Difference between revisions of "LFS Editor/FAQ"

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== What is the maximum number of triangles for the car mesh? ==
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{{Infobox LFS Editor}}
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{{see also|../Troubleshooting|Troubleshooting}}
  
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The maximum number of triangles for the car mesh is 65536. That is including the main body mesh and all subobjects if it has any.
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This page contains answers to '''frequently asked questions about the [[LFS Editor]]''' and explanation of common errors you can encounter when working with the editor.
  
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When you add 'one' triangle and it is mirrored and double sided, that produces 4 in the output mesh. It's the output mesh that is limited to 65536 points and 65536 triangles.
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== About LFS Editor ==
  
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== Invalid texture [texture name] - Colour type RGBA but A is not required ==
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=== What is LFS Editor? ===
  
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This means that you have exported a texture that contains an alpha channel (32-bit) but you are trying to load it as a non-alpha texture (24-bit). If you do want to include an alpha channel, the texture name must end with the suffix _ALP.
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The Live for Speed Vehicle Editor (abbreviated as [[LFS Editor]]) is an official tool used to create custom [[Vehicle Mods|vehicle mods]] for Live for Speed. It is available for [[S3 license]] holders.
  
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* 24-bit (RGB) textures should be named like this: TextureName.png
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=== Where can I download LFS Editor? ===
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* 32-bit (RGB+A) textures should be named like this: TextureName_ALP.png
 
  
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NOTE: In the current public version of LFS, the alpha channel (just like the R,G.B channels, it is a number on each pixel from 0 to 255) is only used for transparency (actually 'opacity' - higher alpha means less transparent). In fact alpha channels can be used for various purposes, for example in the development version of LFS it can be used to specify the reflectivity of each point on a texture page.
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From the official website of LFS: https://www.lfs.net/downloads
  
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== ERROR in object X: N points with a bad normal ==
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Check the [[LFS Editor/Installation|LFS Editor installation]] guide for detailed instructions.
  
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This usually means that some triangles, within a single smoothing group, meet at a point such that LFS does not know which direction that point should face. Most commonly, this can happen if a triangle is built in one direction, and another triangle is built on the same points, in the opposite direction. The point directions (known as 'normals' add up to zero, so LFS cannot decide where the normal should really point). Maybe the triangles were built this way by mistake, or maybe you intend to create a double-sided surface. If you do want a double sided surface, the triangles on one side should be in a different smoothing group from the triangles facing in the opposite direction and that will solve the problem.
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== Modelling ==
  
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The trouble is, you may not know exactly where the problem is when you see this message. It may also come up if you import a mesh (as an OBJ file) from some other 3D modelling softrware. Have a look around your model, for vertical red lines. LFS tries to display a red line where any of these bad normals are found. At the bottom of the red line you should find the offending vertex. The line is bright red where it is exposed, and a darker red where it is behind some surfaces of the model.
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=== What is the maximum number of vertices and polygons for the car mesh? ===
  
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== Mod looks shiny in the editor but matt in game ==
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The maximum number of vertices (points) and polygons (triangles) for the output car mesh is 65536. That is including the main body mesh and all subobjects if it has any.
  
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If you only have a single LOD (level of detail) the environment map is not shown because LFS thinks it is drawing the the physics LOD. That is because the collision mesh is defined by the lowest level of detail (LOD with the highest number).
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The number of vertices you can create in the LFS editor is limited to 32768. However, you can make points reflected (mirrored) to get a higher number of output points.
  
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To solve this, you can easily add an automatically created collision mesh (also known as physics LOD). How to do this is described in the [[LFS_Editor_Guides#Level_of_detail_.28LOD.29_and_Shadow_.2F_Physics_.2F_Collision_meshes|Level of detail]] guide.
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==== Technical explanation ====
  
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{{Vehicle mods}}
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The LFS number of editor vertices is necessarily limited to 32768, because each vertex of a triangle can refer to either a point index (from 0 to 32767) and that may be reflected - in which case the top bit is set (e.g. triangle referring to point '32768' is referring to the reflected copy of point 0 and '32769' is really referring to the reflected copy of point 1. This is the maximum that can fit into a 16-bit integer and that is the way it is coded at the moment, without any prospect of increase in the near future.
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[[Category:LFS Editor|{{SUBPAGENAME}}]]
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[[Category:Help]]

Latest revision as of 21:28, 14 June 2024

LFS Editor
Vehicle Mods
See also: Troubleshooting

This page contains answers to frequently asked questions about the LFS Editor and explanation of common errors you can encounter when working with the editor.

About LFS Editor

What is LFS Editor?

The Live for Speed Vehicle Editor (abbreviated as LFS Editor) is an official tool used to create custom vehicle mods for Live for Speed. It is available for S3 license holders.

Where can I download LFS Editor?

From the official website of LFS: https://www.lfs.net/downloads

Check the LFS Editor installation guide for detailed instructions.

Modelling

What is the maximum number of vertices and polygons for the car mesh?

The maximum number of vertices (points) and polygons (triangles) for the output car mesh is 65536. That is including the main body mesh and all subobjects if it has any.

The number of vertices you can create in the LFS editor is limited to 32768. However, you can make points reflected (mirrored) to get a higher number of output points.

Technical explanation

The LFS number of editor vertices is necessarily limited to 32768, because each vertex of a triangle can refer to either a point index (from 0 to 32767) and that may be reflected - in which case the top bit is set (e.g. triangle referring to point '32768' is referring to the reflected copy of point 0 and '32769' is really referring to the reflected copy of point 1. This is the maximum that can fit into a 16-bit integer and that is the way it is coded at the moment, without any prospect of increase in the near future.

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