Vehicle Creation &
Conversion Converting vehicles from older ISI products to
rFactor
Tools required
The tools you require will vary on the quality of the conversion you
are attempting. A quick conversion, or an optimal quality conversion.
An optimised quality conversion will, as the name implies, require
numerous optimisations and will thus consume more time. For now, we will
examine the "quick converting" concept.
Quick Conversions
If for whatever reason you just wish to get the vehicle ingame as fast
as possible with few optimisations as possible, here is a step by step
process you can follow. Tools may soon be available which can
automatically do most of this, regardless, this will be left here for your
reference. Note: Quick conversions are recommended if you wish to
alter the *.GMT model files of the vehicle to match rFactor standards, or
the vehicle has no plans for any upgrades, such as private use. If you
plan to make optimisations outlined in a "High Quality" conversion we
recommend undergoing that process, as it will save time overall. We would
rather any quick conversions not be released publically as the quality
will not be up to the standards of the new gMotor 2 engine.
In creating a conversion you will need to find all the vehicle
specific files from your older ISI product and have them handy. First
thing to do is copy and paste your vehicle folder into rFactor. There 3
basic elements, sound, graphics, physics.
Sounds Sounds can simply be taken straight from F1
Challenge, along with some other older products and used in rFactor.
However, rFactor has many new and improved sound effects since F1
Challenge, during a 'quick conversion', you will only need to change the
directory structure in the SFX file. To find out needed sound files, check
the original Veh file for the vehicle copy the SFX file over to rFactor,
and make appropriate changes. We would suggest you copy car specific
sounds (such as engine sounds) to a new sub-directory under the sounds
folder, as to avoid possible conflicts. You will also have to make some
changes if you plan on using sounds from rFactor, such as tyre squeal
sounds.
The sounds file structure in rFactor is as follows (These sound
reference suggestions can be found as sounds.txt under your
\rFactor\GameData\Sounds\ folder);
\Sounds\Default - General purpose sounds, to be used as placeholder for
new vehicles awaiting vehicle specific sounds.
\Sounds\Ambient - Ambient sounds not made by the vehicle and not
specific to any make of vehicle. Ex. crowd, pit, airhorns.
\Sounds\Secondary - Sounds that the vehicle makes but are not
necessarily specific to that make of vehicle. Ex. collisions, rumble,
wind, stones.
\Sounds\"TireMake" - Sounds associated with the tires. Ex. road,
rolling, skidding, grass, gravel.
\Sounds\"EngineMake" - All engine sounds for this make of engine. Ex.
engine_int, engine_ext.
\Sounds\"VehicleMake" - Sounds that the vehicle produces while racing
specific to that make of vehicle. Ex. trans, gearbox, backfire, brakes.
Notes: - There may be situations where the secondary sounds can be
moved into specific vehicle directories. - Use the suffix "_ex" or
"_in" for extenal sounds and no suffix or "_int" or "_out" for internal
sounds. - For sounds that have upgrades or multiple versions, use a
number after the rootname and before any other identifying works. Ex.
ABCEngine3_onhigh_ex, Backfire2_low_in. - TV Cockpit view uses
internal sounds. - To conserve memory, some vehicles share sounds for
other vehicles. The Rhez sounds are widely cross referenced.
Graphics This is the longest aspect of the quick
conversion. You will need to extract existing mas files using MASTools for
F1 Challenge, then import the MTS files using ZModeler and export them as
3DS files, then to re-import these into 3DS and export those files as GMT
files. Keep in mind that there may be tools available to help you
short-cut this process. Using rF MAS Tools, you will then need to compress
all the files back in to your new GM2 MAS file. Please note that to
successfully "convert" the MTS file to GMT you will need to have EVERY
last used texture the vehicle uses (including any CMAPS.MAS files) located
in your ZModeller editing folder. If this is not done, ZModeler will not
include emaps and various similarly used textures, the automobile will
probably look very unusual in the game. This occurs unless you have the
original Z3D files. If you have the original Z3D files, use those. We
would also like to mention that it is not ethical to convert cars for
public use made by other authors without their permission. If you wish to
do so, please obtain their permission first.
Inside the .gen file you will need to make sure that all MTS file
references are now replaced with GMT.
Physics. Perhaps one of the great aspects of rFactor is
that physics are fully compatible with older ISI games; NASCAR Thunder
2003?, F1 Challenge 99-02, and NASCAR Thunder 2004. You don't need to
change them! Just copy all the physics files you need, ensuring that every
file referenced to from the HDV is copied to rFactor. You should be done.
You will probably have hitches and issues, but generally if you follow
these steps, your conversion should have been succesful. If there are game
crashes please try adding trace=5 to the target line of your rF shortcut.
Optimised Conversion
Again there are 3 basic aspects to converting an automobile to rFactor
with an optimised conversion.
Sounds If you want to have better sounds you will need to
include some sound upgrades included stock in rFactor. Generally copying
the most similar existing car's sound file in rFactor and overwriting some
variables with sounds from the older vehicle. Such as using all rFactor
sounds with the exception of engine sounds.
Graphics Probably still the longest process for most
people. You'll want to make use of new vehicle headlights that use pixel
shaders, convert textures to DDS and perhaps enhance them. You may also
wish to map some rFactor textures to your vehicle. You will need a
modelling program that can export GMT files.
Physics It can be very time consuming to implement
optimised physics. Depending on your skill, just how accurate you want the
car to drive, and your spare time, this can take as little as a few hours
to several weeks for just 1 car. While physics are technically compatible
with older products, the game interprets them differently and more
accurately. For example tyre heating may be thrown off a little bit when
just using F1 C values. Also we continue to learn more with newer games,
our understanding of what is realistic changes, and thus older default
values used as a base by modders could be inaccurate. |