Wheel vs track rotation question?

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

If I make a multiple wheel assembly object verses a single track assembly will BZ2 be able to show the rotation on each of the wheels in the tractor_l__h/tractor_r__h thingy? After finally getting my assault tank to work right ingame; I'd like to try the same thing with  multilpe wheels instead of tracks. Is it possible? What I'd like to try is making a single wheel, copying it several times inline with each other, then making the group of wheels into one object by using the object union tool. Tanks BNG.

[mrtwosheds]

Yes you just have to make tractor_l one object and tractor_r one object.
Obviously (maybe) they must be UV mapped in the right direction to rotate the right way.
Don't use too many poly's to make the wheels or the rotation effect will not look right, I would try to get away as few as you are prepared to accept to make the wheel.
You know how wheels appear to go backwards on film sometimes? this happens if each face is too small. something to do with framerates and moving textures.
The sides don't go round, you need to either make the sides look like static armour
or very shiny circular chrome or black or something to hide this.

[Nielk1]

The right mapping on a less efficiently polygoned face can make it spin. What it actually would be is the tread texture spinning around something but folded flat.

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

Cool, I placed the tread_l/_r objects on the inside and outside to mask the sides from rotational movement.

[mrtwosheds]

I noticed the reversing effect on the wheeled vehicles I made.
They rotated the right way as you move off but as you pick up speed they suddenly seem to go backwards.
Tread textures tend to be repeating like tyres or tracks are
If the faces are small and the vehicle can move fast you get to the point where fps = texture motion(or something like that), the wheels seem to slow down and then start going backwards. The larger each face is the faster you have to go to get to this point.

Loose the axles BNG it will knock off 100-200 or so from the poly count. Anyone who gets to look at them closely is likely to be respawning very quickly anyway. 

[Zero Angel]

Either that, or give the axles a casing which looks like this \_/ , so that way they dont use very many polygons, and it wont look so weird if anyone wants to get underneath and work on the thing. 

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

I'll try getting rid of the axles by deleting up to the chassis. There inside of it anyways and not really visible from underneath the unit; you could get run over by it and you never see em. Here's a pic of the textured model.

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

My wheeled version of the assault tank looks pretty good in the map editor and I uploaded it to filefront if anybody wants to use freely. Please note that 1.3 users will need to edit out __h from the tractor_l and r objects as I mostly do stuff for 1.2 at present. It seems to work ok ingame as I both drove and commanded it to follow me without issue. It has 3 seperate textures applied but the zip file has them all. Here's a screeny of what it looks like ingame.
PS: Many thanks to Black Dragon and Two Sheds for helping me sort out probs with my original tank frame naming thingy; I'd still be stuck if it weren't for them pointing out what I couldn't see all along. BNG.

[TheJamsh]

hey thats pretty neat.

i dunno if it helps. but about the wheel rotation thingy...

i noticed on BBB's models that he used a chamfered edge on the wheels on the Picaroon from the QF mod, which made it look like the whole wheel was spinning, and used a blank un-interesting texture on the inside of the wheel.

its probably best to look at the model tbh, anyway i thought the wheels in QF were done very well.

[bigbadbogie]

Thanx.

I made some definite improvements with wheeled units in QF2 though.

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

It's nice to know that wheels do work the same as tracks. Also, I see why tread l and r are needed as without the coverings on the inside and outside the rotating texture would look really strange rotating if the entire track or wheel were exposed. I applied the textures in Truespace after cubic mapping the wheel assemblies. Same thing with the camo texture on the body, and other parts.

Stangley, now I'm experimenting with other units like the rocket tank too. I even created both a AT and RT that resemble gun tower looking thingies. Very tall compared with the conventional units. Here's a screeny of the RT; for some strange reason the cockpit doesn't want to mate perfectly with the main body. Any body know what would cause this as in the modeler it seems perfectly matched, but not in 1.2 map editor? Update: The cockpit seems to rotate with the turret_y? Guess I better go back and check if it's glued to the right part of the model? He he boy do I have a lot to learn yet...BNG.

[mrtwosheds]

If you need model making help just PM me with requests. I currently have the tools to make non animated models and props...BNG.

The Legions Of Skaro, is happy to accept any props, rocks, plants, maps etc etc that people make, the only condition is they have to look good!

I have also for some time been considering making a map, with the theme "The Reality Disfunction" where all map content would be surrealist... mouths in the sky, bicycle plants, seas of eyeballs etc. Any contributions to this would also be welcome. and the map included in the Legions of Skaro.

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

Hey MTS just PM me with a lists of what you want and I'll start making stuff, and start  uploading to filefront. The only limitation I make is that anybody else that wants em too has permission to download them as well. Don't get me wrong; It just that some peeps will never be able to make their own models and making them exclusively for one mod kind of conflicts with my belief about the community being a group of many not just the few.

PS: I finally got both the tower RT and AT units finished and will upload to filefront as soon as I can transfer them from my notebook to my desktop as I use both to make models at home and at work. What a job...I get paid to watch TV and make models for the game. There truly is a God in heaven!   

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

I can't believe how easy AT's and RT's are too make once a modeler gets gluing the parts together right. Here's a GT type assault tank.



I'm going to try my hand at putting together other tracked units. It really sucks that animated units like scavs and service trucks are beyond my current modeling tools.

[bigbadbogie]

I've said it before and I will probably say it again.

The most effective bz2 modeller available is 3dsmax.

There is nothing in bz2 modelling that isn't possible with it.
Using my new technique, it is even possible to create scion morph animations, new pilots and organic creatures.

It is expensive, but definitely worth it.