II.JG1_Vonrd Posted September 21, 2024 Posted September 21, 2024 This has been and continues to be an issue for livery makers across all modules and paintkits. Some are far worse than others but all suffer from illogical placement of parts in the UV maps. The example I'm giving is for the Heatblur F-4 but it is just one example and not meant to single out Heatblur's module. Yes, this module doesn't have an official paintpack yet and I'm hoping that these issues will be addressed when it's released. The issue is that there doesn't seem to be any effort to group the little bits and bobs like nuts / bolts, antennae, control rods, etc. in logical and adjacent groupings. Those of us who are experienced skinners have methods to single out errant pieces in the UV map but it is a time consuming... "adventure" and can be quite frustrating. I am familiar with the process and have unwrapped in Blender. I pay attention to grouping the parts from a single entity as adjacent as possible. Possibly the makers of the default skins don't have as much difficulty since they have the ability to load the 3D model and work within that software. I'm assuming 3DS Max. As users, we don't have that option as far as I know. So, this is the example. Trying to find the engine inlet probes. Notice how they are spread out but there is plenty of map available where the arrows point. Again, this is just one example of many many many similar or worse issues throughout every module. 2
joey45 Posted September 21, 2024 Posted September 21, 2024 The Apache is the worst offender from what I've been told... The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. "Me, the 13th Duke of Wybourne, here on the ED forums at 3 'o' clock in the morning, with my reputation. Are they mad.." https://ko-fi.com/joey45
cfrag Posted September 21, 2024 Posted September 21, 2024 (edited) 7 hours ago, II.JG1_Vonrd said: I'm assuming 3DS Max. Or some other software, agreed. And I guess that is the root cause: the maps are auto-created and optimized for minimal size/best performance and complete disregard for user accessibility; after all, anyone with access to to the original model and software can rely on the app to resolve all mapping. I’m not sure that a module’s vendor prioritizes a modder‘s convenience over their own or the product‘s performance. Sad, perhaps, and understandable. I surmise that the absence of a paint pack is a dead giveaway that the vendor hasn’t (yet) prioritized modders. Give it some time, and only work on modules that have a paint pack. That could help teaching vendors about priorities… Edited September 21, 2024 by cfrag
II.JG1_Vonrd Posted September 21, 2024 Author Posted September 21, 2024 7 hours ago, cfrag said: I surmise that the absence of a paint pack is a dead giveaway that the vendor hasn’t (yet) prioritized modders. But the official paint packs still suffer from this "scattering" of individual objects. Maybe a individual could be allowed access to the 3D model in Blender (or 3DS Max) with the sole responsibility of cleaning up the UV maps. I would gladly volunteer to do so.
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