For the love of Alcos (RS-3)

[Whatever2006]

scottb613 Here it is.

Edit: Nevermind, disregard this post since someone else beat me to the punch.

[scottb613]

scottb613 Here it is.

Edit: Nevermind, disregard this post since someone else beat me to the punch.

Hi Eoin,

Thanks - I appreciate the thought.


Regards,
Scott

[scottb613]

Hi Folks,

Just a quick little demonstration of why "Ambient Occlusion", "AO", "Baking AO", "Ray Tracing" - is such a big deal...

TexTools in Blender make this so easy.

Gauges are all in and animated - parts are mapped and textured - still need some more incidentals added - windshield wipers - fire extinguisher - panel labels - maybe arms on the chairs.


Raw Textures (cheesy - cartoon like):
2026-10-02 11_43_56-Greenshot.png

Ambient Occlusion - baked into the very same texture sheet:
2026-10-02 11_45_03-Greenshot.png


Regards,
Scott

[lineman]

Beautiful job!!

[superheatedsteam]

Really enjoying seeing the progress of this model Scott. I have a M636 in the works and can see some commonality of parts.

I normally use the default Blender user hostile method of baking AO, but out of interest, I just tested now using TexTools and get exactly the same result. Is it just me, or do you also have to lighten the resultant AO bake for an ‘internal’ cabview compared to an ‘external’ bake for a loco?

I found a +4 stop exposure increase to the internal AO bake matched the unadjusted external AO bake, which I apply after importing into GIMP.

Also do you move your levers to stop them casting shadows on the control stand? I believe there is an option to make parts not cast shadows but I keep forgetting where it is located so I just move the levers out of the cab before baking.

Cheers,

Marek.

[scottb613]

Beautiful job!!

Hi...

Thank you kindly - sir. I'm pretty happy with how she is coming out - even if it has taken forever.

---

Really enjoying seeing the progress of this model Scott. I have a M636 in the works and can see some commonality of parts.

I normally use the default Blender user hostile method of baking AO, but out of interest, I just tested now using TexTools and get exactly the same result. Is it just me, or do you also have to lighten the resultant AO bake for an ‘internal’ cabview compared to an ‘external’ bake for a loco?

I found a +4 stop exposure increase to the internal AO bake matched the unadjusted external AO bake, which I apply after importing into GIMP.

Also do you move your levers to stop them casting shadows on the control stand? I believe there is an option to make parts not cast shadows but I keep forgetting where it is located so I just move the levers out of the cab before baking.

Cheers,

Marek.

Hi Marek,

Thanks...

I am a fan of your work as well - and I've used it to figure out how to make the 3D Gauges work on here. Greatly appreciated.


Yep - TexTools doesn't do any better or worse than vanilla on output quality - it just makes it easier to run it - select some faces and click a button - so easy a caveman could do it (tv commercial ref).

If you have one face behind another that will be a problem - you can just select the desired faces - run a second bake on just that part - then stitch it together in your paint program. TexTools makes that process easy as well - you can run each part as a separate image - or combine them all - whatever works best for a given situation.

I'm not up to a final bake yet - so the levers cast shadows - I'll look for that object setting you mentioned as that would be easier.

As for the darkness - this setting took me forever to find. You need to be in CYCLES for the rendering engine. AO Distance - you need to enable "Fast GI Approximation" change the value to what you want - then turn it back off - why it works when disabled I haven't a clue. 3' seems to work well for cab interiors. By default, it's like 32' making everything way too dark. I use a double Multiply layer in PSP to get the result I like - as posted above - one layer at 100% the second layer at 50%. It lightens up in the sim.


Capture.jpg





Regards,
Scott

[scottb613]

Hi Folks,

This guy's Git fork seems to be the one to use - as it is more up to date - for TexTools:

https://github.com/unclepomedev/TexTools-Blender

Regards,
Scott

[superheatedsteam]

Scott, I am indebted to you for this insight into the AO Distance value. Not only was the default 32’ feet value causing the darker bake for interiors, but now that I am using 3 feet as you suggested, the bake does not have that awful graininess that plagued the recesses of my cabs. The difference is barely noticeable for external bakes but in hindsight, it makes sense.

This is one for Pete to add to his notes when he is able.

I use other UV packing add-ons but the rectify function in TexTools is such a time saver. It also forced me to move to use quads predominantly which is also a push in the right direction.

Once again thanks.

Cheers,

Marek.

[pwillard]

This is one for Pete to add to his notes when he is able.

Yeah, I'm back after heart bypass surgery... not sure when I will get to it, but...

I agree; this is great information... I was plagued with undesirable results from AO baking for so long.

[frliss]

Yeah, I'm back after heart bypass surgery...

Wishing you a smooth and speedy recovery from your bypass surgery. It’s a tough road, but you made it.

Fred

[pwillard]

Yeah, I can already tell it's going to be a while.

[scottb613]

Scott, I am indebted to you for this insight into the AO Distance value. Not only was the default 32’ feet value causing the darker bake for interiors, but now that I am using 3 feet as you suggested, the bake does not have that awful graininess that plagued the recesses of my cabs. The difference is barely noticeable for external bakes but in hindsight, it makes sense.

This is one for Pete to add to his notes when he is able.

I use other UV packing add-ons but the rectify function in TexTools is such a time saver. It also forced me to move to use quads predominantly which is also a push in the right direction.

Once again thanks.

Cheers,

Marek.

Hi Marek,

Happy to help - this is very much a team effort.


I like the dark shadow look in the cab especially for Gen 1 Diesels - if you use less than 3' the shadows get brighter and sharper. I'll see if I can find the post, I found these settings on - I think it mentioned to turn caustics off as that is really for heavy glass/translucent work - and if you increase the number of bounces - it gets more light to the corners. I haven't played with those settings yet. It might be more applicable to your modern cabs.

You have any images of that Alco of yours - be nice to see. If you haven't played around with HDRI renders and interested - I could send you an example blend of how I make all the - in my humble opinion - beautiful renders of my models.

Texel Density Checker - is the other MUST HAVE addon for UV Mapping operations - I use it on every mapping operation to set consistent texel density.

Regards,
Scott

[scottb613]

Yeah, I'm back after heart bypass surgery... not sure when I will get to it, but...

I agree; this is great information... I was plagued with undesirable results from AO baking for so long.

Hi Pete,

Holy crap - you were conspicuously absent. Man - I hope you are on the road to a speedy recovery. That sounds pretty darn serious.

I wish you all the best - be well - sir.


Regards,
Scott

[oper190]

I'm back after heart bypass surgery.

Been there, had it done in 2013 a quad. Be wishes for a speedy recovery.

[frliss]

Been there, had it done in 2013 a quad. Be wishes for a speedy recovery.

I had a quad bypass in 2024 along with a Transcarotid Artery Revascularization (TCAR) That's where they remove the plack from the carotid artery and put in a stent about the size of a very large olive. The two operations were done a day apart and I was out for almost 48 hours. A number of other members of this forum also had a bypass operations. It's like belonging to a club.

I apologize for the diversion.

Fred