Model Viewer Tips & Tricks

[Santus]

Catchy title hey? Bare with me through this opening post and perhaps we can all together make this happen.

 

Wouldn't you crave for such a thread? Me too!

 

I had an epiphany moment tonight. After 5 years of skinning and while developing my 59th livery I accidentally figured out that you can drag your left click while holding Shift on you keyboard and your model will miraculously pitch up or down so it can tan its belly by the sun!

Man I can hear my 58 previous liveries giggle in the knowledge that while developing them I had to get in game and actually fly them inverted to check my liveries for mistakes in good lightning conditions!

 

Now if you share your model-viewer tips, tricks or epiphanies with me, I promise I will post them here on the OP and who knows, maybe after a while we will all speed up our workflows and even deserve a sticky!

 

Tips & Tricks

 

#001 - Shift + Left Click and drag to pitch your model

 

#002 - You can now reload your textures (used to not work for a very long time) and see the changes you made on them without having to restart your model viewer! Just click the "reload textures" button on your main toolbar. It is a blue circle icon.

 

#003 - How to Display Liveries inside Savegames Folder with MV:

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Please follow these instructions

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#004 - How to Display unoficial mod textures in Model Viewer
Follow these instructions and be careful to input the correct paths according to your installation
 

#005 You can load payloads on your model by opening the Connector Tools, selecting the pylon you wish from the "Model Connectors list" and clicking the Attach model button. In the dialog window that opens, you need to navigate to the folder that the actual .edm file of the payload you wish to load is located. To attach a texture to your newly loaded payload, you need to have the Object Mover tool open, which allows you to select the different models in your scene from a drop down menu. Just select the fuel tank in that dialog and then choose which livery you want to apply from the livery tool. If you want to change the aircraft livery again you need to go back to the object mover dialog and select it again.

 

#006 There is a "generate livery file" button in your model viewer? It looks like a blue band-aid. Use it to create the description.lua file needed for your custom skin. The model (aircraft) you plan on working on must be loaded in the model viewer before you generate the livery file. Please Note that the description.lua generated with this method seems many times erratic and with plenty of material and texture duplicates. Still quite useful, but far from prefect :]

 

#007 Middle mouse button moves model around.

Edited September 20, 2021 by Santus
Adding more tips

[Tailhook]

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=242811

 

You've always been able to move the model around. Prior to 2.5.5 it used to be hold down middle mouse button.

[Santus]

You missed the point! I am not saying I discovered something new.

I am simply trying to motivate people to share helpful aspects of the model viewer that are not so obvious to find as others.

[JagHond]

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

That's the spirit, dear mate!

 

Keep on thinking and doing all this way.

And always behave safe, most of all. ;)

With best regards.

[DoctorStrop]

It seems that model now updates in model viewer if you overwrite the mesh. Previously you had to reload model viewer.

[Grajo]

You missed the point! I am not saying I discovered something new.

I am simply trying to motivate people to share helpful aspects of the model viewer that are not so obvious to find as others.

 

Great initiative Santus ! I am in. :thumbup:

 

Reposting here some nice info shared by madwax in another post about:

 

How to Display Liveries inside Savegames Folder with MV

 

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You can now get saved games liveries.

1) Create an empty text file : c:\Users\<You know who you are>\Saved Games\edModelViewer2\autoexec.lua

2) Add the line 'mount_vfs_liveries_path("c:/Users/<You know who you are>/Saved Games/DCS.openbeta/Liveries")' & save

3) Open Modelviewer2 (the game version), pick a model you know you have liv's for in saved games, step back and be amazed.

 

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I did find it very useful myself :]

[Santus]

Thank you! I have added your tips on the opening post. :)

[Santus]

Shamelessly stealing the following from another thread and adding it as tip No4

 

Open Connectors Dialog,

Highlight a pylon, Choose Add Model, Select Bomb EDM.

 

Repeat for all stations. Will not work if theres a launcher between pylon and stores.

[SkateZilla]

Didnt we already have a ModelViewer FAQ Thread?

[Santus]

I haven't been able to find something.

And if we did and it was thoroughly maintained, it should have been stickied

[Santus]

added a 5th tip

[Grajo]

Note that the description.lua generated with this method seems many times erratic and with plenty of material and texture duplicates. Still quite useful, but far from prefect :]

[Santus]

Note that the description.lua generated with this method seems many times erratic and with plenty of material and texture duplicates. Still quite useful, but far from prefect :]

 

added ;)

Thanks!

[Santus]

Tip No4 just got a little better...

 

There is a workaround to do this, you need to have the Object Mover tool open, which allows you to select the different models in your scene from a drop down menu. Just select the fuel tank in that dialog and then choose which livery you want to apply from the livery tool. If you want to change the aircraft livery again you need to go back to the object mover dialog and select it again.

[Megalax]

Great initiative Santus ! I am in. :thumbup:

 

Reposting here some nice info shared by madwax in another post about:

 

How to Display Liveries inside Savegames Folder with MV

 

------------------------------------------------------

 

You can now get saved games liveries.

1) Create an empty text file : c:\Users\<You know who you are>\Saved Games\edModelViewer2\autoexec.lua

2) Add the line 'mount_vfs_liveries_path("c:/Users/<You know who you are>/Saved Games/DCS.openbeta/Liveries")' & save

3) Open Modelviewer2 (the game version), pick a model you know you have liv's for in saved games, step back and be amazed.

 

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I did find it very useful myself :]

 

 

This one didn't work for me.

[Santus]

This one didn't work for me.

 

I second that!

 

Can anybody offer any additional info on this?

[Grajo]

No clue. It did work perfectly for me. That is why I reshare it.

 

Maybe just that mine is the MV of the Open Beta? Is the only DCS installment I have.

[Mapi]

This one didn't work for me.

 

For me too!

 

I "use scan_for_textures" in:

C:\DCS World OpenBeta\Config\ModelViewer\autoexec.lua

 

"print("scan for textures and liveries")

scan_for_textures("CoreMods")

-- new 2. path

scan_for_textures("C:/Users/<You know who you are>/Saved Games/DCS.openbeta/Liveries") -- Mapi - Saved Games Link"

 

 

:)

[Santus]

For me too!

 

I "use scan_for_textures" in:

C:\DCS World OpenBeta\Config\ModelViewer\autoexec.lua

 

"print("scan for textures and liveries")

scan_for_textures("CoreMods")

-- new 2. path

scan_for_textures("C:/Users/<You know who you are>/Saved Games/DCS.openbeta/Liveries") -- Mapi - Saved Games Link"

 

 

:)

 

The first two lines of your code was already there

So I added the two later right after, while editing the correct path to my Liveries.

 

Unfortunately this didn't work for me either!

 

I use open beta client too

[Mapi]

The first two lines of your code was already there

So I added the two later right after, while editing the correct path to my Liveries.

 

Unfortunately this didn't work for me either!

 

I use open beta client too

Yes, OB. hmmm

 

scan_for_textures("C:/Users/MapiW10PC/Saved Games/DCS.openbeta/Liveries") -- Mapi - Saved Games Link

 

 

Tested for the F-16, it works for me.

[Grajo]

I remember having this issue: 

Line in the autoexec.lua uses / symbol.

I was copy-pasting from explorer my path line and it was bringing this symbol \.

Then it did not work.

I took a closer look.

Then I switched \ by / and it did work for me :]. If this does makes any sense....:huh:

 

I attach the file here.

autoexec.lua

[Santus]

ok! There was progress.

When I use that autoexec.lua I can see the skins in my saved games folder but I lose all official skins from the CoreMods folder.

 

Is that what is supposed to happen?

[Mapi]

no.

 

default scan and

 

saved games scan.

 

 

;)

[Santus]

Yes but what is the mount_vfs_liveries_path for the default scan.

 

I do not want to edit the D:\Games\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World OpenBeta\Config\ModelViewer\autoexec.lua, because that will need to be re-edited after each DCS update

 

I want to edit the C:\Users"YOU"\Saved Games\edModelViewer2\autoexec.lua

Edited April 15, 2020 by Santus

[Grajo]

What I recall is that it reads both paths. Only the one of savegames is added in the new auroexec.