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Use the Modeler to view models, change material attributes, and export to Racer's native DOF file format.

INTRODUCTION

The Modeler is used to (pre)view and enhance models you've created. Specifically the Modeler is used to:

• Import slow-loading formats (ASE, VRML) to the quickly loadable DOF format (click for technical information on the DOF file format).
• Modify material attributes (like setting reflection mapping, diffuse and other colors, declaring materials transparent).
• (FUTURE) Export models to the nVidia .M format for optimizing meshes using NvTriStrip for example.

Modeler does NOT let you modify the mesh itself. You can use 3D Studio Max, ZModeler (which has a Racer DOF import/export facility) or any other modeler for that.

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

Here's a quick review of the actions in Modeler:

• Import ASE; imports an ASE model file. This file format can be exported from 3D Studio Max(tm) for example. Be sure to save your original model as a normal Max file.
• Import VRML; a very simple and crude VRML loader to load VRML files produced by VRL2VRML for example. This VRL2VRML utility is used to convert ISI .VRL files from Sports Cars GT and F1-2000 for example to the more general VRML file format, importable by 3D Studio Max amongst others.
  Anything other than these relatively simple VRML files are untested and might fail.
• Import OBJ; a still non-functional (v0.4.8) WaveFront .OBJ loader.
• Import DOF; read my DOF file format. DOF is a quick-loading format meant for quicker car and track loading. It is not meant as a format to build upon for other things.
• Export DOF; export the current model to a DOF file. This is useful to create files which will load more quickly than regular ASCII files, which need (much) more time to interpret.
• Enlighten model; the VRL models from Sports Cars GT seem to be exported to dark VRML files. You can use this button to create some light into otherwise very dark models. If your model still stays black, it might be a texture problem instead that you are witnessing. Check the troubleshooting section.
  Technical explanation: all diffuse colors are set to 1 (white).
• Scale; enables you to scale a model in the X/Y/Z directions. Try to keep things to uniform scaling (X=Y=Z), or your normal vectors will probably be non-functional and lighting will behave incorrect.
• Scale x100; scales the model 100x. SCGT car models may need these to be visible; the view in Modeler is by default some 500x500 meters wide. SCGT models are based on meters; so a car of 3 meters will show as 3 pixels. Use this button to conveniently bring it up a bit.
• Scale /100; like Scale x100, this scales the model back.
• Optimize; groups together vertices that are equal (welding). After that, it packs the index arrays so memory usage becomes less. If 'Generate normals' doesn't do anything, you may first need to optimize.
• Generate normals; (re)generates normals based on the triangle orientations. It averages the normals of the vertices between the connected faces, if those faces belong to the same group. It might smooth a bit too much, so in the future I might add an angle specification. Better is to do these things directly from 3D Studio Max itself (I use this function mainly to beef up imported cars from SCGT).
• Toggle burst viewing; enables you to see the chunks that make up the model. These chunks (bursts) are drawn piecewise. The fewer bursts, the faster the drawing, in general.

Troubleshooting:

• Q: My textures seem all black or red; I don't think Modeler could find the textures.
  A: By default, the object loaders expect texture map images to be in the model's directory, or if that fails it searches as a last resort in 'images/' (relative to the directory you run Modeler from).
• Q: The lighting seems weird.
  A: Perhaps you've scaled non-uniformly, i.e. non-equal in all 3 directions (XYZ). When doing this the normals used for lighting will point in bad directions. Regenerate the normals by clicking the button 'Generate normals' (not recommended as imports from 3D programs generally do better with smoothing groups etc).

(last updated December 30, 2014 )