Saving Face

and now for the picture (note to self andquot;Don’t press return too early !andquot;) andnbsp;:-[

I have been playing around with andquot;alphaandquot; maps in 3dc to try to cut down on the number of faces in my models. As I understand it an alpha map is a way of getting ‘transparency’ andnbsp;into the texture – either by using a format that saves the alpha with your texture (I use the *.png format) or by using the ‘alpha channel’ (which I have never used <!– s:) –><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!– s:) –> )

In the below example the ‘butchers van’ has 28 faces while the ‘cut out’ version has 48….

Just thought I would pass it on…….

Alan,

this technique is also very useful for complex shapes taht do not need to be a real structure. When I designed my petrochemical plant for MSTS is used it to make ladders, handrailings and even complete pipe-racks. A pipe rack is then a simple andquot;boxandquot; instead of a huge collection of tubes, supports and platforms…

Further andnbsp;[i:1kbhlaxi]clarification[/i:1kbhlaxi]

[size=1:1kbhlaxi]Sorry but I couldn’t resist that[/size:1kbhlaxi]