Pesky Sailboat

[silvermeteor]

I have a small sailboat placed on a lake but my teeth start to chatter each time I go by during the winter and the same idiots are out there day after day in the freezing cold, blizzard conditions, etc.

Now I would really like to help thes idiots out. Let's face it. Someone has to do something. Next thing I'll have to put out some rescue units to save the dummies.

So I thought it would be easier to just white out the ace file and add a solid black alpha layer and then save the whole thing into the winter folders under the original file name and they would no longer be there in the freezing cold. NOT!

Let me tell you. Not only are these guys dumb but they are persistant. Of course I guess the dummy might be me but I am not ready to admit to being more stupid than some flat people on a flat boat occupying space on my flat screen monitor.

So, in a moment of brilliance, which should prove my superiority to these dummies, I came to the experts here. So, please do not let me down fellas. What can I do to make these guys stay home during the winter months?

Rick, President/CEO
Blue Ridge & Allegheny RR

[Noisemaker]

Is this a animated sailboat, moving around the lake? (ala Rich Garbers Canton Route?) And you say just whiting out the image/wireframe as a new .ACE for the Winter folder isn't working?
My thought would be maybe placing one of Ron Picardi's type of snow drifts over the poor saps, and let them hibernate all winter. Depending how tall the mast is, but a transparent to white dome covering may just blend right into the frozen lake without notice?

Just my 2 cents. I'm nowhere NEAR a graphic route designer here. ;)

[silvermeteor]

No it is not animated. Just a 128 x 128 little sucker but it has been used several times in the lake and I thought that it would be nice to get rid of it.

The lake does not freeze so placing a show drift over them would only result in an iceberg. Hmmmn. Nah!

The pic below shows it in full winter snow.

Rick, President/CEO
Blue Ridge & Allegheny RR

[Huecuvoe]

Did you remember to change the ESD_Alternative_Texture value in the shape definition (SD) file to 1?

[silvermeteor]

Hard to remember what ya don't know. I was pretty sure it was something simple. That might be it. ;-)

I have looked but was unable to locate any tutorial that gave definitions of what the various switches did. If there is one out there and someone can point me to it would be appreciated.

I'm in the middle of clearing the yard debris from the storm we just had run thru South Carolina. It will be a while before the slave driver turns me loose but I will let you know if that fixes it.

Tx

Rick, President/CEO
Blue Ridge & Allegheny RR

[silvermeteor]

Well took a break when the better half was not looking. That did not work.

An image of the settings on TGATool and an image of the .sd file are included.

Rick, President/CEO
Blue Ridge & Allegheny RR

[drjoe]

Make a winter texture for the boat and people that is transparent.

[silvermeteor]

Joe I tried making a 128 x 128 sq with just a 1 px white dot in the middle. The background comes up green no matter what I seem to do. My ignorance is showing but I am not sure how to procede to make a transparent texture that will work. Even when I do that with the green and all the darn boat still shows up gray. This thing is driving me crazy.

Rick, President/CEO
Blue Ridge & Allegheny RR

[inflammable]

Is this your own model, or someone else's?

If you made it, and have the source file from TSM, GMAX, whatever, then go into the properties for the shape or texture (depends on which program) and set it to TRANS, and re-export it.

If it's someone else's model, then it's possible to go into the uncompressed shape file and change the properties there, but I'm only at 50% of making that work.

If the model doesn't know it's supposed to be Transparent, it never will be. The whole Mind over Matter thing.

On the Train Simulator CD there are a bunch of help files. On is titled How to write shape data files.doc.

It discusses the SD files in there.

James

[silvermeteor]

James thanks for the information. Never realized all of that was there and I have had MSTS for years. I will have to spend some time looking. lol

The model is very basic but it is not mine. I guess I'll just have to learn how to make a basic shape and do my own. These are just eye candy anyway. Just one of those little annoying little things that keep eating away at the back of your mind.

I have so many of those little things that they should begin dying off soon since the grey matter they feed on is being consumed at a rapid rate.


Rick, President/CEO
Blue Ridge & Allegheny RR

[rpicardi1]

For the winter vanishing act to work, the material settings on the model have to be set to use the alpha channel. You are not going to be able to do that in the uncompressed shape file as that setting has to be set for every poly in the model.

That is why the model is showing up with the white color of the winter texture and not vanishing.

SRV Ron

[inflammable]

>You are
>not going to be able to do that in the uncompressed shape file
>as that setting has to be set for every poly in the model.
>
>
>SRV Ron

There you go.

The time I did it, and it worked, was a small portion of the model. I don't remember how much I was trying to do the second time.

James

[Huecuvoe]

>Well took a break when the better half was not looking. That
>did not work.

Rick,

After you changed the SD file, did the "winter" boat turn all white? If so, the problem is in the shape file. It is a relatively simple fix, but easier to do than explain. If you are still having problems, could you zip and ship the boat? I am Huecuvoe(at)ZephyrGulch.com.

[silvermeteor]

It's on the way Rich.

Rick, President/CEO
Blue Ridge & Allegheny RR

[silvermeteor]

Rich I tried what you sent and it seems like it still shows the sailboat as a black object in snow. Not sure that I did it right. I was getting very frustrated with this so I have kinda put it on hold until I can give it more time.

Sorry for not responding sooner. I tried to respond via email but it was returned twice even though I used the address that you gave me. It was the same as the one that I used to send you the ace file so I am not sure what happened.

Rick, President/CEO
Blue Ridge & Allegheny RR

[Huecuvoe]

>Rich I tried what you sent and it seems like it still shows
>the sailboat as a black object in snow. Not sure that I did it
>right. I was getting very frustrated with this so I have kinda
>put it on hold until I can give it more time.
>
>Sorry for not responding sooner. I tried to respond via email
>but it was returned twice even though I used the address that
>you gave me. It was the same as the one that I used to send
>you the ace file so I am not sure what happened.

I don't know either, I'll try and check both out.

[silvermeteor]

Rich, you did it! What can I say? Thanks!

I sent you an email again to see if it gets thru. In the meantime I am posting here and would appreciate knowing exactly what you changed since there are a couple more pesky things I need to get rid of if you have the time and are willing.

Rick, President/CEO
Blue Ridge & Allegheny RR

[silvermeteor]

Guess it's a good thing that I posted here also. Here is what came back.

I deleted your email addy just in case you did not want it spread around. I simply used a reply to your message. Maybe it is something with my web email client.

----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
DELETED by me
(reason: 554-: (ISP:B2) http://postmaster.info.aol.com/errors/554ispb2.html)

----- Transcript of session follows -----
... while talking to mailin-04.mx.aol.com.:
>>> DATA
<<< 554-: (ISP:B2) http://postmaster.info.aol.com/errors/554ispb2.html
<<< 554 TRANSACTION FAILED
554 5.0.0 Service unavailable


Rick, President/CEO
Blue Ridge & Allegheny RR