Hard Light Productions Forums

Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => The Modding Workshop => Topic started by: blowfish on January 23, 2008, 10:08:27 pm

Title: Why does this nameplate not work?
Post by: blowfish on January 23, 2008, 10:08:27 pm

I recently designed a ship, but when I add the nameplate texture, everything behind it is invisible.  There is a piece of geometry behind the nameplate textured the same as the rest of the hull (the nameplate is hovering a little).  I know it is textured the same as the rest of the hull because when I remove the nameplate texture from data/maps, its shows the regular hull texture.  Also a little is visible around the edges of the nameplate if you fly close.  Any ideas about what is going on, or how to fix it? :confused:

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Title: Re: Why does this nameplate not work?
Post by: Vasudan Admiral on January 23, 2008, 10:36:14 pm

It's basically a different form of the cockpit glass errors people typically get. The problem is that the polygons making up the nameplate have to be rendered last. The only way to change it is to disconnect the nameplate polygons from the ship in truespace and then add them back into the ships object hierarchy as the last thing you do before conversion.

In short, just before conversion, do this:
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y184/VA--Twisted_Infinities/BlenderTutorialStuff/NameplateHierarchy.jpg)

If you really can't be bothered reconverting the whole thing, then just take the nameplate texture and turn it into a kind of billboard thing - ie, instead of having a transparent background to the nameplate apply a texture to it with the name on that texture.

Title: Re: Why does this nameplate not work?
Post by: blowfish on January 23, 2008, 10:57:22 pm

Thanks for the fast reply.  There's a lot of work I have to do on this anyway, so I'll just do this when I open it back up with TrueSpace.