[Tutorial][Discussion] Showrooms

Discussion in 'Modding' started by FuNK!, Jul 29, 2018.

  1. FuNK!

    FuNK! Registered

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    Hey there,
    after publishing my Studio showrooms I received several questions on how to mod the Showroom - not the 3D part, but the file setup and possible Showroom options. So this first post will include a general tutorial covering the whole process from how to set up your Showroom in DevMode until pack it into a rfcmp file for sharing your work with the community.

    This tutorial won't be complete in all areas from the beginning, but it's meant to be a starting point and will be supplemented/enhanced over time, especially by adding screenshots and more code information.

    Furthermore this topic should be a place to discuss the modding of showrooms and show your WIP previews or ask questions along the way of making a Showroom.

    Tutorial
    1. Preparation and General Information
    You need a SCN, INI and MAS file in you ModDev\Showroom folder. These files should all have the same name, e.g. "myshowroom", and you can just copy & rename any available one.

    2. Editing the Showroom
    Make sure to rename the MAS reference in the SCN file (e.g. "myshowroom.mas") and add all your objects based on the already included entries (i.e. change the GMT file names, copy entries if needed).

    In the SCN you set the camera below "View=mainview" (lights and color settings seem to be ignored in general - needs verification). This is my favorite setup:
    Code:
    View=mainview
    {
      Clear=False
      Size=(1.0, 1.0) Center=(0.5, 0.5)
      FOV=(77.75, 35.00)
      ClipPlanes=(0.05, 1500.0)
      Color=(220, 220, 220)
    }
    You can set the camera controls and default views in the INI. This is one freely moveable basic setup I use:
    Code:
    Distance = 6.2, 3.0, 10.5     //  starting distance, min distance, max distance
    Yaw = 0.45, -360, 360        //  starting yaw, min, & max
    Rotate = 0                   //  1 if you want the instance to rotate, 0 if you don't (but the view can still rotate
    Pitch = -0.26, -2.0, -0.02    //  starting pitch, min, and max
    
    Please note the comments next to the values. These describe possible options for the values.

    If you wanna use reflections in your Showroom, you can set the options at the bottom of the SCN. "ReflectionMapper=REFLECTEDENV" is where all instances needs to be referenced which you want to be reflected on the floor (or other objects)
    "ReflectionMapper=REFMAP0" is what is reflected on the car itself. Normally you cannot see much in the reflections, so closer objects should be included but maybe not all objects from your Showroom.
    If you want to have high-res reflections you need to set a higher TEXTURESIZE variable value. Defaults would be 512 for low-res, 1024 for mid-res, 2048 for high-res and 4096 for ultra-res.

    3. MAS packing
    Now open the MAS with the MAS File Utility and delete all files from that (select all, rightclick, "cut") and put your's in there (all GMT and textures, simply drag & drop the files in the MAS Utility).
    Please note: You have to put the SCN in the MAS too, the INI also if you want to publish that later. During the editing process if you change something in the SCN, you always have to update it in the MAS file too (seems like SCN in the Showroom folder are ignored - needs verification).

    4. Final polish - Preview picture
    The preview picture for the showroom is saved as TGA and the dimension should be 1024x1024 pixel. The name of the TGA file has to be the same as all your showroom files, e.g. "myshowroom.tga".
    If you use the Gimp for editing the TGA make sure to de-select the compression option and you select "Bottom left" as Origin when exporting to TGA. It's further important that your TGA has an white alpha (i.e. is not transparent).
    The preview picture needs to be in the MAS if you want to publish the showroom later. For the time working on your showroom this is not necessary.

    5. Final step: rFcmp packing
    Finally if you wanna publish your showroom, you need to make sure all files are in the MAS (as said: INI, SCN, objects and textures, TGA preview). Now open the MAS File Utility, open the package manager (carton box icon in the middle of the toolbar), "Create Single Cmp Package", set the basic data (important: set type to "Showroom") and create a new cmp package, add your showroom's MAS, click on package, click on install and start the normal game to see if all worked well. If so, you can publish the rfcmp you have created.
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2019
    Rui Santos, Rastas, Ernie and 10 others like this.
  2. Alex72

    Alex72 Registered

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    Thanks a lot for these. Top job! :)
     
    FuNK! likes this.
  3. SimRacingRob

    SimRacingRob Registered

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    thanks for this, im only new to RF2 properly in the last week....
    has anyone done the showroom like the one in Power N Glory Mod GTR2
     
  4. FuNK!

    FuNK! Registered

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    I'm not aware of anyone who has done that yet. If there is greater interest I could give it a try to rebuild it;)
     
    Prodigy likes this.

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