ATVE Mods - Stinger: Texture Issue
chris_29288a5d17
Posts: 29
I'm having issues when trying to load a number of the supplied texture presets to the ATVE Mods Stinger. The file "data/rane/atve modular kit/oddity/uv sets/rane/base/default.dsf" is missing when I try to load any of the following materials:
Engine 1
Landing Gear
Wine Gun
Wings
Engine 3
Default - All Dark
Also "runtime/textures/rane/adventurers toybox vehicles edition/atve modular kit/base textures/thruster blue.jpg" is missing when loading the texture "Forward Thrust".
I installed the product via Daz Connect (my preferred method) but have also downloaded it manually and the file is not present there either.
I do have a support request open but it has not had a response for three weeks, despite me providing the requested information - which seems to be more and more often the case these days. Is anyone else having issues with it?
Thanks.
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Comments
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It's funny, of all the parameters that need to be saved in a materials preset, one of the least likely is the UV set. Unless the asset really does need different mapping (like Genesis 2 or 3) there is no need to save it and restore it, yet it seems to cause a lot of these "file not found" errors.
What happens if the user applies materials using the stock UVs to a figure that had used a variant? It might not happen often, but that rarity will only compound the confusion.
The problem may be Connect only related. Connect does not work for all products due to the odd way it stores and catalogs files.
Well, yes, if there are mapping variants for the figure, UV Set selection must be saved and restored for all material presets. When there are none, though, there is no need, and I have noticed the "UV Set not found" error occurs more often. It could be that this is just about the only parameter (among the hundreds per surface) that refers to the /data folder and not the /runtime/textures folder. It might get overlooked when doing something like replacing a string to change the path for the textures. Oops, forgot the UV Set again...
In this case, the reference is obviously to a different figure, but since the UV is set with the initial load, the material presets will apply properly even with the error. Although, if the file is present due to it being installed by another product, then it would cause even more confusion when the materials load with the wrong UV mapping (which is going to happen because of the new "ATVE Mods - The Oddity" product, which does have that file on that path)
(The correct path should be "/data/Rane/ATVE Modular Kit/ATVE MK - Stinger/UV Sets/Rane/Base/default.dsf#default", or "/data/Rane/ATVE%20Modular%20Kit/ATVE%20MK%20-%20Stinger/UV%20Sets/Rane/Base/default.dsf#default" for proper URL syntax).
Anyway, this sort of error should never made it through acceptance checks.
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Connect always deserves bashing
, but this product has errors, even with DIM install. I submitted a help request several days ago and wrote about the problems here.
There was an update. The readme version at the time gave no clue about what was changed. This was my unhappy response to the changes that I discovered after installing that update. Content was removed from the product and supposedly made available separately, but there is no download in DIM.
My previously saved file using the helmet part of the product is unusable now, because there is no helmet now.
It's not a Connect issue - the same thing happens when I use the manual install.
Copying data/rane/atve modular kit/atve mk - stinger/uv sets/rane/base/default.dsf and putting the copy in /data/Rane/ATVE Modular Kit/ATVE MK - Stinger/UV Sets/Rane/Base/default.dsf doesn't fix it, which the above logic (which makes sense to me) suggests it should.
Now knowing there is a new Oddity product I copied the above file to My Daz Connect Library/data/cloud/1_80697/data/rane/atve modular kit/oddity/uv sets/rane/base trying to forgive human error of the creator (which should have been picked up by QA). This didn't help either.
I then noticed there was an update available, so I installed it. This has just made things worse. Not only is the uv set issue still present, but none of the extras are now available in my library - Helm cam, Plasma Pulse, Racing Ereva Helm G8F, Racing Ereva Helm G8M and Spotlight. All files still exist just aren't appearing in the smart context list.
Things were simpler when I was using Poser 4 13 years ago!
And I've just experienced this, as above. It can't be hard to check a product works and then not break it. Surely? I know if I performed my jhob in the way that QA clearly are I would no longer have one!
Using the uv map from a different mesh is not going to solve the problem (see my earlier post). If you are using Connect, any modifications you make in its file system will get wiped out the next time you connect anyway, if you let it, unless it has been corrected. Properly.
Smart Content is a function of the metadata, no matter what assets are installed, nor how they were installed. No metadata, no smarts. Bad metadata, dumb smarts (you might get something, but it would be wrong).
So, yes, there were path errors for most of the textures. Didn't have a problem with "Forward Thrust Blue.jpg", but the "Default - All Dark" is completely off base, also referring to Oddity everywhere. And to me All Dark means all running lights, controls, etc., that are illuminated, not just the thruster. Of course then there would be need for an intermediate "On" phase with the lights, but no thruster.
It's a nifty little skiff, but hampered by too many errors. Nothing that can't be corrected, mind you, but too many problems out of the box.