Hiya guys,
I've been considering entering the field of Simutrans modelling for a while now, and I was wondering: could a SketchUp model be used as a Simutrans model once exported into Blender? I have a bit of experience with SketchUp (I'm horrible with some Blender stuff :(), and seeing as Simutrans graphics don't need that much detail I guess it could work OK.
Thanks,
Josh :)
Sketchup can render with parallel perspective. With that, you can indeed use sketchup models even without blender - at least in theory.
Practically, there are templates for Blender regarding the correct postion of camera and light, and it's probably easier to use those instead of recreating the environment in sketchup.
It really does not matter much which program you use to create your models, and if sketchup works for you, just use it.
(Sidenote: I don't construct 3D models for Simutrans, I just pixel. But the little knowledge I have gained with Cinema4D and Maya tells me that in the end, it's not much different - the end result is all that counts)
Wouldn't it be the same as using some other form of CAD and creating a screenshot/render that would then be resized?
I'm just thinking of using pre-built models for things like added city car variety.
Quote from: Spenk009 on February 10, 2015, 06:05:03 PM
Wouldn't it be the same as using some other form of CAD and creating a screenshot/render that would then be resized?
I'm just thinking of using pre-built models for things like added city car variety.
You know what? You just made a brilliant point there-why didn't I think of that? Thanks for reminding me that I could do that, it'll save me the hassle of having to export it to Blender and whatnot, but I might try both methods just in case the lighting system flunks out.
The reason why I asked about SketchUp being used as a modeller for Simutrans was that I was planning on making an "Australian Expansion Set" for Pak128.Britain; its support for narrow gauge stuff would make things a bit more interesting as we have had several railway lines that run narrow gauge vehicles. That and our railways are pretty similar to Britain's too ;)
If I remember correctly, there are some models for pak128.cz made in sketchup.
There are a couple in pak128 as well.
Does anyone know how to create custom views in SketchUp for use with Simutrans? I can get a good left or right view, but setting up the usual front and diagonal views is a bit tricky.
Today I decided to export the model in SketchUp to Blender, and despite all my stuff being triangulated (I checked the "Triangulate" box just to make sure everything exported correctly) it comes up okay without any materials being on the object.
Attached is how the model looks after being exported to Blender and rendered. Is it positioned okay? The locomotive I'm trying to create should be 17.45 m long and I'm using a 25 x 25 template (for pak128.Britain).
If you are producing graphics for Pak128.Britain, you are probably better simply using Blender from the outset, as there are carefully set up templates in Blender with the cameras, lighting, etc.; you can also use the .blend files created for the existing vehicles (etc.), which are all available publicly, as a template/starting point.