (113 series base model also by Keimei).
The fourth and last type is the "fill" arrangment type, the one used in Keimei's models.
It's particular because you can make a very limited amount of very high-quality variants.
This is because with all the other three arrangment types, the parts of the texture file are literally images that get applied to differents part of the model, but with a "fill" arrangment, the texture files becomes a very abstract "color palette" used by the model to paint each part of itself.
In this example, using the Mitsubishi-Ohyubari railway DL55 locomotive from the first volume of the "Reskin Collection" (top left) with its two texture files (bottom left) along with the base model, the JNR DD13 by Keimei (top right) and it's two texture files (bottom right).
As you can clearly see, it's very hard to recognize where each part applies, unless if you work with a reference image of the original model.
Of the texture files, the "body" one is the one used for the main body, while the "main" one is the one used for details such as number plates, handrails, roofs, grids and vents and head/tail lights.
In this instance, i've only changed the red and white lines to orange and made the grey line a little darker.
A disadvantage of this kind of arrangment is that, as already said, it's very difficult to make different variants, as you're limited by the shapes set by the model (in this case is "straight horizontal lines only"), so one of the locomotvies cut from the reskin collection is the DD56 series of the Tomanokai Port Development Railway due to it's green "V" shaped front line.
Another issue of filler-type arrangments is that on reflecting meshes (all of Keimei's models), when looked from the right angle, you can recognise the old "texture shapes".
In this example, at the top, Keimei's Kansai Area 101 series, and at the bottom the reskin, a Yamanote Line pre-1980 style 103 series.
You can clearly see the part where the yellow line used to be.
As last, courtesy of the wayback machine, one of the last uploaded images from connyxy's website, fetauring Tokyo Station and the Tohoku Shinkansen refurbished 200 series (plus a couple of Yamanote Line E231-500s and either a 209-500, E231-900 or E231-0 from the Chuo-Sobu line).
