Some gray sprites for modders

[Issue8]

https://slack-files.com/TE14SQH37-FQ71YNXBK-7609cdeebd

This link I think is only temporary, so another file hosting place may be needed.

There's a bunch of files for many vehicles in grayscale, so that modders can make custom paint schemes, etc. They are Photoshop files, but Gimp and other programs should be able to open them. The modder would need to cut them out and perhaps to a simple brightness/contrast adjustment. Provided as-is. I may eventually provide more if there is enough interest.

[SchnelleMeyer]

Hi Issue8, These are very nice graphics. Would it be OK with you if I adapt and use some of them for Close Combat modding?
I recon you made these with Blender? - Would you be able to share your render/light settings to get to this amazing result?

[nikolas93TS]

Hmm, why not trying modding something for Armored Brigade? 😀

[SchnelleMeyer]

I am definitely lurking around AB, but I dont own it yet unfortunately. - If I get it, I most likely will do some graphics modding for it too.

[exsonic01]

I really wish if I have some talent in 3d modeling, I wish to make some RoKA, PLA, and KPA tanks from Blender, and I don't even know where to start [:(] But I better finish my map first [:D]

[Issue8]

If it is a personal/non-commercial mod, I don't see why not, but I think there would be some issues with that. They are not the correct scale and resizing them would probably be messy, and they have an alpha channel. Some of the slight blurring around the edges would be lost of you did a curves adjustment to the alpha channel, or worse they would become solid black pixels.

And yes, they are *intended* for AB.

Regarding the lighting, they used the old internal render engine, which is no longer available in the latest Blender, but in general, the material is a perceptual 50% gray diffuse Hex #808080, and the lighting is a simple sun lamp directly straight down at .75 power, and environment lighting of .25 (.75+.25=1), so that the results would be near 50% gray. Then an Ambient Occlusion pass is composited on in Multiply mode. Then in Gimp just brightness and contrasted until I like it. Really that is an over simplification, but the guidelines are correct.

[SchnelleMeyer]

Exsonic: If you look online, you will be amazed at the amount and variety of free 3D models available. - 3D modelling skills are not needed for the most part.
Issue8: Thanks for your answer and permission, of course only usage for non-commercial modding purposes. I have tried making vehicles from 3D models for CC before and I found it best to render them in about twice the intended game size and then make final scaling and colouring (If the model didnt have a texture) in PS or Gimp.

About render settings - your guidelines are quite good enough for me, thank you:) - I have also used Blender internal, but what I must have been missing, reading your render settings is the AO pass. Now I will try it out myself and see if I can get better results.

[Issue8]

Yeah, the AO pass is critical for this sort of work. I recommend duplicating the AO pass a few times and running filters on them, at least a blur filter. If you don't do that, then everything just looks gray. Here's a quick example of using only AO. Hope it helps and you start doing stuff with AB!

*just turn the layers on and off to see what I mean. I guess you could even run artistic filters on the AO pass.

[exsonic01]

ORIGINAL: SchnelleMeyer
Exsonic: If you look online, you will be amazed at the amount and variety of free 3D models available. - 3D modelling skills are not needed for the most part.

Hello SchnelleMeyer, could you let me know if there are web stroages for 3d models of tanks? Google found something but it seems they are not free... Are there any famouns Blender community with such web storage of Blender 3d model of tanks?

[SchnelleMeyer]

Thanks again Issue8, your example illustrates the point of using the AO-pass in different ways very well. - I might take up some modding for AB when/if I buy the game. Sitting on the fence still - not sure it is at a scale I am comfortable with playing.

Exsonic01: My best tip is Keep Googling and try more or different search options. This is a couple of pages where there is FREE models: https://free3d.com/ ; https://www.blendswap.com/categories ; and maybe the best one: https://www.thingiverse.com/ - These are mostly models made for 3D printing, but you can import them into Blender and the quality is quite good enough for sprite rendering for AB.
Check out this guys models for example: https://www.thingiverse.com/m_bergman/makes

[Jace11]

Nice, many thanks for these, could we get the planes too please? I'm trying to do some new F4 sprites for UK. The UK F4 sprites currently look a bit inferior to the others for some reason.






I've redone the summer skin, but recolouring for winter and desert is near impossible without a blank grey version.

[Issue8]

The aircraft are a bit different, since they way they are made was changed during development, and the F4 was one of the early ones. I have almost all the base gray sprites, and some are rather crude. But I do have this one.

I can put together a pack, but it might be a little while.

[Issue8]

Here it is

[Jace11]

Ok thanks, but that is the "crude" earlier F4 used in the RAF sprites that I'm trying to improve on.

I should have specified that I was asking for one of the later F4 sprites. A grey version of any of the german F4 sprites would be a better start point, they are better line drawings, and then I can try to bring them up to a similar standard as the the rest of the UK aircraft, which are all good btw - I was just a bit surprised by the RAF F4s when I saw them.

[tebeinteresno]

ORIGINAL: Jace11

Ok thanks, but that is the "crude" earlier F4 used in the RAF sprites that I'm trying to improve on.

I should have specified that I was asking for one of the later F4 sprites. A grey version of any of the german F4 sprites would be a better start point, they are better line drawings, and then I can try to bring them up to a similar standard as the the rest of the UK aircraft, which are all good btw - I was just a bit surprised by the RAF F4s when I saw them.

here is the link for aircraft grey sprites.
https://yadi.sk/d/NhAuV9sT3GkDwQ

[Jace11]

Thanks, that's great!