Lighting and Disappearing Body Parts

Yep, that's right! Turn on the lights and chunks of the latest caboose in the works go missing.
What it is, is this: I'm making a caboose for Steve Thompson's Sumpter Valley RR, and I put on the markers today. I fired up the sim, sat down in the cupola, turned around to look out the back window, and then turned on the lights. A whole corner of the roof and walkway disappear! (see following pics)Is there a way to correct this? I've built three cabooses with markers and cupola views, and haven't come across this phenomenom before.Any help would be highly appreciated!Thanks!Tim

Attachments

http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d4f24394f787409.jpg

http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d4f24ae50b131ac.jpg

http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d4f250c51a77e6a.jpg

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

RE: Lighting and Disappearing Body Parts, RSD 12, Aug-05-02, 09:34 PM, (1) RE: Lighting and Disappearing Body Parts, timken, Aug-05-02, 09:45 PM, (2) RE: Lighting and Disappearing Body Parts, Captain Bazza, Aug-05-02, 11:07 PM, (3) RE: Lighting and Disappearing Body Parts, Hack, Aug-06-02, 00:08 AM, (4) RE: Lighting and Disappearing Body Parts, Hack, Aug-06-02, 00:15 AM, (5) RE: Lighting and Disappearing Body Parts, rdamurphy, Aug-06-02, 02:14 AM, (6) RE: Lighting and Disappearing Body Parts, Hack, Aug-06-02, 02:23 AM, (7) RE: Lighting and Disappearing Body Parts, rdamurphy, Aug-06-02, 10:00 AM, (8) RE: Lighting and Disappearing Body Parts, Hack, Aug-06-02, 11:31 AM, (10) RE: Lighting and Disappearing Body Parts, tryagin, Aug-06-02, 11:31 AM, (9) RE: Lighting and Disappearing Body Parts, tryagin, Aug-06-02, 12:28 PM, (11)

Conferences | Topics | Previous Topic | Next Topic

Haven't got a clue about disappearing body parts...what about the body parts displayed inside the cupola? Looks like a pin-up model in there Mark

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Shhhhhh....It's a secret surprise! I see you got the ladders on, great work Tim! Interesting how the platform becomes a diving board. Hope someone has the answer.

Steve T.

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Yes, I've seen the effect too, can't offer any reasons why, but there's a workaround fix you could try.The fix involves faking the lantern light effect by using specular lighting. You can edit the <shape>.s and turn this lighting effect on so long as you've made the lens as a mesh shape linked to the lantern body, which is in turn linked to the caboose main. This enables you to light the lens, which will stay on permanently. The effect is visible at a distance, too.You make the lens a simple extruded poly shape, so it extrudes through the lantern. You add a Red/white texture, in such as way as the rear part of the lens object is red and the forward is white.In the shape file look for the part lens and make the light intensity figure 8, this makes the lens 'glow'. You could make the lantern body figure 7, which has less 'glow' as there would be some ambient light from the lens glow.I assume you know about the tweak for switching on specular lighting in the shape file?You could try making the red and white TS light radiius smaller and a little further out from the lens. This might diminish or cure the strange blanking bug. Or it might not

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

The problem here is an alpha sorting issue. The light objects are alpha maps applied to a poly. Since your lights are close to the body, the light polys are intersecting, and thus "clip" the parts of the caboose.You can try moving the lights away from the body, resetting the azmuth/elevation, or assign a sorting value to the alpha parts of the caboose (forcing them to dominate the light poly). You can do this by either seperating the alpha parts from non-alpha ones and collapsing the node to the main object. You can also sort the alpha using the material names "AlphNorm+1" and "AlphNorm-1s" (note the 's' at the end of the negative alpha).Cheers!
Marc - 3DTrains
http://www.3dtrains.com

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

BTW, the reason you notice this in the passenger view is because you're looking through the cupola window.Cheers!
Marc - 3DTrains
http://www.3dtrains.com

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

In that case, would the problem go away if the windows were actually holes in the model instead of the textures?Rob

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Yes, but then creates the problem of a model high in saturated polys. Easier to use a TransNorm for the interior glass than a straight alpha.Cheers!
Marc - 3DTrains
http://www.3dtrains.com

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

How is that done in TSM? Instead of setting a poly to AlphaNorm, just use TransNorm? And is that a better choice for exterior glass, in other words, what's the best way to do cab windows on say, a GP35? Rob

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

I'm not sure how TSM does it (I don't use the program). The easiest method is to use TransNorm for the windows (looking out)...No sorting needed. Cheers!
Marc - 3DTrains
http://www.3dtrains.com

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Thank You all for your answers! It looks like I've got some avenues to check. Hopefully I can get this sorted soon.Tim

Alert | IP

Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Marc, your hint at moving the lights away gave me an idea.
After thinking it over, and looking at the last three caboose models I've made, it came to my attention that the markers on the Sumpter Valley hack were higher up -closer to the roof than on the previous models. So I experimented with lowering the lanterns and came to a workable fix. By dropping them .17 of a foot, the disappearing act - has disappeared. Thank You all for your answers. There is such a wealth of knowledge here, we are very lucky to have it at our beck and call!Cheers All!Tim

Alert | IP

[ Home | MSTS Forum | MSTS FAQ | File Library ] Copyright © 2002 by Nels Anderson. All Rights Reserved.