[Gus-84]

THE VEHICLE SHARE.


What is vehicle share? (aka vehshare.wtd)

wehshare.wtd is a file located in the vehicles.img that contain the most frequently used texture.
For example the license plate that appears on every car, but also the undercarriage, tires or windows.
Rockstar use this file to save video ram, by avoiding the same texture to be loaded several time.

Unfortunately, modders don't use this file*! For a better compatibility, they all use their own wtd file, with all the texture they need in it.
This is one of the reason why your vehicle.img file is going bigger and bigger every time you add new cars.
There is a lot of replicated texture, there is a lot of poor resolution texture, there is lot of way too big texture...
Some are nice, some are ugly, But most of the time you find the texture on two or tree cars!

(*) Stiopa is the only modder I've ever seen using the vehshare.wtd file.
Sorry to say that, but that was pretty useless, as he is the only one who ever use the texture he added.(and that's too bad)

What do we find in this file?

A texture used for a lot of genric part, like the license plate and stuff (with normal and spec):


A texture for the generic wheels, with normal, spec and dirt texture:


Some 256px texture used for the generic metallic paint effect, burn texture, door shunt and hood:


Two 512px textures used for dirt and mud:


a 512px texture for generic interior:


a 256px texture used for glass:
http://gus84.perso.sfr.fr/GTAIV/vehshare/o...asswindows2.png

a 256px texture used for police decal (this one cans be deleted if you don't use any standard police car)


and a tiny texture named, witch I don't know what she's used for!







And so what?
THE COMMUNITY VEHICLE SHARE.


So, I'm a texture lover, and I like to work on this little modern paint that the artist is going to use to make his art.
This is why I've started to create an optimized vehshare.wtd file.
A wtd file witch contain all of the original Rockstar textures, tweaked, optimized and resized.
Plus all the "community texture" that contain some of the most used material.


Here are the texture contained in the community vehshare:


vehicle_generic_tires 'n stuff: tires, brake disk, radiator, rims, pedal, license plate...


WARNING: This is early WIP, I need the modders community to determinate witch texture to use.

vehicle_generic_grill: all kind of grill, opened and 60% black version.





For each of these texture we will have 2048x2048 texture for the HD version, and 1024x1024 texture for the SD version.

[b]AND NOW WHAT?

Nothing. For now this project is completly useless (and that's why it's beautifull)
Since nobody use this file at the time, my texture will remain unused for ever.
But as soon as a few modders will decide to use it and makes "CVS version" of their mods, it could become one the coolest thing ever! (just after boobs)
This is why I need your advice, This is why I need some modders to stop here and tell me if they would use this kind of file.

Let me know your toutgh about that project gentleman.
Especially if you're a car modder, would you use this file or no?

Gus.

This post has been edited by Gus-84 on Thursday, May 3 2012, 22:30

[chasez]

You misunderstood the meaning behind vehshare.wtd. It does not save video ram but it does save space on vehicle wtd's. Since most of the cars use the same texture why repeat them in every separate wtd file if you can attach generic car texture file. There's nothing more to it.

Since I'm converting few of the cars from Driver: San Francisco, I think it would be a great idea to add that texture to vehshare.wtd

This post has been edited by chasez on Saturday, Apr 28 2012, 07:31

[Gus-84]

Great to see you chasez, and great to see that you appreciate the idea!
Please share with us, what kind of texture do you need more often? what material do you need as a modder?

About the "memory saving", you say that we reduce the wtd file size, wich are texture file.
But aren't those texture loaded to video ram?
I like to think that when two vehicles have the same texture in their wtd, they are both loaded to video ram. don't you think?

[chasez]

QUOTE (Gus-84 @ Saturday, Apr 28 2012, 19:18)

Great to see you chasez, and great to see that you appreciate the idea! Please share with us, what kind of texture do you need more often? what material do you need as a modder? About the "memory saving", you say that we reduce the wtd file size, wich are texture file. But aren't those texture loaded to video ram? I like to think that when two vehicles have the same texture in their wtd, they are both loaded to video ram. don't you think?

Vehshare textures are loaded to ram but so does vehicle wtd textures. So it really just resolves the file size issue since all of the textures need to be loaded to ram. Since texture names are different even if they're exactly the same they are loaded to ram but there ain't many of those textures.
I don't know what kind of texture would be better to add to vehshare but I think all kinds of grids would be good, best looking chrome map, high quality logos with a perfect normal map (hard to make a good one). It would be hard to use the same texture for custom cars because they all are unique with their own look, maybe for non-existent car that no one has ever seen before like GTA IV original cars.

This post has been edited by chasez on Saturday, Apr 28 2012, 19:55

[Gus-84]

1024x1024 size, material texture and normal map.
EDIT: files are now in the first post.

This post has been edited by Gus-84 on Thursday, May 3 2012, 19:48

[chasez]

Here's the problem Although the texture and normal map looks beautiful they're too small to be applied. Would be ok if the grid mesh is with many quads to make it look exactly the same as the original. I'll give an example:



as you can see there's not enough room for a perfect scale for that grid and that applies to all of those textures but they are really good textures including the normal maps. If you add them as separate texture then it would be great. The same goes for the reflection texture it CAN'T be as a part of some other texture.

This post has been edited by chasez on Sunday, Apr 29 2012, 23:59

[Gus-84]

Sorry chasez, I don't understand the problem. Too small to be applied? what do you mean?'
I have already see those kind of texture used several time in car mods, I don't see what should be a problem.

All I know is that if you cut the texture correctly (256x256) all the texture can be tilled without problem.

EDIT: I'm not a modder, I don't know how to map texture with zmodeler.

This post has been edited by Gus-84 on Monday, Apr 30 2012, 09:31

[jpm1]

i think that if modders could use the same vehshare , we could see great in-game improvement . i don't understand you chasez when you say it may not be helpful . as far as i know this is a common vehicles textures files . so the more vehicles will use it the less the game will be sollicitated , dont you think ??

[Gus-84]

A copy of the "tires and brakes" texture as it is at the moment. (1024x1024, original is 2048x2048)
EDIT: files are now in the first post.


This post has been edited by Gus-84 on Thursday, May 3 2012, 19:48

[jpm1]

i downloaded several Stiopa's mods . each is less than 1 Mo in size , and default free models

[Gus-84]

Stiopa mods are some of the best, (especially for what I'm trying to do)

His model are very low poly, but still very nice.
everything is optimized and lods are ok.
he also use the vehshare.wtd, but he's the only one who use his textures!

I know he's on this board with another name, berto.
I would be cool to have his advice, I remember he's a very nice guy.

[Gus-84]

First post updated with the "tyre 'n stuff" texture, in 2048x2048 size + normal map.
Please comment and test the texture if you can.

Sorry for the picture size.

[xwa]

Niceee gonna use this for my volkwagen caddy 2008 lwb that i am creating.

Thank you very much.

[chasez]

That tiny smallspecmap is used as a body paint and specular map for paint, interior, interior2, vehglass etc shaders. Can be used for anything. I have used it as a wheel paint too.

[Gus-84]

Hi chasez!

I'm starting to understand a lot of things!
Since it seams that my project do not catch community interest, I've decided to learn zmodeler and to do it by myself.

About the small spec white texture, if my understanding is good, she can be used as a spec map to make object look shiny (as it is white) does she?
I've read that spec map are used to determinate the shininess of an object (white=shiny / black=mat)


About the grill texture, I think I've understand the problem you were talking about.
If you take a little grill texture like 128x128 that contain only the desired grill texture, this one can be tilled and repeated to map a grill on a car.
But with my big texture that contain several grill, you cannot "cut" the part you want and then repeat the texture, can you?
You can cut the part you want to use, but not repeat the texture. am I right?

[xwa]

Dear Gus-84

Can i share your post on a dutch gta forum to?
To share your textures with dutch car modellers?

[Gus-84]

off course you can, but the project is not finished and there is a very important point:

-I don't want these texture to be used outside of the vehshare.wtd file!

If so, it would be a complete failure of the project!

You can show this project to your friends, but explain them the purpose of all of this, please.
Thank you.

[chasez]

QUOTE (Gus-84 @ Thursday, May 10 2012, 13:28)

Hi chasez! I'm starting to understand a lot of things! Since it seams that my project do not catch community interest, I've decided to learn zmodeler and to do it by myself. About the small spec white texture, if my understanding is good, she can be used as a spec map to make object look shiny (as it is white) does she? I've read that spec map are used to determinate the shininess of an object (white=shiny / black=mat) About the grill texture, I think I've understand the problem you were talking about. If you take a little grill texture like 128x128 that contain only the desired grill texture, this one can be tilled and repeated to map a grill on a car. But with my big texture that contain several grill, you cannot "cut" the part you want and then repeat the texture, can you? You can cut the part you want to use, but not repeat the texture. am I right?

You understood correctly. Textures like that must be separate. And don't forget about the normal maps, they have to match the texture. I suggest to separate the wheels too. Car wouldn't have to load such a big texture, just the one it needs but then again why do we need all of them. You could create one generic wheel texture like the original one only in HD. If someone makes a sports car with a different style of tire and tread pattern they will have to add it to their car.wtd and we're back where we started, if just one car needs a specific tire texture don't need to flood the vehshare with them since only one will be loaded to ram.
I would like to use some of your texture but they are mostly attached together, like the grill texture and grill normals. I can cut them out but then I have to adjust normal map to the texture. Would be great to have it already finished with all the names and stuff like the grills would contain names like grille_1 and grille_1_normal, grille_2 and grille_2_normal etc.

[Gus-84]

this is what i'm going to do.

About the big grill texture it seams there is a way to repeat the texture with zmodeler, that is something about "edge", but i don't know more about this.
I've read something about that in a french forum, I have asked more details.

BTW, 128x128 texture are enough for all grill, don't you think?

[Gus-84]

Grill textures redone!
here are some:

Generic_grill_1 black, grey and normal map:


Generic_grill_2 black, grey and normal map:


Generic_grill_3 black, grey and normal map:


Generic_grill_4 black, grey and normal map: