Jbeam question

I heard that you can't use an imported 3d model as a jbeam. So I thought Do you make a model/import, and then create a jbeam for the model, or is the jbeam model what makes the model show up?

 

have you taken a look at the stock content? It answers this question pretty well.

The Jbeam is the physics structure and independent of the model.
Make a model and create a JBeam for it (usually done by hand in notepad++/GEdit/Sublime). The Jbeam has lines that also determine which bits of your model should be rendered at once.

 

Okay, thank you for that advice.
Is there like a program that simplifies the placement of jbeams?

 

there is a blender exporter for JBeams, in which case you would create a new mesh rather than reusing the old one, your physics structure while matching the same shape as your actual mesh should not be anywhere near as detailed for performance reasons and using the visible mesh tends to lead to a floppy JBeam anyway.
There is a node/beam editor in the game install directory but its not very good.

Most modders dont use tools.

 

The only other thing that I can think of would be this...

http://www.beamng.com/threads/real-...ew-ui-icons-duplication-plenty-of-fixes.6223/

But unfortunately it is old and unsupported now, so it may not even work anymore. However, there is an entire page on the wiki devoted to its use

http://wiki.beamng.com/Real-Time_Vehicle_Editor_Guide