The thread that started it all

[Forty]

Yes, please use the EDIT button in the future instead of posting twice.

[Ryan_]

Ok, what is a good way to see how many polys are in the col?

And, what is a good polycount for cols?

And, how bad of an effect will having higher poly cols running in the game?

How is it then that GTA VC allows col files to be accurate without using so many polys in its col files?

I read somewhere that VC has no problen with individual col files that are under 2000 polys. I this right?

I like being able to access all balconies, decks etc. on all buildings. Is there a better way to create accurate col files with less polys?

 

Currently I have 3 model cols working sweet in-game.

I also have every relevent x file, for every relevent col , for objects within the industNE.ipl ready to be made to new col files.

 

At the moment I will transfer all the cols I have and see what happens.\

 

Wish me luck, and I'll be back in a bit.

 

Ryan

[GT-1]

The game still has to load the cols like other parts of data such as models. High col files could possibly slow the game down. Col files should be as low poly as possible for this project. You dont need all the detail that a biulding has just the general shape. Like if it was a skyscraper you just need a rectangle that follows main shape opf the building. Unless you have specific doorways you think are necessary you can soon work around them, then all you need is the general shape.

 

If you look around VC you will see that not every single part of the model has a col, but then again R*^ made col files that were low poly, they obviously did this for a reason.

[petercodename32]

Good post but i found this:

GTA LC Bug

The cars are CRAZY!!!!

If u will play u will see this

 

Edited March 21, 2005 by petercodename32

[Ryan_]

Well after taking a good look at the col files I have put in-game, they definatly are larger then their original counterparts.

However, with all the new car models that have come out ranging fron 5000 to 50000 (sometimes even higher) polys and with the way my PC handels them (AMD 1GHz/512 SDRAM/Radeon 9200), I don't think a bunch of 2000 poly (max) building models will harm performance that much, but at the moment I am not sure of the col files poly counts so I don't know yet.

What is a easy way to tell how many polys a col file has?

Does a col file has the same amount of polys as the dff file it was made from or does exporting as x file bring down the polycount some?

 

Edit: I was also wondering if zmod or any other 3d modeling software will give me the option to reduce a dff's polycount (automatically optimize if you will) before you export it to x file?

Edited March 21, 2005 by Ryan_

[Y_Less]

The cars are supposed to do that, it crazy drivers and road rage (play VC and see (it happens alot outside ken's ofice).

[spaceeinstein]

If you drastically increase the col polys of the buildings just to solidfy one small roof, I'll make that an unofficial mod.

[MegaVovaN]

Edited March 21, 2005 by MegaVovaN

[Craig Kostelecky]

Oops. I meant to lock this topic. The new bugs thread can be found here.

[Craig Kostelecky]

I don't think we're trying to drastically increase any amount of cols. Idealy we would have somebody who can simplify all of our cols so every building is solid (at least up to 300 units) and the game still runs the way it should.

[Ryan_]

I am not suggesting drastically increasing the polys in the col's, this is just where my experimentations have brought me so far.

It would seem already I have a col file with too many polys in it (crashes the game). Therefor, I have come to the conclusion that I MUST find a way to minimize polys within col files.

My main question now is HOW?

I thought I read somewhere at sometime that there was a way to minimize the amount of polys in a dff, if there is I could do this then make the x and col file from the optimized dff.

Anyways, thanks for the info.

 

ps. can someone edit the title and topic of the thread to something better?

[Y_Less]

Dont try converting the dff to col, it has too many polys.

 

As I said in a pm, import the dff and col into z-modeller then extend the col AROUND the dff, it doesn't have to be exact, just rough.

[Bebop]

 

I am trying to convert the ped.ifp with Hammer83 tool and ifpchopshop but there is a lack of copy-paste action on both tools so i will take longer to do it.

[Golden $]

I havean problem... I downloaded the BETA V. 2 and putted all the files into my game-folder. But everytime I start the game it shows: " Please insert Game-Disc or press ESC to abort".

 

What can I do to play the BETA?

[Y_Less]

Do you have the vice city cd in? It still runs iff that and needs the disk even though its a different game.

 

Also: 1st post as a led-by.

[Golden $]

sure its in, if i use this cracked version i come up to that message, if i usethe normal exe it isn't starting

 

I don't know,why i can't play it... BUT I WANT TO

[Y_Less]

What do you mean the normal EXE? Are you using VC.EXE or GTA-LC.EXE? You must use that second one, if that is what you are using, im not sure.

[Golden $]

i'm using GTA-LC.exe but if i crack the vc.exe it shows "Please insert..." anwhenm i hav the original vc.exe in the folder GTA-LC.exe doesn't start

[Luke]

It's a problem I once had as well, though I somehow fixed it, probobly a reinstall, or rolling back a file I'd updated, though it's definitely an issue, could be caused by something to do with the radio stations not being where they should be I assume. Either way, please refrain from discussing cracked EXE files.

[jcab42]

Once you import the DFF into zmod you can remesh it by deleting all faces and then delete all vertices except the bottom four and top four (the only vertices you need to make the basic shape of the building) then reface the vertices and presto, optimized mesh.

Edited March 21, 2005 by jcab42

[Y_Less]

I would have said try a reinstal on a fresh copy too. Warez discusion is against the rules, so, as smithers said, don't discuss it.

[Ryan_]

will this work if there is an alley in the middle of the building? would it effect the alley?

[Y_Less]

Yes it would affect the alley.

 

Jcabs method would just put a huge solid block over the whole thing, not alot of use in all cases (although in some, e.g. the terraced houses in St. Marks, that method would be fine).

 

Although the cols are prefferably to be kept to a minimum, some detail must remain. E.g. the broken building (again in St. Marks), if you used that method on that, you would lose all the intricies of the damage, it would just be a lump, if you tried to fly through the gaps in the top of the wall, you would just him them. But not every little nook and cranny need to be cold over. As a general rule, if the detail is smaller than the player, it is not likely to affect him much, so you can smooth over it. But this is NOT a steadfast rule, there may be times when it is better or neccessary not to.

 

I am going to try compile a list of all the buildings that need updating/doing and put them in a topic for everyones reference. It would be much appreciated if anyone could help with this.

[Golden $]

i have reinstalled and it doesn't work:(

[Ryan_]

A list of buildings to follow would be great.

I am looking into different methods of polygon reduction and was wondering, has anyone used Max's or lightwave's poly reducer?

I would like to see how low I can get the col file polys while still keeping a fair amount of accuracy.

[Hammer83]

Bebop, just to let you know (and I think we already talked in PMs about it) is that automatic converter is very crappy and we use it for cutscenes simply because there is no choice. Given that we have a fully working peds.ifp from VC, it's very, very doubtful that we'll ever use converted GTA3 one.

[Hammer83]

I would try to check that all your audio files for GTA3 are in place.

[Hammer83]

Ryan, back when GTAVC hasn't yet came out, I made a few cols to solidify ghost town for GTA3 using ZMod/3dMax. I don't have access to 3dMax anymore but this is what I remember (it was from a tutorial on somebody's site, i forgot too whose site it was):

- Import dff into ZMod.

- Export it as max-model (note that model name may be truncated).

- Open the model 3dstudio max. There is a tool called Optimizer there (at least that's what I think). You can play with parameters and reduce the number of faces that way.

- Export optimized model as x-file (you need Panda DirectX Exporter for that). Export model only, no materials, textures, just vertex data.

- Using Steve's ColMaker make a col out of x.

[Ryan_]

Hammer, I am on that exact tract right now. Thanks for boost of confidence!

I can get the col file polys reduced by about 65%, but the trial software I am using right now does not export 1 out of every 5 polys when you save (NuGraf). So, I can not use it unless I want invisable holes in the building. LOL

Again, ZMod and 3DMax I think is an answer.

[Craig Kostelecky]

The issue is most likely related to the GTA3 audio files. You need to copy all of the audio files from the GTA3 CD in your AudioLC folder for this mod to work.

 

If you do not have the GTA3 CD, there is a file that you can download which has only the 3MB of required audio files (no cutscene audio). Right now that link isn't up-to-date, but it should be within 2 days.