About Templates...

[CapeDoctor]

hi all 
so, as i slowly work on different bike paints, i will no doubt build up a pretty big collection of templates, basically scratch-built, and in some cases based off available bike paint templates -
for the most part the available stuff is simply a single layer file, so a bit of a stretch to call a template, rather a basic skin would be more correct. 
the stuff i end up with is usually multi-layered psd files (i use Photoshop only for image work), which might be more useful for guys to develop more skins from, a little easier than the single layer options.
my thoughts on this are divided - sure, it will be useful for many guys to easily create a new skin, but where work is borrowed from/based on the modder's original 'paint' templates, would there be any issues from their side to this?
should i rather approach each modder individually about making a new template available for his/her creation?
thought, advice, appreciated. 

[Napalm Nick]

My thought - if an author hasn't already/isn't going to release a 'proper' template then why not submit .psd templates. Saves everyone re-inventing the wheel each paint job.

I would be very careful devoting a life's work at Beta 6c stage though, whether that be tracks, bikes or paints. The next release might turn everything into scrap tonnage! The optimist in me says that at worst, historically and at this stage, things may just need a quick tweak after any releases but......

[matty0l215]

I also use the Multi layer method when making skins (used to make loads but people don't request as many nowadays and I'm not creative enough to design my own.)

THIS is an example of the template I made for the Triumph Daytona from the SSP bike set and unless a MOD bike comes with its own template, this is pretty much what I do to make my own skins. It was made from the .tga file given by the author(s) and I built it up to what I can use.

Its annoying at first but its a lot of work for the author(s) to fully unwrap the bike so that it would be easy to skin, especially when the bikes are converted from another game and seen as how the bikes handles is much more important than how it looks necessarily, Skinning takes a back seat. Most of the scratch built models in game are a lot easier to make skins for because the bikes can be UV unwrapped more easily.

Identifying where half the stuff goes is half a battle. I find using loads of different coloured blobs to see where the sit on the bike when in game get a good idea, then making outlines of each panel (like in my template) then go from there. Things start to get irritating when you find parts that overlap (Like on the FZ6, the tank shows up on the belly pan) or are wrapped around each other (an example of this can be seen on the GSXR 600, on the nose the air inlets just mirror whats on the outside of the fairing) but this isn't anything that can be changed without the original model being unwrapped again, with more time spent fixing things like this.


If you'd like, I can send you over some of my template if it would help? Some of them I gave up on after having to many issues (500cc Aprillia is guilty of this ) but most are alright.

(This was written before nicks post)

[matty0l215]

I would be very careful devoting a life's work at Beta 6c stage though, whether that be tracks, bikes or paints. The next release might turn everything into scrap tonnage! The optimist in me says that at worst, historically and at this stage, things may just need a quick tweak after any releases but......

This is also very true, when Beta 7 comes out and even future betas/V1 (2015 Pib please ) some bikes might not be converted so a lot of work would be wasted (it toke months for some of the previous beta bikes to re-appear, with some not even making the transition)