I posted a few screens (well, a lot actually) in the Dev Screens thread, so I figured I would just keep a thread on the side so I can document all my work. Yes, I know there have been a few 4wd covet mods etc here and there, but the modelling never seemed great and there was nothing really custom about them, I modified a lot of the tiny bits that make up the engine bay crap and drivetrain, and a LOT of mesh editing on the stock Covet chassis, so nothing is really original save for the doors, roof and windows. So far mostly everything is modelled (however I just found the new updated engines, Id love to have that kind of detail in the engine bay but I will have to do that another time lol) Ill just post pics and ask questions as I go. Here are some pics that I already posted to Dev Screens. Next step is to at least get it into the game, and see how it drives before any more visual beautification resumes (texturing, etc) I have made it a 3.3L DOHC V6 with a "symmetrical" AWD system Custom headers for the V6, just a small amount of tidying up needed and exhaust piping from there to somewhere, maybe side exit exhaust... Stubby bumper for better approach angle, better ground clearance, lower rad support has been chopped and a smaller radiator was utilized. Mostly all original Covet front suspension parts, but all were mesh-edited so I could make the parts appear to be beefier, and also technically and theoretically allow for more suspension travel, no clearance or interference issues by the looks of it. This is the rear, all the suspension parts were carried over from the Grand Marshall, and actually not scaled down much, maybe a tiny bit, but it all fit right in there. There was a lot of chassis mesh editing here however, I flattened and raised the underside to allow for plenty of suspension travel, plus it looks nice and clean...Custom mounts were modelled and "welded" to the chassis where the control arms attach to the chassis. Also, the 5 lug hubs and discs were used from the GM as well, so it technically "opens up" some more rim opportunities without it being unrealistic. I still have some work to do on the rear bumper, and the exhaust, but everything vital to its performace and functionality are mostly finished, maybe just some small tweaking here and there, but all the suspension and transmission and axles and everything is pretty much solid at this point. Question #1, Since I am using the Covet as a base (obviously) for the car, but a lot of the original mesh has been tampered with, it will obviously have to be its own mod. My question is where do I begin with getting it in game? I renamed EVERY part in Blender to 4wdhatch_xxx (xxx being the part name, upper_arm, etc...). I renamed the actual part, then when you expand each part I renamed it in there as well since it still said "regular" hatch_parts...I also applied Scale, Rotation and Location so everything appears to be globally centered. Should I just copy the original Covet jbeams, and go through them and rename everything to point to the parts in my new .DAE? Basically, thats where I am at now. Hope you guys like it, and if not screw you lol Ill get this beast in game and have some fun crawling and jumping without snapping control arms anymore.
for sure, once it is done, the suspension will be "lifted" as well, with spring force and such. Also, the ARB will be selectable so once it is unequipped, it will have lots of flex, which is life - - - Updated - - - this was what I had in mind for the front bumper, kind of a JDM swap, since they dont require the big fat USDM bumpers, the snubbed nose Corolla looks tons better (used to have the red corolla, very similar with different wheels). USDM JDM/Indonesia/Phillippines
i am definitely a man. I am also giving up on this project, no one has any feedback or interest it looks like, so I am not really interested in putting in any more work on it if no one appreciates it lol but there are threads that get hundreds of responses about literally nothing important...i dont get it lol Ill just wait for someone else to attempt this type of conversion, as it would certainly be a great addition to the game.
Put it in the game and release it, it's a nice idea, and i'd like to have it. try to make them separate pars, and fit them together in a .pc file like the rally covet. It's more desirable for it to be a addon than a coversion mod.
The amount of changed stuff is kinda beyond a conversion mod. For a start, modified transmission tunnel, that is a modification to the main body of the car which is not actually a selectable part on the hatch. While there *is* a workaround. Its. Effort. A lot.
Right, I called it a conversion, as if the car was converted to 4WD, there is a lot of custom work that has to be done to the unibody IRL, such that I already did, so maybe I can just call it a Custom Covet 4WD.
its as good a section as any, there are plenty of WIP mods in this section of the forum... I have gotten the spark back, I did some more minor tweaking and such. What the next step is, i am still kind of unsure, I will obviously use the original Covet jbeam to start with. At this point, which jbeam should I start with? the hatch.jbeam? Once I get some small assistance with getting one part done, ill be able to sit and bust the rest out. I think the biggest headache will be converting from IRS to SRA in the jbeam. Obviously I could use the GM jbeam and tweak it. If someone has an idea of the first step at this point to get it in game, id be very thankful, as I would like to really get this done. Is it as easy as renaming parts, etc? I know there will have to be jbeam changes to the shape of the car, for example the underside of the car was modified to accept the driveshaft so I would want to modify the jbeam so it fits better, the bumpers, the removeable reinforcements, and the front suspension is bigger in every dimension. I already tried working on the jbeam for the body, but I get a little confused with a lot of it. I should just rename the parts from hatch_partname to 4wdhatch_part name, since that is how everything is named in Blender. Is that correct? Blender is where all the car parts are, so that is what I have to use in terms of part names...plus, the coordinates are different for a lot of parts as well, so that is something else that is throwing me off. I just need to get one small part done then I will be able to put a few hours into the jbeams and at LEAST get it in game visually.
so the new update is nice, I had some issues with the FPS but I adjusted my game (fresh install) accordingly... Also did a total system restore to just get rid of all the shit that was clogging up all 300 GB of space...The only thing I saved was the .dae for the Covet that I have been working on. I have done some additional tweaking, now I am trying to get it to show up in game. Total noob, I know, but I wanted to see if I just replaced the .dae for the hatch.dae and swapped my .dae in, maybe SOMETHING would show up...however, the only thing I see is the jbeam skeleton and the wheels driving on the pavement... I attribute this to the fact that EVERY part in the DAE is renamed from hatch_partxx to 4wdhatch_partxx and so obviously the game cannot recognize, or "call" the parts to action. So, I guess (since no one has given me any pointers really) FIRST I need to go into the hatch.jbeam (the body jbeam) and rename all the parts respectively? Thats somewhat easy, although intricate, however there are several parts that are new to the hatch, such as "4wdhatch_axle" and "4wdhatch_springs_r" etc, so that is where I know I will fall into some trouble. Because, to me, that opens up a can of worms...essentially, I need to jbeam an entire drivetrain, which I feel may be out of my comfort zone. If anyone has more confidence than me with basically fully jbeaming half of this car, let me know...I would AT LEAST like to see the model in game. Not so easy, as I had always figured, but with all these awesome modders, I would figure someone could lend a helping hand. Anyway, thanks in advance if anyone has any idea, but this would be cool to get working at some point. i will plug away at what i can, but i am not promising anything anytime soon. Pics upon request.
started with the jbeams today and yesterday, and I have renamed all the flexbodies to the correct name, and now it looks like the parts are not even in the parts selector, and of course nothing shows up in game. ripping my hair out....only renamed the flexbody sections (the individual meshes I assume that are named in Blender) and nothing worked, then I went thru and changed EVERYTHING to say 4wd before hatch_part_name and still nothing worked. I tried to do just the rear bumper cover and front bumper cover, since those are short and easy jbeams. I am sure theres like 300 other things that you have to change, and I am simply stumped. sucks that it is so hard to understand. I have a pretty good idea of the mechanics of the actual car and some decent knowledge of jbeam but it is really tough and theres very little to go by for reference. I dunno
First, I would like to say that I am astounded by the work you've put into the mod, not just the effort but the detail. FYI, I found this post by actually searching for a proper AWD Covet mesh. You see, I converted my regular hatch to AWD via the "differentials" in the hatch_engine.jbeam file, but I found it quite displeasing that at the Covets soul it was not really AWD. I would love to help you with the project. I have a lot of experience with the covet and it's JBEAM components, and might be able to help you. I am a terrible artist and have zero skill in blender, but as I said before I would love to help you with the jbeams. Obviously I don't know exactly what all you have done or expect to do, but I can give you some suggestions. First, and most important, check and/or edit your .dds files (textures), because if your plolys have no texture mapped to them in a format that beamng can read they won't show up in game. the reason the car shows up at all in blender is because blender just defaults to grey. And DON'T add textures in blender because it will not carry over to beaming (I'm pretty sure). Instead create your own via an application like XnViewMP. I have less experience in creating textures, but it is very important none the less. After that you can worry about getting it into the game, because chances are that it's already in game but the textures are simply not there. I would like to hear back and would love to help with the project, and feel free to ask any questions. You should also seek help from more experienced modders who can give you more insight on the project. email me at jacobandrews48@gmail.com Also, I expect that you have no intentions of making another mesh, but before you put much more work into the car you may want to consider a more realistic drivetrain you would expect Ibisu to actually implement into the covet, like this one: haldex_drivetrain_layout.jpg Let me know your thoughts, and maybe we can make it work.
