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LODViewer


This is the newest version of the LODViewer.

New features:

-decal support
-display of collision and pivot points
-added transparency and wireframe display mode
-user definable background color
-view manipulation via keyboard
-64 bit application
-uses the OpenSceneGraph library and Qt 5.9.5

 

Install instructions:

Extract the content of the zip package to a convenient location.
The LODViewer depends on the Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 C++ libraries. If not already installed on the computer (e.g. by other applications) it has to be installed by running vcredist_x64.exe (you can find it in the redist subfolder of this package).

 

Have fun! And report bugs :biggrin:

Mue


 

Edited by mue
uploaded version 0.6.2
  • Like 3
  • Thanks 7

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Cool! Someone will be very happy...

Although some guys here might totally stop playing the game...

Thanks!

Have you considered an option where you could merge two or more lod files in one scene? useful at weapon positioning, fake piloting etc...

 

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1

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Top ! :good:

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Another breakthrough and making history!! Super bravo! Is there a way to read DecalLevel=0? Some roundels not shows up.

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I have an issue with the last version : when I open the ini file of the aircraft that I want to see on the LODViewer, systematically I have a CTD (the previous version works perfectly)

Thanks for you help.

 

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4 hours ago, Wilches said:

Another breakthrough and making history!! Super bravo! Is there a way to read DecalLevel=0? Some roundels not shows up.

Should work. Can you send me or give me a link of the aircraft, where it doesn't work?

35 minutes ago, ludo.m54 said:

I have an issue with the last version : when I open the ini file of the aircraft that I want to see on the LODViewer, systematically I have a CTD (the previous version works perfectly)

Thanks for you help.

 

Do you get the CTD with all aircrafts?

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I'm very happy with this update, the least I can do is to write a Thank You! :good:

But take this just as a Bug Report: me too I don't seem to be able to load decals with DecalLevel=0...

 

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Some aircrafts cause CTD and as I said everything set as DecalLevel=0, numbers, letters or roundels, does not shows. Even so, what a marvelous improvement!

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8 hours ago, mue said:

Should work. Can you send me or give me a link of the aircraft, where it doesn't work?

Do you get the CTD with all aircrafts?

I made several tests with different aircrafts (the Mirage F1EQ for example) and the result is always the same.

 

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I tested it with more then ten different stock aircraft. No CTDs. No problems with showing decals with DecalLevel=0. Until now, I can not reproduce the bugs :dunno:

Here, as an example the F-104A (marked with red circles are the decals with DecalLevel=0):
f-104a_decals.thumb.jpg.baa59e6717364b5c7bf94f46365cc4be.jpg

Could you please give me the name of the stock aircraft or the download link of the mod aircraft, that you have problems with.
Thanks!

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Perhaps it works only on stock planes...

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Regarding the DecalLevel=0 problem, can you please check if this is the cause of the problem:

The current version of the LODViewer expects as texture file name the "full" name including the nation ID (e.g. "INSIGNIA002.TGA"). The LODViewer currently does NOT look for "INSIGNIA.TGA" as fallback.

Edited by mue
typo

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I think this is ace but I'm only seeing my non-stock serial numbers (Decal Level 2) and not my other decals (Decal Level 0) despite them being in the same folder.

Stock Aircraft - All working fine.

Added Mods - only seeing serial numbers (Decal Level 2)

Edited by Spinners
Update

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20 minutes ago, Spinners said:

I think this is ace but I'm only seeing my non-stock serial numbers (Decal Level 2) and not my other decals (Decal Level 0) despite them being in the same folder.

Stock Aircraft - All working fine.

Added Mods - only seeing serial numbers (Decal Level 2)

Does your mod decal files (Decal Level 0) contain the nation number (e.g. INSIGNIA002.tga)? See my post above.

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5 minutes ago, mue said:

Does your mod decal files (Decal Level 0) contain the nation number (e.g. INSIGNIA002.tga)? See my post above.

No. These will all be decals made by me (Decal Level 0) but the serial numbers are also made by me and they show just fine.

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5 minutes ago, Spinners said:

No. These will all be decals made by me (Decal Level 0) but the serial numbers are also made by me and they show just fine.

I assume you serial number texture filenames have numbers at the end (e.g wingnum001.tga)?

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9 minutes ago, mue said:

I assume you serial number texture filenames have numbers at the end (e.g wingnum001.tga)?

Aye!

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My understanding of the decal system is as follows:

The texture file name is defined by Filenameformat. Depending on DecalLevel either the nation id (if DecalLevel=0) or squadron id (if DecalLevel=1) or serial number index (if DecalLevel=2) or kill number (if DecalLevel=3) is appended to the texture file name. The game (and the LODViewer) then tries to load this texture file. But the game has a fallback behavior, that the LODViewer has not (yet): if the game doesn't find the texture file with the numbers at the end, it then tries to load the texture file defined solely by Filenameformat (without the numbers at the end).
Therefore I think the modded decals (DecalLevel=0) doesn't show in the LODViewer, because they doesn't end with the nation id number and the LODViewer misses the fallback behavior of the game, that would load the texture file without the numbers at the end. I will add the fallback behavior in the next update.

Edited by mue
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  • Thanks 2

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Thanks Mue. I've used this on an almost daily basis since coming back to the community after taking an 18-month break. The time saving on identifying mesh names and also getting precise co-ordinates for decal placement has been a huge factor in getting the most out of my time so a big thank you :clapping:

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I forgot to say: I have to thank you guys for the bug reports. It's really helpful. Because of lack of time (and maybe motivation :biggrin:) I don't test all possible cases. Therefore I'm really grateful to you for testing my (buggy) software. :good:

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Mue, you're the master!!! Waiting the fix. Thanks a lot!!!!

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Thanks a lot, Mue. I particularly like the transparency and decal support, and the user-defined controls and background menus are very useful.

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Mue, I'm getting quite a few system freezes using this latest V0.60 LODViewer - the hard sort which requires a power-off and then power-on PC reset, not the soft Cntrl-Alt-Del sort.

It happens two or three times in a row, immediately I try to rotate or move the LOD, then after reset I can use the Viewer for a while. Sometimes it happens again, after a few minutes of use.

I use  the Alt and mouse keys for movement and rotation.

It seems to happen more readily  with more complex aircraft models. The little A5M Claude (6000 polys), for example, gives no problems, but Veltro2k's B-26 Marauder or the A-Team's new B-26 Marauder (both 42,000 polys) freeze every time, usually at the very first attempt to rotate or shift the model.

Any ideas on this?

Edited by Gatling20

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      -enable/disable animation export
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          This option is similar to the option in the original TW-Exporter: "Exporting using AllowDecals=0 causes the vertex to be shared, so it can reduce the size of the .LOD but also causes decals to "bleed" along the edges."
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       Scaling is only allowed for animations.
      -A material must be assigned to the object. Only the first material of an object is exported.
      The following material parameters are exported:
          -Diffuse Color (the lod file format also contains ambient color. Currently the exporter set ambient color = diffuse color)
          -Specular Color
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          -Specular Hardness (I think in 3ds Max it's called glossiness)
          -if "Shading -> Emit" > 0.0 then self illumination is enabled
          -Transparency (if transparency is enabled, then the object doesn't cast and doesn't catch shadow. if transparency is disabled, then the object cast and catch shadow. The specific LOD format version the exporter writes, doesn't support arbitrary cast/catch shadow combinations. The other LOD formats I don't understand enough (yet). Sorry!)
          -Alpha
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          -Normal map texture image name("Influence -> Geometry -> Normal" is enabled and the Normal value is also exported)
          -Specular map texture image name("Influence -> Specular -> Intensity" is enabled)
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          Frames 110, 120, 130, ..., 200 are exported as animation 2, ...

      3.)Credits:
      Thanks to logan4 and angelp who provided me with specific lod files that helped me to understand the lod file format better.

      4.)Changelog:
      Version 0.1:
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      Version 0.2:
      -bugfix: didn't work in blender version 0.79
      Version 0.3:
      -animation support
      -added custom object properties: "AllowDecals" and "UseFlatNormal"
    • By mue
      This is the newest version of the LODViewer.
      New features:
      -decal support
      -display of collision and pivot points
      -added transparency and wireframe display mode
      -user definable background color
      -view manipulation via keyboard
      -64 bit application
      -uses the OpenSceneGraph library and Qt 5.9.5
       
      Install instructions:
      Extract the content of the zip package to a convenient location.
      The LODViewer depends on the Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 C++ libraries. If not already installed on the computer (e.g. by other applications) it has to be installed by running vcredist_x64.exe (you can find it in the redist subfolder of this package).
       
      Have fun! And report bugs
      Mue
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