[Genma Saotome]

Is it possible to add Vector graphics to OR? How difficult would it be?

I'm asking WRT any and all 2D lettering and symbols with the hope a VG file can be a mask on top of a raster file (think a mask for car and locomotive lettering) that culls the pixels underneath.

I doubt there are only a few, perhaps zero 3d modeling tools that can do that but perhaps an .inc could be used by creating an .s file from only the rastered face and then editing the resulting .s file to reference the vector file and vector shader.

[ErickC]

If I'm reading you correctly, you're thinking something like car decals but with vector instead of raster images mapped to them. It might seem like a good idea on the surface, but I'm not so sure when the gestalt of a model is considered. The short version of my critique is "just use hi-res textures with mipmaps... and make sure you bump the mesh resolution to match."

The long (more technical) version is as follows:

If the idea is to use it for car lettering, I don't see much of a point - if everything around the lettering or logos (e.g., rivets, weathering, panel lines) looks pixelated and junky due to the texture resolution, then you're already too close to the model and then by the time you pull back to an appropriate distance the lettering won't look any different. It's the same problem as the 10,000 poly builder plate with ultra-hi-res textures situated right next to a 50 poly wheel with 14 sides, alpha cutouts for faces, and a texture 64 pixels across. At that point the rest of the model already looks like garbage and you're wasting system resources to no real gain.

Vector graphics eat up a lot of system resources. They were briefly a fad in MSFS, and they brought the sim to its knees without top-level equipment. It's enough of a problem on a single car, but what about the other 2 miles of train? That's a lot of extra rendering for the sim to do. Whereas you could bump the textures up to 4k or 8k and apply mipmaps, which appropriately reduces texture resolution with distance just like LODs do.

I have said it before and I will say it again: there are absolutely no short cuts in building 3D models. The texture and mesh resolution both need to match and they both need to exponentially increase as the viewing distance gets closer to maintain the suspension of disbelief. This is the fundamental problem of model resolution. You have to choose a target viewing distance and then make your compromises on mesh and texture resolution accordingly.

[pwillard]

Agreed.

Believe me... I understand the desire to use vector graphics. (Especially with Inskape improvements) It's the whole reason I started converting scalable vector shapes into TYPEFACE FONTS in a way that "bucks the system" but gives people without Vector Graphics skills the abiltity to add railroad logos and other fine details to their model textures without all the research and sweat of doing it themselves. (Note: I was actually inspired by the constant misuse of fonts I was seeing back in the early days ruining otherwise fine work)

I get it though... the `concept` of maybe having "live fonts" inside of a simulator sounds intriguing, provided the sim could actually convert these to bitmap textures on-the-fly. But then, I'm not a coder and I'm only thinking of things like station name signs.

[Genma Saotome]

Thanks.

To explain, I wrote it up using car lettering as the example. What I really had in mind was a whole lot of small 2d vectors packed into a single file so when it's expanded to fit a particular size it can cover a much wider area at a reasonable resolution than could be achieved by the same information packed into a raster file.

For example, I will I ever fill storefront windows with anything resembling storefront windows in a scene like this (both sides of the road) when the rails are 25 feet away?

Click on image for full size.


Not to mention all those windows higher up.

As for resolution, I changed my art style years ago; Sketch up works best with tiling textures. I wound up using a resolution of between 6 and 10 ft per 512 pixels for most of my textures. Keeping that resolution for signage, interior walls seen thru windows, etc. etc., at the same level of resolution simply isn't practical with raster imagery. Tiling also means I have to do 3d surfaces where others use art. As was said above, 3d modeling ain't easy. If you click on the image, above, so it's full size you will see what I mean. This doesn't matter when you are 50m away but when the track is adjacent to the building, a sharp, tiling image makes a big difference.