Tut

Right. In that case it is vertex colors you will have to apply. Note that if you add the same value to every vertex in the model, it will look as if it has the same smoothing group for entire mesh (being totally flat). This can be avoided by using radiosity lighting solutions for vertex colors. Find more about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmGLKPGTahg&t=397s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47zwqQFzk5I

What kind of object is it - vehicle? map object? Brightness depends on model settings such as vertex colors and materials. I know you're using ZM but it's very possible that the answer is found in the thread below. Please check #2 and #3 @enzoDs

Right, I meant the 3D model. If you'd like I can have a look at it later (can send via PM if need be). Please include .col and optionally .txd. I'll probably have time later the evening or night, currently working

can I have a look at your model?

That looks pretty cool, well done

The game costs 10.00 EUR on Steam, shouldn't cause an issue for your bank account. https://store.steampowered.com/app/12120/Grand_Theft_Auto_San_Andreas/

Introduction Particles and lights are found many places in the game. Cars has corona lights for their tail, brake and headlights, exhaust fumes and tire smoke. These are effects and can help boost the atmosphere. Adding these effects can be done with ease, however, those who wish to use specific tools may have to incorporate more tools to transfer the data between files. This guide aims to introduce GTA modders to 2d billboard effects (lights, splashes) and particles through use of 3ds Max and relevant tools. To get started, user must obtain a selection of programs and 3D scripts available from this topic: Kam's 2018 scripts, The Hero's RW importer/exporter (optional if using for object export; harder), Dexx's 2dfx export script, RWanalyze and tools for setting up texture files. Table of Contents Working with lights using Kam's 2018 script Working with lights and particles using RW script (and Kam's 2018 for data exporting) Common uses of 2dfx Working with lights using Kam's 2018 script The upgraded Kam's script has an in-built 2dfx tool for quickly adding lights to models. Below is presented a step-step guide on adding a blinking light to a cone ID 1238. Import trafficcone.dff from gta3.img using the Kam's 2018 script importer. Navigate to Create Panel > Lights > Standard > Omni Light. Spawn one at the top of the cone. Link the Omni to the model, so it is a child of the model. As seen on the image below, expand '2DFX' on the script GUI. With the Omni selected, click 'Get'. Now the light parameters can be set to the user's likings. Below is a detailed explanation of config. Once done, select model and the child light and click Export to DFF. Time to test! The following config and export settings are ideal but may be adjusted to individual user's preferences: Each setting explained: Presets: presets for easy setup of lights Set to selected lights: needs be clicked each time changes has been made to a light. Get: copies the selected light's information, allowing one to paste that onto other lights. Color: the color of the light. Corona size: the size of the physical corona light. Draw distance: distance in which the light can be seen from (in SA units). Light range: distance in which the light illuminates peds and vehicles. Corona name: light texture e.g traffic light, blood splatter, corona star. Show mode: enable for flashing and other effects. Reflection: gives the effect of the sun shining into a lens when looking at the light source. Shadow size: the size of the round transparent shadow. Shadow distance: the distance in which the shadow can be seen (e.g if object is 100 meters above surface, the shadow can be seen if set to 105 units) Shadow multiplier: intensity of the shadow. Shadow name: defines which texture is used for the shadow. Flags: defines light properties. Working with lights and particles using RW script (and Kam's 2018 for data exporting) Lights method The steps presented in Kams method needs be followed with export included. On 3ds Max with the RW version of the model (with Omni Light) ready, export the model with its child Omni Light using RW script. The RW version does not need any specific light data, it just needs a regular Omni Light as placeholder. The reason for having Kam's DFF version available is that it contains data that can be extracted from the Kam's file and imported into the RW file. With Kam's DFF and RW DFF in a folder, open RWanalyze. Open the Kam's DFF and spot the section named "2dfx [xxx bytes @ xxxxx] - [0x253F2F8]". To proceed, right click the highlighted section > Export Section Data (ctrl + e) > select project folder and name as 'cone'. Now, open the RW version and find the same section located approximately in same order in the hierarchy containing a Bin Mesh PLG. To proceed, right click the highlighted section > Add section > [0x253F2F8] 2dfx > Right click the new section > Import section data > Find and select 'cone' > save file. Particles method For adding particles to the model, Dexx's 2dfx tool is introduced to the user. This method is not tool specific and works with both KAM and RW exporters. In this case RW exporter is used. With the RW model in 3ds Max, go to Create Tab > Helpers > Dummy > create one at the top of the cone. Link it to the model so that it's the child of the model. Start Dexx tool. Click 'Add Particle Info (Dummy)'. Expand 'Setup / Edit Particles'. In 'Particle System' select 'Fire'. Click 'Apply to Dummy(s)'. Expand 'Export Effect Info'. Click 'Export Info' with only the dummy selected, not the model. Export to project folder and name file as 'fire'. Export the model with the dummy included. Now with RWanalyze, open the DFF that was exported and find the following section. To proceed, right click the highlighted section, click 'Add section' and find [0x253F2F8] 2dfx. Right click the newly generated section and click 'Import section data'. Find the file 'fire' and on RWanalyze click save. The model now contains a fire from the top of the cone. Common uses of 2dfx In GTA SA, lights and particles can be integrated into models regardless if they're world objects or vehicles. Thus it opens up a whole level and opportunities for modelers to improve visuals of their models. A few uses are compiled below. Street lamps Fireplaces Cars Sirens Fire simulations Structure lighting Aircraft blinking lights Traffic lights Fountains Cement mixers Farming utilities The possibilities are endless, although the rendering limits of corona images is 32. This explains why the Pyramid in Las Venturas has 8 lights on each 4 corners.

Introduction 3D models using alpha transparency (or known as alpha; opacity; transparency) can at many times be glitchy and not render correctly. In the following guide, common uses and step by step methods will be shown. The guide assumes the user is familiar with 3ds Max and knows how to export models with their textures to test on MTA. Table of Contents Identifying the issues with alpha transparency in MTA How to model glass that renders anything behind it (except particles, effects & water) Modeling gradient alpha at the expense of extra geometry Identifying the issues with alpha transparency in MTA Understanding how MTA renders objects behind alpha, reading FAQ #8 on this topic is necessary. In many cases 3D modelers has done an oopsie by assigning alpha material an ID that's lower in hierarchy by other diffuse materials - thus renders the alpha before opaque materials, causing glitches. It is also worth noting that MTA natively does not have any support for custom .ide and .ipl files which contain crucial information for models, including "secondary alpha transparency flag". This flag (property) is required for semi-transparent textures to properly render what's behind them. Window glass is suffering from the lack of model settings available. Thus the only way to draw glass in MTA is either using no bitmap for the glass material, or using a simple 4x4 bitmap that has a flat color with transparency, in other words a simple "fill color". How to model glass that renders anything behind it (except particles, effects & water) One may want to use transparent glass for their custom model but haven't had any luck. Fortunately there are very simple ways of producing glass-like models. Give the window frame a texture of its own. Attach the window glass to the frame if not done already. Give the window glass a new material which has opacity set to 35/100. Do not give it any bitmap/texture. Make sure that the glass material ID is higher than any other material in the model (follow #8 on this topic). Model now contains glass and can be exported to MTA. On MTA DFF replacement script, alphaTransparency must be enabled. Enjoy! For troubleshooting, window above is available for download here. (by Tut) Modeling gradient alpha at the expense of extra geometry Due to MTA not supporting 2nd alpha property in models, the only way to replicate gradients e.g for lamp lights, neon etc., one must add 'steps' of alpha where the opacity decreases per step of geometry, as seen below. Note that the third sample is mirrored top-bottom giving it a gradient look. Whereas the second has 20 triangles, the third was made with 100 segments and then optimised. The third sample has around 19 steps of alpha meaning 19 materials and climbs from an opacity level of 100 to 81.

Introduction Vehicle indicators are mostly seen on other GTA modifications where the mod 'IVF - Improve Vehicle Features' is compatible. This mod allows for light modifications such as police flashlights, custom LED flashers, indicators and much more. These features are sought after by MTA roleplaying servers a lot. This guide aims to introduce 3D modelers to prepare models for customisable lights, which then requires coded shaders to work. Anything related to scripting is not included in this guide. The guide assumes that the modeler has basic understanding of importing and exporting models. Editing existing Huntley for indicator lights With Huntley imported into 3ds Max, isolate the mesh called 'chassis' as it is the only component that needs working lights. As seen the car has 4 lights; right tail light, left tail light, right headlight and left headlight. All 4 has their own material assigned for them to act each their own way. The material color codes are hardcoded in the game telling it when to show illuminated brake lights for when the car brakes and so on. For this custom vehicle however, any geometry meant for custom vehicle lighting needs white color code and a custom texture name for shadering to work. Before anything, it's required to get the custom lighting texture ready. For this guide, vehiclelights128 and its illuminated version works perfectly fine. These needs be renamed to customRRLightsOff and customRRLightsOn and so forth. The 'RR' is for 'right rear', where as 'LR' would be 'left rear'. This needs be done for front too, so in total 4 'off' images are needed while only one 'on' is needed, as it can simply be instanced when shadering. Below is a step-step process on editing Huntley's geometry and adding custom indicators. Add an 'Editable Poly' modifier to the model. Press '5' key on keyboard which enables 'Select by Element'. Select the two rear light meshes, ensure they are both highlighted. On 'Modify Panel' scroll down and find 'Slice Plane', click that. This creates a rectangle that has a line-preview for the cut. Align the plane to the lights and create two cuts for the indicator lights. Select one side of the geometry that was cut by using 'Select by Polygon'. On the modifier stack, click 'Collapse all', leaving only 'Editable mesh' on the stack. Press 'M' key for 'Material browser'. Create a new GTA material. In the texture slot, add in the 'customRRLightsOff'. On material browser, click 'Assign material to Selection'. Note that this needs be done for the left side too but with different material and texture. Apply a new modifier on the model called 'Unwrap UVW'. Press 'Open UV editor'. On the UV editor, enable 'Select by polygon'. Grab the UV island and drag it onto the orange section of the image, which is for indicator lights. On modifier stack, collapse all, to save the new UV's. Above: example of what can be achieved. Front lights section already has indicator lights, so all that needs doing is 2 new materials with each their own light texture, like done on rear side. The 4 new textures needs be added to the car's .txd file. Model is now ready for export. Now all that's needed is MTA scripting for the light shaders to work. Exact same process can be applied for creating custom emergency lights. Note that it is not necessary to have these 128x128 textures in the model. They can be downscaled to 4x4 in the .txd and then a MTA shader script can apply the originals, which greatly reduces the size of download. This means it'll download 4 images which are then instanced onto every custom model using the lights. To put it short, each .txd will have 4 placeholder-images of 4x4 resolution rather than 4 images of 128x128 resolution.

Introduction Modding is a term used when modifying components, files and what not, in this particular case modifying game installation files in order to achieve unique results not seen in the vanilla game. GTA:SA is 3D era, where modding the game requires special 3D packages. Older games such as GTA:II uses a 2D engine, which means that modding the game was commonly done with image editing applications. We will cover some aspects of modding game textures and models. This guide intends on introducing those inexperienced with modding and 3D as a whole, on how to obtain 3D software and their recommended tools. It also introduces ways to import and export models, basic workflows for 3ds Max, texturing and creating models. TOC 3D packages, helpful tools and how to obtain them Extracting game assets How each type of game model works Limitations - MTA vs GTA Working with 3ds Max Texturing a game-ready cube 3D packages, helpful tools and how to obtain them There are various applications being used for modding. Although some has more tools available, there really isn't one that tops the others. In this section there'll be lists of a few 3D packages and tools used for modding. 3ds Max, arguably the most used program with the greatest amount of third-party plugins and scripts for various games. For GTA:SA, this program is favored by many modders due to it having 3rd party scripts for dealing with animations, collisions, lighting, modeling etcetera. There isn't much that 3ds Max can't, that other programs can, when it comes to GTA:SA modding. Although this can be expensive to run on a longer term, there are education licenses available which last for 3 years. These do not allow commercial use, and is marked purely as "educational use only". View more. Kam's (vanilla) max scripts, the first official script package for modding GTA:SA with 3ds Max. After the release of his scripts, a lot of others has developed scripts of their own, some of which are more optimized and less prone to issues. Even despite Kam's scripts having overseen issues, it is still to this day widely used for tasks such as, but not limited to; IPL map generation and import, collisions, animations, characters, vehicles, environment modeling. View more. Kam's (2018) max scripts, a modified version of Kam's vanilla scripts for 3ds Max. Notable features that were added are; DK22pac's Normal map plugin support, reflection map support for environment models, 2dfx panel for lights such as aircraft lights or street lamps. View more. The Hero's RW importer/exporter, a modern plugin that works extremely well with vehicles and environment models. Due to its simplified layout it is very easy to get used to. It's far recommended to use for vehicle model import/export due to its quality handling and materials, which are based on RW formats (renderware, the engine GTA:SA runs off). With the plugin using different model material formats from Kam's, it comes with a maxscript to convert scene materials from GTA_MTL to RW_MTL and vice versa, if needed by the modeler. View more. Deniska's max scripts, a pack for various types of GTA:SA modding, some features are obsolete for MTA users due to IPL and IDE modification required. Although, the pack does come with a few tools that may be useful to MTA modders, such as prelight tools to set the vertex colors and illumination to fixed values. View more. DexX's 2dfx export script, a standalone 3ds Max script that exports Omni and Dummy informations to .sae file formats, to then be added to the .dff using RW analyzer. With this script it's possible to integrate lights and particles into custom models, e.g flashing aircraft lights, street lights, fire and smoke, etcetera. With the release of Kam's 2018 scripts, this script is used less as using Kam's may be less work for some cases. View more. Blender 3D, a freeware (yes, completely free, no paid watermarks or any limitations), not as favored by modders throughout the years until recently, where a developer has released his script 'DragonFF' on GTAforums. Although it is WIP, modders has already binned 3ds Max and moved permanently to Blender. Although Blender is free, it actually combines several programs into one, allowing a Blender user to sculpt, paint, do lighting, professional rendering and modeling in one. A recent update in 2019 changes the RMB selection to LMB and UI among other things, making for a potential alternative to 3ds Max. View more (Blender). View more (Blender GTA script) Zmodeler, not as commonly used as the aforementioned programs, although it is being used very frequently by modders in various games, most notably for GTA:games. It does not have support for skinned characters, although it is being commonly used for vehicles, and sometimes environment modeling as well. This is a fairly inexpensive solution, but lacks tools for more broad modding. View more. Sketchup, a 3D application that focuses on architecture. For modding, it is a rather uncommon, though has a free and paid version and can be used for seemingly OK modeling. It does not have access to any 3rd party scripts for GTA:SA, hence its only use is modeling and then exporting model files to then import into 3ds Max or Blender. View more. Photoshop, mainly used for graphic design, but can also produce 3D models, video, GIF and textures for assets. Photoshop is the most favored by modders in regards to working with textures e.g paintjobs and retexturing. Although there are alternative image editors in the market, Photoshop definitely hits the top in terms of usable scripts (user-customized scripts as well) and ease of workflow. View more. DFF Viewer, a 3D graphics engine that is used for visualising GTA:SA models and supports .DFF and .TGA formats. Only single dff's can be loaded at a time. Though this is rarely used by those who has access to 3ds Max and Blender, it is commonly used for troubleshooting/testing work that involves retexturing a model e.g changing the clothing textures of a character. This program is entirely free and available from various GTA modding sites. View more. TXD Workshop, a texture dictionary editor that has been around for years, only since recent years to be succeeded by Magic TXD. Though TXD Workshop may not be the best for setting up TXD files, it has a built-in IMG archive editor, allowing one to browse all of the contents of gta3.img. View more. MagicTXD, a new texture dictionary editor with features for mass exporting .TXD contents from folders into image subfolders, texture compression, mipmaps, resizing textures etcetera. This is broadly used for .txd files and almost took over TXD workshop when it comes to working with texture dictionaries. View more. RW Analyze, a multi-use program with notable features being; ability to lock/unlock game files, add data to game models e.g 2dfx and vertex colors information extracted from other DFF files. View more. Extracting game assets In order to start modding GTA, access to the files is required. The files in question are commonly found in parent files that require some sort of program to open. In this case, TXD Workshop or any IMG editor and optionally Magic TXD for later on will work just fine. The below steps shows one way to extract all models and their texture dictionaries. For IMG editors (e.g Alci's IMG Editor): Open the editor. Under File, select Open. Find gta3.IMG stored in GTA SA directory\models. Highlight the first file in the list, then scroll down to the very bottom and SHIFT+LMB click the file on the bottom. This highlights every file in GTA3.IMG. Right click the list of files and select Export. On the popup window, find and select, or create a new folder on desktop called GTA SA ASSETS. Click enter to proceed. ((For cases where specific files are wanted, use the search field to find the necessary files and export them individually)) For TXD Workshop users: Open TXD Workshop. In the toolbar it says Open IMG. Click this, then find and select gta3.IMG stored in GTA SA directory\models. Highlight the first file in the list, then scroll down to the very bottom and SHIFT+LMB click the file on the bottom. This highlights every file in GTA3.IMG. Right click the list of files, select Extract. On the window, find and select, or create a new folder on desktop called GTA SA ASSETS. Click enter to proceed. ((For cases where specific files are wanted, use the search field to find the necessary files)) Now the folder GTA SA ASSETS contains nearly every .dff, .col, .txd and so on used by the game. Assuming one would like having all of the textures in PNG, DDS, TGA or any other common image format, they may follow the below steps using Magic TXD. Inside GTA SA ASSETS create a new folder named IMAGES. Open any .txd file found in GTA SA ASSETS using Magic TXD. Navigate to the toolbar. On Tools, click Mass export. Export settings are as following. Game root = root folder containing TXD's Output root = folder where images goes Image format = self explanatory With texture names only = exports images directly to folder and duplicate named ones gets replaced by one another Pre-pended with TXD name = exports images with TXD prefix In separate folders = makes new folder(s) for every TXD's contents Hit export. This process may take some time. Note that this process is the same for other .IMG archives such as player.img. There are also .txd and .dff files elsewhere, such as \models\generic\generic.txd, which is the vehicle shared texture dictionary file. How each type of game model works Models used on GTA SA uses different rendering techniques and data hierarchy than others. This section will introduce the features that some models has that others don't. Vehicles: Vehicle model components utilises hierarchies, where each component is linked to a dummy (helper) and each dummy is linked to parent dummies e.g chassis_dummy, for them to be registered in the hierarchy. In order for vehicles to not look flat or cartoon, a few steps are made in the model; Diffuse material is given a grunge texture or AO map, this helps telling the depth of the vehicle as well as giving it a feel of realism, so it isn't just clean. A specular lighting image is applied to the vehicle surface material, giving it a fake shine when looking from certain angles. If the vehicle has hard edges (smoothing), this image can increase the visibility of the normals, retaining its original look rather than being flat without visible difference in geometry. An environment (ENV) map is applied to the vehicle surface material, producing a fake reflection that is animated horizontally as the vehicle travels. Vehicles also has a lot of hardcoded features such as headlights, brake lights, emissive lights, taxi/aircraft lights, rotatable components and dynamic collisions for special vehicles like Forklift. Vehicles are also the only dff models that uses baked collisions, which means they are stored in the .dff itself. Below is a detailed hierarchy used for cars, and special components used by a number of vehicles (click the spoiler). Skin characters: Ped skin characters uses bones (dummy objects) that are connected to each other and linked to the character model. These bones are not visible in-game. In order for the bones to know what part of the 3D model they're responsible for, the skin needs to be rigged. Character rigging for GTA:SA is done by applying weigh on vertices. Using heatmap display, colors go through blue-red, low-high respectively. Values go from 0 to 100. If the value is 0, it means that the vertex is not used for any bone. This can cause issues. If the value is < 100, it means that the vertex is used for multiple bones. This results in smooth animations ingame, as the 3D model transitions smoothly through each bone. If the value is 100, it means that the vertex is only responsible for one bone. Skin rigging is generally something that is being avoided by modelers and makes Skin modeling the most difficult on GTA. Bones are as shown: CJ character: Carl Johnson's 3D model is split into several pieces in order to be compatible with the clothing script used to let the player customize CJ. These models uses a function known as multiclump to support 3 meshes per dff; normal, ripped and fat. This is for CJ's health stats to physically show in-game. Other than multiclump and additional bones, modding CJ skin is essentially the same as any other ped skin. Map environment: World objects .dff contains only single models, though they do support omni and dummy objects for 2d effects. These types of models uses Vertex Colors/Face Colors. This requires the modeler to paint colors onto the model which is then stored in the vertex colors channel (daytime) and vertex illumination channel (nighttime). Although uncommonly used by R*, these models do support reflection maps like vehicles use. Goldfish's modified version of Kam's scripts is excellent for exporting with reflection maps. GTA SA utilises multiple collision archives (.col) for every IPL district, being responsible for all of the world objects' collisions. However, on MTA, collision archives are not supported, so custom collision files are single models per .col. Not every object uses collisions though, some merely has their bounding space. These objects can not be selected with MTA map editor, thus requires additional scripting or modding. Limitations - MTA vs GTA Speaking of native support, MTA currently is behind in several places. Notable features that aren't available on MTA, but on GTA are as following. Item Placement (IPL) - another type of mapping file, but contains a lot more functions such as zones for real-time reflections as seen in interiors. Item definition (IDE) - a file used to but not exclusively, define settings for models, enabling alpha flags, disabling backface cull, enable breakable effect and much more. Limit adjuster - a rework of the game that allows for adding more ID's and bypass common limits. This however is being developed by one of MTA's contributors. There are various limitations such as polys per model, max dimensions for models and collisions, (very) strict size limits for collisions and CPU usage that can easily cause issues for modders. Not to mention the majority of the game data files which most MTA servers likes to force original, else the player won't be able to connect. These limits all has potential solutions being developed as with the limit adjuster. Working with 3ds Max As described above, 3ds Max is without a doubt the most common program for GTA modding. It's also used by professionals within architecture and visualisation and film industry. What's amazing about this program is that whatever is created in 3ds Max can ultimately be added to the game. A modeler made a square - it can get added right away, no adjustments required. That's the charm of 3ds Max. There's no need for additional tools to process the model for it to be compatible with GTA. It is also the primary program that Rockstar's developers used for creating the environment in GTA:SA. At a first glance, the program may seem rather intimidating. The main functions of the program that a beginner should be aware of are listed below. Shows the default home screen with 4 viewports. Left, Top, Front and Perspective. The 3 side ones are Orthographic viewports while Perspective is in regular mode. It is also the most common one to use. Highlighting a viewport and pressing (left)ALT W will full screen the viewport. In order to rotate camera view, the user must click and drag the square in the upper right corner. Its face also tells which side the camera is viewing e.g Top. If one wishes to see viewport statistics such as polygons per model, vertex amount etc., clicking: [ + ] icon on the upper left side > Configure Viewport > Statistics > Total + Selection > Apply > Clicking 7 on keyboard shows the statistics. This feature is extremely useful for modelers who are limited in polygons per model, or simply wants to see how many polys a car is. Common keyboard shortcuts F1: Opens Autodesk help section in new browser tab F2: Displays blue overlay on models F3: Displays models in wireframe F4: Displays edges on models F10: Opens render setup 9: Shows viewport statistics Q: Select objects W: Select and move E: Rotate R: Select and (mode) scale U: Orthographic viewport mode P: Perspective viewport mode A: Toggle angle snap S: Enable snap D: Disable viewport G: Enable/disable grid J: Display bounding edges LALT X: Xray mode for model Ctrl Z: Undo action Ctrl Y: Redo action In a heavy program like 3ds Max, being able to change preferences to one's likings is important. Do so by going to Customize > Preferences. Performance, file settings and such can all be configured in there. For GTA:SA modding, knowing how to subdivide and add geometry to existing GTA models is very important. Below is a list with actions that may come in handy. No-brainer: Editable Mesh is inferior to Editable Poly. Use Poly, poly, poly, poly... Editable mesh modeling Vertex selection mode Edit Geometry section Attach: attaches another model in the scene to the selected mesh Chamfer: chamfer selection of vertices; creates additional geometry Weld: merges vertices together within a specified threshold Surface Properties section Edit Vertex Colors: sets the color and illumination of selected vertices Edge selection mode Edit Geometry section Divide: divides an edge, adding a new vertex where it was divided/split Extrude: create and pull a new face out from existing edges (keyboard shortcut: LSHIFT + LMB-drag) Face selection mode Edit Geometry section Divide: creates a new face Extrude: pulls the select face(s) outwards or inwards and creates new geometry off that Bevel: essentially an Extrude followed by scaling of the face Surface Properties section Flip: flips a face 180 degrees Smoothing groups: defines the smoothing of the model. Autosmooth is in many cases OK, but may not fulfil everyone's expectations Editable poly modeling Vertex selection mode Edit Vertices Connect: selecting 4 verts on a box side and using this function will triangulate the side. Edge selection mode Edit Edges Connect: creates an edge between the selected edges, as in a bridge between two cliff sides (use the 'Settings' to choose between multiple or one edge on creation) Polygon selection mode Edit Polygons Inset: places a new polygon inside the selected, allowing to be scaled Bridge: connects two opposing polygons by creating a bridge between them (can be used for walls and gaps) Edit Geometry Slice Plane: enables the user to create a perfect cut on the model, can be rotated by degrees Rendering scene Modelers working on projects for companies or friends might want to show what they've accomplished, but a regular screenshot may not suffice. Talking of a screenshot like this: Instead, the modeler might want to show the scene with textures. Perhaps more than just textures - lighting? reflections? transparency? - this is where 3D rendering comes into play, and can be done by simply pressing SHIFT + Q on the keyboard. This can also by default use alpha channel. However, the quality could improve. The quality of the render depends on the scene assets (models, materials, lights), the Renderer and its settings. By default, 3ds Max utilises Scanline Renderer. This is not a production quality render, but rather meant for test shots and demos. Though the quality isn't great, it's still possible to produce seemingly interesting renders. The following render took merely 8 seconds. Using 3ds Max allows modders to bring GTA:SA into modern graphics, easily comparable or even superior to ENB's. It also enables modelers to share visualizations of their models to help the customer understand how it could potentially look for their game. In the above render, a Skylight is used with Scanline Renderer. A very basic render, though interesting and contains lots of depth. In order to replicate this result, below are the steps to follow: On the Create panel, where one would normally find boxes and spheres, click the toolbar Lights. Where it says Photometric change that to Standard. Click the Skylight and place it in the 3ds Max scene. Settings for Skylight explained Multiplier: intensity of the light Sky color: the color of the light Cast shadows: enable to produce shadows, though this is more of an Ambient Occlusion than actual shadows Rays per sample: quality of the shadow, ideally keep at <5 for tests and 15-20 for final shots In the actual render above, a sample of 5 was used, creating grainy shadows but quick render. Backface culling was enabled to avoid slowing down the render time. Skylight is great light source and is generally used to illuminate an entire scene and not particular models. In the same Lights tab, one may find use of Omni or Free lights, which both works great. These are great point lights, which as opposed to skylight, are able to illuminate parts of the scene e.g acting as street lights. Modifiers When modeling, modifiers can come in use and save the modeler a lot of time. The following modifiers are highly suggested for beginners to know about. Bend: bends the model, effect depends on the differences in the geometry Mirror: copies the mesh and mirrors it on the other side, commonly used for vehicles using symmetrical geometry Smooth: generates and applies smoothing to the model, generally the lower values makes for higher file sizes Symmetry: essentially the same modifier as 'Mirror' Turbosmooth: Smoothens the mesh, adding geometry, uses iterations Unwrap UVW: advanced UV editing, commonly used for preparing textures for models like characters and game assets UVW map: basic UV editing, X/Y/Z projection mapping as well as spherical, box and planar mapping Vertexpaint: allows for painting colors onto vertices and faces, these colors are rendered during either ingame or night time Texturing a game-ready cube Modeling has to start somewhere. Using standard 3D primitives is a good place to start. For the purpose of this guide, a Cube will be created in 3ds Max and textured in Paint.net, a free image editing software. Video tutorial: To start off, navigate to 3ds Max's Create tab on the right hand side panel, as shown below. Shows the Create tab on the panel. For this guide, click on Box (Cube). Use LMB and click and drag the mouse in the viewport to create the cube. Now that the Cube primitive is spawned in the viewport, on the same panel that it was created from, go to Modify tab and set its dimension parameters to 5,0, 5,0, 5,0 and 1 segment for all 3. Convert the model to Editable Poly by right clicking it in the Viewport > Convert to > Editable Poly. Go into Polygon selection mode and scroll down until the following buttons are visible: With viewport selected, on the keyboard press `CTRL A` to select all faces on the cube. Now, where it says `Color`, click the bar and on `Value` set it to 100, then do the same for `Illumination` but value at 35. What this does is it sets the vertex colors so that the model won't be overexposed during day/night time. Exit polygon selection mode and on Modifier List, click that and find Unwrap UVW. This applies a modifier stacked on top of the Editable Poly mesh. Under Edit UVs click Open UV Editor. This allows the user to make changes to the UV coordinates which tells the model how textures are projected onto the model. On the editor, ensure that Polygon selection is enabled. While in the UV editor, press `CTRL A` to select all UV islands. On the top of the editor click Mapping, then Unfold Mapping.... Keep it as Walk to closest face and enable Normalize Clusters. Click OK. The result should remind the user of how a simple cardboard box in real life looks when it's yet to be folded into a box. With the model unwrapped, on the toolbar on the UV editor, click Tools > Render UVW Template. The export settings below are ideal for this particular task. If one wishes to know exact dimensions of each square, enable Seam Edges. After exporting, on the modifier stack, press Collapse to. This saves the new UV's. The width and height should be on a 1:1 ratio to avoid stretching issues. 1024x1024 is more than enough. On the rendered image window, click the Save button and find a location to save it in, name it Cube_unwrapped and use Alpha channel (optionally). Now open Paint.net and insert the image. Once happy with the result, export as cube_diffuse. Diffuse map generated with the help of a UVW template. In order to apply the texture on the model, simply drag and drop the image from file browser onto the model in the Viewport. Although the example above is not textured properly in regards to rotations, it shows what can be done by using UVW templates, and how easy it really is to produce textures for models made from scratch. The model can be directly exported as DFF. Materials are not required to be GTA or RW, they can be standard and still show ingame. Some exporters wants the model in Editable Mesh however, so converting it may be required. Thanks for reading this guide, we hope it helps and we wish you the best of luck with modelling! For questions on modding, please refer to MTA's modding FAQ or MTA discord #modelling channel. KAM_s_GTA_Scripts_Upd_by_GF_v0.3.7.zipKAM_s_GTA_Scripts_Upd_by_GF_v0.3.7.zip

Hi, if you're merely looking to import custom models, refer to this wiki page: https://wiki.multitheftauto.com/wiki/EngineReplaceModel

Natively the only solution and not very smart as you'd have a server full of custom models. You could fill a custom car with custom wheel components, then extract those and add them as replacements for existing vehicles. Sort of like an in-game model library with infinite ID's.

To answer your question about 2nd UV channel support; yes. GTA SA uses 1st channel for its diffuse map, while the 2nd channel is used for its reflection or chrome map. This map is used as a fake environment map that scrolls horizontally through the vehicle surface as it moves. I have no idea what it takes to script this.

It's not possible to replace CJ model and its clothing (https://github.com/multitheftauto/mtasa-blue/issues/1017). You can use texture shaders for the clothing and CJ instead. Files used by CJ are all found in GTA SA directory > models > player.img, which you can open with TXD workshop or any IMG editing tool.

oi @Polak0 I'm sorry if you've already solved thw mystery. the issue with glass os caused by an object property that you cannot define on MTA. it's for the second alpha flag. there are also many alpha related settings in .ide files that we also can't customise natively. I strongly recommend you remove the texture and add a white transparent material with a slight cyan tint. yes, it's completely flat, but it's the only glass material that works for any model that doesn't support the secondary alpha flag by default. I've included a help section on correctly setting up alpha materials in models. if you're using 3ds max, check ID 8 on

you can find ped models in GTA SA directory\models\gta3.img ranging from names andre.dff to zero.dff. I have my doubts that anyone has a scene file with all the heads.

vehicle variants is used for R* vehicles to enable/disable roof or cones and spare tires for certain vehicles. https://wiki.multitheftauto.com/wiki/Vehicle_variants you could also use hideComponent (wrong?), both functions requires remodeling of the vehicle, and you may have to sacrifice the rear boot if your plan is to make a sedan and coupe in one vehicle. just something to bare in mind.

traction multiplier and suspension force level has a play in it. I believe there are others too. @MilWaxQ

ah. I don't script but I'm aware that texture shaders will work. you'll likely still have to make adjustments to the model for it to work in regards to the UV. shaders would add a dark lights texture when off and an illuminated texture when on, just like in vanilla vehicle lights. these shaders can be controlled with a script for the lights to animate through a cycle. of which I have no idea how to create. you can use a simple lights flashing script for simple lights, but as soon as you want to control each of the light's state separate from headlights, you'll have plenty scripting to do. hope this helps. I like to fiddle with lights myself. have fun!

I believe this is the right section, https://forum.multitheftauto.com/forum/177-modelling/ it may also be worth checking this FAQ @ElTacoBanido

Conversions like this does take a good bit of time to finish, and so I would maybe consider including a reward of sorts. Anyway, please shoot me a PM with some screenshots and description of what you're dealing with. I might be interested.

There are loads on the net. Try installing Blender 3D and try and get started there. You can also view the modeling section https://forum.multitheftauto.com/forum/177-modelling/ or try asking on #modelling on MTA discord. We have a lot of geeks in there available to give advice in the field.

This can be done with texture shaders quite easily, or modeling the paint using geometry that resembles the curvature of the road itself and texturing with alpha cutout. I think that a lot of mapping will go into it regardless of which approach you pick. @Unkovic

If you're having issues with models or are looking for help on how to achieve certain results, feel free to ask in here. Note: Please check the Guide section before asking questions in here. Frequently Asked Questions on GTA modding the FAQ is on 3DS Max, though can be applied for various app's Lighting and Shading #1 Why can't I change the smoothing of my model? Your model contains duplicate vertices - this is a typical issue within GTA importers. They tend to break the vertices/split the edges on import, requiring to be welded. View the spoiler for a potential fix. #2 My map model is overexposed in day and night time. Your model lacks vertex color and illumination respectively. The GTA engine uses vertex color information to define lighting which is baked into the model. View spoiler for a potential fix. #3 Why is my Infernus model so bright? GTA engine calculates brightness of vehicles based on map objects collision brightness (that it's standing on) and the vehicle surface properties. View the spoiler for a potential fix. #4 My striped Bullet has different brightness for primary and secondary colors. GTA engine uses different lighting techniques for vehicles than map objects. Some of which are specular lighting, which in short brings a fake highlight onto the vehicle surface, illuminating it. View spoiler for a potential fix. Modeling #5 Certain polygons are not visible ingame, but looks fine on 3D editor. GTA engine among most other game engines uses backface culling, which kills the faces that are not facing/are blocked by ones facing the camera. This procedure is done to save memory. View the spoiler for a potential fix. #6 Can I make scissor doors for my vehicle without requiring scripts? It is possible to modify how vehicle doors appear in their open phase. It involves changing the rotations of dummies and their children objects, the doors. View the spoiler for a potential method. #7 How does vehicle reflections and chrome work? GTA vehicles uses 2 UV channels; first for diffuse, second for env and chrome mapping. If the secondary UV channel is not unwrapped properly, the env/chrome will either not work or flashes too often. View the spoiler for a potential method. #8 I can see through my vehicle chassis when looking at the police decals, why is that? Materials that are responsible for alpha needs to be last in the multimaterial list. If this is not done, textures like police decals will not render parts of the vehicle behind the alpha. View the spoiler for a potential fix. #9 How do I make a vehicle paintable? GTA SA requires models to have a certain colorcoded material applied to the surface of vehicles that needs to be paintable. It also needs (optionally if using textures) a texture that is not black. As anything that isn't black will be. If parts of the texture is grey, the color ingame will look sort of dirty or old. View the spoiler for a method. Miscellaneous #10 I have imported des_sherrifsgn1.dff into 3ds and extracted the textures into a folder, but they aren't displayed. It is not enough to extract the images, you'll have to tell the program where your textures are stored for it to apply them on the model. View the spoiler for a potential solution. #11 I want to remove Wuzimu's glasses and export it to my game. How do I do this? You're going to need a GTA formats importer. I prefer Kam's vanilla tools for skins due to its decent support for bones and skinned models. View the spoiler for a potential method. #12 What file types are worth to know about? GTA has many, many file types, and a lot of them are not natively available in MTA unless you modify your server's anti-cheat system to allow locally custom data files etcetera. So if we're going with MTA friendly files, there are a few. View the spoiler. #13 Where do I find shared vehicle textures, and what's each their use? You can locate the .txd for shared textures in GTA SA dir\models\generic\vehicle.txd. It stores textures which are used for SA vehicle lights, lighting and many more textures, which are used across hundreds of vehicles. As these textures are found in your local files, none of them are required to be added to custom vehicle .txd files, making for potentially very low file sizes. View the spoiler for a full list. #14 I have downscaled my model, but in-game it remains the same size as before. If your model's scale values says something like 76,144, 76,144, 76,144, it will reset to 100, 100, 100 on export. To correct this, go to Utilities panel, click Reset xForm, Reset selected, then right click the modifier and collapse to. Now your model will have its new scale applied. #15 I have converted a Counterstrike map and turned the main mesh into a collision which is 250kb. I am getting invisible walls, why is that? GTA has a very low polycount limit in regards to collision models. Not to be confused with collision primitive models, which are spheres or boxes, but the CM itself. If it is above or around 5000 (needs additional sources...) polygons, issues will occur, such as invisible walls or as if there's a large box blocking the entire model off. Another culprit for collision issues is the pivot point and position that the collision is exported at. You need to set the collisions to 0, 0, 0 and pivot point needs to resemble that of the main model, otherwise they will not line up properly. #16 My character movement is bugging on custom modeled stairs. GTA III, VC and SA do not have support for advanced staircase collisions, and so they require a different approach, which is a planar ramp or slope if you will. This may not look very good when the character steps on the stairs, however it is the most performance and bug-less method around. **Please feel free to contribute to the FAQ by leaving a comment here or through PM. It will be greatly appreciated.** little note for colors #B8E0B6 #4A4A4A

i have downloaded the map and seen that the collision file contains 2 models, however MTA can only load 1 of them. not sure if you've done it already, but here you have both of the collision models. if this doesn't solve the problem, please hit me up on Discord Corder RS #3423 and i'll try to help fixing the issue @KeksKing https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/308955200876707840/568230050311438375/collisions.rar