Home > Tutorials > Gmax Locomotive Tutorial > Chapter 10

Gmax Locomotive Tutorial

Chapter 10 Adding Attachment points and shadows

In this tutorial you will learn how to add the attachment points for a locomotive.

To complete these tutorials with the dimensions listed herein you will need the following setup
1. Open the "Preference Settings" from the "Customize" menu. Under the "General" tab set the system unit scale to 1.0 units = 1m
2 Open the "Units Setup.." form the "Customize" menu and set the units setup to Metric Meters.

The "Select and Move" tool will be referred to as the "Move" tool

The "Select and Rotate" tool will be referred to as the "Rotate" tool

1. Attachment point types.

There are numerous attachment points that can be added to a locomotive mesh. In this tutorial we will be adding the following attachment points;

a.bog0 (required)
a.bog1 (required)
a.limfront (required)
a.limback (required)
a.cabfront (optional but recommended)
a.exhaust (optional)
a.outsideview0 (optional)
a.light0 (optional)
a.light1 (optional)
a.ditch0 (optional)
a.ditch1 (optional)

As well as the above we can have any number of custom attachment points as well such as a.fan0. There are also other attachment points that do not apply to a diesel locomotive such as a.pant0 and a.smoke0.

2. Adding the attachment points.

Switch to the "Top View". Navigate to the "Create" tab and the "Helpers" sub-tab and click on the "Point" button. Click in the top viewport and an attachment point will be created. Create eleven attachment points and then deselect the "Point" tool.

Select an attachment point and name it a.limfront. Move it to the following location.

	X	Y	Z
a.limfront	0.0	-7.7	0.89

Select and rename another point to a.limback. Move it to the following location.

	X	Y	Z
a.limback	0.0	7.7	0.89

Select and rename another point to a.bog0. Move it to the following location.

	X	Y	Z
a.bog0	0.0	-4.2	0.63

Select and rename another point to a.bog1. Move it to the following location.

	X	Y	Z
a.bog1	0.0	4.2	0.63

The "Z" value for a.bog0 and a.bog1 is found by the height of the bogeys from the bottom of the wheel to the center of the axles. This is how most creators set up their bogies.

Now we need to move the remaining attachment points into location. Select another attachment point and rename it a.cabfront. Move it to the following location

	X	Y	Z
a.cabfront	0.0	-4.0	2.0

Some creators prefer to leave the a.cabfront at 0,0,0. It is entirely up to you where you want the attachment point to be unless you intend using either a default interior or another creators interior.

Now that we have the required and recommended attachement poiints added we can add a few optional points.

Select and rename another point to a.exhaust0. Move it to the following location. This is for the diesel smoke effect.

	X	Y	Z
a.exhaust0	0.0	0.0	4.0

Select and rename another point to a.outsideview0. Move it to the following location.

	X	Y	Z
a.outsideview0	0.0	-6.0	2.0

This will give an exterior view of the rails in front of the locomotive.

Select and rename another point to a.light0 and move it to the following location

	X	Y	Z
a.light0	0.65	-6.63	2.8

Select and rename another point to a.light1 and move it to the following location

	X	Y	Z
a.light1	-0.65	-6.63	2.8

These points allow the position of the headlights to be set.

Select and rename another point to a.ditch0 and move it to the following location

	X	Y	Z
a.ditch0	0.8	-7.4	1.7

Select and rename another point to a.ditch1 and move it to the following location

	X	Y	Z
a.ditch1	-0.8	-7.4	1.7

This allows for ditch litght support. Although currently there is no ditch light support in Trainz it is on the proposed upgrade list.

3. Rotating the attachment points.

Select the a.bog0 and rotate it 180 degrees in the "Z" co-ordinate. This will allow us to use only one bogey instead of a different version for the front and the rear of the locomotive. This is not a requirement. The loco will work fine without rotating the attachment point.

NOTE The a.outsideview0 is viewed along the negative "Y" axis. The location that we have positioned it, does not require the point to be rotated. However for other viewing angles such as a heads up view for the driver the point would need rotating for the rear view.

Figure 1 Finished product

4. Creating the shadow file.

Once you have all the attachment points added save the file. Give the file a suitable name. Now create a new file and create the following boxes.

Parameter	Box1	Box2	Box3	Box4	Box5	Box6	Box7
Length	15.0	9.45	2.1	1.75	4.0	1.0	1.0
Width	3.0	1.6	3.0	1.6	3.1	3.0	3.0
Height	0.15	2.3	2.3	1.35	1.0	1.15	1.15
Length Segments	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Width Segments	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Height Segments	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Now move them to the following locations

	X	Y	Z
Box1	0.0	0.0	1.5
Box2	0.0	1.875	1.65
Box3	0.0	-3.9	1.65
Box4	0.0	-5.825	1.65
Box5	0.0	0.0	0.5
Box6	0.0	-7.0	0.35
Box7	0.0	7.0	0.35

Now convert them all to an "Editable Mesh" and using the "Polygon" sub-object delete the following polygons.

Item	Polygons
Box1	Under side
Box2	Under side and front side
Box3	Under side
Box4	Under side and rear side
Box5	Under side and top side
Box6	Under side and top side
Box7	Under side and top side

Once you have deleted the polygons select box1 and attach all the other boxes to it. Open the "Material Editor" and add a new texture to the first texture globe. Use the "ShadowBlackTexture.tga". Apply the material to the mesh and turn it on using the "Show Map in View Port" button (blue and white cube) You should have a result similar to figure 4. Now add an "Unwrap UVW" modifier to the stack and save the file using a suitable file name preferably with shadow in the name.