Released American 80's Fullsize Series 2.1

I haven't decided yet, but I think I will wait a bit longer with the Chevrolets so I have more time to think over whether I want to separate them or not

 

I said before that if someone manages to model and texture a Pontiac Parisienne I will Jbeam it and add to the mod as it won't be hard due to many shared parts. Other cars no.

I will figure something out for the TV. No promises that it will have sound, but I at least want to get the visuals working.

 

When researching stuff for the Delta 88 pace car recently, I found out that it actually had a unique removable hardtop convertible body. It was not normally available for this car in this generation, they built this body specifically for the race.


Today I wondered how hard it would be to make something similar in game, and...


It currently just works with couplers like a trailer, but I want to figure out some lua to also make the windows roll down when it's removed.
It's meant to be for a replica of the pace car, not factory made, probably someone just cut it with a chainsaw and added some latches and small reinforcements, so it's not the safest design in the world... You will get smacked in the face by the windshield on a high speed crash lol

 

I'm still not decided, I'm excited for both as they both feature unique configurations that I could improve with my own twists, but the Regency would be easier to start from as it shares the whole front end with Delta 88 so I only need to do 2/3 of the car, while for the Chevrolets I only have the frame and powertrain, none of the body. (except the wagon body wich would be quick to finish)

 

It was not as easy as for the dual grille, but I managed to add some different variants of the single one too. There are 1980-1984 ones for the Ninety-Eight, and 1985-1990 for Custom Cruiser.


Unrelated: I'm trying to do some research for the suspension options but struggling to find precise info for it, asked several people but nobody could find exact precise answers, maybe someone can help?
I need to know what exactly the following suspension options from catalogues mean (spring rates, type of shocks, swaybar thickness or lack of swaybar, any changes to steering system):

• Wagon suspension (what are the exact differences from sedan/coupe). I know it has wider drum brakes on the rear and different mounts on the front, and stiffer springs all around, but how much stiffer, and are there different shocks, different swaybar?
  
• "Rallye Suspension Package" (1980)
• "Suspension Package" (1981). I guess it might be the same thing as above just renamed.
  
• "Firm Ride and Handling Package" (1982-1986, becomes standard on Custom Cruiser in 1986)
• "Suspension system, Level 1 - includes Firm Ride and Handling components" (Custom Cruiser 1987)
• "Level II Firm Ride and Handling Suspension" - standard on Custom Cruiser since 1988, includes "Firm Ride shock absorbers", stiffer springs, thicker front swaybar and rear swaybar. What of it is different from the other options
• "Heavy-Duty Suspension System", also need to know if it means the same on sedan/coupe as on wagon, in case of Caprice they both have same code F40
• "F41 Sport Suspension" - used on the Chevrolets instead of the Oldsmobile Rallye and Firm Ride stuff. I know it had a 1" rear sway bar but no idea about the rest.
• Big Block/Diesel front suspension, I don't think it has an official name, not mentioned in any catalogues and even disappeared from specs sheets in 1980 but was still a thing
• "G67 Automatic Electric Leveling System" - what it is mechanically, I can only find it's on the rear shocks. I want to know if it's possible to simulate it in game.
  
• "Firm Feel steering gear and linkage" - Impala 9C1
• "Special Police Pursuit Suspension" - Impala 9C1, it states it includes "special" springs, shocks and swaybars, but no details

Also: "Special calibrated transmission and torque converter" - Again, states it's a thing for Impala 9C1 but no details what it does

If someone can help me with this, it would be very appreciated and it could help improve the handling accuracy and overall user experience of the mod.

 

Hydraulic suspension was never availaible, and air is a separate thing. It must be something else. Good guess about transmission though, might be it

 

I managed to find a way to get the same behavior for rusty parts as in the old version without creating lots of part duplicates.
Basically, there is now a new part in selector where you can pick whether the vehicle will deform like normal or like a rusty one. Like the rusty frames in the old version of the mod, it makes the whole vehicle weaker by default using the same scale modifiers as I use on my mods. Additionally, it adds a hidden variable to the vehicle.


Then on every parts that needs dedicated deformation finetuning (which is most of the metal parts of the car actually), it checks whether the variable exists, and if yes, it multiplies the scalers by whatever value it needs.


The frame has the most drastic and complex changes in behavior, I could have made a separate rusty frame but it was also possible to do it this way.


Just to prove that it works: Normal vs rusty car crash test


Also funny thing, since I added openable doors, on some rusty cars they get deformed when closing and some will even break the latch then, I will keep this because it's funny

 

I didn't expect that making pre-damaged parts would be so easy nowadays, just beat up the car and export the model to Blender

I could also make less damaged variants for the derby cars

 

Finally some rusty and beater configs, I know they are the favorites for some people, now even better with the damaged parts! no skins yet but you can just imagine rust and dirt on them.