Tunable vehicle mods

[Mr. Bridger]

Hello, my apologies if this has been asked before - I didn't see a topic about it.

 

I don't play GTA SA SP, but play SAMP. In SAMP, any data files are automatically overruled so you can't specify that a vehicle can only be tuned in certain ways.

 

Thus, I like my car mods to be as tunable as the originals (if they aren't, they're likely to make me crash). That means my Elegy mod needs to be able to take the standard Elegy parts, e.g. the bodykit, exhaust etc.

 

Most car mods aren't that tunable, though. Some car mods will take some parts but not others. I once had a Premier mod which would take the roof scoop without crashing, even though the roof scoop would sit inside the cabin weirdly.

 

What I'd like to know is this: where do the tuning parts attach? Is it to the actual 3D model or is it to the crash structure, or something else entirely? And, more importantly, would it be possible to keep the 3D model the same but make it so that the car was fully tunable. For instance, could I take the Ford Crown Victoria mod for the Premier and do something to it so that it would take all the Premier's tuning parts in TransFender?

 

Thanks.

[RanxeroX]

To answer your first question about tuning parts, they are attached to the 3d model. It's done by using what are called dummies, which are helper objects that tell the game's rendering engine where parts should be placed. They don't actually show up visually but serve as a locator in 3d-space. Vehicles that have them will have the dummy object in the correct place where the part should be. If a vehicle supplies its own part it will be linked to that dummy as part of the overall hierarchy. This way, if you go into a mod shop and change that part it will be swapped out with one of the game's other parts. If there is no actual 3d-model part supplied in the .dff, the dummy will just be used as a placeholder.

All tuning dummies have to be named a certain way to work within the game. Each has to have 'ug_' and then the name of the part. An example is ug_nitro. When you add nitrous to a vehicle in the mod shop, the bottle/tank will show up where that dummy is located and oriented.

An easy way to check which tuning parts a vehicle has is to use the program GtaGarage Mod Manager (GGMM). Once installed and running, you can highlight a vehicle then right-click over it to get a context menu. Choose 'View Model Details' then select the Hierarchy tab. Any tuning dummies will show up in the list and be named liked I just described. BTW, you can also select 'Show Dummies' on the first tab to see where they're actuallly located. Using GGMM is much easier than trying to decode 'carmods.dat', which the game uses to tell what vehicle uses what tuning parts. Just use GGMM to check what dummies the original vehicle uses and go from there.

So yes, you can keep the 3d model intact and simply add tuning dummies to it but not without a few caveats... Bear in mind that simply adding a dummy isn't enough in some cases. If you're swapping bumpers, for example, you need to make it so the original can be removed and the new part replace it properly. If you don't set things up right, you'll have two bumpers in one place and other weird things or possibly even crash the game. Also, if you're just emulating the original you won't have to make any changes to carmods.dat otherwise that's a whole 'nother can of worms!

To achieve any of these sort of changes, you'll need a modelling program like 3DS-Max or Zmodeller, a couple of other game-specific utilities and some experience at that sort of thing.

Still interested now that you know more about what you're asking?! If so, good luck!

 

[Mr. Bridger]

 

To answer your first question about tuning parts, they are attached to the 3d model. It's done by using what are called dummies, which are helper objects that tell the game's rendering engine where parts should be placed. They don't actually show up visually but serve as a locator in 3d-space. Vehicles that have them will have the dummy object in the correct place where the part should be. If a vehicle supplies its own part it will be linked to that dummy as part of the overall hierarchy. This way, if you go into a mod shop and change that part it will be swapped out with one of the game's other parts. If there is no actual 3d-model part supplied in the .dff, the dummy will just be used as a placeholder.

  All tuning dummies have to be named a certain way to work within the game. Each has to have 'ug_' and then the name of the part. An example is ug_nitro. When you add nitrous to a vehicle in the mod shop, the bottle/tank will show up where that dummy is located and oriented.

  An easy way to check which tuning parts a vehicle has is to use the program GtaGarage Mod Manager (GGMM). Once installed and running, you can highlight a vehicle then right-click over it to get a context menu. Choose 'View Model Details' then select the Hierarchy tab. Any tuning dummies will show up in the list and be named liked I just described. BTW, you can also select 'Show Dummies' on the first tab to see where they're actuallly located. Using GGMM is much easier than trying to decode 'carmods.dat', which the game uses to tell what vehicle uses what tuning parts. Just use GGMM to check what dummies the original vehicle uses and go from there.

  So yes, you can keep the 3d model intact and simply add tuning dummies to it but not without a few caveats... Bear in mind that simply adding a dummy isn't enough in some cases. If you're swapping bumpers, for example, you need to make it so the original can be removed and the new part replace it properly. If you don't set things up right, you'll have two bumpers in one place and other weird things or possibly even crash the game. Also, if you're just emulating the original you won't have to make any changes to carmods.dat otherwise that's a whole 'nother can of worms! 

  To achieve any of these sort of changes, you'll need a modelling program like 3DS-Max or Zmodeller, a couple of other game-specific utilities and some experience at that sort of thing.

  Still interested now that you know more about what you're asking?! If so, good luck!

Really helpful post, RanxeroX - thanks a lot.

 

It all sounds pretty complicated, but I'll have a go at messing around with the dummies. More details on the 'game-specific utilities' would be useful, and links to any good tutorials too.

 

Thanks again.

Edited March 17, 2010 by Mr. Bridger

[RanxeroX]

You're welcome, glad to help... As for the utilities you would need, I'm referring to Kam's Scripts for 3ds-Max to export the model in the proper format and ImgTool or Spark to import the .dff file into the game's 'gta3.img' file.

 

If you are going to have a go at the changes, remember to preserve and emulate the hierarchy or things are going to go south on you. Use GGMM to see how it's set up for each vehicle and preview a number of them to see the big picture.

 

As for tutorials, all I can recommend is reviewing the Tutorials forum for relevant info.