Automation Game Wiki - User contributions [en-gb]

Unlock Dates

2023-11-18T01:44:14Z

The Stig Is A Spy: added Ellisbury items

This is a working table of all unlock years for the various components in the game, without the use of techpool (which is used by car companies to unlock technologies earlier). Options unlocked beyond 2020 require techpool to use.

Items marked with an asterisk (*) denote options or revised unlock dates that are currently only available in the Light Campaign 4.3 open beta.

== Chassis ==

=== Chassis ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Panel Material
! colspan="2" |Chassis Type
! colspan="2" |Chassis Material
! colspan="2" |Engine Placement
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Steel
|1946
|Ladder
|1946
|Steel
|1946
|Front Transverse
|1962
|-
|Treated Steel
|1994
|Monocoque
|1951
|Galvanized Steel
|1946
|Front Longitudinal
|1946
|-
|Fibre Glass
|1955
|Space Frame
|1946
|Corrosion-Resistant Steel
|1960
|Rear Longitudinal
|1946
|-
|Aluminium
|1946
|Semi Space Frame
|2000
|Advanced High-Strength Steel
|1996
|Mid Transverse
|1962
|-
|Partial Aluminium
|1985
|Light Truck Monocoque
|1960
|Light Advanced High-Strength Steel
|2001
|Mid Longitudinal
|1946
|-
|Partial Carbon Fibre
|1993
|
|
|Glued Aluminium
|2000
|
|
|-
|Carbon Fibre
|1993
|
|
|Carbon Fibre
|1988
|
|
|}

=== Suspension ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Front Suspension
! colspan="2" |Rear Suspension
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Solid Axle, Coil-Sprung
|1946
|Solid Axle, Coil-Sprung
|1946
|-
|Solid Axle, Leaf-Sprung
|1946
|Solid Axle, Leaf-Sprung
|1946
|-
|MacPherson Strut
|1946
|Semi Trailing Arm
|1946
|-
|Double Wishbone
|1946
|Torsion Beam
|1962
|-
|Pushrod
|1990
|MacPherson Strut
|1946
|-
|
|
|Double Wishbone
|1946
|-
|
|
|Multilink
|1990
|-
|
|
|Pushrod
|1990
|}

== Engine ==

=== Engine Family ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Engine Block
! colspan="2" |Block Material
! colspan="2" |Head and Valves
! colspan="2" |Head Material
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|I3
|1946
|Cast Iron
|1946
|Pushrod 2V
|1946
|Cast Iron
|1946
|-
|I4
|1946
|Aluminium
|1960
|Direct-Acting Overhead Cam 2V
|1946
|Aluminium
|1950
|-
|I5
|1970
|Aluminium-Silicon
|1996
|Overhead Cam 2V
|1946
|Aluminium-Silicon
|1996
|-
|I6
|1946
|Magnesium
|2005
''2004*''
|Overhead Cam 3V
|1946
|
|
|-
|60° V6
|1960
|Aluminium, Heavy Duty*
|1960
|Overhead Cam 4V
|1946
|
|
|-
|60° V8
|1960
|Aluminium, Light Duty*
|1969
|Dual Overhead Cam 2V
|1946
|
|
|-
|60° V12
|1946
|Aluminium, Billet*
|1989
|Dual Overhead Cam 4V
|1946
|
|
|-
|90° V6
|1960
|Aluminium-Silicon, Heavy Duty*
|1987
|Dual Overhead Cam 5V
|1989
|
|
|-
|90° V8
|1946
|Aluminium-Silicon, Light Duty*
|1987
|
|
|
|
|-
|90° V10
|1985
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|90° V16
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|B4
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|B6
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}

=== Bottom End ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Crank
! colspan="2" |Conrods
! colspan="2" |Pistons
! colspan="2" |Balancing Mass
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Cast Iron
|1946
|Cast
|1946
|Cast
|1946
|None
|1946
|-
|Forged Steel
|1956
|Heavy Duty Cast
|1946
|Heavy Duty Cast
|1946
|Harmonic Damper
|1946
|-
|Billet Steel
|1986
|Heavy Duty Forged
|1956
|Forged / Forged, Heavy Duty
|1956
|Balance Shaft
|1946
|-
|Iron, Heavy Duty*
|1946
|Lightweight Forged
|1967
|Hypereutectic Cast
|1970
|
|
|-
|Forged Steel, Light Duty*
|1959
|Titanium
|1997
|Low-Friction Cast
|1991
''1986*''
|
|
|-
|Forged Steel, Heavy Duty*
|1952
|Cast, Light Duty*
|1946
|Lightweight Forged / Forged, Light Duty
|1991
''1959*''
|
|
|-
|Billet Steel*
|1991
|Forged Steel, Light Duty*
|1959
|Cast, Light Duty*
|1946
|
|
|-
|Billet Steel, Heavy Duty*
|1986
|Forged*
|1956
|
|
|
|
|}

=== Top End ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |VVT
! colspan="2" |VVL
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|-
|VVT (Pushrod)
|2004
|VVL
|1994
|-
|VVT (DAOHC, SOHC)
|1988
|
|
|-
|VVT, Intake (DOHC)
|1988
|
|
|-
|VVT, All Cams (DOHC)
|1992
|
|
|}

=== Aspiration ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Type
! colspan="2" |Setup
! colspan="2" |Wastegate
! colspan="2" |Geometry
! colspan="2" |Bearing Type
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Naturally Aspirated
|1946
|1 Turbo
|1975
|Wastegate
|1975
|Standard Geometry
|1975
|Journal Bearing
|1975
|-
|Turbocharger
|1975
|2 Turbos
|1975
|Boost Control
|1984
|Twin-Scroll
|1980
|Ball Bearing
|1981
|-
|
|
|4 Turbos
|1975
|Smart Boost
|2008
|Variable Geometry
|1997
|
|
|}

=== Fuel System and Intake ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Fuel System
! colspan="2" |Intake Manifold
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Carburetor, Single Barrel
|1946
|Compact
|1946
|-
|Carburetor, Single Barrel Eco
|1946
|Standard, Low
|1946
|-
|Carburetor, 2 Barrel
|1948
|Standard, Mid
|1946
|-
|Carburetor, DCOE
|1954
|Variable
|1982
|-
|Carburetor, 4 Barrel
|1959
|Performance, Mid
|1946
|-
|Mechanical Fuel Injection
|1964
|Performance, High
|1946
|-
|Single Point Electronic Fuel Injection
|1978
|Race
|1946
|-
|Multipoint Electronic Fuel Injection
|1982
|
|
|-
|Direct Injection
|2001
|
|
|}

=== Exhaust ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Headers
! colspan="2" |Bypass Valves
! colspan="2" |Catalytic Converter
! colspan="2" |Mufflers
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Cast, Compact
|1946
|No Valves
|1946
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|-
|Cast, Low
|1946
|Bypass Valves
|1999
|Two-Way
|1972
|Baffled
|1946
|-
|Cast, Mid
|1946
|
|
|Three-Way
|1978
|Reverse Flow
|1950
|-
|Tubular, Mid
|1946
|
|
|High-Flow Three-Way
|1984
|Straight Through
|1968
|-
|Tubular, Long
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Tubular, Race
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Turbo, Compact
|1975
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Turbo, Mid
|1975
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Turbo, Race
|1975
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}

== Trim ==

=== Drivetrain ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Drive Type
! colspan="2" |Gearbox
! colspan="2" |Differentials
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Front Longitudinal RWD
|1946
|Manual
|1946
|Open
|1946
|-
|Front Longitudinal AWD
|1981
|Automatic
|1950
|Manual Locker
|1946
|-
|Front Longitudinal FWD
|1951
|Advanced Automatic
|1980
|Automatic Locker
|1949
|-
|Front Longitudinal 4x4
|1946
|Automanual
|2000
|Clutched Limited-Slip Differential
|1957
|-
|Front Transverse FWD
|1962
|Dual-Clutch
|2008
|Clutched Race Limited-Slip Differential
|1961
|-
|Front Transverse AWD
|1990
|Sequential*
|1995
|Geared / Helical Limited-Slip Differential
|1981
|-
|Mid Longitudinal RWD
|1946
|Continuous*
|1985
|Viscous Limited-Slip Differential
|1985
|-
|Mid Longitudinal AWD
|1985
|
|
|Electric Limited-Slip Differential
|2001
|-
|Mid Transverse RWD
|1962
|
|
|
|
|-
|Rear Longitudinal RWD
|1946
|
|
|
|
|-
|Rear Longitudinal AWD
|1985
|
|
|
|
|-
|FWD*
|1946
|
|
|
|
|-
|RWD*
|1946
|
|
|
|
|-
|4x4*
|1946
|
|
|
|
|-
|AWD, Viscous Centre Differential*
|1985
|
|
|
|
|-
|AWD, Helical Centre Differential*
|1981
|
|
|
|
|-
|AWD, On-Demand*
|1990
|
|
|
|
|-
|AWD, Advanced*
|2001
|
|
|
|
|}

=== Wheels and Brakes ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Tyre Type
! colspan="2" |Rim Material
! colspan="2" |Brake Type
! colspan="2" |Disc Brake Piston Count
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Cross Ply
|1946
|Steel
|1946
|Drum, Single Leading Shoe
|1946
|1
|1959
|-
|Radial
|1955
|Magnesium
|1961
|Drum, Twin Leading Shoe
|1952
|2
|1965
|-
|
|
|Alloy
|1970
|Solid Disc
|1959
|3
|1976
|-
|
|
|Carbon Fibre
|2015
|Vented Disc
|1975
|4
|1990
|-
|
|
|
|
|Carbon Ceramic
|2008
|6
|1999
|}

=== Aerodynamics ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Undertray
! colspan="2" |Active Aero
! colspan="2" |Cooling Flaps
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|-
|Offroad Skidtray
|1946
|Active Aero
|1993
|Cooling Flaps
|1993
|-
|Semi-Clad
|1962
|
|
|
|
|-
|Fully Clad
|1981
|
|
|
|
|-
|Flow Optimized
|2003
|
|
|
|
|-
|Sport Undertray
|1992
|
|
|
|
|-
|Race Diffuser
|1998
|
|
|
|
|}

=== Interior ===
All general interior types (e.g. Basic, Sport, Race) are unlocked from the start.
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Convertible Type
! colspan="2" |Entertainment, Other
! colspan="2" |Entertainment, Removable Media
! colspan="2" |Entertainment, Infotainment
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|Basic 8-Track
|1976
|Premium Sat-Nav
|2005
|-
|Detachable Soft Top
|1946
|Basic AM Radio
|1954
|Standard 8-Track
|1974
|Luxury Sat-Nav
|2003
|-
|Manual Soft Top
|1946
|Standard AM Radio
|1950
|Premium 8-Track
|1972
|Basic Infotainment
|2013
|-
|Automatic Soft Top
|1964
|Premium AM Radio
|1946
|Luxury 8-Track
|1970
|Standard Infotainment
|2012
|-
|Hidden Automatic Soft Top
|1969
|Luxury AM Radio
|1946
|Basic Cassette
|1988
|Premium Infotainment
|2011
|-
|Detachable Hard Top
|1946
|Phonograph
|1955
|Standard Cassette
|1986
|Luxury Infotainment
|2010
|-
|Automatic Hard Top
|2000
|
|
|Premium Cassette
|1984
|Basic HUD
|2023
|-
|
|
|
|
|Luxury Cassette
|1982
|Standard HUD
|2021
|-
|
|
|
|
|Basic CD
|2001
|Premium HUD
|2019
|-
|
|
|
|
|Standard CD
|1998
|Luxury HUD
|2017
|-
|
|
|
|
|Premium CD
|1994
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|Luxury CD
|1992
|
|
|}

=== Driver Aids and Safety ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Steering
! colspan="2" |Traction Aids
! colspan="4" |Safety
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Manual Recirculating Ball
|1946
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|Basic 1990s
|1998
|-
|Manual Rack and Pinion
|1946
|Antilock Braking System
|1985
|Standard 1940s
|1946
|Standard 1990s
|1994
|-
|Hydraulic Recirculating Ball
|1956
|Traction Control System + Antilock Braking System
|1989
|Advanced 1940s
|1946
|Advanced 1990s
|1990
|-
|Hydraulic Rack and Pinion
|1968
|Electronic Stability Control
|1997
|Standard 1950s
|1955
|Basic 2000s
|2008
|-
|Variable Hydraulic
|1993
|Electronic Stability Control + Launch Control
|2011
|Advanced 1950s
|1950
|Standard 2000s
|2005
|-
|Electric
|1995
|
|
|Basic 1960s
|1968
|Advanced 2000s
|2000
|-
|Variable Electric
|2010
|
|
|Standard 1960s
|1965
|Basic 2010s
|2018
|-
|
|
|
|
|Advanced 1960s
|1960
|Standard 2010s
|2015
|-
|
|
|
|
|Basic 1970s
|1978
|Advanced 2010s
|2010
|-
|
|
|
|
|Standard 1970s
|1975
|Basic 2020s
|2028
|-
|
|
|
|
|Advanced 1970s
|1970
|Standard 2020s
|2025
|-
|
|
|
|
|Basic 1980s
|1988
|Advanced 2020s
|2020
|-
|
|
|
|
|Standard 1980s
|1985
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|Advanced 1980s
|1980
|
|
|}

=== Suspension ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Springs
! colspan="2" |Dampers
! colspan="2" |Sway Bars
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Standard
|1946
|Twin-Tube
|1946
|Passive
|1946
|-
|Progressive
|1955
|Gas Mono-Tube
|1966
|Semi-Active
|1995
|-
|Hydropneumatic
|1965
|Adaptive
|1987
|Offroad
|2000
|-
|Air
|1982
|Semi-Active
|1995
|Active
|2005
|-
|Active Sport
|1995
|
|
|
|
|-
|Active Comfort
|1995
|
|
|
|
|}

Unlock Dates

2023-02-08T06:49:12Z

The Stig Is A Spy: split some tables up for narrower displays; unmerged a cell

This is a working table of all unlock years for the various components in the game, without the use of techpool (which is used by car companies to unlock technologies earlier).

== Chassis ==

=== Chassis ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Panel Material
! colspan="2" |Chassis Type
! colspan="2" |Chassis Material
! colspan="2" |Engine Placement
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Steel
|1946
|Ladder
|1946
|Steel
|1946
|Front Transverse
|1962
|-
|Treated Steel
|1994
|Monocoque
|1951
|Galvanized Steel
|1946
|Front Longitudinal
|1946
|-
|Fibre Glass
|1955
|Space Frame
|1946
|Corrosion-Resistant Steel
|1960
|Rear Longitudinal
|1946
|-
|Aluminium
|1946
|Semi Space Frame
|2000
|Advanced High-Strength Steel
|1996
|Mid Transverse
|1962
|-
|Partial Aluminium
|1985
|Light Truck Monocoque
|1960
|Light Advanced High-Strength Steel
|2001
|Mid Longitudinal
|1946
|-
|Partial Carbon Fibre
|1993
|
|
|Glued Aluminium
|2000
|
|
|-
|Carbon Fibre
|1993
|
|
|Carbon Fibre
|1988
|
|
|}

=== Suspension ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Front Suspension
! colspan="2" |Rear Suspension
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Solid Axle, Coil-Sprung
|1946
|Solid Axle, Coil-Sprung
|1946
|-
|Solid Axle, Leaf-Sprung
|1946
|Solid Axle, Leaf-Sprung
|1946
|-
|MacPherson Strut
|1946
|Semi Trailing Arm
|1946
|-
|Double Wishbone
|1946
|Torsion Beam
|1962
|-
|Pushrod
|1990
|MacPherson Strut
|1946
|-
|
|
|Double Wishbone
|1946
|-
|
|
|Multilink
|1990
|-
|
|
|Pushrod
|1990
|}

== Engine ==

=== Engine Family ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Engine Block
! colspan="2" |Block Material
! colspan="2" |Head and Valves
! colspan="2" |Head Material
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|I3
|1946
|Cast Iron
|1946
|Pushrod 2V
|1946
|Cast Iron
|1946
|-
|I4
|1946
|Aluminium
|1960
|Direct-Acting Overhead Cam 2V
|1946
|Aluminium
|1950
|-
|I5
|1970
|Aluminium-Silicon
|1996
|Overhead Cam 2V
|1946
|Aluminium-Silicon
|1996
|-
|I6
|1946
|Magnesium
|2005
|Overhead Cam 3V
|1946
|
|
|-
|60° V6
|1960
|
|
|Overhead Cam 4V
|1946
|
|
|-
|60° V8
|1960
|
|
|Dual Overhead Cam 2V
|1946
|
|
|-
|60° V12
|1946
|
|
|Dual Overhead Cam 4V
|1946
|
|
|-
|90° V6
|1960
|
|
|Dual Overhead Cam 5V
|1989
|
|
|-
|90° V8
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|90° V10
|1985
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|90° V16
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|B4
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|B6
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}

=== Bottom End ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Crank
! colspan="2" |Conrods
! colspan="2" |Pistons
! colspan="2" |Balancing Mass
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Cast Iron
|1946
|Cast
|1946
|Cast
|1946
|None
|1946
|-
|Forged Steel
|1956
|Heavy Duty Cast
|1946
|Heavy Duty Cast
|1946
|Harmonic Damper
|1946
|-
|Billet Steel
|1986
|Heavy Duty Forged
|1956
|Forged
|1956
|Balance Shaft
|1946
|-
|
|
|Lightweight Forged
|1967
|Hypereutectic Cast
|1970
|
|
|-
|
|
|Lightweight Titanium
|1997
|Low-Friction Cast
|1991
|
|
|-
|
|
| colspan="2" |
|Lightweight Forged
|1991
|
|
|}

=== Top End ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |VVT
! colspan="2" |VVL
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|-
|VVT (Non-DOHC)
|1988
|VVL
|1994
|-
|VVT, Intake
|1988
|
|
|-
|VVT, All Cams
|1992
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|}

=== Aspiration ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Type
! colspan="2" |Setup
! colspan="2" |Wastegate
! colspan="2" |Geometry
! colspan="2" |Bearing Type
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Naturally Aspirated
|1946
|1 Turbo
|1975
|Wastegate
|1975
|Standard Geometry
|1975
|Journal Bearing
|1975
|-
|Turbocharger
|1975
|2 Turbos
|1975
|Boost Control
|1984
|Twin-Scroll
|1980
|Ball Bearing
|1981
|-
|
|
|4 Turbos
|1975
|Smart Boost
|2008
|Variable Geometry
|1997
|
|
|}

=== Fuel System and Intake ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Fuel System
! colspan="2" |Intake Manifold
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Carburetor, Single Barrel
|1946
|Compact
|1946
|-
|Carburetor, Single Barrel Eco
|1946
|Standard Low
|1946
|-
|Carburetor, 2 Barrel
|1948
|Standard Mid
|1946
|-
|Carburetor, DCOE
|1954
|Variable
|1982
|-
|Carburetor, 4 Barrel
|1959
|Performance Mid
|1946
|-
|Mechanical Fuel Injection
|1964
|Performance High
|1946
|-
|Single Point Electronic Fuel Injection
|1978
|Race
|1946
|-
|Multipoint Electronic Fuel Injection
|1982
|
|
|-
|Direct Injection
|2001
|
|
|}

=== Exhaust ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Headers
! colspan="2" |Bypass Valves
! colspan="2" |Catalytic Converter
! colspan="2" |Mufflers
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Compact Cast
|1946
|No Valves
|1946
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|-
|Cast Low
|1946
|Bypass Valves
|1999
|Two-Way
|1972
|Baffled
|1946
|-
|Cast Mid
|1946
|
|
|Three-Way
|1978
|Reverse Flow
|1950
|-
|Tubular Mid
|1946
|
|
|High-Flow Three-Way
|1984
|Straight Through
|1968
|-
|Tubular Long
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Tubular Race
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Turbo Compact
|1975
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Turbo Mid
|1975
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Turbo Race
|1975
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}

== Trim ==

=== Drivetrain ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Drive Type
! colspan="2" |Gearbox
! colspan="2" |Differentials
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Front Longitudinal RWD
|1946
|Manual
|1946
|Open
|1946
|-
|Front Longitudinal AWD
|1981
|Automatic
|1950
|Manual Locker
|1946
|-
|Front Longitudinal FWD
|1951
|Advanced Automatic
|1980
|Automatic Locker
|1949
|-
|Front Longitudinal 4x4
|1946
|Automanual
|2000
|Clutched Limited-Slip Differential
|1957
|-
|Front Transverse FWD
|1962
|Dual-Clutch
|2008
|Geared Limited-Slip Differential
|1981
|-
|Front Transverse AWD
|1990
|
|
|Viscous Limited-Slip Differential
|1985
|-
|Mid Longitudinal RWD
|1946
|
|
|Electric Limited-Slip Differential
|2001
|-
|Mid Longitudinal AWD
|1985
|
|
|
|
|-
|Mid Transverse RWD
|1962
|
|
|
|
|-
|Rear Longitudinal RWD
|1946
|
|
|
|
|-
|Rear Longitudinal AWD
|1985
|
|
|
|
|}

=== Wheels and Brakes ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Tyre Type
! colspan="2" |Rim Material
! colspan="2" |Brake Type
! colspan="2" |Disc Brake Piston Count
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Cross Ply
|1946
|Steel
|1946
|Drum, Single Leading Shoe
|1946
|1
|1959
|-
|Radial
|1955
|Magnesium
|1961
|Drum, Twin Leading Shoe
|1952
|2
|1965
|-
|
|
|Alloy
|1970
|Solid Disc
|1959
|3
|1976
|-
|
|
|Carbon Fibre
|2015
|Vented Disc
|1975
|4
|1990
|-
|
|
|
|
|Carbon Ceramic
|2008
|6
|1999
|}

=== Aerodynamics ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Undertray
! colspan="2" |Active Aero
! colspan="2" |Cooling Flaps
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|-
|Offroad Skidtray
|1946
|Active Aero
|1993
|Cooling Flaps
|1993
|-
|Semi-Clad
|1962
|
|
|
|
|-
|Fully Clad
|1981
|
|
|
|
|-
|Flow Optimized
|2003
|
|
|
|
|-
|Sport Undertray
|1992
|
|
|
|
|-
|Race Diffuser
|1998
|
|
|
|
|}

=== Interior ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Convertible Type
! colspan="2" |Entertainment, Other
! colspan="2" |Entertainment, Removable Media
! colspan="2" |Entertainment, Infotainment
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|Basic 8-Track
|1976
|Premium Sat-Nav
|2005
|-
|Detachable Soft Top
|1946
|Basic AM Radio
|1954
|Standard 8-Track
|1974
|Luxury Sat-Nav
|2003
|-
|Manual Soft Top
|1946
|Standard AM Radio
|1950
|Premium 8-Track
|1972
|Basic Infotainment
|2013
|-
|Automatic Soft Top
|1964
|Premium AM Radio
|1946
|Luxury 8-Track
|1970
|Standard Infotainment
|2012
|-
|Hidden Automatic Soft Top
|1969
|Luxury AM Radio
|1946
|Basic Cassette
|1988
|Premium Infotainment
|2011
|-
|Detachable Hard Top
|1946
|Phonograph
|1955
|Standard Cassette
|1986
|Luxury Infotainment
|2010
|-
|Automatic Hard Top
|2000
|
|
|Premium Cassette
|1984
|Basic HUD
|2023
|-
|
|
|
|
|Luxury Cassette
|1982
|Standard HUD
|2021
|-
|
|
|
|
|Basic CD
|2001
|Premium HUD
|2019
|-
|
|
|
|
|Standard CD
|1998
|Luxury HUD
|2017
|-
|
|
|
|
|Premium CD
|1994
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|Luxury CD
|1992
|
|
|}

=== Driver Aids and Safety ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Steering
! colspan="2" |Traction Aids
! colspan="4" |Safety
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Manual Recirculating Ball
|1946
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|Basic 1990s
|1998
|-
|Manual Rack and Pinion
|1946
|Antilock Braking System
|1985
|Standard 1940s
|1946
|Standard 1990s
|1994
|-
|Hydraulic Recirculating Ball
|1956
|Traction Control System + Antilock Braking System
|1989
|Advanced 1940s
|1946
|Advanced 1990s
|1990
|-
|Hydraulic Rack and Pinion
|1968
|Electronic Stability Control
|1997
|Standard 1950s
|1955
|Basic 2000s
|2008
|-
|Variable Hydraulic
|1993
|Electronic Stability Control + Launch Control
|2011
|Advanced 1950s
|1950
|Standard 2000s
|2005
|-
|Electric
|1995
|
|
|Basic 1960s
|1968
|Advanced 2000s
|2000
|-
|Variable Electric
|2010
|
|
|Standard 1960s
|1965
|Basic 2010s
|2018
|-
|
|
|
|
|Advanced 1960s
|1960
|Standard 2010s
|2015
|-
|
|
|
|
|Basic 1970s
|1978
|Advanced 2010s
|2010
|-
|
|
|
|
|Standard 1970s
|1975
|Advanced 2020s
|2020
|-
|
|
|
|
|Advanced 1970s
|1970
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|Basic 1980s
|1988
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|Standard 1980s
|1985
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|Advanced 1980s
|1980
|
|
|}

=== Suspension ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Springs
! colspan="2" |Dampers
! colspan="2" |Sway Bars
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Standard
|1946
|Twin-Tube
|1946
|Passive
|1946
|-
|Progressive
|1955
|Gas Mono-Tube
|1966
|Semi-Active
|1995
|-
|Hydropneumatic
|1965
|Adaptive
|1987
|Offroad
|2000
|-
|Air
|1982
|Semi-Active
|1995
|Active
|2005
|-
|Active Sport
|1995
|
|
|
|
|-
|Active Comfort
|1995
|
|
|
|
|}

Tyre Mods

2023-02-08T06:43:52Z

The Stig Is A Spy:

Tyre modding is not currently supported, but it is possible to create new tyre treads and sidewalls via a [[Custom Paint Mods|Custom Paint]].

If you would like to do so, create an instance of <code>MI_Rubber_Tyre</code>, located in <code>Cars/Wheels/TyreMaterials</code>, and replace the tread and sidewall textures with your own. Note that some of the tread and sidewall textures are packed (they contain multiple different masks in their RGB channels.)

The sidewall and tread each require two textures: a normal map, and a packed "OHT" map, which is laid out like so: Red for ambient occlusion, Green for the heightmap, and Blue for tessellation density.

The sidewall also contains another packed map for the whitewall and lettering masks. This map is currently unused in-game, but the settings are available in the MI_Rubber_Tyre material if you wish to enable them for your Custom Paint material. This map is packed like so: Red for the lettering mask and Blue for the whitewall mask (with Green being unused).

Automation Wiki

2023-01-22T04:19:05Z

The Stig Is A Spy:

{| style="width: 80%; margin: auto; padding-bottom: 10px;"
|-
| colspan="2" width="100%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" | <div id="mf-about" style="padding:10px;">
{{Header|About Automation}}
Automation allows the player to become an armchair CEO - to build their own car company from the ground up. Create and run anything from a boutique supercar manufacturer to a mass-market multinational mogul. With powerful tools like the Engine Designer, the player can create cars and their engines in mind-boggling detail.

The grand campaign will start in the year 1946 and run until 2020, with the main goal being to build a successful, renowned car company from scratch. All types of car manufacturers can be led to success if managed properly; building the right image over the years is key. The player’s tasks are to design engines and cars, and to manage factories, production, research and development, as well as advertising campaigns. In-game, time advances at the pace the player chooses and pauses automatically for events and occurrences.

Automation is comprised of three major game components - the Engine Designer, the Car Designer, and the Company Manager. These components are naturally strung together by the game’s goals, made to be user-friendly and intuitive to use. A multitude of tutorial missions, videos, and descriptive texts help car novices become experts. Almost infinite options give the player all the creative freedom to create unique cars with vastly different engines.

{{Header|Core features}}
<center>In-Depth Engine Design {{*}} Detailed Car Design {{*}} Grand Campaign {{*}} Multiplayer Campaigns {{*}} Online Challenges</center>
Visit the official game site at [http://www.automationgame.com/ automationgame.com] to learn more.

{{Header|Developer}}
The game is developed by [http://camshaftsoftware.com/ Camshaft Software], an indie startup based in Wellington, New Zealand.
</div>
|}

{| style="width: 80%; margin: auto; padding-bottom: 0px;"
|-
| colspan="2" width="100%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" | <div id="mf-links" style="padding:10px;">
{{header|Wiki Links}}
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 80%; margin: auto; padding-bottom: 10px;"
|-
| colspan="4" width="25%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" |
[[General]]
*[[Game FAQ]]
*[[System Requirements]]
*[[Support]]

| colspan="4" width="25%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" |
[[Singleplayer]]
*[[Campaign]]
*[[Scenarios]]
*[[Tutorials]]
*[[Sandbox]]

[[Multiplayer]]
*[[Campaign]]
*[[Challenges]]

[[Company]]
*[[Brands]]
*[[Headquarters]]
*[[Financials]]
*[[Staff]]
*[[R & D]]
*[[Image & Reputation|Prestige & Reputation]]

| colspan="4" width="25%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" |
[[Making a Car]]
*[[General Flow]]
*[[Model / Family System]]

[[Specifics]]
*[[Chassis Design]]
*[[Engine Design]]
*[[Trim Design]]
*[[Unlock Dates]]
*[[Engineering]]
*[[Factory Setup]]
*[[Marketing]]

| colspan="4" width="25%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" |
[[Modding]]
*Cars
**[[Car Body Mods]]
**[[Custom Paint Mods]]
**[[Export Material User Data]]
**[[Rim Mods]]
**[[Tyre Mods]]
*Fixtures
**[[Fixture Mods]]
**[[Badge Fixture Mods|Badge Mods]]
**[[Decal Mods]]
*Photoscenes
**[[Photoscenes|Photoscene Mods]]
**[[Prop Mods]]
**[[Animatic Mods]]

[[The Exporter]]
*[[Automation to BeamNG]]
*[[Exporter Plugin SDK]]
|}

Automation Wiki

2023-01-22T04:18:32Z

The Stig Is A Spy: fixed link to recently moved page

Automation to Beam.NG

2023-01-22T04:17:18Z

The Stig Is A Spy: The Stig Is A Spy moved page Automation to Beam.NG to Automation to BeamNG

#REDIRECT [[Automation to BeamNG]]

Automation to BeamNG

2023-01-22T04:17:18Z

The Stig Is A Spy: The Stig Is A Spy moved page Automation to Beam.NG to Automation to BeamNG

{{stub}}
== See also ==
*[[Mods and the Beam.NG Exporter|Mods and the BeamNG Exporter]], for custom materials

Automation Wiki

2023-01-22T04:16:32Z

The Stig Is A Spy: minor copy edit

{| style="width: 80%; margin: auto; padding-bottom: 10px;"
|-
| colspan="2" width="100%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" | <div id="mf-about" style="padding:10px;">
{{Header|About Automation}}
Automation allows the player to become an armchair CEO - to build their own car company from the ground up. Create and run anything from a boutique supercar manufacturer to a mass-market multinational mogul. With powerful tools like the Engine Designer, the player can create cars and their engines in mind-boggling detail.

The grand campaign will start in the year 1946 and run until 2020, with the main goal being to build a successful, renowned car company from scratch. All types of car manufacturers can be led to success if managed properly; building the right image over the years is key. The player’s tasks are to design engines and cars, and to manage factories, production, research and development, as well as advertising campaigns. In-game, time advances at the pace the player chooses and pauses automatically for events and occurrences.

Automation is comprised of three major game components - the Engine Designer, the Car Designer, and the Company Manager. These components are naturally strung together by the game’s goals, made to be user-friendly and intuitive to use. A multitude of tutorial missions, videos, and descriptive texts help car novices become experts. Almost infinite options give the player all the creative freedom to create unique cars with vastly different engines.

{{Header|Core features}}
<center>In-Depth Engine Design {{*}} Detailed Car Design {{*}} Grand Campaign {{*}} Multiplayer Campaigns {{*}} Online Challenges</center>
Visit the official game site at [http://www.automationgame.com/ automationgame.com] to learn more.

{{Header|Developer}}
The game is developed by [http://camshaftsoftware.com/ Camshaft Software], an indie startup based in Wellington, New Zealand.
</div>
|}

{| style="width: 80%; margin: auto; padding-bottom: 0px;"
|-
| colspan="2" width="100%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" | <div id="mf-links" style="padding:10px;">
{{header|Wiki Links}}
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 80%; margin: auto; padding-bottom: 10px;"
|-
| colspan="4" width="25%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" |
[[General]]
*[[Game FAQ]]
*[[System Requirements]]
*[[Support]]

| colspan="4" width="25%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" |
[[Singleplayer]]
*[[Campaign]]
*[[Scenarios]]
*[[Tutorials]]
*[[Sandbox]]

[[Multiplayer]]
*[[Campaign]]
*[[Challenges]]

[[Company]]
*[[Brands]]
*[[Headquarters]]
*[[Financials]]
*[[Staff]]
*[[R & D]]
*[[Image & Reputation|Prestige & Reputation]]

| colspan="4" width="25%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" |
[[Making a Car]]
*[[General Flow]]
*[[Model / Family System]]

[[Specifics]]
*[[Chassis Design]]
*[[Engine Design]]
*[[Trim Design]]
*[[Unlock Dates]]
*[[Engineering]]
*[[Factory Setup]]
*[[Marketing]]

| colspan="4" width="25%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" |
[[Modding]]
*Cars
**[[Car Body Mods]]
**[[Custom Paint Mods]]
**[[Export Material User Data]]
**[[Rim Mods]]
**[[Tyre Mods]]
*Fixtures
**[[Fixture Mods]]
**[[Badge Fixture Mods|Badge Mods]]
**[[Decal Mods]]
*Photoscene
**[[Photoscenes|Photoscene Mods]]
**[[Prop Mods]]
**[[Animatic Mods]]

[[The Exporter]]
*[[Automation to Beam.NG]]
*[[Exporter Plugin SDK]]
|}

Unlock Dates

2023-01-22T04:09:28Z

The Stig Is A Spy: finished data

This is a working table of all unlock years for the various components in the game, without the use of techpool (which is used by car companies to unlock technologies earlier).

== Chassis ==

=== Chassis ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Panel Material
! colspan="2" |Chassis Type
! colspan="2" |Chassis Material
! colspan="2" |Engine Placement
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Steel
|1946
|Ladder
|1946
|Steel
|1946
|Front Transverse
|1962
|-
|Treated Steel
|1994
|Monocoque
|1951
|Galvanized Steel
|1946
|Front Longitudinal
|1946
|-
|Fibre Glass
|1955
|Space Frame
|1946
|Corrosion-Resistant Steel
|1960
|Rear Longitudinal
|1946
|-
|Aluminium
|1946
|Semi Space Frame
|2000
|Advanced High-Strength Steel
|1996
|Mid Transverse
|1962
|-
|Partial Aluminium
|1985
|Light Truck Monocoque
|1960
|Light Advanced High-Strength Steel
|2001
|Mid Longitudinal
|1946
|-
|Partial Carbon Fibre
|1993
|
|
|Glued Aluminium
|2000
|
|
|-
|Carbon Fibre
|1993
|
|
|Carbon Fibre
|1988
|
|
|}

=== Suspension ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Front Suspension
! colspan="2" |Rear Suspension
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Solid Axle, Coil-Sprung
|1946
|Solid Axle, Coil-Sprung
|1946
|-
|Solid Axle, Leaf-Sprung
|1946
|Solid Axle, Leaf-Sprung
|1946
|-
|MacPherson Strut
|1946
|Semi Trailing Arm
|1946
|-
|Double Wishbone
|1946
|Torsion Beam
|1962
|-
|Pushrod
|1990
|MacPherson Strut
|1946
|-
|
|
|Double Wishbone
|1946
|-
|
|
|Multilink
|1990
|-
|
|
|Pushrod
|1990
|}

== Engine ==

=== Engine Family ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Engine Block
! colspan="2" |Block Material
! colspan="2" |Head and Valves
! colspan="2" |Head Material
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|I3
|1946
|Cast Iron
|1946
|Pushrod 2V
|1946
|Cast Iron
|1946
|-
|I4
|1946
|Aluminium
|1960
|Direct-Acting Overhead Cam 2V
|1946
|Aluminium
|1950
|-
|I5
|1970
|Aluminium-Silicon
|1996
|Overhead Cam 2V
|1946
|Aluminium-Silicon
|1996
|-
|I6
|1946
|Magnesium
|2005
|Overhead Cam 3V
|1946
|
|
|-
|60° V6
|1960
|
|
|Overhead Cam 4V
|1946
|
|
|-
|60° V8
|1960
|
|
|Dual Overhead Cam 2V
|1946
|
|
|-
|60° V12
|1946
|
|
|Dual Overhead Cam 4V
|1946
|
|
|-
|90° V6
|1960
|
|
|Dual Overhead Cam 5V
|1989
|
|
|-
|90° V8
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|90° V10
|1985
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|90° V16
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|B4
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|B6
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}

=== Engine Bottom and Top End ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Crank
! colspan="2" |Conrods
! colspan="2" |Pistons
! colspan="2" |Balancing Mass
! colspan="2" |VVT
! colspan="2" |VVL
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Cast Iron
|1946
|Cast
|1946
|Cast
|1946
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|-
|Forged Steel
|1956
|Heavy Duty Cast
|1946
|Heavy Duty Cast
|1946
|Harmonic Damper
|1946
|VVT (Non-DOHC)
|1988
|VVL
|1994
|-
|Billet Steel
|1986
|Heavy Duty Forged
|1956
|Forged
|1956
|Balance Shaft
|1946
|VVT, Intake
|1988
|
|
|-
|
|
|Lightweight Forged
|1967
|Hypereutectic Cast
|1970
|
|
|VVT, All Cams
|1992
|
|
|-
|
|
|Lightweight Titanium
|1997
|Low-Friction Cast
|1991
|
|
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
|
|
|-
|
|
| colspan="2" |
|Lightweight Forged
|1991
|
|
|
|
|}

=== Engine Aspiration ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Type
! colspan="2" |Setup
! colspan="2" |Wastegate
! colspan="2" |Geometry
! colspan="2" |Bearing Type
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Naturally Aspirated
|1946
|1 Turbo
|1975
|Wastegate
|1975
|Standard Geometry
|1975
|Journal Bearing
|1975
|-
|Turbocharger
|1975
|2 Turbos
|1975
|Boost Control
|1984
|Twin-Scroll
|1980
|Ball Bearing
|1981
|-
|
|
|4 Turbos
|1975
|Smart Boost
|2008
|Variable Geometry
|1997
|
|
|}

=== Engine Intake and Exhaust ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Fuel System
! colspan="2" |Intake Manifold
! colspan="2" |Headers
! colspan="2" |Bypass Valves
! colspan="2" |Catalytic Converter
! colspan="2" |Mufflers
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Carburetor, Single Barrel
|1946
|Compact
|1946
|Compact Cast
|1946
|No Valves
|1946
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|-
|Carburetor, Single Barrel Eco
|1946
|Standard Low
|1946
|Cast Low
|1946
|Bypass Valves
|1999
|Two-Way
|1972
|Baffled
|1946
|-
|Carburetor, 2 Barrel
|1948
|Standard Mid
|1946
|Cast Mid
|1946
|
|
|Three-Way
|1978
|Reverse Flow
|1950
|-
|Carburetor, DCOE
|1954
|Variable
|1982
|Tubular Mid
|1946
|
|
|High-Flow Three-Way
|1984
|Straight Through
|1968
|-
|Carburetor, 4 Barrel
|1959
|Performance Mid
|1946
|Tubular Long
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Mechanical Fuel Injection
|1964
|Performance High
|1946
|Tubular Race
|1946
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Single Point Electronic Fuel Injection
|1978
|Race
|1946
|Turbo Compact
|1975
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Multipoint Electronic Fuel Injection
|1982
|
|
|Turbo Mid
|1975
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|Direct Injection
|2001
|
|
|Turbo Race
|1975
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}

== Trim ==

=== Drivetrain ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Drive Type
! colspan="2" |Gearbox
! colspan="2" |Differentials
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Front Longitudinal RWD
|1946
|Manual
|1946
|Open
|1946
|-
|Front Longitudinal AWD
|1981
|Automatic
|1950
|Manual Locker
|1946
|-
|Front Longitudinal FWD
|1951
|Advanced Automatic
|1980
|Automatic Locker
|1949
|-
|Front Longitudinal 4x4
|1946
|Automanual
|2000
|Clutched Limited-Slip Differential
|1957
|-
|Front Transverse FWD
|1962
|Dual-Clutch
|2008
|Geared Limited-Slip Differential
|1981
|-
|Front Transverse AWD
|1990
|
|
|Viscous Limited-Slip Differential
|1985
|-
|Mid Longitudinal RWD
|1946
|
|
|Electric Limited-Slip Differential
|2001
|-
|Mid Longitudinal AWD
|1985
|
|
|
|
|-
|Mid Transverse RWD
|1962
|
|
|
|
|-
|Rear Longitudinal RWD
|1946
|
|
|
|
|-
|Rear Longitudinal AWD
|1985
|
|
|
|
|}

=== Wheels and Brakes ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Tyre Type
! colspan="2" |Rim Material
! colspan="2" |Brake Type
! colspan="2" |Disc Brake Piston Count
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Cross Ply
|1946
|Steel
|1946
|Drum, Single Leading Shoe
|1946
|1
|1959
|-
|Radial
|1955
|Magnesium
|1961
|Drum, Twin Leading Shoe
|1952
|2
|1965
|-
|
|
|Alloy
|1970
|Solid Disc
|1959
|3
|1976
|-
|
|
|Carbon Fibre
|2015
|Vented Disc
|1975
|4
|1990
|-
|
|
|
|
|Carbon Ceramic
|2008
|6
|1999
|}

=== Aerodynamics ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Undertray
! colspan="2" |Active Aero
! colspan="2" |Cooling Flaps
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|-
|Offroad Skidtray
|1946
|Active Aero
|1993
|Cooling Flaps
|1993
|-
|Semi-Clad
|1962
|
|
|
|
|-
|Fully Clad
|1981
|
|
|
|
|-
|Flow Optimized
|2003
|
|
|
|
|-
|Sport Undertray
|1992
|
|
|
|
|-
|Race Diffuser
|1998
|
|
|
|
|}

=== Interior ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Convertible Type
! colspan="2" |Entertainment, Other
! colspan="2" |Entertainment, Removable Media
! colspan="2" |Entertainment, Infotainment
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|Basic 8-Track
|1976
|Premium Sat-Nav
|2005
|-
|Detachable Soft Top
|1946
|Basic AM Radio
|1954
|Standard 8-Track
|1974
|Luxury Sat-Nav
|2003
|-
|Manual Soft Top
|1946
|Standard AM Radio
|1950
|Premium 8-Track
|1972
|Basic Infotainment
|2013
|-
|Automatic Soft Top
|1964
|Premium AM Radio
|1946
|Luxury 8-Track
|1970
|Standard Infotainment
|2012
|-
|Hidden Automatic Soft Top
|1969
|Luxury AM Radio
|1946
|Basic Cassette
|1988
|Premium Infotainment
|2011
|-
|Detachable Hard Top
|1946
|Phonograph
|1955
|Standard Cassette
|1986
|Luxury Infotainment
|2010
|-
|Automatic Hard Top
|2000
|
|
|Premium Cassette
|1984
|Basic HUD
|2023
|-
|
|
|
|
|Luxury Cassette
|1982
|Standard HUD
|2021
|-
|
|
|
|
|Basic CD
|2001
|Premium HUD
|2019
|-
|
|
|
|
|Standard CD
|1998
|Luxury HUD
|2017
|-
|
|
|
|
|Premium CD
|1994
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|Luxury CD
|1992
|
|
|}

=== Driver Aids and Safety ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Steering
! colspan="2" |Traction Aids
! colspan="4" |Safety
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Manual Recirculating Ball
|1946
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|Basic 1990s
|1998
|-
|Manual Rack and Pinion
|1946
|Antilock Braking System
|1985
|Standard 1940s
|1946
|Standard 1990s
|1994
|-
|Hydraulic Recirculating Ball
|1956
|Traction Control System + Antilock Braking System
|1989
|Advanced 1940s
|1946
|Advanced 1990s
|1990
|-
|Hydraulic Rack and Pinion
|1968
|Electronic Stability Control
|1997
|Standard 1950s
|1955
|Basic 2000s
|2008
|-
|Variable Hydraulic
|1993
|Electronic Stability Control + Launch Control
|2011
|Advanced 1950s
|1950
|Standard 2000s
|2005
|-
|Electric
|1995
|
|
|Basic 1960s
|1968
|Advanced 2000s
|2000
|-
|Variable Electric
|2010
|
|
|Standard 1960s
|1965
|Basic 2010s
|2018
|-
|
|
|
|
|Advanced 1960s
|1960
|Standard 2010s
|2015
|-
|
|
|
|
|Basic 1970s
|1978
|Advanced 2010s
|2010
|-
|
|
|
|
|Standard 1970s
|1975
|Advanced 2020s
|2020
|-
|
|
|
|
|Advanced 1970s
|1970
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|Basic 1980s
|1988
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|Standard 1980s
|1985
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|Advanced 1980s
|1980
|
|
|}

=== Suspension ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Springs
! colspan="2" |Dampers
! colspan="2" |Sway Bars
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Standard
|1946
|Twin-Tube
|1946
|Passive
|1946
|-
|Progressive
|1955
|Gas Mono-Tube
|1966
|Semi-Active
|1995
|-
|Hydropneumatic
|1965
|Adaptive
|1987
|Offroad
|2000
|-
|Air
|1982
|Semi-Active
|1995
|Active
|2005
|-
|Active Sport
|1995
|
|
|
|
|-
|Active Comfort
|1995
|
|
|
|
|}

Unlock Dates

2023-01-22T01:52:58Z

The Stig Is A Spy: finished engine stuff

This is a working table of all unlock years for the various components in the game, with 0 techpool used.

'''''This page is a work in progress.'''''

== Chassis ==

=== Chassis ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Panel Material
! colspan="2" |Chassis Type
! colspan="2" |Chassis Material
! colspan="2" |Engine Placement
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Steel
|1946
|Ladder
|1946
|Steel
|1946
|Front Transverse
|1962
|-
|Treated Steel
|1994
|Monocoque
|1951
|Galvanized Steel
|1946
|Front Longitudinal
|1946
|-
|Fibre Glass
|1955
|Space Frame
|1946
|Corrosion-Resistant Steel
|1960
|Rear Longitudinal
|1946
|-
|Aluminium
|1946
|Semi Space Frame
|2000
|Advanced High-Strength Steel
|1996
|Mid Transverse
|1962
|-
|Partial Aluminium
|1985
|Light Truck Monocoque
|1960
|Light Advanced High-Strength Steel
|2001
|Mid Longitudinal
|1946
|-
|Partial Carbon Fibre
|1993
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
|Glued Aluminium
|2000
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
|-
|Carbon Fibre
|1993
|Carbon Fibre
|1988
|}

=== Suspension ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Front Suspension
! colspan="2" |Rear Suspension
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Solid Axle, Coil-Sprung
|1946
|Solid Axle, Coil-Sprung
|1946
|-
|Solid Axle, Leaf-Sprung
|1946
|Solid Axle, Leaf-Sprung
|1946
|-
|MacPherson Strut
|1946
|Semi Trailing Arm
|1946
|-
|Double Wishbone
|1946
|Torsion Beam
|1962
|-
|Pushrod
|1990
|MacPherson Strut
|1946
|-
| colspan="2" rowspan="3" |
|Double Wishbone
|1946
|-
|Multilink
|1990
|-
|Pushrod
|1990
|}

== Engine ==

=== Engine Family ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Engine Block
! colspan="2" |Block Material
! colspan="2" |Head and Valves
! colspan="2" |Head Material
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|I3
|1946
|Cast Iron
|1946
|Pushrod 2V
|1946
|Cast Iron
|1946
|-
|I4
|1946
|Aluminium
|1960
|Direct-Acting Overhead Cam 2V
|1946
|Aluminium
|1950
|-
|I5
|1970
|Aluminium-Silicon
|1996
|Overhead Cam 2V
|1946
|Aluminium-Silicon
|1996
|-
|I6
|1946
|Magnesium
|2005
|Overhead Cam 3V
|1946
| colspan="2" rowspan="10" |
|-
|60° V6
|1960
| colspan="2" rowspan="9" |
|Overhead Cam 4V
|1946
|-
|60° V8
|1960
|Dual Overhead Cam 2V
|1946
|-
|60° V12
|1946
|Dual Overhead Cam 4V
|1946
|-
|90° V6
|1960
|Dual Overhead Cam 5V
|1989
|-
|90° V8
|1946
| colspan="2" rowspan="5" |
|-
|90° V10
|1985
|-
|90° V16
|1946
|-
|B4
|1946
|-
|B6
|1946
|}

=== Engine Bottom and Top End ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Crank
! colspan="2" |Conrods
! colspan="2" |Pistons
! colspan="2" |Balancing Mass
! colspan="2" |VVT
! colspan="2" |VVL
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Cast Iron
|1946
|Cast
|1946
|Cast
|1946
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|-
|Forged Steel
|1956
|Heavy Duty Cast
|1946
|Heavy Duty Cast
|1946
|Harmonic Damper
|1946
|VVT (Non-DOHC)
|1988
|VVL
|1994
|-
|Billet Steel
|1986
|Heavy Duty Forged
|1956
|Forged
|1956
|Balance Shaft
|1946
|VVT, Intake
|1988
| colspan="2" rowspan="4" |
|-
| colspan="2" rowspan="3" |
|Lightweight Forged
|1967
|Hypereutectic Cast
|1970
| colspan="2" rowspan="3" |
|VVT, All Cams
|1992
|-
|Lightweight Titanium
|1997
|Low-Friction Cast
|1991
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
|-
| colspan="2" |
|Lightweight Forged
|1991
|}

=== Engine Aspiration ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Type
! colspan="2" |Setup
! colspan="2" |Wastegate
! colspan="2" |Geometry
! colspan="2" |Bearing Type
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Naturally Aspirated
|1946
|1 Turbo
|1975
|Wastegate
|1975
|Standard Geometry
|1975
|Journal Bearing
|1975
|-
|Turbocharger
|1975
|2 Turbos
|1975
|Boost Control
|1984
|Twin-Scroll
|1980
|Ball Bearing
|1981
|-
| colspan="2" |
|4 Turbos
|1975
|Smart Boost
|2008
|Variable Geometry
|1997
| colspan="2" |
|}

=== Engine Intake and Exhaust ===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Fuel System
! colspan="2" |Intake Manifold
! colspan="2" |Headers
! colspan="2" |Bypass Valves
! colspan="2" |Catalytic Converter
! colspan="2" |Mufflers
|-
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
!Technology
!Unlock Year
|-
|Carburetor, Single Barrel
|1946
|Compact
|1946
|Compact Cast
|1946
|No Valves
|1946
|None
|1946
|None
|1946
|-
|Carburetor, Single Barrel Eco
|1946
|Standard Low
|1946
|Cast Low
|1946
|Bypass Valves
|1999
|Two-Way
|1972
|Baffled
|1946
|-
|Carburetor, 2 Barrel
|1948
|Standard Mid
|1946
|Cast Mid
|1946
| colspan="2" rowspan="7" |
|Three-Way
|1978
|Reverse Flow
|1950
|-
|Carburetor, DCOE
|1954
|Variable
|1982
|Tubular Mid
|1946
|High-Flow Three-Way
|1984
|Straight Through
|1968
|-
|Carburetor, 4 Barrel
|1959
|Performance Mid
|1946
|Tubular Long
|1946
| colspan="2" rowspan="5" |
| colspan="2" rowspan="5" |
|-
|Mechanical Fuel Injection
|1964
|Performance High
|1946
|Tubular Race
|1946
|-
|Single Point Electronic Fuel Injection
|1978
|Race
|1946
|Turbo Compact
|1975
|-
|Multipoint Electronic Fuel Injection
|1982
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
|Turbo Mid
|1975
|-
|Direct Injection
|2001
|Turbo Race
|1975
|}

== Trim ==

Unlock Dates

2023-01-22T01:26:24Z

The Stig Is A Spy: created page; WIP

Automation Wiki

2023-01-22T00:28:18Z

The Stig Is A Spy: added Unlock Dates link in preparation for migration from old wiki

{| style="width: 80%; margin: auto; padding-bottom: 10px;"
|-
| colspan="2" width="100%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" | <div id="mf-about" style="padding:10px;">
{{Header|About Automation}}
Automation allows the player to become an armchair CEO - to build their own car company from the ground up.
Create and run anything from a boutique supercar manufacturer to a mass-market multinational mogul. With powerful tools like the Engine Designer, the player can create cars and their engines in mind-boggling detail.

The grand campaign will start in the year 1946 and run until 2020, with the main goal being to build a successful, renowned car company from scratch. All types of car manufacturers can be led to success if managed properly; building the right image over the years is key. The player’s tasks are to design engines and cars, and to manage factories, production, Research and Development, as well as advertising campaigns.
In game, time advances at the pace the player chooses and pauses automatically for events and occurrences.

Automation is comprised of three major game components - the Engine Designer, the Car Designer and the Company Manager.
These components are naturally strung together by the game’s goals, made to be user-friendly and intuitive to use.
A multitude of tutorial missions, videos, and descriptive texts help car novices become experts.
Almost infinite options give the player all the creative freedom to create unique cars with vastly different engines.

{{Header|Core features}}
<center>In-Depth Engine Design {{*}} Detailed Car Design {{*}} Grand Campaign {{*}} Multiplayer Campaigns {{*}} Online Challenges</center>
Visit the official game site [http://www.automationgame.com/ automationgame.com] to learn more.

{{Header|Developer}}
The game is developed by [http://camshaftsoftware.com/ Camshaft Software], an indie start-up based in Wellington New Zealand.
</div>
|}

{| style="width: 80%; margin: auto; padding-bottom: 0px;"
|-
| colspan="2" width="100%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" | <div id="mf-links" style="padding:10px;">
{{header|Wiki Links}}
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 80%; margin: auto; padding-bottom: 10px;"
|-
| colspan="4" width="25%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" |
[[General]]
*[[Game FAQ]]
*[[System Requirements]]
*[[Support]]

| colspan="4" width="25%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" |
[[Singleplayer]]
*[[Campaign]]
*[[Scenarios]]
*[[Tutorials]]
*[[Sandbox]]

[[Multiplayer]]
*[[Campaign]]
*[[Challenges]]

[[Company]]
*[[Brands]]
*[[Headquarters]]
*[[Financials]]
*[[Staff]]
*[[R & D]]
*[[Image & Reputation|Prestige & Reputation]]

| colspan="4" width="25%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" |
[[Making a Car]]
*[[General Flow]]
*[[Model / Family System]]

[[Specifics]]
*[[Chassis Design]]
*[[Engine Design]]
*[[Trim Design]]
*[[Unlock Dates]]
*[[Engineering]]
*[[Factory Setup]]
*[[Marketing]]

| colspan="4" width="25%" valign="top" style="background: rgba(5,5,5,.4);" |
[[Modding]]
*Cars
**[[Car Body Mods]]
**[[Custom Paint Mods]]
**[[Export Material User Data]]
**[[Rim Mods]]
**[[Tyre Mods]]
*Fixtures
**[[Fixture Mods]]
**[[Badge Fixture Mods|Badge Mods]]
**[[Decal Mods]]
*Photoscene
**[[Photoscenes|Photoscene Mods]]
**[[Prop Mods]]
**[[Animatic Mods]]

[[The Exporter]]
*[[Automation to Beam.NG]]
*[[Exporter Plugin SDK]]
|}

Fixture Mods

2022-09-20T01:15:11Z

The Stig Is A Spy: skinned mesh and light uv info

== Overview ==
A fixture is a collection of files, for which a <code>cpp</code> file serves as the parent file. All the settings for a fixture are inside this <code>cpp</code> file.

Fixtures are comprised of up to 4 optional sub-meshes (a [[#UV Mesh|UV mesh]], [[#Conforming Mesh|conforming mesh]], [[#Skinned Mesh|skinned mesh]], and [[#Additional Mesh|additional mesh]]) depending on the type of fixture:

*A '''UV mesh''' is the silhouette of the cutout hole that a fixture makes in a car body.
*A '''conforming mesh''' (e.g. grilles, outer light glass, or body moulding) will deform to the shape of the body.
*A '''skinned mesh''' (e.g. light internals) will maintain its relative internal shapes, but will conform roughly to the shape of the body.
*An '''addditional mesh''' (e.g. mirrors) will retain its shape no matter where it is placed on the body.

Fixtures need [[Material Slots|material slots]] set up correctly to look as intended, and [[Preview Thumbnails|preview thumbnails]] to appear in-game.

==Performance considerations==
The performance of fixtures (and bodies) in UE4 is a constant discussion of balance.

There is a performance impact to poly count with fixtures in that a ray is cast to the body for every vertex; the more vertices there are in a mesh, the longer it'll take to conform to the body. This is why you'll see more detailed fixtures sit there for a few seconds before conforming to the car.

This is doubly so for fixtures that cut into the body—a UV mesh's vertices are raycast to the car on every frame while you're dragging the fixture around. UV meshes impact performance significantly with a higher poly count; try to keep UV meshes as low-poly as possible.

=== For optimal performance: ===

*Keep UV meshes lower than 100 triangles. With between 100 and 150 triangles, the fixture may lag when being dragged around; any higher and it will lag too much to use properly.
*Try to keep conforming meshes lower than 5,000 triangles. Higher-resolution meshes take longer than usual to conform to the car once they are placed.

== Fixture blueprints ==
[[File:FixtureExampleSettings.png|alt=|right|frameless|700x700px]]A Fixture is composed of a Blueprint that contains the fixture settings and sub-meshes.

=== Fixture Settings ===
Meshes (more on these below):

*'''Conforming Mesh''' - Defines the ''Static Mesh'' sub-mesh used by this fixture.
* '''UV Mesh''' - Defines the ''UV Mesh'' sub-mesh used by this fixture.
*'''Skinned Mesh''' - Defines the ''Skinned Mesh'' sub-mesh used by this fixture.
*'''Additional Mesh''' - Defines the ''Additional Mesh'' sub-mesh used by this fixture.'''<nowiki/><nowiki/><nowiki/><nowiki/>'''

Text:

* '''Text Data''' - Only used for typeable text.

Fixture Preview:

*'''GUID''' - Unique identifier for this fixture.
*'''Family GUID''' - Identifier for this fixture family. This should be unique to every other family GUID, and identical to every other variant of this fixture.

Fixture:

*'''Fixture Type''' - What category this fixture should be in (e.g. headlight, aerial, grille, etc).
*'''Centre Snap Distance''' - Defines at what distance, in cm, the fixture will snap to the centre line of the car (10 by default).
*'''Lock Normal to Cardinal<nowiki/>''' - Determines whether the fixt'''<nowiki/>'''ure will conform t'''<nowiki/>'''o one of the five cardinal directions in 3D space (forwards, backwards, left, right, or upwards) by default. A non-cardinal-locked fixture will simply face in the direction of the surface on which it'''<nowiki/>''' is placed. Cardinal locking is useful for fixtures such as lights and mirrors, since it ensures that they don't face in (or conform to) odd directions.
*'''Export Breakability Override''' - Certain categories of fixtures can break off when damaged in BeamNG.drive. This setting lets you force a fixture to be breakable or unbreakable.
*'''Fixture Shape''' - Used to filter fixtures by rectangular, round, or complex shapes. Mostly used for lights.
*'''Year''' - Used to filter fixtures by year. Useful for era-specific fixtures, such as sealed beam headlights.
*'''Use This Fixture as Family Preview''' - if you have many variants of a fixture, enabling this setting for one variant will make it the one that shows up in the main fixture menu (overriding the first fixture as per alphabetical order).

Path:

* '''Fixture Class''' - Set this to <code>A_Fixture</code> to ensure that the fixture works as intended in-game.

=== Fixture Sub-Meshes ===

==== UV Mesh ====
The ''UV Mesh'' (imported as a '''Static Mesh''' in UE4) is a flat silhouette that tells the fixture to cut a hole into the car body. You will only need vertices along the outside edges of the UV mesh, and a UV mesh is only required if your fixture intends to cut into the car. Unlike other meshes, UV meshes do not require any UV maps.

==== Conforming Mesh ====
The ''Conforming Mesh'' (imported as a '''Static Mesh''' in UE4) is a mesh where each vertex is deformed to match the surface of the car body. It is also a required mesh if the fixture has a UV mesh, as the conforming mesh is used to cover the jagged edge of the hole created by the UV mesh. A conforming mesh that could logically be placed on top of other fixtures should also have its outside edges extend beneath the body; the default distance for this extrusion is slightly farther than 10 cm.

==== Skinned Mesh ====
The ''Skinned Mesh'' (imported as a '''Skeletal Mesh''' in UE4) is used when you have parts of a fixture that should conform to the rough shape of the car, but also retain the dimensions and ratios of any individual components. A skinned mesh will have a bone for each element that is parented to a root bone.

Some vertices of a skinned mesh will conform to the car as with a conforming mesh if they are a) within 1.5 mm of the car body surface, whether weighted to any bones or not, b) weighted to the root bone, or c) not weighted to any bones. Because of the former, there may be a small gap of at least 1 mm between the edge of the skinned mesh and the car body. To cover up this gap, a conforming mesh is often used to connect the edge of the skinned mesh with the car body.

==== Additional Mesh ====
The ''Additional Mesh'' (imported as a '''Static Mesh''' in UE4) does not deform in any way and will remain in place relative to the location of the fixture. An additional mesh has no skin or bones, and no part of it will deform to the shape of the car. Examples of additional meshes are exhaust tips, wing mirrors, and most fixtures intended for 3D placement.

== Modelling a fixture ==
'''''Note:''' This how-to assumes a general understanding of polygonal 3D modelling software. Any 3D modelling package will do, as no custom scripts are required to author fixture meshes.''

Hard Rooster has created a full video series for fixture modding in Blender.
{{#ev:youtube|zDKdTI0v4DE}}
The full series can be found [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb7obMX2SCf0V3dlxfOHnB9eKtP3c_KEZ here.]
=== Fixture Orientation ===
Fixtures are oriented in the following manner in a 3D modelling program. Note how the negative Y axis faces forwards.
[[File:Fixture_Orientation_Example.jpg|link=https://automation.gamepedia.com/File:Fixture_Orientation_Example.jpg|alt=Fixture Orientation Example|none|thumb|360x360px|Fixtures come out of the car towards the -Y axis. -X is left, +X is right, +Z is up, and -Z is down.]]

=== Fixture Y-Axis Thresholds ===
There are 2 important values to take in to note for fixture sub-meshes.
* A skinned mesh will have some of its vertices conform to the car as if it were a conforming mesh, but only if those vertices are within '''''1.5 mm''''' from Y=0. A vertex with a Y axis value of 1.5 mm will conform to the car as if it were part of a conforming mesh, and a vertex with a Y axis value of 2.0 mm will not.
* The outer edges of most vanilla conforming meshes (and inner edges of things with holes in them, like open grilles) usually sit 10 cm below the surface (or 10 cm inwards along the Y axis). This stops fixtures from appearing to 'float' when put on top of other fixtures that cut into cars and leave holes, such as grilles and moulding. This is by no means a hard-and-fast rule; specific applications may call for fixtures to extend anywhere from 1 to 100 cm into the body.

It's a bit confusing at first, but following these rules will ensure your fixture works correctly.

=== Deciding What Sub-Meshes You'll Need ===
Fixtures have a fairly convoluted list of things that are or are not needed, depending on what's in the fixture.
*If you have a [[Fixture Mods#UV Mesh|UV mesh]], you need a [[Fixture Mods#Conforming Mesh|conforming mesh]] to cover the hole.
*If you have a conforming mesh, it isn't required to have anything else unless said Conforming Mesh has parts that go below the car body mesh (in which case you'll need a UV Mesh to cut a hole out for it).
*If you have a [[Fixture Mods#Skinned Mesh|skinned mesh]], you'll need a conforming mesh and a UV mesh, as a skinned mesh can only be inside the car. Therefore, a UV mesh is needed to cut out that hole, and a conforming mesh is needed to cover the edge of that hole.
*If you have an [[Fixture Mods#Additional Mesh|additional mesh]] positioned above the car body, nothing else is needed. If the additional mesh is obscured by the car body mesh, you'll need a UV mesh to cut out the hole for that (and by extension, a conforming mesh to line that hole).

For this example, we'll make the components for the headlight fixture below (a ''Conforming Mesh'', ''UV Mesh'', and a ''Skinned mesh'' with 4 bones).

[[File:Fixture_On_Car_Example.jpg|link=https://automation.gamepedia.com/File:Fixture_On_Car_Example.jpg|frameless|360x360px]]

=== Creating the Sub-Meshes ===

==== Creating a UV Mesh ====
The UV mesh defines the [[wikipedia:Texel_(graphics)|texels]] (texture pixles) of the car body that will be cut out by the fixture. Each vertex is used as a point of reference, and lines are drawn between them along the edges of the UV mesh to define the final cutout shape. If there are too few vertices, the cutout shape may become distorted, since the vertices are projected onto the car texture before being cut out (with the actual edges of the UV mesh not being used). This, combined with the round "pelt unwrap" nature of car bodies' UV maps, can result in waviness between vertices in the cutout shape. This is more pronounced on larger fixtures, or fixtures that are stretched to several times their original size.

A UV mesh should have vertices at regular intervals around the outside to determine the cutout shape of the fixture. Any vertices that aren't on an edge are irrelevant and will only make the fixture slower to render. Note that UV meshes can be made in [[wikipedia:Annulus_(mathematics)|annulus]] shapes with holes in the middle, like a doughnut.

The UV mesh should be roughly halfway between the outside edge of the skinned mesh (which should share its edge with the inside edge of the conforming mesh) and the outside edge of the conforming mesh.

See below for the example UV mesh in comparison to its respective conforming mesh.<gallery mode="nolines" widths="360" heights="240">
File:UV Mesh Example.jpg|An example UV mesh.
File:UV Mesh - Conforming Comparison.png|Note that the edges of the UV mesh are completely encompassed by the conforming mesh. The skinned mesh for this fixture should line up with the interior edge of the conforming mesh.
</gallery>Note that the centre vertices may need to be offset slightly from their respective axes; see [[Fixture Mods#Additional Notes|Additional Notes]] for more information.

If you're having trouble with wavy cutouts on cars, segment your UV mesh into quads instead of a starburst pattern, as shown here.
[[File:Testingses2.jpg|none|thumb|Left: A 'starburst' UV mesh with an unwanted wavy cutout. Right: The same fixture, but with a different UV mesh flow and no cutout problems.|480x480px|alt=]]

==== Creating a Conforming Mesh ====
A conforming mesh is a single basic polygonal mesh that conforms to the shape of the car body.

The conforming mesh should have enough polygons at regular intervals so that it doesn't appear blocky or clip through the car body. The more polygons you add to the conforming mesh, the longer it will take to calculate its final morph position, but this does not impact performance when it is dragged around.

For this example fixture, we'll be using a conforming mesh for two purposes:

*Connecting the skinned mesh to the car body.
*Covering the cutout hole created by the UV mesh.

However, a conforming mesh can be used without a skinned mesh, such as:
*for trim pieces, moulding, or badges.
*for vents and grilles, when used with a UV mesh.

We'll start by using the UV mesh as our reference point. Our conforming mesh needs to cover the hole created here, so we'll make a ring of faces to surround the UV mesh with enough width to not allow any visible gaps between the cutout and the conforming mesh. We'll extend this edge out along the -Y axis (forward from the car body) by a millimetre or two to prevent faces from clipping through the car body, and we'll extrude a ring of faces around the outside of it to connect the mesh to the car body like so:[[File:Conforming Mesh Example 01.png|alt=Conforming Mesh|none|thumb|360x360px|A conforming mesh covering the outside edges of a UV mesh, extruded out in to the -Y axis slightly to avoid clipping through the car body, and with a ring of faces around the outside to avoid it looking like it's floating.|link=https://automation.gamepedia.com/File:Conforming_Mesh_Example_01.png]]Because this fixture is going to have a skinned mesh, we'll need to take that into consideration too. A skinned mesh will have any vertices that are farther than 1.5 mm in the -Y axis conform to the car in the same way as a conforming mesh, so we'll need to match this mesh structure such that the two meshes connect seamlessly.

Here is the conforming mesh, with the skinned mesh and UV mesh:[[File:Conforming Mesh and Skinned Mesh Example.jpg|alt=Note that the inner most edge of the Conforming Mesh lines up perfectly with the outer most edge of the Skinned Mesh.|none|thumb|360x360px|Note that the innermost edge of the conforming mesh lines up perfectly with the outermost edge of the skinned mesh.|link=https://automation.gamepedia.com/File:Conforming_Mesh_and_Skinned_Mesh_Example.jpg]]This headlight fixture will also have a glass cover over it, so we'll add that in now. For this example, I've added a small step to the inside of the conforming mesh to add a little bit of detail. The glass cover will then be placed on top. You'll also notice that the outside edge of this headlight has been extruded deep behind the surface; this is so it can be placed on top of other headlights or grilles and not appear to float.[[File:Conforming Mesh Example 02.jpg|alt=Left: Face View of the Conforming Mesh . Right: Wireframe View|none|thumb|Left: Face view of the conforming mesh. Right: Wireframe view.|link=https://automation.gamepedia.com/File:Conforming_Mesh_Example_02.jpg|360x360px]]

===== Unwrapping the Mesh =====
The next step is to unwrap the mesh. We'll be using 3ds Max's default UVW Map modifier, setting it to 'box' projection (cube projection in Blender), and setting the length, width, and height dimensions all to 2. This value is important if your fixture mod intends to use our default materials, because said materials assume that the UVs of the fixture conform to this setting.

Basically, what this is doing is UV mapping the mesh so that the 0-1 areas of the UV map are 2cm².[[File:Conforming Mesh Example 03.jpg|alt=The finished Conforming Mesh with an UVW Map modifier set to a box 2,2,2 projection.|none|thumb|The finished conforming mesh with a UVW Map modifier set to a 2, 2, 2 box projection.|link=https://automation.gamepedia.com/File:Conforming_Mesh_Example_03.jpg|360x360px]]We'll go over the import process and material setup after we've created all of the meshes.

==== Creating a Skinned Mesh ====
A skinned mesh is the most complicated mesh in a fixture. It follows the same rules as the conforming Mesh in terms of overall mesh structure and UV mapping, but the manner in which it conforms to the car is more nuanced.

The vertices of a skinned Mesh will conform to the car in the same manner as the conforming mesh if those vertices are within 1.5 mm of the Y axis. This is useful for having these parts of the mesh connect to a conforming mesh, as they will conform the same in that area.[[File:Skinned Mesh Example 01.jpg|alt=Note that only the vertices on the lower most edge of this mesh will conform as if they were part of a Conforming Mesh, as they are within 0.15cm of the Y-axis. Also note that these vertices will maintain this offset from the Y-axis even after they have conformed to the car. Thus the Conforming Mesh will need to extrude out at least as far, to cover up these vertices.|none|thumb|Note that only the vertices on the lowermost edge of this mesh will conform as if they were part of a conforming mesh, as the rest are farther than 1.5 mm from the body surface. Also note that these vertices will maintain this offset from the Y axis even after they have conformed to the car; thus, the conforming mesh will need to extend at least as far to connect to these vertices.|link=https://automation.gamepedia.com/File:Skinned_Mesh_Example_01.jpg|480x480px]]The rest of the mesh will conform relative to their skinned bones and weights. For this example, I've created a Skinned Mesh with 4 bones, and weighted them like so:<gallery mode="nolines" widths="360" heights="180">
File:Skinned Mesh Example 02.jpg|Each bone is weighted to the parts of the skinned mesh that should retain their proportions, with the intermediary vertices weighted smoothly between bones.
File:Animated2.gif|The bones in motion.
</gallery>The bones are free-floating and are parented only to the root bone. In 3ds Max, usually use Dummy Actors for my bones, but you can use a box mesh or whatever works.

Take note that the vertices that conform to the mesh do so in the same manner as the conforming mesh, but are still weighted to their respective bones. This is because Automation's fixture system uses the distance that these vertices were morphed to determine how far back to conform each bone. If these vertices were weighted to the root bone instead, the fixture would not know how far to morph the skinned sections of the mesh.

Unreal Engine 4 also requires a bone hierarchy, so I've made a root bone and parented all of the other bones to it. The root bone should not be weighted to any vertices here, though with other fixtures, weighting vertices to the root bone makes them conform even if they're outside of the 1.5 mm threshold. Whatever you do, though, '''''do not''''' weight a vertex to the root bone and another bone at the same time, as the vertex in question will snap to the fixture's origin point<gallery mode="nolines" widths="360" heights="240">
File:Skinned Mesh Example 03.jpg|From a front view, you can see that the bones are centred on their respective elements.
File:Skinned Mesh Example 04.jpg|Top view.
</gallery>Take a look at the image below of the skinned mesh on the car (there's also a conforming mesh there around the edge, but we'll ignore that for now). The outer ring of vertices is conforming to the car as if it was part of a conforming mesh, and the rest of the mesh is conforming as per their bone weights:

[[File:FixtureOnCar01.png|link=https://automation.gamepedia.com/File:FixtureOnCar01.png|frameless|360x360px]]

===== Unwrapping the Mesh =====
Assign the same box map (with a scale of 2, 2, 2) as you did with the conforming mesh.

==== Creating an Additional Mesh ====
An ''Additional Mesh'' is a simple mesh with no skin or morphs that does not deform in any way. The Additional Mesh ''does'' rotate around the fixture position, and will maintain its relative position from its pivot point.

Take this exhaust fixture as an example. Note that the entirety of the exhaust is offset from the pivot point—this is so that it can hang under the car, since the fixture itself must have its pivot point ''on'' the car.<gallery mode="nolines" widths="360" heights="240">
File:Additional Mesh Example 01.jpg|3D view.
File:Additional Mesh Example 02.jpg|Front view.
</gallery>

=== Additional Considerations ===

==== Unwrapping reflector lights ====
If your fixture is a light that contains a reflector surface (such as an incandescent bulb), there are some special considerations.

Let's take a look at this fixture as an example:

[[File:Screenshot_2021-01-18_131739.png|frameless|360x360px]]

Several things are of note with regards to light components.

The reflector shader material looks at the UVs of the mesh to determine how to render it.

* The bulbs themselves should be unwrapped as a single point with zero scale exactly at UV coordinate <code>0.5,0.5</code> (the UV is scaled to a single point in the very center).
**The reflector shader is a single material, so to render the bulb slightly transparent and with a colour to it, the shader renders all faces unwrapped at <code>0.5,0.5</code> as a bulb. Because the shader has such a tight tolerance for the UV coordinates, this doesn't affect other overlapping surfaces within the UV map.
<gallery heights="120">
File:Wiki Fixturemods Lights ReflectorUVs 01.jpg
File:Wiki Fixturemods Lights ReflectorUVs 01B.jpg
</gallery>
* The main reflector surface should be unwrapped such that each quad face fills the entirety of the <code>0-1</code> UV coordinate space (<code>Reset UV projection</code> in Blender).
**The reflector shader has a reflector dome texture which it uses, so any surface you wish to have this dome texture on it should be unwrapped as such.
<gallery heights="120">
File:Wiki Fixturemods Lights ReflectorUVs 04.jpg
File:Wiki Fixturemods Lights ReflectorUVs 04B.jpg
</gallery>
* Any other part of the reflector that you want to have vertical or horizontal lines on should be unwrapped as a single point with zero scale exactly at UV coordinate <code>0,1</code> (the UV is scaled to a single point in the bottom left corner).
**The shader will dynamically render a corrugated effect on any UV at the bottom left corner.
<gallery heights="120">
File:Wiki Fixturemods Lights ReflectorUVs 02.jpg
File:Wiki Fixturemods Lights ReflectorUVs 02B.jpg
</gallery>
* Parts of the reflector that should be perfectly flat should be unwrapped as a single point with zero scale exactly at UV coordinate <code>0,0</code> (the UV is scaled to a single point in the top left corner).
<gallery heights="120">
File:Wiki Fixturemods Lights ReflectorUVs 03.jpg
File:Wiki Fixturemods Lights ReflectorUVs 03B.jpg
</gallery>

==== Applying materials to a light component ====
The bulb and reflector for each light should be assigned to the same material slot to save on draw calls. Each separate light, however, should be a different material slot for freedom of choice in terms of light configurations.

==== Unwrapping radial glass ====
For light glass with a radial pattern, unwrap the glass so that the radial pattern fills the whole UV space as a single texture.

== Fixture setup within Unreal Engine 4 ==
This step assumes that the correct version of Unreal Engine is installed and configured correctly. See [[Modding]] for more information on the correct version of Unreal Engine to use and how to view mod content folders. Also see [https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Content/FBX/StaticMeshes/#importmesh the official Unreal Engine documentation on importing FBX files] for more information.

=== Creating your Fixture Mod Plugin ===
Using the correct version of Unreal Engine, with our modding tool project opened and plugins loaded, select 'Create Mod' from the top menu bar.
[[File:UE4ModCreation 02.gif|none|thumb|1) Select the blank project. 2) Give your mod a unique name. 3) Fill out your name and a description of this mod. 4) Create the mod.|360x360px|alt=]]

=== Importing Files ===
There are several ways to import your sub-meshes to this mod folder. The easiest is to simply navigate to the folder you want to import your files in the Content Browser, then click the 'Import' button to import files to that folder, select the meshes you want to import, and click 'Open'.

[[File:Import_files_button.gif|frameless|360x360px]]

UV meshes, conforming meshes, and additional meshes should be imported as static meshes ('Skeletal Mesh' is un-ticked in the import dialogue), while skinned meshes should be imported as skeletal meshes ('Skeletal Mesh' is ticked in the import dialogue).
Note that 'Skeletal Meshes' will import with additional 'Skeleton' and 'Physics Asset' files. ''These are important''. You don't need to do anything with them, but don't delete them.[[File:Import Dialogue Example 01.jpg|alt=An example import dialogue for a Skinned Mesh. This should be un-ticked for other sub-mesh types|none|thumb|An example import dialogue for a skinned mesh. This should be unticked for other sub-mesh types.|link=https://automation.gamepedia.com/File:Import_Dialogue_Example_01.jpg|383x383px]]Note that 'Import Materials' is also unticked, as we do not want to import any materials from the modelling software.

The final set of imported files in Unreal Engine should look like this:[[File:Example Imported.jpg|alt=Note that this example does not include an Additional Mesh.|none|thumb|Note that this example does not include an additional mesh.|link=https://automation.gamepedia.com/File:Example_Imported.jpg|392x392px]]Once your files are imported, it's important to set 'CPU Access' to true for ''all static meshes''. You can do this by selecting every static mesh, right-clicking on it and selecting 'Set Meshes to Allow CPU Access'.
[[File:Allow_CPU_access.jpg|link=https://automation.gamepedia.com/File:Allow_CPU_access.jpg|frameless|240x240px]]

=== Default Materials and Material Slots ===
'''''Note:''' This step assumes a basic understanding of UE4's [https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Content/Types/StaticMeshes/Editor/ Static Mesh] editor and [https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Animation/Persona/Modes/Mesh/ Skeletal Mesh] editor. Alternatively, material slots can be named appropriately within a 3D modelling program of choice.''

The fixture material system in Automation relies on the name of the material slots within the meshes to define what materials can be applied to the fixture. Therefore, assigning the correct materials to the meshes is only important for the initial selection and loading of that fixture. In this manner, it is possible to have custom materials applied to your fixture with it still being compatible with Automation's fixture material menu.

The fixture material menu in Automation relies on the names of the material slots on the sub-meshes to decide what category of materials the player can select from, with said names in the format <code>category_#</code> (case-sensitive, with '#' being a single- or multiple-digit number of choice).

The available categories for fixture materials are as follows:<gallery mode="nolines" widths="240" heights="120" perrow="4">
File:Panel -.png|alt=panel|<code>panel</code> (car body colours and some other opaque materials)
File:Opaqueglass -.png|alt=opaqueglass|<code>opaqueglass</code> (opaque light glass; ideal for non-bulb lights)
File:Grill -.png|alt=grill|<code>grill</code> (for transparent and opaque grill patterns in addition to <code>panel</code> materials)
File:Glass -.png|alt=glass|<code>glass</code> (transparent and translucent light glass in addition to <code>opaqueglass</code>, <code>panel</code>, and <code>grill</code> materials; this category provides the most freedom in terms of material choice)
File:Roundglass -.png|alt=roundglass|<code>roundglass</code> (transparent light glass with radial detailing; this material applies to a mesh in the traditional UV sense, so use a planar map to unwrap this part of the mesh if you intend to use this)
File:Screenshot 2021-01-18 151206.png|alt=bulb|<code>bulb</code> (for reflector lights; requires special UV unwrapping)
File:Numberplatenarrow -.png|alt=numberplatenarrow|<code>numberplatenarrow</code> (North American license plate format)
File:Numberplatewide -.png|alt=numberplatewide|<code>numberplatewide</code> (European license plate format)
</gallery>If you only have a single slot for a fixture material category, you still need a number for it. This number scales infinitely, meaning a fixture can have many separate slots of a single category assigned to it. A fixture's sub-meshes cannot share the same name on its material slots. If a fixture contains meshes with duplicate slot names, they will appear as a single material slot in-game (this can be used to merge slots on, for example, a conforming and additional mesh).

With light fixtures, the names of the slots for the corresponding pair of glass and reflector material slot names should share the same number. For example, a fixture with two lights would have <code>glass_01</code> (or just <code>glass_1</code>) and <code>bulb_01</code>, and <code>glass_02</code> and <code>bulb_02</code>.

Below is a headlight's conforming mesh with its default materials set and the names of its material slots set to their respective types. The workflow for additional meshes should be identical.<gallery mode="nolines" widths="360" heights="180">
File:Headlight Conforming Mesh Materials Setup 01.jpg
File:Material 02.jpg|Close-up view of the materials
</gallery>The Skeletal Mesh editor looks a little different, but the slot naming conventions are the same:

[[File:Skeletal_Mesh_Slot_example_01.jpg|link=https://automation.gamepedia.com/File:Skeletal_Mesh_Slot_example_01.jpg|frameless|360x360px]]

==== Assigning Default Materials ====
While the slot names define what materials the player can choose from in-game, it doesn't define what material first gets loaded when the fixture is spawned in.

When the fixture is first placed on the car, it loads the material that is set in that fixture's sub-mesh default materials. For the sub-mesh examples above, you can see that not only have the slots been named appropriately, they also have materials assigned to them. Therefore, for all your fixture sub-meshes, default materials should be applied. (They're not strictly necessary, but your fixtures deserve better than the default grey checkered material.)

To find where all the materials available in-game are, open up the <code>CarMaterialUtils</code> blueprint (located in <code>Content</code> -> <code>Utility</code>), and open the 'Get Materials from Slot' function. There, you can view the list of each material that gets assigned to each slot, find them in the content folder, and assign them to your mesh as the default material. Note, though, that these steps are only to find where the default materials are. We do not use the Utils blueprint itself to assign materials to fixtures.

To do this, open <code>CarMaterialUtils</code>...

[[File:Carmaterialutils01.png|frameless|360x360px]]

...then open 'Get Fixture Materials from Slot', located in <code>CarMaterialUtils</code> -> <code>Car Painting</code> -> <code>GetFixtureMaterialsFromSlot</code>.

[[File:Carmaterialutils02.png|frameless|424x424px]]

From there, select the corresponding materials array for the material category you want to apply to your sub-mesh from the Local Variables tab, and in the details panel you'll see an array of the materials used for that slot type. By expanding that, you can see the materials, and by selecting the small magnifying glass icon, view that material in the Content Browser, and from there apply it to your sub-mesh.
=== Creating and Setting Up the CPP File ===
Right-click in the content browser, and from the 'Camso' sub-menu, select the 'Fixture Preview Data' option. You should now have a fixture CPP file in your content browser.[[File:UE4ModCreation 25.gif|none|thumb]]
Open the CPP file. You should get something like this:

[[File:UE4ModCreation_26.jpg|frameless|478x478px]]

Fill out the 'Meshes' section with the meshes you've made, leave the 'Text' data empty, generate a GUID and Family GUID (or copy the family GUID if you're making a variant), and set the 'Fixture' settings to the relevant info as laid out near the top of this page. Finally, in the 'Path' section, make sure there is one item in the array, and fill it with <code>A_Fixture</code>. '''''This is important; your fixture will not work if this is not filled correctly.'''''

When you're done, you should have something that looks like this:[[File:FixtureExampleSettings.png|alt=Fixture Blueprint|none|thumb|A fixture blueprint with only the relevant settings shown.|link=https://automation.gamepedia.com/File:FixtureExampleSettings.png|333x333px]]Be sure to save your files.

===Creating the Thumbnail===
You should already be here by default when you load up the Automation project. Check the top tab in Unreal and make sure it says 'ThumbnailGeneratorLevel_Fixture'. If you are not in the thumbnail generator level, open it from <code>DeveloperSandbox/ThumbnailGeneratorLevel_Fixture</code>.<gallery mode="nolines" widths="360" heights="240">
File:UE4ModCreation 27.gif
File:UE4ModCreation 28.gif
</gallery>From the top menu, open the drop-down next to the 'Play' button and select 'Simulate'. You should now be 'simulating' the level.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_15.gif|frameless|360x360px]]

===== Generate Fixture Thumbnails =====
Select the Fixture Thumbnail Generator from the World Outliner, and add your fixture blueprint to the 'Fixture Previews to Generate' array (by first clicking the 'plus' icon, then putting the fixtures you have created into the list). Repeat this process for every fixture you have created. It does not matter if these fixtures are of the same family or not. Then, select 'Export Preview' to generate the Thumbnail file.[[File:Fixture thumb gen 02.gif|none|thumb|alt=Note that I am connected to source control in this .gif, so I have red crosses in the top right corner of the items in the Content Browser. If you do not see this, do not worry. Also ignore that im putting blueprints in to the 'fixtures to generate' array, this is depreciated. put your .cpp files in the 'previews' one.|Note that I am connected to source control in this .gif, which explains the red checkmarks in the top right corner of the items in the Content Browser. If you do not see this, do not worry.|link=https://automation.gamepedia.com/File:Fixture_thumb_gen_02.gif|389x389px]]

Because these files are created by the modding tools, they need to be manually saved (even if no asterisks are present).

Your fixture mod is now ready to be shared!

== Cooking and sharing your mod ==
To use the mod you have just created, you need to 'share' it. See [[Modding#Cooking|the main Modding page]] on how to share your mod.

== Additional notes ==
*Fixtures should not have any vertices along the centre axes to avoid any miscalculation by the fixture gizmo. If the game casts a ray through the centre line of the car, it may miss the two halves of the car and return a false positive of the fixture being out of bounds. Offsetting your vertices slightly will avoid this. Additional meshes are the sole exception to this rule, as they do not conform in any way.
*If you're testing out a fixture and the meshes it uses haven't been finalized, you can use UE4's 'Reimport' function to replace the existing mesh with a newer version of it. All the materials already assigned to the mesh will be preserved, as will its reference in the blueprint, saving you the trouble of manually reimporting a mesh and having to reassign materials and put it into the blueprint again. This works for [[Car Body Mods|car body meshes]] as well.
*Is CPU access still turned on for all static meshes? If your mod causes a crash or isn't visible in-game, this might be unticked. It does that sometimes; re-enable it and try again.
*If the first fixture in a thumbnail generation array ends up with an unusually sparkly thumbnail, this can be fixed by giving it an additional duplicate array entry (which forces UE4 to render the thumbnail again normally).

== See Also ==
* [[Badge Fixture Mods]]
*[[Mods and the Beam.NG Exporter]]

Car Body Mods

2022-01-08T05:52:59Z

The Stig Is A Spy: added chassis type info

== Overview ==
A car body is a collection of files, of which a <code>Body Variant Preview Data</code> file is the parent.

The <code>Body Variant Preview Data</code> contains the settings and applicable options for the car body, as well as a reference to the car body mesh.

The car body mesh itself is a skeletal mesh in UE4, which is set up in a specific way. The mesh needs a set of placeholder materials assigned to it, as well as needing a certain orientation and size and specific UV layouts, along with highly specialised modelling and rigging.

== Workflow ==

# In a 3D modelling package:
## Create a car body mesh.
## Set up the skinning/rigging and morph targets.
## Create the UV maps.
# In UE4:
## Set up a mod.
## Import the car body to the mod folder.
## Ensure that the placeholder materials are properly assigned to the body.
## Create and fill out a body variant preview file.
## Generate the car thumbnail and preview info.
## Cook the mod.
# In the Automation Workshop Publishing Tool:
## Set up a workshop item.
## Share your mod.

== Creating the Car Body Mesh ==

=== Overview ===
Prior experience with modelling (particularly with subdivision surfaces) is required to make good Automation car bodies. Should you lack said experience, the links below are some good places to start:

* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjEaoINr3zgEq0u2MzVgAaHEBt--xLB6U BlenderGuru Blender 2.8 Beginner Tutorial]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppASl6yaguU&list=PLrjIgEdKLivgpCMmFC0_sV60Y_Ftp-WLD CGGeek Blender 2.8 Beginner Tutorial]
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa1F2ddGya_-UvuAqHAksYnB0qL9yWDO6 Blender Foundation Blender 2.8 Fundamentals]
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLda3VoSoc_TRuNB-5fhzPzT0mBfJhVW-i BornCG Blender 2.8 Tutorial Series]

Automation car bodies in particular should be created as a half, and then mirrored at or near completion to ensure symmetry and minimise the amount of work required to tweak them. Which half of a body you decide to model is irrelevant.

For an overview of how a vanilla body is modelled, Hard Rooster has made a [[Blender_Specific_instructions#Modelling_a_Body_in_Blender_in_9-hours|video series]] covering the modelling of a body from start to finish in Blender.

=== Notes ===
* UE4's units are in centimetres. For example, 100 units in UE4 are equivalent to 1 metre.
*A finished car body mesh is made of between 7,000 and 30,000 triangles (though a common upper limit is 15,000 triangles).
**This varies depending on things like the curvature of the body (compare a 1980s van to a 1950s sports car, for example), morphs that may require special topology, and the size of the body (as insufficient triangle density on a larger body may result in fixture tearing).
*Panel gaps (including door seams) are modelled into the car.
**A transparent mesh is often added over the panel seam to make fixtures conform more smoothly.
* The entire car should be one object/element.
*The body must not contain integrated mirrors, grilles, lights, badges, vents, door handles, aerials, fuel caps etc. Those should be made separately as fixtures.
**An exception may be made for sculpted vents (without the actual vent area, such as those on the LD Dodge Charger) or character lines, if they can be morphed flat and/or don't interfere with the versatility of the body.
* Use quads as much as possible, as they shade and reflect better than triangles.
* The body must be single-sided and must not have backfaces. It is made double-sided by materials in UE4.

 <gallery mode="packed" widths="200" heights="180">
File:Topview2.jpg|Top view
File:SideView2.jpg|Side view
File:3dview.jpg|3D view
</gallery>

==== Coordinates ====

* The front of the car body should face towards the negative Y (front to back) axis.
*the center of the body should be roughly at 0 on the Y axis, and exactly 0 on the X axis.
* The bottom edge of the car should roughly sit at 0 on the Z axis, with the top facing towards positive Z (ie: it should not be upside-down).
** Remember that the Y axis in 3ds Max and Blender runs ''forwards and backwards,'' whereas the Z axis runs ''up and down.'' This may not be consistent across all 3D packages.

* All vertices at the centre of the car (where it's cut in half) should be ''exactly'' at 0 on the X (left to right) axis.

== Applying Materials ==

Automation uses a set of placeholder materials applied to the mesh to define different paintable parts of the car.

'''''Only one of each material is supported.'''''

* If you need more materials to assign, consider adjusting your mesh, because there are no more materials to assign than those listed here, and you can only have one of each. 😉
* These will be replaced with the correct materials (if you've assigned the material slots correctly), informing the game what various areas of the car are used for, and what materials they require.
* These materials are colour-coded to represent the different areas of the car, and are replaced with the proper in-game materials dynamically. Make sure to assign these placeholders correctly!

=== List of car body materials ===
The following materials are used on car bodies:
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
!Material Name
!Area Used
!Paint Category
!Colourable
!Location in UE4
!Notes
|-
|<code>Bonnet</code>
|The bonnet
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Bonnet
|General paintable material. Has its own visibility toggle in-game.
|-
|<code>BonnetCam</code>
|Above the bonnet; determines the default location of the bonnet camera
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/BonnetCam
|This material is invisible in-game and has no effect on aesthetics.
for the Exporter, the bounding box origin of the geometry which uses this material defines where the bonnet camera will be.
|-
|<code>Bumper_Front</code>
|The front bumper
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Bumper_Front
|Prior to the Light Campaign 4.2 update, front and rear bumpers could not be painted separately.
|-
|<code>Bumper_Rear</code>
|The rear bumper
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Bumper_Rear
|Prior to the Light Campaign 4.2 update, front and rear bumpers could not be painted separately.
|-
|<code>CabinBounds</code>
|Deprecated
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/CabinBounds
|Since bounding boxes for car calculations are now done dynamically since the Light Campaign 4.2 update, this material is listed for legacy purposes only.
(This material was previously used to determine cabin size.)
|-
|<code>CargoBounds</code>
|Deprecated
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/CargoBounds
|Since bounding boxes for car calculations are now done dynamically since the Light Campaign 4.2 update, this material is listed for legacy purposes only.

(This material was previously used to determine trunk size, as well as front trunk size for mid- and rear-engine-only bodies.)
|-
|<code>Car_Roof</code> (formerly <code>Soft_Top</code>)
|General car roof slot
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Car_Roof
|General paintable material. Was previously exclusive to softtop convertibles until the Light Campaign 4.2 update.
|-
|<code>Chrome</code>
|Areas that must remain chrome
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/ChromeBUS
|For parts of the car that should always be chrome, use this material.
This material cannot be changed in-game.
|-
|<code>DriverCam</code>
|Inside the cabin; determines the default location of the driver camera(s)
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/DriverCam
|This material is invisible in-game and has no effect on aesthetics.
For the Exporter, the bounding box origin of the geometry which uses this material defines where the driver camera will be.

Optionally, this material can be split across boxes on either side of the car, allowing for different left- and right-hand driver positions.

For the BeamNG exporter, this position is then raycast forward, with any resulting collision with a vertex or face becoming the driver camera position. Effectively, this means the default driver camera position is just in front of the windshield, but aligned with the bounding box origin on the X and Z axes.
|-
|<code>FrontBounds</code>
|Deprecated
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/FrontBounds
|Since bounding boxes for car calculations are now done dynamically since the Light Campaign 4.2 update, this material is listed for legacy purposes only.

(This material was previously used to determine front trunk volume in rear-engined cars with a front engine option.)
|-
|<code>LipPlacement</code>
|Around undertray, over panel gaps, and over wheel wells
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/LipPlacement
|Used to cover panel gaps, wheel wells, and undertrays so that fixtures can conform to them.
This material is invisible in-game.
|-
|<code>LowerBounds</code>
|Deprecated
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/LowerBounds
|Since bounding boxes for car calculations are now done dynamically since the Light Campaign 4.2 update, this material is listed for legacy purposes only.

(This material was previously used to determine a car's engine bay size and general weight.)
|-
|<code>Paint</code>
|The primary paint colour
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Paint
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Paint_Two_Tone</code>
|The secondary paint colour
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Paint_Two_Tone
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Paint_Misc_1</code>
|Misc. paint
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Paint_Misc_1
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Paint_Misc_2</code>
|Misc. paint
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Paint_Misc_2
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Paint_Misc_3</code>
|Misc. paint
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Paint_Misc_3
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Trim</code>
|The general trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Trim
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Trim_Misc_1</code>
|Misc. trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Trim_Misc_1
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Trim_Misc_2</code>
|Misc. trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Trim_Misc_2
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Trim_Misc_3</code>
|Misc. trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Trim_Misc_3
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Plastic</code>
|Underbody
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Plastic
|Used for underbodies and wheel wells.
|-
|<code>Reflective_Mirror</code>
|Deprecated
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Reflective_Mirror
|Used for reflective mirror glass, back when mirrors were modelled into car bodies.
|-
|<code>Steel</code>
|Areas that must remain steel
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Steel
|For parts of the car that should always be steel, use this material.
This material cannot be changed in-game.
|-
|<code>Tray</code>
|The bed of a pickup truck or ute
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Tray
|Fixtures cannot be placed on this material.
|-
|<code>Window_Pillar</code>
|The pillar trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Window_Pillar
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Window_Trim</code>
|The window trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Window_Trim
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Windows</code>
|The car's windows
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Windows
|General paintable material.
Using the default Adjustable Window material, window transparency can be adjusted in-game.
|-
|<code>Wing_Mirror_Trim</code>
|Deprecated
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Wing_Mirror_Trim

|Used for mirror trim, back when mirrors were modelled into car bodies.
This material is listed for legacy purposes only.
|}

== Creating Body Morphs ==
Automation car bodies support both morph targets (shape keys), and skinning (rigging) for morphing parts of a car body. You can mix and match as many of each as you want, but be careful with overlapping morphs.

In-game, the morph which is selected is defined as the morph with the highest weight of the selected face/vertex.

* Morph targets are treated as having a maximum skin weight of 0.3 for the vertices that move the most, and multiply down to 0 for vertices that the morph doesn't move at all.
** For instance, a morph target which tilts the window pillar forward or backward would have a maximum weight of 0.3 at the top, and 0 at the bottom, with the vertex weighting blending down through the vertices like a gradient.
* Skin weights should be weighted roughly similarly to morph targets, so the maximum weight of a skin morph should be about 0.3.
** You can go as high as 1 if you are not using morph targets, or if your morph targets do not overlap a particular area of skin weights.
** Skin weights should be defined in 8-bit intervals only. UE4's skeletal meshes only support 8-bit weights, so having your skin use values as a multiple of 1/256 is important. As a rough estimate, values that are a multiple of 0.004 work fine, but be aware that values of less than 0.012 may be ignored.

=== Creating morphs with skinning ===
Skinning is the main system used to allow the player to drag around and deform a car body in Automation. It's done via weighting specific vertices to various "bones" that are a representation of what the player is dragging in-game when deforming the body.

It's also probably the single most confusing step of car creation in Automation, as it's done in a way that doesn't have a great deal in common with any other widely used game art process. It uses the same tools as skinning a character in a 3D modelling application, so referring to some character skinning tutorials may give you useful insights into the tools used, but the way Automation uses it is quite unique.

====Basic skinning overview====
In Automation, bones are used to define which part of the morph moves, but are non-hierarchical. The bones float in space around the car without any connection to each other, with only a Root bone as their parent.

* Every vertex on a skinned model has a skin weight to at least one bone, and at most four bones.
**This weighting will be a number between 0 and 1, defining how much a vertex follows the movement of a bone.
**The weighting is an 8-bit bit value, ie; all values are rounded to the nearest 1/256th
**For vertices that do not use a bone and instead are morphed with morph targets, they must still be weighted to the Root bone. all vertices must have a weight, and all weights must add up to 1.
**for vertices with weights that add up to above 1, you will get errors. do not do this. all weights must add up to 1.
**'''''All vertices must have a weight, and all weights must add up to 1.'''''
*When you morph the car in-game, your mouse movements move the bone, and the vertices follow the bone.

====Setting up bones for morphs====
Bones should float freely around the area which they will deform. All bones should be parented to the origin of the car called <code>Bone Root</code>. The naming and hierarchy is important.

It is a ''requirement'' for the root bone to be named <code>Bone Root</code>; otherwise, the body will not work correctly!

The morphs you create are up to you, and vary depending on the shape of the car and which parts can be deformed attractively, but almost every car will have bones for:

* Front and rear wheel arch flares
* Windscreen rake angle
* Rear window rake angle
* Boot/rear length or angle
*Front and rear bumper length (or front and rear overhang in general)

There is no real limit to how many bones you can have, but each vertex should only be skinned to 4 different bones before issues occur (i.e. vertices may not move how they should), and it can be very difficult in-game to select and deform an area that's skinned to more than 2 bones. This is because in-game, when you hover over the car, the bone weighted the most to the vertex under your cursor is the bone that you will be moving.

Bones should be created floating near the part of the car they deform. Their location isn't really important to how they function in-game, but having them placed correctly makes it much easier to understand what each bone is for adjusting their limits in later stages of the modding process. Also, a morph will not work if its bone's origin is off-screen while trying to move the morph in-game. Try to keep the bones relatively close to the areas they're morphing.

Note that if you are using the 3ds Max script, you do not need to create bones for anything on the opposite side of the car (e.g wheel arches on the other side), as they will automatically be mirrored when you mirror the car body. If you are not using the script, or you are using Maya or Blender, all bones that should mirror their actions on the other side of the car (such as wheel arches) should have the correct naming nomenclature so they work correctly in-game. The following suffixes work for mirrored bones in Automation:

*<code><Name>_opposite</code>
*<code><Name>_R</code>
*<code><Name>_L</code>
*<code>L.<Name></code>
*<code>R.<Name></code>
In this case, <code><Name></code> is the name of the bone/morph. 

[[File:BoneLayout2.jpg|frameless]]

[[File:ArmatureNaming_01.gif|frameless]]

====Adding bones in 3ds Max ====
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="300" heights="240">
File:ArmatureNaming 03.gif|1. Add a Skin modifier to the modifier stack of your car body mesh.
File:ArmatureNaming 04.gif|2. From the Parameters section of the Skin Modifier, press Add Bones.
File:ArmatureNaming 05.gif|3. Select all the bones from the list, and press Select to add them to the skin. (You can use filters to make sure you're only getting helper objects like dummies in the list.)
</gallery>

====Adding bones in Blender====
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="360" heights="240">
File:ArmatureNaming 06.gif|1. Add an ''Armature'' modifier.
File:ArmatureNaming 07.gif|2. Select your armature.
</gallery>

====Weighting the skin====

Now comes the complex bit. Weighting skins is a difficult and creative proccess that's almost like remodeling the car into different shapes, but with only skin weights to do it with. Wheel arches are often the easiest place to start on a new model, and a good way to start is to move a bone a reasonably large distance in the direction you want it to move (say, 25 to 50 cm) and then start weighting to that bone's new position.

* Remember that the higher you set the weight, the farther that area will move with mouse input, and the less weight will be available to assign to other bones. This isn't too important on wheel arches, but can be an issue on other parts of the car which may share more bones.
* all weights on a vertex need to add up to 1, and if the current bone is the only bone assigned to that vertex, it can't have a weight less than 1. By adding the root bone as a second bone, you can now adjust the weight of the bone you want, and the bone root will take the remaining weight.
* Bones in Blender affect vertex groups of their same name. To skin a mesh, you assign vertices of that mesh to the vertex group (of the same name as the bone you want them to be affected by), and then adjust the weight of that vertex (as a value from 0 to 1) to that vertex group.
* Keep in mind that Unreal Engine rounds bone weights to the nearest 1/256 (with intervals of roughly 0.004). This minimum weight interval isn't 100% reliable in some cases—instead, a minimum of 0.008, 0.012, or 0.016 may be used.
* You may also use weight painting as per [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb7obMX2SCf3UqP4R2w_El05BLpFcUpSw Hard Rooster's video tutorial series], which requires more setup but is generally faster and more convenient.
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="300" heights="240">
File:Blender ArmatureVertexGroupNames 01.gif|1. Create a Vertex Group from the Object Data tab with the same name as each bone.
File:Blender VertexWeighting 02.gif|2. Select the vertices you want to be affected by certain bones, and assign them to the matching vertex groups.
File:Blender VertexWeighting 01.gif|3. In the Item panel (accessed in the Viewport by pressing <code>N</code>), adjust the weights for the vertices.
</gallery>

Effectively, what you're doing here is using weighting to remodel the car into the shape you want it to be at the furthest extremes of bone movement. If you can make it the correct shape with the bone moved to its maximum position and with the bone back in its normal position, everything in between should take care of itself, and any bone position in between should look good too.

[[File:MoveBone2.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

Windscreens are also a good place to learn to skin, as you can basically move the windscreen bone forwards, and then try your best to use skin weights to make an almost vertical windscreen. If you can get that working correctly, then you should have a bone that lets you smoothly change the angle of the windscreen.

[[File:MoveWindscreenBone2.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

=== Creating morphs with morph targets ===
For Automation, we support using morph targets and shape keys for morphing a car body. This is done by storing a default value (the base car) and a morph to morph to (the morph target/shape key), and interpolating between those two shapes for every morph. The game supports morph values between 0 and 1 only. This is why skinning is better for the corners of a car body, because that allows for a full two (or even three) dimensions of movement for every morph, and in both directions. It is up to you to decide which method you would prefer to use. Morph targets are generally easier to set up.

==== In Blender ====
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="360" heights="240">
File:BlenderMorphs 01.gif|1. Create a new shape key.
File:BlenderMorphs 02.gif|2. Select the shape key.
</gallery>You can now edit the mesh to be in the new position you want it to be in for that morph.

Repeat for as many morphs as you would like, taking into consideration that every vertex that each morph affects will add to the total polygon count for that body. If you have too many morphs on a body with too many polygons, the game will take longer to load fixtures onto it!

==== In 3ds Max ====
We do not recommend this, but you can do it if you really want to.

# Duplicate your mesh.
#Adjust your mesh, '''''without adding or removing any polygons''''', to create your morph target.
# Create a Morpher modifier, and put it above the Edit Poly modifier, and below the Skin modifier (if you're using one).
# Pick the duplicate mesh as one of the morphs.
# Repeat for all morphs.
#Yes, it's ''that'' tedious. We hate 3ds Max.

=== Morphing tips ===

* Look carefully for any strange deformations in panels when moving your bones. It's very important that panels remain as smooth as possible when deforming, as reflections will very obviously show any kinks. The above example of the windscreen is a great example of a morph that deforms the overall shape of the body too much (look at how the top of the windshield becomes a curve and then eventually a kink—this is bad).

* Test out what happens if you move two nearby bones at the same time. Sometimes, two bones' movement combined can cause strange polygon overlaps, though this can often be avoided with careful skinning and a smooth falloff of weights between the two bones.

* Don't try and make too many different skinned areas. 10 or 12 is a sensible maximum, and try and avoid more than one bone affecting the exact same area (some overlap is okay though), as this may make them hard to select in-game.

* Sometimes you'll have to make changes to the mesh to make your car deform nicely in an area. Poly flow is very important for good deformation.

* Don't forget that any weighting you give a vertex to a bone will be taken from another bone to keep a total weight of 1. This can get very confusing and cause you to chase your own tail a bit. You have been warned! This isn't so much an issue in Blender (since vertex groups can be locked), but in 3ds Max, ''ohhhh boy'' I almost tore my hair out on more than one occasion.

== UV Unwrapping ==
If you're planning to do a pelt unwrap as described here, please swap this unwrap step with the mirroring step, and perform your mesh mirroring first. If you plan to use the 3ds Max script for unwrapping, please perform this step first and then move on to mirroring.

=== Unwrapping fundamentals ===
UV unwrapping is the process of unfolding the mesh onto a flat 2d plane which describes which part of a texture is applied to which part of a mesh. Think of it like taking a completed papercraft model of a car and unfolding it back to a [https://i.pinimg.com/736x/36/b3/0e/36b30ecf06c7127270612ed37e693a16--toyota-land-cruiser-doll-party.jpg flat sheet]. In most games, UV mapping is important for how the actual visible textures on objects appear, but in Automation, it's mostly important for how the fixture system works. When you place certain fixtures (such as lights, a grille, or door handles) onto the car, it projects a fixture-shaped hole onto the alpha (transparency) channel of the car body.

For the holes to be projected correctly, you must unwrap the car as one complete piece, without any separate islands of polygons. Otherwise, fixtures can project across multiple parts of the car and give you holes in unwanted places. The UV unwrap must also give a fairly even amount of texture space to each area of the car, as any low-resolution areas will cause jagged holes around the outside of fixtures; this is called "tearing".

It is for all of these reasons that the unwrap of a car mod has to be what's called a "pelt" unwrap (named for its resemblance to a flat animal pelt). For Automation cars, it looks like this: <gallery mode="packed" widths="360" heights="240">
File:Car unwrap.gif
File:Car unwrap again.png
</gallery>

=== Unwrapping a car with a pelt unwrap ===

==== Make sure your car is one element ====
This part is important, as it defines how the pelt unwrap works, which in turn determines how the fixture system cuts holes in the car. If parts of the car are not connected in both the 3D viewport and the UV viewport, the fixture will cut out an incorrect hole.

Any lip placement areas must be properly unwrapped despite the material being invisible; otherwise, tearing across the body can occur.

===== to see if your mesh is one element: =====

In 3ds Max, enter the Edit Poly modifier and click Element mode. Select one face of the car, and hide unselected faces.

In Blender, select one face of the car and press Ctrl+L to select linked faces, and Shift+H to hide unselected faces.<gallery mode="nolines" widths="420" heights="240">
File:Car body is not one mesh.png|If your selection ends up looking like this, your car is not one element, and has unjoined faces between the selection and the rest of the mesh. This will not work. Join your mesh together properly.
File:Car body selection correct.png|If your selection looks like this, with the entirety of the mesh selected, then you have done it correctly and there are no un-joined elements. Good job!
</gallery>

==== Doing the pelt unwrap ====
However it's done in your choice of 3D application, perform a pelt unwrap on your car. In Blender, it looks like this:

[[File:Pelt_unwrap_step_1.png|frameless|360x360px]]

Next we need to orient the unwrap so that the centre of the car in the UV sits on the centre-line of the Y axis, and scale the unwrap up so that it covers as much of the UV space as possible:
[[File:Car_unwrap_step_2.png|alt=|none|thumb|360x360px|It is ''vital'' that the top and bottom halves of the unwrap here are perfectly symmetrical, and that the centre line of the car is perfectly straight along the middle.]]

* Make sure this unwrap exists on both the first ''and'' second UV channels. The first channel will be used to calculate the normals, and the second channel will be used to calculate the fixture cutouts.
* make sure the car's center line is exactly in the middle of the UV layout.
* make sure that the top and bottom halves of the car are perfectly symmetrical.

=== Unwrapping a car with the 3ds Max unwrap script ===
From the Car Body Export Helper utility (located on the Utilities tab, with the hammer icon, in the top right of 3ds Max), press the "Unwrap Car Body" button. If you don't see this menu, go to utilities, then click on MAXScript, which will bring up the Car Body Export Helper option; then, click on the name.
[[File:3DS-Max-Car-Unwrap-Script 01.gif|none|thumb]]The UV unwrap should now be complete, and with the UVTESTING map applied, the result should look something like this:

[[File:Checker.jpg|frameless|360x360px]]

===== Note for finished bodies made via the 3ds Max script =====
If you've finished your body and have it running in game, and it looks like this whenever you add fixtures...

[[File:WeirdFixtures.png|frameless|360x360px]]

...then the UV maps are broken. You need to follow the steps below to fix the UV maps. this happens because 3DS-Max is The Worst.

unwrap the body and apply the Unwrap UVW modifier. Change the Map Channel to "2" and then click Move, after which you will move the Unwrap UVW modifier below the Skin modifier.

# Start off with your un-mirrored, but complete body.
# Apply the UV Test material and unwrap your body (which at this point is only half) with the Car Body Export Helper Tool.
# Add the Unwrap UVW modifier. Under the Channel panel, navigate to the Map Channel box and change the "1" to "2".
# There should be a pop up. Click Move.
# Now move your Unwrap UVW modifier so that it sits below the Skin modifier.
# Select your car object and mirror it using the Car Body Export Helper Tool. After mirroring you will notice that your Unwrap UVW modifier has disappeared.
# You can now follow the export steps to re-export!

[[File:WeirdStep1.png|frameless|360x360px]][[File:WeirdStep3.png|frameless|360x360px]]

== Mirror the Half Body ==

=== The traditional method ===
# Mirror your mesh.
# If you've already unwrapped your mesh without mirroring the UV maps via modifier setitngs, select the mirrored half, and flip the UV of that half along the Y axis:
# Duplicate the bones for the wheel flares on the opposite side, matching the distance from the centreline. Set the name of the mirrored half to the same as the un-mirrored half with "_opposite" at the end of the name of the bone. Duplicate the bone weighting from the non-mirrored half, rename it to match the mirrored bone, and clear the weighting for each on the opposing side so that the weighting for each wheel flare only includes the respective wheel:
[[File:Flip UVs part 1.png|thumb|alt=|A mirrored mesh before mirroring the unwrap.|300x300px|none]][[File:Flip uv part 2.png|thumb|alt=|A mirrored mesh after mirroring the unwrap.|300x300px|none]]

[[File:Mirror_weighting.png|frameless|240x240px]]

[[File:Mirror_weights_values.png|frameless|240x240px]]

[[File:Mirror_weights_2.png|frameless|273x273px]]

=== If you're using the optional 3ds Max script ===
Mirroring is simple; from the Car Body Export Tools utility, just press "Mirror Car Body". This will mirror the mesh, mirror the UV unwrap, and duplicate the required bones.

[[File:3DS-Max-Car-Unwrap-Script_02.gif|frameless|221x221px]]

== Fix Everything You Just Broke Mirroring the Body ==

=== If you're using the 3ds Max script ===
===='''Check wheel arch bones have their opposite counterparts created'''====
Wheel arch bones require an opposite bone. This is to allow the game to morph the wheel arch on the other side of the body to the same length, but in an opposite direction to that which you have moved. (The same applies to any other bone that moves along the X axis, e.g. a running board morph).

When the mirror script is run, it determines which bones require an opposite by checking all the vertices on the zero X axis for each bone. If none of these vertices have a weight value, the script will create an opposite bone.

If, after running the script, your double-sided body does not have the expected opposite bones, then you will need to go back to your original half body and check that none of the vertices for that bone on the zero X Axis has any weight applied to it. Remember that ''zero weighted bones still count as having a value'', and you should use the Remove Zero Weights button to remove these.
[[File:Centre_verts.png|alt=|thumb|420x420px|Selecting all centre vertices.]]
One method to check for weights on the zero X axis is as follows:
[[File:Weight_table_view.png|alt=|thumb|420x420px|The weight table.]]

#Ensure that all vertices of your mesh are visible.
#Select all the vertices along the zero X axis.
#Open the weight table (found in the weight properties rollout).
#Set the weight table view to selected vertices.
#Scroll down the list of weight for the bones in question. Any weighted verts should be easy to spot, as there should not be any. These can be zeroed by right clicking the weight value. (You may want to make note of any weight values for other bones (excluding the root bone) on that vertex, as these may alter as a result of the above and you will want to correct them.
#Once all erroneous weights have been zeroed, use the Remove Zero Weights button.

These steps should ensure your opposite bone is created when the mirror script is run again.

====Ensure other bones do not have opposite bones when not required====
In some cases, your body may have bones that are purposely designed to morph vertices on the outside of the body that are not intended to move along the X axis (e.g. The "Hofmeister kink" found on the <code>10sSedan02</code> series of bodies). The mirror script may create an unwanted opposite bone for these.

This can be avoided by temporarily weighting a vertex on the zero X axis to the bone in question. Ideally, pick a vertex that is weighted only to the root bone so as not disturb the weights of other bones. Once the mirror script has been run, you can remove the temporary weight applied to that vertex.

====Check that both halves of the body are welded together====
The mirror body script should weld both halves of your body together, but for ''reasons'' (3ds Max is spaghetti), this does not always occur. This can be seen by your body having an unexpected crease or seam down the centre.

Once you have welded the two halves together, perform a visual check to ensure that no ''unintentional'' welds have taken place. e.g. top and bottom vertices on a window frames. If this happens, undo your weld command and select the centreline vertices in smaller chunks, and avoid selecting the vertices in question at the same time.

====Check skin for distortion along the centreline vertices====
When two skinned vertices are welded together, either automatically via the script or manually, 3ds Max will attempt to combine the weights of both the old vertices into one. Unfortunately, it's not very good at it, and many of the welded vertices on the centreline end up with odd weights. This results in a distorted skin (see below). This isn't an issue with Blender.

[[File:Distorted_Skin.png|frameless|360x360px]]
[[File:Weight_table.png|alt=|right|frameless|360x360px]]
To correct the distortion, you will need to check and correct the centreline vertices. The most methodical way is to start from one end of the body and work your way to the other end as follows:

# Expand the skin modifier and select Envelope.
# Open the weight table and set to selected vertices.
# Select the central 3 vertices at one end of the body and view the weight values in the table.
# Where the mesh is distorted, you will usually see one vertex in the weight table that's the odd one out.
# Amend the values of this vertex to match those on either side of it. (For vertices with more than 2 bones, you may need to untick normalize to stop Max from altering your amendments—remember to re-enable it once completed).
# Repeat the above steps, working along the body until you reach the other end.

=== Check that the same UV maps exist on the first two UV channels ===

==== In 3ds Max ====
To Check the maps:

# Under the utilities tab click on the More... button.
# Select "Channel Info" from the list and click OK.
# Click the newly available Channel Info Button and review the channel info.

[[File:Channel_inf.png|frameless|360x360px]]

The bottom 3 lines of the above screenshot represent the 3 UVW maps. In this case, the maps are identical, as they should be. If, however, there is a mismatch between the three maps (from either null data or different numbers of vertices), they will need to be be corrected. If your body does not have 3 maps, see [[Car Body Mods/Unwrap Error|here]].

In most cases, <code>1:map</code> is the correct one. One method of correcting the maps is as follows:

# In the Channel Info box, select the line representing the correct map.
# Select Copy.
# Select one of the incorrect lines.
# Select Paste.
# Repeat for the other map if it's also incorrect.
# Close the channel info box and click on the modifier stack tab.
# Move the UVW Mapping Paste modifier(s) to between the skin and the mesh.
# Collapse the modifiers into the mesh.

==== In Blender ====
Open the Object Data menu and select the UV Maps submenu. Open a UV editor and check that the UVs look correct in the first two UV channels.

[[File:Uvs_still_there.png|frameless|360x360px]]

If one of these is not correct, delete it and simply duplicate the correct one.

== Export Car Body to .FBX File ==

=== In 3ds Max ===
This step is easy!

1: Select the car body mesh, then go to File > Export > Export Selected

2: Save the FBX file somewhere. It won't actually be distributed with the mod when complete, but name it well, and put it somewhere in a properly named folder, where it'll never need to be moved or renamed. If you move it, UE4 will get confused if you try and reimport it, which you'll need to do if everything isn't perfect, and nothing is ever perfect.

3: Make sure your export settings look like this image:
[[File:3dsmax_exportsettings_01.gif|alt=|none|thumb|374x374px|Occasionally, you may get warnings on exporting the .FBX that the matrials are not compatible with the chosen format and objects may appear grey. This warning can be ignored, as we use our own materials.]]

=== In Blender ===

# Select the armature, and then the mesh, and then go to File > Export > FBX.
# Save the FBX file somewhere. It won't actually be distributed with the mod when complete, but name it well, and put it somewhere in a properly named folder, where it'll never need to be moved or renamed. If you move it, UE4 will get confused if you try and reimport it, which you'll need to do if everything isn't perfect, and nothing is ever perfect. Make sure your export settings match like so:
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="320" heights="240">
File:Blender-export-settings-01.gif|1. Under Main, make sure the forward direction is set to -Y forward, with Z up, and Selected Objects ticked.
File:Blender-export-settings-02.gif|2. Under Geometry, set smoothing to Normals Only, and tick Tangent Space.
File:Blender-export-settings-04.gif|3. Under Armatures, untick Add Leaf Bones.
</gallery>The animation tab doesn't matter, as we don't use animations.

You are now ready to import your body to Unreal Engine!

== Import Car Body to Unreal Engine ==

Now it's time to bring all your hard work into Unreal Engine.

Follow the [[Modding]] page for installing and opening the Automation Modding SDK.

If you've never used Unreal Engine before, now is a great time to watch this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4XlBKeE46E introduction to UE4 playlist from Epic]. It's for a fairly old version, but most of it still applies.

===Creating your Car Body Mod===
Press the Create Mod button in the top bar of the UE4 Editor.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_01.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

Select the Blank Project, and fill the wizard out with all of your details, such as your name and a short description of the mod you're making. Then, click Create Mod to generate your plugin files.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_02.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

The Content Browser window should now show your plugin content. This is where you'll put ''all'' of your mod files. '''''Never modify any files outside of your plugin folder'''''. you can copy materials and such from the main content folder, but only if those files are copied to your mod folder. The end result of your mod should be a default content folder that is identical to the default state of the SDK, and all of your own modified files within the one plugin folder you want to release. Do not edit or modify files within the root content folder, and do not reference any files within any other mod folder.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_03.gif|frameless|267x267px]]

You should now have an empty content folder:

[[File:UE4ModCreation_04.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

=== Importing your car body to the mod folder ===
Press the Import button in the Content Browser with your mod content folder selected to import your car body FBX file.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_05.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

In the following pop-up import options, make sure the following settings are exactly as described:

[[File:UE4ModCreation_06.gif|frameless|559x559px]]

#''Skeletal Mesh'' should be set to '''True'''
#''Import Mesh'' should be set to '''True'''
#''Skeleton'' should be set to '''None'''
#''Import Meshes in Bone Hierarchy'' should be set to '''False'''
#''Import Morph Targets'' should be set to '''True'''
#''Normal Import Method'' should be set to '''Import Normals and Tangents'''
#''Material Search Location'' should be set to '''All Assets'''
#''Material Import Method'' should be set to '''Do Not Create Material'''

Once you have configured the import dialog correctly, press I<nowiki/>mport,<nowiki/> or if you are importing multiple car bodies, press Import All.

You should now have a Skeletal Mesh (pink icon), a Physics Asset (yellow/brownish icon), and a Skeleton (light blue icon) in your mod content folder:

[[File:UE4ModCreation_07.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

== Check the Materials ==

The materials applied to the car body denote what part of the car that is. They aren't so much ''placeholder'' materials as they are ''identifier'' materials; the materials that are applied to the car determine the category of paint on that material slot in-game.

Double click on the Skeletal Mesh for your car. You should then see a screen like this:

[[File:UE4ModCreation_09.gif|frameless|360x360px]]

If instead, when you import a car, you see something more like this, then you will have to apply your materials manually:

[[File:UE4ModCreation_08.gif|frameless|360x360px]]

The materials to apply to the correct slots on your car body are located in <code>Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies</code>.

Descriptions of the materials to apply are found in the [[Car Body Mods#Applying materials|Car Body Material Options]] step.
== Set Car & Chassis Data ==

===Create car body variant data===
This is the file that will contain all the stats about your car; how many seats it can hold, how many doors it has, what the wheelbase is, etc..

Create a Body Variant Preview Data object in your mod folder from the Add New menu.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_11.gif|frameless|342x342px]]

Name your Body Variant Preview Data file correctly. The name of this file will determine the name of the body in-game.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_12.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

Open the Body Variant Preview Data file. In the top field, drag and drop, or use the arrow button, to put your skeletal mesh file into the Skeletal Mesh data field.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_19.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

The data inside the Body Variant Preview Data file determines the stats of your car design.

The data is set within the file, but updates in real-time in the body edit scene, which you should open first.

Opening the body edit scene and loading your car will help you visualise what all the data in this file translates to in-game.

=== Loading a Car For Editing ===
Open the <code>ThumbnailGeneratorLevel_Car</code> level.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_13.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

On the top bar, select the drop-down menu next to the <code>Play</code> button, and select <code>Simulate</code>.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_15.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

This will start simulating the "game" (in this case, the thumbnail generator level). It is important that everything you do in this level is done ''while you are simulating the level.''

In the <code>World Outliner</code>, search for the <code>BodyEditSceneBluetility</code>. This utility will be the interface between the level, which will have your car loaded in it, and your Car Body Variant file.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_14.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

In the Details panel of the <code>BodyEditSceneBluetility</code>, you will find buttons and options for loading your car body.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_16.gif|frameless|267x267px]]

The <code>Load Body</code> and <code>Unload Body</code> menu options will do just that—load and unload your body—but you have to specify the body you want to load first, which is done in the Variant Asset menu.

Select your Body Variant file from the content browser, and put it in the Variant Asset list by either dragging and dropping it in to the icon, or by pressing the arrow button next to the icon.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_17.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

Press <code>Load Body</code>, making sure that you are Simulating.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_18.gif|frameless|311x311px]]

You should now see your car loaded into the scene. You can begin to edit the data within the <code>Body Variant</code> file and see it update in real time in the scene, which is really helpful for setting chassis data.

[[File:Annotation_2020-03-16_171445.png|frameless|240x240px]]

*

#

=== What all the Body Variant settings mean ===
[[File:Untitled-27.png|alt=|right|frameless|1073x1073px]]

====Mesh====

*'''Skeletal Mesh''' is the physical mesh of your body.
*'''Car Material Settings''' are the default materials that should be applied to certain slots when a player loads it in-game. For instance, you may find it useful to set the window trim on an older body to chrome by default.
*'''Mesh Data''' is a generated file that you dont need to worry about. We'll make one of these in the [[Car Body Mods#Generate Thumbnails|thumbnail generation]] stage.
*'''Bone Constraints''' are the physical limits of where bone morphs can be affected. This is an advanced menu for if you want to enter these manually. For most poeple, we have an easy system for assigning these bone limits in the [[Car Body Mods#Set Bone Limits|bone limit setting]] stage. If a bone does not have limits, the player will be able to drag the bones around in any direction they want, as far as they want, and this almost never ends well. Note that ''morph targets don't need to have their limits set.''

==== UID ====

*'''Family GUID''' is an unique identifier that is shared between all variants of the same body family. If you are making more than one car body in the same family, they should all share the same family GUID.
*'''Variant GUID''' is an unique identifier that is unique for this body. Every body in Automation needs to have an unique GUID. If you, by chance, happen to generate or use the same Variant GUID as another body, when you try and select one the game may instead chose the other for you. If this happens, generate a new Variant GUID.

==== Preview ====

* You shouldn't have to set anything here. These fields will be populated in the [[Car Body Mods#Generate Thumbnails|thumbnail generation]] stage.

==== Settings ====

*'''Variant Body Type''' determines the category of the body in-game. Different categories have different advantages and disadvantages.
*'''Year''' is the year that this body unlocks in Campaign. Bodies that are closer to the current year (and thus more recent) score better in some categories, but having a body unlock the same year as its real-life inspiration or counterpart is ill-advised due to the time it takes to engineer cars in the campaign. Generally, Automation bodies are 3 to 10 years older than the cars they're based on.
*'''Doors''' determines the number of doors on this body, which affects some demographics' statistics.
*'''Maximum Seat Rows''' is a legacy value that determines the maximum number of seat rows your body can have (which affects some demographics' statistics). This value has been superseded by the Seats section below, which allows different maximum seat row values for different engine placements.
*'''Is Release Ready''' is a dev feature we use to allow us to configure and adjust bodies that are not ready to be in-game. If this box is unticked, you will not be able to see it in-game.
*'''Seat Options''' is a legacy option that is no longer used.
*'''Front Suspension To Disable''' will disable those suspension options for this body. This is useful if your body is shaped such that certain suspension types clip through the body in a way that cannot be fixed with height offsets.
*'''Rear Suspension To Disable''' will disable those suspension options for this body. This is useful if your body is shaped such that certain suspension types clip through the body in a way that cannot be fixed with height offsets.
*'''Chassis Type''' sets the body to the selected chassis for thumbnail purposes and has no effect in-game.
*'''Is Softtop Convert''' will set this body as a convertible with a soft top. This is for demographic calculations.
*'''Is Hardtop Convert''' will set this body as a convertible with a hard top. This is for demographic calculations.
*'''Cargo Subtracts''' will subtract the cargo volume from the cabin space in vehicles with a shared passenger and cargo area (wagons, MPVs, and such). This is useful for making cars where the more seat rows a body has, the less cargo space it has.
*The '''Seats''' section determines the maximum seat rows per applicable engine placement. For engine placements that aren't supported by the body as per the Engine Placement array below, their maximum seat values can be left as "None".

==== Engine ====

* '''Engine Placement''' is an array containing all the available engine positions for this body.

==== Chassis ====

===== Footprint =====

* '''Wheelbase''' is the wheelbase of the body in centimetres. Set this before setting anything else for best results.
* '''Track Width''' is supposedly track width in centimetres, but isn't actually measured accurately. Don't try and match it to real figures; just make sure the wheels are correctly positioned (with the correct tyres) and that there is enough room left in the wheel arches to make the tyres as wide as makes sense for the car (which might include having to use arch flare morphs). If you need room for wider tyres, set this a little narrower.
*'''Pan Width''' determines how wide the floor of the chassis is. This value must be set larger than the track width for it to have an effect.
* '''Y Offset''' is used to shuffle the mesh back and forwards to sit correctly in the middle of the chassis. If you're putting big numbers in here (more than 15, perhaps), you probably need to realign your mesh on the Y axis.
*'''Arch Width''' [missing info]

===== Vertical Position =====

* '''Default Suspension Height''' is used to set the default position of the ride height slider. Makes sure that supercars start off set low, SUVs start high, etc.
* '''Height Offset''' moves the car model up and down as compared to the chassis/wheels etc. This should usually be set so that with appropriate sized tyres, and Default Suspension Height set to 0, the wheels are nearly touching the top of the arches. Some cars might want to be set a bit higher (SUVs and the like), but remember that when a car is set to a ride height of 0, it has very little suspension travel, so you should be setting height offset on the basis of the lowest the car could possibly ever sit.

=====Front=====

* '''Firewall Y''' is a setting for how far forward the front firewall is. It's easiest to set this in side view in Wireframe mode. Set to match your mesh's firewall. This value is important for engine bay size.
*'''Firewall Z''' is a setting for how tall the front firewall is. It's easiest to set this in side view in Wireframe mode.
*'''Firewall Lean''' is a setting for how far forward the front firewall leans.
* '''Nose Length''' is used to set how far forward the engine bay goes. This is important for engine bay size. Make sure the chassis doesn't stick out of the car, even when you've moved morphs around on the nose.
* '''Cab Over''' is a tick box to say whether the engine goes under the front seats of your car body. Affects some statistics. Used for flat-nose vans and similar vehicles that lack bonnets.

=====Rear=====

* '''Rear Wall Y''' is a setting for how far backward the rear firewall is. It's easiest to set this in side view in Wireframe mode. Ignore this value for front-engine-only cars.
*'''Rear Wall Z''' is a setting for how tall the rear firewall is. It's easiest to set this in side view in Wireframe mode. Ignore this value for front-engine-only cars.
* '''Tail Length''' is how far the back of the chassis goes. Important for rear engine bay size, but not very important for front-engine cars. Be careful that it doesn't stick out of the car.

====Wheels====

* '''Max Wheel Diameter''' is the maximum wheel & tyre diameter in centimetres. Set this by adjusting the default tyre size to work out what the biggest practical tyre size would be, then putting that number here.
* '''Min Wheel Diameter''' is the minimum wheel & tyre diameter in centimetres. Set this by adjusting the default tyre size to work out what the smallest practical tyre size would be, then putting that number here.
* '''Default Wheel Diameter''' sets what tyre diameter is loaded on the car by default. Set it to something within reason for the car type.
* '''Default Rim Diameter''' sets what rim diameter is loaded on the car by default. Set it to something within reason for the car type. Remember to set it correctly for a tyre profile that makes sense for the type and age of the car. Older cars need high-ish-profile tyres, due to in-game restrictions on using low-profile tyres in early eras.
* '''Default Wheel Width''' sets what tyre width is loaded on the car by default. Set it to something within reason for the car type.

====Aero====
This contains the drag, front lift, and rear lift coefficients, which are calculated automatically alongside the body boxes. However, for legacy purposes, here are some reference materials:
* '''Cd''': Drag Coefficient (''not including cooling drag'') - You can use this calculator to estimate https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eIZKdCemwtb8KQJK4aQzicIyN80ESoDY2FN7UPR7JV0/edit#gid=588180347
*'''Cl Front''': Front Lift Coeeficient - You can use this calculator to estimate https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eIZKdCemwtb8KQJK4aQzicIyN80ESoDY2FN7UPR7JV0/edit#gid=588180347
*'''Cl Rear''': Rear Lift Coeeficient - You can use this calculator to estimate https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eIZKdCemwtb8KQJK4aQzicIyN80ESoDY2FN7UPR7JV0/edit#gid=588180347

====Path (Legacy Class)====
This is a legacy option for older bodies. You shouldn't need to touch anything in here unless you are converting a pre-UE4.24 mod.

====Body Boxes====
This contains all the sizes and positions of the body boxes, and are generated automatically in the [[Car Body Mods#Generate Thumbnails|thumbnail generation]] stage.

===== Manually enlarging engine bays =====
Engine bay bounds are determined by four points on one side of the car that form a rectangle. These points are then mirrored to form a box representing the engine bay.

For more adventurous mod bodies such as open-wheelers, you may find that the engine bay isn't long or tall enough to fit a suitably-sized engine. This can be fixed by increasing the two larger Y or Z values to the desired amount after you've generated the thumbnail, body boxes, and mesh data. Keep in mind that when you regenerate the thumbnail and mesh data, your modified engine bay values will be overwritten, so it may help to store them in a text file somewhere.

==== A note on convertibles ====
Convertibles should have their body tag set to the type of body they are aside from being convertibles, with the 'soft top' or 'hard top' convertible values being set separately. The 'convertible' body type is no longer used.

== Set Bone Limits ==
Once you've set all the other car body settings, you'll need to set the limits for bone movement.

While simulating in the car body scene, make sure your car is loaded and select it.

[[File:Annotation_2020-03-17_155800.png|frameless|360x360px]]

You should now see a set of blue squares at the locations of your bones as you set them in your modelling program. Click on one of these blue squares, and start to move it along an axis to see how it affects the body. You can set the current position of the bone as the new limit of that bone by right clicking on it and selecting "Add to limits".

[[File:UE4ModCreation_20.gif|frameless|360x360px]]

Right-click on a bone and select "Move all bones to bind pose" to move the bones back to their default location.

Note that if you accidently set a bone's limits too far, there are two ways to fix it: you can either right-click "Reset Limits" and then set the limit again, or (if you know what you're doing) type a new limit into the appropriate axis of the corresponding bone in the Bone Constraints array.

The following other options on right-clicking a bone are as follows:

* "Move all bones to max" will move a bone as far as possible in the positive axes it can move.
* "Move all bones to min" will move a bone as far as possible in the negative axes it can move.
* "Reset limits" will remove all limits from a selected bone.
* "Move all bones to bind pose" will move all bones back to their default positions.

Bones that appear red are bones that exist as part of the skeleton but aren't weighted to any vertices on the car.

== Generate Thumbnails ==
While simulating, load your car body.

In the Body Edit Scene Bluetility, click Generate Thumbnail.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_21.gif|frameless|377x377px]]

You should now have two more files in your mod content folder, but don't let their lack of an "unsaved" asterisk icon fool you: these files do indeed need to be saved. Right-click the files and save them manually; otherwise, they will indeed stop existing.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_23.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

You are now done creating all the files and settings you need! You can now export your mod body.

=== For additional body variants ===
For additional variants, repeat the same process for each CPP. If you copied the CPP from one variant and edited it for a new one, this will replace the original thumbnail. To avoid this problem, clear the thumbnail (and mesh data) from "Variant Preview Texture" on each additional variant before generating their thumbnails.

== Export Your Car Body ==
[[File:ShareMod.png|alt=|right|frameless|240x240px]]

#In Unreal Editor, at the top toolbar, select "Share Mod" and then click on the name of your car body.
# Select a path where there are no spaces in the file path. As an example, <code>C:\Users\Name\Documents\Unreal Projects\AutomationGame</code> ''will not work'', since the phrase <code>Unreal Projects</code> contains a space. <code>C:\Users\Name\Documents\ModExport</code> ''will'' work, because there are no spaces in the file path.
# Once your build is successful, you need to launch the "Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game Workshop Tool" from your "Tools", which can be accessed by hovering over "Library" in Steam.
# Enjoy your new car body!

== FAQ ==
'''Q''': I get a Max Script error running the script to unwrap my body like so:

[[File:Maxscript_Err_Unwrap.png|frameless|240x240px]]

'''A''': Car bodies in UE use 3 UVW maps and your mesh currently has less. To ensure you have enough maps, take the [[Car Body Mods/unwraperror|following steps]].

'''Q''': I get a Max Script error running the script to mirror my body like so:

[[File:Vertex index error.png|frameless|240x240px]]

'''A''': Save the body file as is, close 3ds Max, and then reopen the file. This fixes most instances of this error.

'''Q:''' Unreal won't open the SDK project files.

'''A:''' Make sure you're running the correct version of Unreal Editor. It should be version 4.24.3.

'''Q:''' I got my body in the game, but it looks weird whenever I apply fixtures.

'''A:''' Refer back to [[Car Body Mods#UV Unwrapping|the UV unwrapping section]], where this problem is addressed.

Car Body Mods

2022-01-08T02:14:57Z

The Stig Is A Spy: added Pan Width info

== Overview ==
A car body is a collection of files, of which a <code>Body Variant Preview Data</code> file is the parent.

The <code>Body Variant Preview Data</code> contains the settings and applicable options for the car body, as well as a reference to the car body mesh.

The car body mesh itself is a skeletal mesh in UE4, which is set up in a specific way. The mesh needs a set of placeholder materials assigned to it, as well as needing a certain orientation and size and specific UV layouts, along with highly specialised modelling and rigging.

== Workflow ==

# In a 3D modelling package:
## Create a car body mesh.
## Set up the skinning/rigging and morph targets.
## Create the UV maps.
# In UE4:
## Set up a mod.
## Import the car body to the mod folder.
## Ensure that the placeholder materials are properly assigned to the body.
## Create and fill out a body variant preview file.
## Generate the car thumbnail and preview info.
## Cook the mod.
# In the Automation Workshop Publishing Tool:
## Set up a workshop item.
## Share your mod.

== Creating the Car Body Mesh ==

=== Overview ===
Prior experience with modelling (particularly with subdivision surfaces) is required to make good Automation car bodies. Should you lack said experience, the links below are some good places to start:

* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjEaoINr3zgEq0u2MzVgAaHEBt--xLB6U BlenderGuru Blender 2.8 Beginner Tutorial]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppASl6yaguU&list=PLrjIgEdKLivgpCMmFC0_sV60Y_Ftp-WLD CGGeek Blender 2.8 Beginner Tutorial]
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa1F2ddGya_-UvuAqHAksYnB0qL9yWDO6 Blender Foundation Blender 2.8 Fundamentals]
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLda3VoSoc_TRuNB-5fhzPzT0mBfJhVW-i BornCG Blender 2.8 Tutorial Series]

Automation car bodies in particular should be created as a half, and then mirrored at or near completion to ensure symmetry and minimise the amount of work required to tweak them. Which half of a body you decide to model is irrelevant.

For an overview of how a vanilla body is modelled, Hard Rooster has made a [[Blender_Specific_instructions#Modelling_a_Body_in_Blender_in_9-hours|video series]] covering the modelling of a body from start to finish in Blender.

=== Notes ===
* UE4's units are in centimetres. For example, 100 units in UE4 are equivalent to 1 metre.
*A finished car body mesh is made of between 7,000 and 30,000 triangles (though a common upper limit is 15,000 triangles).
**This varies depending on things like the curvature of the body (compare a 1980s van to a 1950s sports car, for example), morphs that may require special topology, and the size of the body (as insufficient triangle density on a larger body may result in fixture tearing).
*Panel gaps (including door seams) are modelled into the car.
**A transparent mesh is often added over the panel seam to make fixtures conform more smoothly.
* The entire car should be one object/element.
*The body must not contain integrated mirrors, grilles, lights, badges, vents, door handles, aerials, fuel caps etc. Those should be made separately as fixtures.
**An exception may be made for sculpted vents (without the actual vent area, such as those on the LD Dodge Charger) or character lines, if they can be morphed flat and/or don't interfere with the versatility of the body.
* Use quads as much as possible, as they shade and reflect better than triangles.
* The body must be single-sided and must not have backfaces. It is made double-sided by materials in UE4.

 <gallery mode="packed" widths="200" heights="180">
File:Topview2.jpg|Top view
File:SideView2.jpg|Side view
File:3dview.jpg|3D view
</gallery>

==== Coordinates ====

* The front of the car body should face towards the negative Y (front to back) axis.
*the center of the body should be roughly at 0 on the Y axis, and exactly 0 on the X axis.
* The bottom edge of the car should roughly sit at 0 on the Z axis, with the top facing towards positive Z (ie: it should not be upside-down).
** Remember that the Y axis in 3ds Max and Blender runs ''forwards and backwards,'' whereas the Z axis runs ''up and down.'' This may not be consistent across all 3D packages.

* All vertices at the centre of the car (where it's cut in half) should be ''exactly'' at 0 on the X (left to right) axis.

== Applying Materials ==

Automation uses a set of placeholder materials applied to the mesh to define different paintable parts of the car.

'''''Only one of each material is supported.'''''

* If you need more materials to assign, consider adjusting your mesh, because there are no more materials to assign than those listed here, and you can only have one of each. 😉
* These will be replaced with the correct materials (if you've assigned the material slots correctly), informing the game what various areas of the car are used for, and what materials they require.
* These materials are colour-coded to represent the different areas of the car, and are replaced with the proper in-game materials dynamically. Make sure to assign these placeholders correctly!

=== List of car body materials ===
The following materials are used on car bodies:
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
!Material Name
!Area Used
!Paint Category
!Colourable
!Location in UE4
!Notes
|-
|<code>Bonnet</code>
|The bonnet
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Bonnet
|General paintable material. Has its own visibility toggle in-game.
|-
|<code>BonnetCam</code>
|Above the bonnet; determines the default location of the bonnet camera
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/BonnetCam
|This material is invisible in-game and has no effect on aesthetics.
for the Exporter, the bounding box origin of the geometry which uses this material defines where the bonnet camera will be.
|-
|<code>Bumper_Front</code>
|The front bumper
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Bumper_Front
|Prior to the Light Campaign 4.2 update, front and rear bumpers could not be painted separately.
|-
|<code>Bumper_Rear</code>
|The rear bumper
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Bumper_Rear
|Prior to the Light Campaign 4.2 update, front and rear bumpers could not be painted separately.
|-
|<code>CabinBounds</code>
|Deprecated
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/CabinBounds
|Since bounding boxes for car calculations are now done dynamically since the Light Campaign 4.2 update, this material is listed for legacy purposes only.
(This material was previously used to determine cabin size.)
|-
|<code>CargoBounds</code>
|Deprecated
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/CargoBounds
|Since bounding boxes for car calculations are now done dynamically since the Light Campaign 4.2 update, this material is listed for legacy purposes only.

(This material was previously used to determine trunk size, as well as front trunk size for mid- and rear-engine-only bodies.)
|-
|<code>Car_Roof</code> (formerly <code>Soft_Top</code>)
|General car roof slot
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Car_Roof
|General paintable material. Was previously exclusive to softtop convertibles until the Light Campaign 4.2 update.
|-
|<code>Chrome</code>
|Areas that must remain chrome
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/ChromeBUS
|For parts of the car that should always be chrome, use this material.
This material cannot be changed in-game.
|-
|<code>DriverCam</code>
|Inside the cabin; determines the default location of the driver camera(s)
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/DriverCam
|This material is invisible in-game and has no effect on aesthetics.
For the Exporter, the bounding box origin of the geometry which uses this material defines where the driver camera will be.

Optionally, this material can be split across boxes on either side of the car, allowing for different left- and right-hand driver positions.

For the BeamNG exporter, this position is then raycast forward, with any resulting collision with a vertex or face becoming the driver camera position. Effectively, this means the default driver camera position is just in front of the windshield, but aligned with the bounding box origin on the X and Z axes.
|-
|<code>FrontBounds</code>
|Deprecated
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/FrontBounds
|Since bounding boxes for car calculations are now done dynamically since the Light Campaign 4.2 update, this material is listed for legacy purposes only.

(This material was previously used to determine front trunk volume in rear-engined cars with a front engine option.)
|-
|<code>LipPlacement</code>
|Around undertray, over panel gaps, and over wheel wells
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/LipPlacement
|Used to cover panel gaps, wheel wells, and undertrays so that fixtures can conform to them.
This material is invisible in-game.
|-
|<code>LowerBounds</code>
|Deprecated
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/LowerBounds
|Since bounding boxes for car calculations are now done dynamically since the Light Campaign 4.2 update, this material is listed for legacy purposes only.

(This material was previously used to determine a car's engine bay size and general weight.)
|-
|<code>Paint</code>
|The primary paint colour
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Paint
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Paint_Two_Tone</code>
|The secondary paint colour
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Paint_Two_Tone
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Paint_Misc_1</code>
|Misc. paint
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Paint_Misc_1
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Paint_Misc_2</code>
|Misc. paint
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Paint_Misc_2
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Paint_Misc_3</code>
|Misc. paint
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Paint_Misc_3
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Trim</code>
|The general trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Trim
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Trim_Misc_1</code>
|Misc. trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Trim_Misc_1
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Trim_Misc_2</code>
|Misc. trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Trim_Misc_2
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Trim_Misc_3</code>
|Misc. trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Trim_Misc_3
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Plastic</code>
|Underbody
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Plastic
|Used for underbodies and wheel wells.
|-
|<code>Reflective_Mirror</code>
|Deprecated
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Reflective_Mirror
|Used for reflective mirror glass, back when mirrors were modelled into car bodies.
|-
|<code>Steel</code>
|Areas that must remain steel
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Steel
|For parts of the car that should always be steel, use this material.
This material cannot be changed in-game.
|-
|<code>Tray</code>
|The bed of a pickup truck or ute
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Tray
|Fixtures cannot be placed on this material.
|-
|<code>Window_Pillar</code>
|The pillar trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Window_Pillar
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Window_Trim</code>
|The window trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Window_Trim
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Windows</code>
|The car's windows
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Windows
|General paintable material.
Using the default Adjustable Window material, window transparency can be adjusted in-game.
|-
|<code>Wing_Mirror_Trim</code>
|Deprecated
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Wing_Mirror_Trim

|Used for mirror trim, back when mirrors were modelled into car bodies.
This material is listed for legacy purposes only.
|}

== Creating Body Morphs ==
Automation car bodies support both morph targets (shape keys), and skinning (rigging) for morphing parts of a car body. You can mix and match as many of each as you want, but be careful with overlapping morphs.

In-game, the morph which is selected is defined as the morph with the highest weight of the selected face/vertex.

* Morph targets are treated as having a maximum skin weight of 0.3 for the vertices that move the most, and multiply down to 0 for vertices that the morph doesn't move at all.
** For instance, a morph target which tilts the window pillar forward or backward would have a maximum weight of 0.3 at the top, and 0 at the bottom, with the vertex weighting blending down through the vertices like a gradient.
* Skin weights should be weighted roughly similarly to morph targets, so the maximum weight of a skin morph should be about 0.3.
** You can go as high as 1 if you are not using morph targets, or if your morph targets do not overlap a particular area of skin weights.
** Skin weights should be defined in 8-bit intervals only. UE4's skeletal meshes only support 8-bit weights, so having your skin use values as a multiple of 1/256 is important. As a rough estimate, values that are a multiple of 0.004 work fine, but be aware that values of less than 0.012 may be ignored.

=== Creating morphs with skinning ===
Skinning is the main system used to allow the player to drag around and deform a car body in Automation. It's done via weighting specific vertices to various "bones" that are a representation of what the player is dragging in-game when deforming the body.

It's also probably the single most confusing step of car creation in Automation, as it's done in a way that doesn't have a great deal in common with any other widely used game art process. It uses the same tools as skinning a character in a 3D modelling application, so referring to some character skinning tutorials may give you useful insights into the tools used, but the way Automation uses it is quite unique.

====Basic skinning overview====
In Automation, bones are used to define which part of the morph moves, but are non-hierarchical. The bones float in space around the car without any connection to each other, with only a Root bone as their parent.

* Every vertex on a skinned model has a skin weight to at least one bone, and at most four bones.
**This weighting will be a number between 0 and 1, defining how much a vertex follows the movement of a bone.
**The weighting is an 8-bit bit value, ie; all values are rounded to the nearest 1/256th
**For vertices that do not use a bone and instead are morphed with morph targets, they must still be weighted to the Root bone. all vertices must have a weight, and all weights must add up to 1.
**for vertices with weights that add up to above 1, you will get errors. do not do this. all weights must add up to 1.
**'''''All vertices must have a weight, and all weights must add up to 1.'''''
*When you morph the car in-game, your mouse movements move the bone, and the vertices follow the bone.

====Setting up bones for morphs====
Bones should float freely around the area which they will deform. All bones should be parented to the origin of the car called <code>Bone Root</code>. The naming and hierarchy is important.

It is a ''requirement'' for the root bone to be named <code>Bone Root</code>; otherwise, the body will not work correctly!

The morphs you create are up to you, and vary depending on the shape of the car and which parts can be deformed attractively, but almost every car will have bones for:

* Front and rear wheel arch flares
* Windscreen rake angle
* Rear window rake angle
* Boot/rear length or angle
*Front and rear bumper length (or front and rear overhang in general)

There is no real limit to how many bones you can have, but each vertex should only be skinned to 4 different bones before issues occur (i.e. vertices may not move how they should), and it can be very difficult in-game to select and deform an area that's skinned to more than 2 bones. This is because in-game, when you hover over the car, the bone weighted the most to the vertex under your cursor is the bone that you will be moving.

Bones should be created floating near the part of the car they deform. Their location isn't really important to how they function in-game, but having them placed correctly makes it much easier to understand what each bone is for adjusting their limits in later stages of the modding process. Also, a morph will not work if its bone's origin is off-screen while trying to move the morph in-game. Try to keep the bones relatively close to the areas they're morphing.

Note that if you are using the 3ds Max script, you do not need to create bones for anything on the opposite side of the car (e.g wheel arches on the other side), as they will automatically be mirrored when you mirror the car body. If you are not using the script, or you are using Maya or Blender, all bones that should mirror their actions on the other side of the car (such as wheel arches) should have the correct naming nomenclature so they work correctly in-game. The following suffixes work for mirrored bones in Automation:

*<code><Name>_opposite</code>
*<code><Name>_R</code>
*<code><Name>_L</code>
*<code>L.<Name></code>
*<code>R.<Name></code>
In this case, <code><Name></code> is the name of the bone/morph. 

[[File:BoneLayout2.jpg|frameless]]

[[File:ArmatureNaming_01.gif|frameless]]

====Adding bones in 3ds Max ====
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="300" heights="240">
File:ArmatureNaming 03.gif|1. Add a Skin modifier to the modifier stack of your car body mesh.
File:ArmatureNaming 04.gif|2. From the Parameters section of the Skin Modifier, press Add Bones.
File:ArmatureNaming 05.gif|3. Select all the bones from the list, and press Select to add them to the skin. (You can use filters to make sure you're only getting helper objects like dummies in the list.)
</gallery>

====Adding bones in Blender====
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="360" heights="240">
File:ArmatureNaming 06.gif|1. Add an ''Armature'' modifier.
File:ArmatureNaming 07.gif|2. Select your armature.
</gallery>

====Weighting the skin====

Now comes the complex bit. Weighting skins is a difficult and creative proccess that's almost like remodeling the car into different shapes, but with only skin weights to do it with. Wheel arches are often the easiest place to start on a new model, and a good way to start is to move a bone a reasonably large distance in the direction you want it to move (say, 25 to 50 cm) and then start weighting to that bone's new position.

* Remember that the higher you set the weight, the farther that area will move with mouse input, and the less weight will be available to assign to other bones. This isn't too important on wheel arches, but can be an issue on other parts of the car which may share more bones.
* all weights on a vertex need to add up to 1, and if the current bone is the only bone assigned to that vertex, it can't have a weight less than 1. By adding the root bone as a second bone, you can now adjust the weight of the bone you want, and the bone root will take the remaining weight.
* Bones in Blender affect vertex groups of their same name. To skin a mesh, you assign vertices of that mesh to the vertex group (of the same name as the bone you want them to be affected by), and then adjust the weight of that vertex (as a value from 0 to 1) to that vertex group.
* Keep in mind that Unreal Engine rounds bone weights to the nearest 1/256 (with intervals of roughly 0.004). This minimum weight interval isn't 100% reliable in some cases—instead, a minimum of 0.008, 0.012, or 0.016 may be used.
* You may also use weight painting as per [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb7obMX2SCf3UqP4R2w_El05BLpFcUpSw Hard Rooster's video tutorial series], which requires more setup but is generally faster and more convenient.
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="300" heights="240">
File:Blender ArmatureVertexGroupNames 01.gif|1. Create a Vertex Group from the Object Data tab with the same name as each bone.
File:Blender VertexWeighting 02.gif|2. Select the vertices you want to be affected by certain bones, and assign them to the matching vertex groups.
File:Blender VertexWeighting 01.gif|3. In the Item panel (accessed in the Viewport by pressing <code>N</code>), adjust the weights for the vertices.
</gallery>

Effectively, what you're doing here is using weighting to remodel the car into the shape you want it to be at the furthest extremes of bone movement. If you can make it the correct shape with the bone moved to its maximum position and with the bone back in its normal position, everything in between should take care of itself, and any bone position in between should look good too.

[[File:MoveBone2.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

Windscreens are also a good place to learn to skin, as you can basically move the windscreen bone forwards, and then try your best to use skin weights to make an almost vertical windscreen. If you can get that working correctly, then you should have a bone that lets you smoothly change the angle of the windscreen.

[[File:MoveWindscreenBone2.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

=== Creating morphs with morph targets ===
For Automation, we support using morph targets and shape keys for morphing a car body. This is done by storing a default value (the base car) and a morph to morph to (the morph target/shape key), and interpolating between those two shapes for every morph. The game supports morph values between 0 and 1 only. This is why skinning is better for the corners of a car body, because that allows for a full two (or even three) dimensions of movement for every morph, and in both directions. It is up to you to decide which method you would prefer to use. Morph targets are generally easier to set up.

==== In Blender ====
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="360" heights="240">
File:BlenderMorphs 01.gif|1. Create a new shape key.
File:BlenderMorphs 02.gif|2. Select the shape key.
</gallery>You can now edit the mesh to be in the new position you want it to be in for that morph.

Repeat for as many morphs as you would like, taking into consideration that every vertex that each morph affects will add to the total polygon count for that body. If you have too many morphs on a body with too many polygons, the game will take longer to load fixtures onto it!

==== In 3ds Max ====
We do not recommend this, but you can do it if you really want to.

# Duplicate your mesh.
#Adjust your mesh, '''''without adding or removing any polygons''''', to create your morph target.
# Create a Morpher modifier, and put it above the Edit Poly modifier, and below the Skin modifier (if you're using one).
# Pick the duplicate mesh as one of the morphs.
# Repeat for all morphs.
#Yes, it's ''that'' tedious. We hate 3ds Max.

=== Morphing tips ===

* Look carefully for any strange deformations in panels when moving your bones. It's very important that panels remain as smooth as possible when deforming, as reflections will very obviously show any kinks. The above example of the windscreen is a great example of a morph that deforms the overall shape of the body too much (look at how the top of the windshield becomes a curve and then eventually a kink—this is bad).

* Test out what happens if you move two nearby bones at the same time. Sometimes, two bones' movement combined can cause strange polygon overlaps, though this can often be avoided with careful skinning and a smooth falloff of weights between the two bones.

* Don't try and make too many different skinned areas. 10 or 12 is a sensible maximum, and try and avoid more than one bone affecting the exact same area (some overlap is okay though), as this may make them hard to select in-game.

* Sometimes you'll have to make changes to the mesh to make your car deform nicely in an area. Poly flow is very important for good deformation.

* Don't forget that any weighting you give a vertex to a bone will be taken from another bone to keep a total weight of 1. This can get very confusing and cause you to chase your own tail a bit. You have been warned! This isn't so much an issue in Blender (since vertex groups can be locked), but in 3ds Max, ''ohhhh boy'' I almost tore my hair out on more than one occasion.

== UV Unwrapping ==
If you're planning to do a pelt unwrap as described here, please swap this unwrap step with the mirroring step, and perform your mesh mirroring first. If you plan to use the 3ds Max script for unwrapping, please perform this step first and then move on to mirroring.

=== Unwrapping fundamentals ===
UV unwrapping is the process of unfolding the mesh onto a flat 2d plane which describes which part of a texture is applied to which part of a mesh. Think of it like taking a completed papercraft model of a car and unfolding it back to a [https://i.pinimg.com/736x/36/b3/0e/36b30ecf06c7127270612ed37e693a16--toyota-land-cruiser-doll-party.jpg flat sheet]. In most games, UV mapping is important for how the actual visible textures on objects appear, but in Automation, it's mostly important for how the fixture system works. When you place certain fixtures (such as lights, a grille, or door handles) onto the car, it projects a fixture-shaped hole onto the alpha (transparency) channel of the car body.

For the holes to be projected correctly, you must unwrap the car as one complete piece, without any separate islands of polygons. Otherwise, fixtures can project across multiple parts of the car and give you holes in unwanted places. The UV unwrap must also give a fairly even amount of texture space to each area of the car, as any low-resolution areas will cause jagged holes around the outside of fixtures; this is called "tearing".

It is for all of these reasons that the unwrap of a car mod has to be what's called a "pelt" unwrap (named for its resemblance to a flat animal pelt). For Automation cars, it looks like this: <gallery mode="packed" widths="360" heights="240">
File:Car unwrap.gif
File:Car unwrap again.png
</gallery>

=== Unwrapping a car with a pelt unwrap ===

==== Make sure your car is one element ====
This part is important, as it defines how the pelt unwrap works, which in turn determines how the fixture system cuts holes in the car. If parts of the car are not connected in both the 3D viewport and the UV viewport, the fixture will cut out an incorrect hole.

Any lip placement areas must be properly unwrapped despite the material being invisible; otherwise, tearing across the body can occur.

===== to see if your mesh is one element: =====

In 3ds Max, enter the Edit Poly modifier and click Element mode. Select one face of the car, and hide unselected faces.

In Blender, select one face of the car and press Ctrl+L to select linked faces, and Shift+H to hide unselected faces.<gallery mode="nolines" widths="420" heights="240">
File:Car body is not one mesh.png|If your selection ends up looking like this, your car is not one element, and has unjoined faces between the selection and the rest of the mesh. This will not work. Join your mesh together properly.
File:Car body selection correct.png|If your selection looks like this, with the entirety of the mesh selected, then you have done it correctly and there are no un-joined elements. Good job!
</gallery>

==== Doing the pelt unwrap ====
However it's done in your choice of 3D application, perform a pelt unwrap on your car. In Blender, it looks like this:

[[File:Pelt_unwrap_step_1.png|frameless|360x360px]]

Next we need to orient the unwrap so that the centre of the car in the UV sits on the centre-line of the Y axis, and scale the unwrap up so that it covers as much of the UV space as possible:
[[File:Car_unwrap_step_2.png|alt=|none|thumb|360x360px|It is ''vital'' that the top and bottom halves of the unwrap here are perfectly symmetrical, and that the centre line of the car is perfectly straight along the middle.]]

* Make sure this unwrap exists on both the first ''and'' second UV channels. The first channel will be used to calculate the normals, and the second channel will be used to calculate the fixture cutouts.
* make sure the car's center line is exactly in the middle of the UV layout.
* make sure that the top and bottom halves of the car are perfectly symmetrical.

=== Unwrapping a car with the 3ds Max unwrap script ===
From the Car Body Export Helper utility (located on the Utilities tab, with the hammer icon, in the top right of 3ds Max), press the "Unwrap Car Body" button. If you don't see this menu, go to utilities, then click on MAXScript, which will bring up the Car Body Export Helper option; then, click on the name.
[[File:3DS-Max-Car-Unwrap-Script 01.gif|none|thumb]]The UV unwrap should now be complete, and with the UVTESTING map applied, the result should look something like this:

[[File:Checker.jpg|frameless|360x360px]]

===== Note for finished bodies made via the 3ds Max script =====
If you've finished your body and have it running in game, and it looks like this whenever you add fixtures...

[[File:WeirdFixtures.png|frameless|360x360px]]

...then the UV maps are broken. You need to follow the steps below to fix the UV maps. this happens because 3DS-Max is The Worst.

unwrap the body and apply the Unwrap UVW modifier. Change the Map Channel to "2" and then click Move, after which you will move the Unwrap UVW modifier below the Skin modifier.

# Start off with your un-mirrored, but complete body.
# Apply the UV Test material and unwrap your body (which at this point is only half) with the Car Body Export Helper Tool.
# Add the Unwrap UVW modifier. Under the Channel panel, navigate to the Map Channel box and change the "1" to "2".
# There should be a pop up. Click Move.
# Now move your Unwrap UVW modifier so that it sits below the Skin modifier.
# Select your car object and mirror it using the Car Body Export Helper Tool. After mirroring you will notice that your Unwrap UVW modifier has disappeared.
# You can now follow the export steps to re-export!

[[File:WeirdStep1.png|frameless|360x360px]][[File:WeirdStep3.png|frameless|360x360px]]

== Mirror the Half Body ==

=== The traditional method ===
# Mirror your mesh.
# If you've already unwrapped your mesh without mirroring the UV maps via modifier setitngs, select the mirrored half, and flip the UV of that half along the Y axis:
# Duplicate the bones for the wheel flares on the opposite side, matching the distance from the centreline. Set the name of the mirrored half to the same as the un-mirrored half with "_opposite" at the end of the name of the bone. Duplicate the bone weighting from the non-mirrored half, rename it to match the mirrored bone, and clear the weighting for each on the opposing side so that the weighting for each wheel flare only includes the respective wheel:
[[File:Flip UVs part 1.png|thumb|alt=|A mirrored mesh before mirroring the unwrap.|300x300px|none]][[File:Flip uv part 2.png|thumb|alt=|A mirrored mesh after mirroring the unwrap.|300x300px|none]]

[[File:Mirror_weighting.png|frameless|240x240px]]

[[File:Mirror_weights_values.png|frameless|240x240px]]

[[File:Mirror_weights_2.png|frameless|273x273px]]

=== If you're using the optional 3ds Max script ===
Mirroring is simple; from the Car Body Export Tools utility, just press "Mirror Car Body". This will mirror the mesh, mirror the UV unwrap, and duplicate the required bones.

[[File:3DS-Max-Car-Unwrap-Script_02.gif|frameless|221x221px]]

== Fix Everything You Just Broke Mirroring the Body ==

=== If you're using the 3ds Max script ===
===='''Check wheel arch bones have their opposite counterparts created'''====
Wheel arch bones require an opposite bone. This is to allow the game to morph the wheel arch on the other side of the body to the same length, but in an opposite direction to that which you have moved. (The same applies to any other bone that moves along the X axis, e.g. a running board morph).

When the mirror script is run, it determines which bones require an opposite by checking all the vertices on the zero X axis for each bone. If none of these vertices have a weight value, the script will create an opposite bone.

If, after running the script, your double-sided body does not have the expected opposite bones, then you will need to go back to your original half body and check that none of the vertices for that bone on the zero X Axis has any weight applied to it. Remember that ''zero weighted bones still count as having a value'', and you should use the Remove Zero Weights button to remove these.
[[File:Centre_verts.png|alt=|thumb|420x420px|Selecting all centre vertices.]]
One method to check for weights on the zero X axis is as follows:
[[File:Weight_table_view.png|alt=|thumb|420x420px|The weight table.]]

#Ensure that all vertices of your mesh are visible.
#Select all the vertices along the zero X axis.
#Open the weight table (found in the weight properties rollout).
#Set the weight table view to selected vertices.
#Scroll down the list of weight for the bones in question. Any weighted verts should be easy to spot, as there should not be any. These can be zeroed by right clicking the weight value. (You may want to make note of any weight values for other bones (excluding the root bone) on that vertex, as these may alter as a result of the above and you will want to correct them.
#Once all erroneous weights have been zeroed, use the Remove Zero Weights button.

These steps should ensure your opposite bone is created when the mirror script is run again.

====Ensure other bones do not have opposite bones when not required====
In some cases, your body may have bones that are purposely designed to morph vertices on the outside of the body that are not intended to move along the X axis (e.g. The "Hofmeister kink" found on the <code>10sSedan02</code> series of bodies). The mirror script may create an unwanted opposite bone for these.

This can be avoided by temporarily weighting a vertex on the zero X axis to the bone in question. Ideally, pick a vertex that is weighted only to the root bone so as not disturb the weights of other bones. Once the mirror script has been run, you can remove the temporary weight applied to that vertex.

====Check that both halves of the body are welded together====
The mirror body script should weld both halves of your body together, but for ''reasons'' (3ds Max is spaghetti), this does not always occur. This can be seen by your body having an unexpected crease or seam down the centre.

Once you have welded the two halves together, perform a visual check to ensure that no ''unintentional'' welds have taken place. e.g. top and bottom vertices on a window frames. If this happens, undo your weld command and select the centreline vertices in smaller chunks, and avoid selecting the vertices in question at the same time.

====Check skin for distortion along the centreline vertices====
When two skinned vertices are welded together, either automatically via the script or manually, 3ds Max will attempt to combine the weights of both the old vertices into one. Unfortunately, it's not very good at it, and many of the welded vertices on the centreline end up with odd weights. This results in a distorted skin (see below). This isn't an issue with Blender.

[[File:Distorted_Skin.png|frameless|360x360px]]
[[File:Weight_table.png|alt=|right|frameless|360x360px]]
To correct the distortion, you will need to check and correct the centreline vertices. The most methodical way is to start from one end of the body and work your way to the other end as follows:

# Expand the skin modifier and select Envelope.
# Open the weight table and set to selected vertices.
# Select the central 3 vertices at one end of the body and view the weight values in the table.
# Where the mesh is distorted, you will usually see one vertex in the weight table that's the odd one out.
# Amend the values of this vertex to match those on either side of it. (For vertices with more than 2 bones, you may need to untick normalize to stop Max from altering your amendments—remember to re-enable it once completed).
# Repeat the above steps, working along the body until you reach the other end.

=== Check that the same UV maps exist on the first two UV channels ===

==== In 3ds Max ====
To Check the maps:

# Under the utilities tab click on the More... button.
# Select "Channel Info" from the list and click OK.
# Click the newly available Channel Info Button and review the channel info.

[[File:Channel_inf.png|frameless|360x360px]]

The bottom 3 lines of the above screenshot represent the 3 UVW maps. In this case, the maps are identical, as they should be. If, however, there is a mismatch between the three maps (from either null data or different numbers of vertices), they will need to be be corrected. If your body does not have 3 maps, see [[Car Body Mods/Unwrap Error|here]].

In most cases, <code>1:map</code> is the correct one. One method of correcting the maps is as follows:

# In the Channel Info box, select the line representing the correct map.
# Select Copy.
# Select one of the incorrect lines.
# Select Paste.
# Repeat for the other map if it's also incorrect.
# Close the channel info box and click on the modifier stack tab.
# Move the UVW Mapping Paste modifier(s) to between the skin and the mesh.
# Collapse the modifiers into the mesh.

==== In Blender ====
Open the Object Data menu and select the UV Maps submenu. Open a UV editor and check that the UVs look correct in the first two UV channels.

[[File:Uvs_still_there.png|frameless|360x360px]]

If one of these is not correct, delete it and simply duplicate the correct one.

== Export Car Body to .FBX File ==

=== In 3ds Max ===
This step is easy!

1: Select the car body mesh, then go to File > Export > Export Selected

2: Save the FBX file somewhere. It won't actually be distributed with the mod when complete, but name it well, and put it somewhere in a properly named folder, where it'll never need to be moved or renamed. If you move it, UE4 will get confused if you try and reimport it, which you'll need to do if everything isn't perfect, and nothing is ever perfect.

3: Make sure your export settings look like this image:
[[File:3dsmax_exportsettings_01.gif|alt=|none|thumb|374x374px|Occasionally, you may get warnings on exporting the .FBX that the matrials are not compatible with the chosen format and objects may appear grey. This warning can be ignored, as we use our own materials.]]

=== In Blender ===

# Select the armature, and then the mesh, and then go to File > Export > FBX.
# Save the FBX file somewhere. It won't actually be distributed with the mod when complete, but name it well, and put it somewhere in a properly named folder, where it'll never need to be moved or renamed. If you move it, UE4 will get confused if you try and reimport it, which you'll need to do if everything isn't perfect, and nothing is ever perfect. Make sure your export settings match like so:
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="320" heights="240">
File:Blender-export-settings-01.gif|1. Under Main, make sure the forward direction is set to -Y forward, with Z up, and Selected Objects ticked.
File:Blender-export-settings-02.gif|2. Under Geometry, set smoothing to Normals Only, and tick Tangent Space.
File:Blender-export-settings-04.gif|3. Under Armatures, untick Add Leaf Bones.
</gallery>The animation tab doesn't matter, as we don't use animations.

You are now ready to import your body to Unreal Engine!

== Import Car Body to Unreal Engine ==

Now it's time to bring all your hard work into Unreal Engine.

Follow the [[Modding]] page for installing and opening the Automation Modding SDK.

If you've never used Unreal Engine before, now is a great time to watch this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4XlBKeE46E introduction to UE4 playlist from Epic]. It's for a fairly old version, but most of it still applies.

===Creating your Car Body Mod===
Press the Create Mod button in the top bar of the UE4 Editor.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_01.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

Select the Blank Project, and fill the wizard out with all of your details, such as your name and a short description of the mod you're making. Then, click Create Mod to generate your plugin files.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_02.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

The Content Browser window should now show your plugin content. This is where you'll put ''all'' of your mod files. '''''Never modify any files outside of your plugin folder'''''. you can copy materials and such from the main content folder, but only if those files are copied to your mod folder. The end result of your mod should be a default content folder that is identical to the default state of the SDK, and all of your own modified files within the one plugin folder you want to release. Do not edit or modify files within the root content folder, and do not reference any files within any other mod folder.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_03.gif|frameless|267x267px]]

You should now have an empty content folder:

[[File:UE4ModCreation_04.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

=== Importing your car body to the mod folder ===
Press the Import button in the Content Browser with your mod content folder selected to import your car body FBX file.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_05.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

In the following pop-up import options, make sure the following settings are exactly as described:

[[File:UE4ModCreation_06.gif|frameless|559x559px]]

#''Skeletal Mesh'' should be set to '''True'''
#''Import Mesh'' should be set to '''True'''
#''Skeleton'' should be set to '''None'''
#''Import Meshes in Bone Hierarchy'' should be set to '''False'''
#''Import Morph Targets'' should be set to '''True'''
#''Normal Import Method'' should be set to '''Import Normals and Tangents'''
#''Material Search Location'' should be set to '''All Assets'''
#''Material Import Method'' should be set to '''Do Not Create Material'''

Once you have configured the import dialog correctly, press I<nowiki/>mport,<nowiki/> or if you are importing multiple car bodies, press Import All.

You should now have a Skeletal Mesh (pink icon), a Physics Asset (yellow/brownish icon), and a Skeleton (light blue icon) in your mod content folder:

[[File:UE4ModCreation_07.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

== Check the Materials ==

The materials applied to the car body denote what part of the car that is. They aren't so much ''placeholder'' materials as they are ''identifier'' materials; the materials that are applied to the car determine the category of paint on that material slot in-game.

Double click on the Skeletal Mesh for your car. You should then see a screen like this:

[[File:UE4ModCreation_09.gif|frameless|360x360px]]

If instead, when you import a car, you see something more like this, then you will have to apply your materials manually:

[[File:UE4ModCreation_08.gif|frameless|360x360px]]

The materials to apply to the correct slots on your car body are located in <code>Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies</code>.

Descriptions of the materials to apply are found in the [[Car Body Mods#Applying materials|Car Body Material Options]] step.
== Set Car & Chassis Data ==

===Create car body variant data===
This is the file that will contain all the stats about your car; how many seats it can hold, how many doors it has, what the wheelbase is, etc..

Create a Body Variant Preview Data object in your mod folder from the Add New menu.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_11.gif|frameless|342x342px]]

Name your Body Variant Preview Data file correctly. The name of this file will determine the name of the body in-game.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_12.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

Open the Body Variant Preview Data file. In the top field, drag and drop, or use the arrow button, to put your skeletal mesh file into the Skeletal Mesh data field.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_19.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

The data inside the Body Variant Preview Data file determines the stats of your car design.

The data is set within the file, but updates in real-time in the body edit scene, which you should open first.

Opening the body edit scene and loading your car will help you visualise what all the data in this file translates to in-game.

=== Loading a Car For Editing ===
Open the <code>ThumbnailGeneratorLevel_Car</code> level.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_13.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

On the top bar, select the drop-down menu next to the <code>Play</code> button, and select <code>Simulate</code>.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_15.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

This will start simulating the "game" (in this case, the thumbnail generator level). It is important that everything you do in this level is done ''while you are simulating the level.''

In the <code>World Outliner</code>, search for the <code>BodyEditSceneBluetility</code>. This utility will be the interface between the level, which will have your car loaded in it, and your Car Body Variant file.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_14.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

In the Details panel of the <code>BodyEditSceneBluetility</code>, you will find buttons and options for loading your car body.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_16.gif|frameless|267x267px]]

The <code>Load Body</code> and <code>Unload Body</code> menu options will do just that—load and unload your body—but you have to specify the body you want to load first, which is done in the Variant Asset menu.

Select your Body Variant file from the content browser, and put it in the Variant Asset list by either dragging and dropping it in to the icon, or by pressing the arrow button next to the icon.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_17.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

Press <code>Load Body</code>, making sure that you are Simulating.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_18.gif|frameless|311x311px]]

You should now see your car loaded into the scene. You can begin to edit the data within the <code>Body Variant</code> file and see it update in real time in the scene, which is really helpful for setting chassis data.

[[File:Annotation_2020-03-16_171445.png|frameless|240x240px]]

*

#

=== What all the Body Variant settings mean ===
[[File:Untitled-27.png|alt=|right|frameless|1073x1073px]]

====Mesh====

*'''Skeletal Mesh''' is the physical mesh of your body.
*'''Car Material Settings''' are the default materials that should be applied to certain slots when a player loads it in-game. For instance, you may find it useful to set the window trim on an older body to chrome by default.
*'''Mesh Data''' is a generated file that you dont need to worry about. We'll make one of these in the [[Car Body Mods#Generate Thumbnails|thumbnail generation]] stage.
*'''Bone Constraints''' are the physical limits of where bone morphs can be affected. This is an advanced menu for if you want to enter these manually. For most poeple, we have an easy system for assigning these bone limits in the [[Car Body Mods#Set Bone Limits|bone limit setting]] stage. If a bone does not have limits, the player will be able to drag the bones around in any direction they want, as far as they want, and this almost never ends well. Note that ''morph targets don't need to have their limits set.''

==== UID ====

*'''Family GUID''' is an unique identifier that is shared between all variants of the same body family. If you are making more than one car body in the same family, they should all share the same family GUID.
*'''Variant GUID''' is an unique identifier that is unique for this body. Every body in Automation needs to have an unique GUID. If you, by chance, happen to generate or use the same Variant GUID as another body, when you try and select one the game may instead chose the other for you. If this happens, generate a new Variant GUID.

==== Preview ====

* You shouldn't have to set anything here. These will be populated in the [[Car Body Mods#Generate Thumbnails|thumbnail generation]] stage.

==== Settings ====

*'''Variant Body Type''' determines the category of the body in-game. Different categories have different advantages and disadvantages.
*'''Year''' is the year that this body unlocks in Campaign. Bodies that are closer to the current year (and thus more recent) score better in some categories, but having a body unlock the same year as its real-life inspiration or counterpart is ill-advised due to the time it takes to engineer cars in the campaign. Generally, Automation bodies are 3 to 10 years older than the cars they're based on.
*'''Doors''' determines the number of doors on this body, which affects some demographics' statistics.
*'''Maximum Seat Rows''' is a legacy value that determines the maximum number of seat rows your body can have (which affects some demographics' statistics). This value has been superseded by the Seats section below, which allows different maximum seat row values for different engine placements.
*'''Is Release Ready''' is a dev feature we use to allow us to configure and adjust bodies that are not ready to be in-game. If this box is unticked, you will not be able to see it in-game.
*'''Seat Options''' is a legacy option that is no longer used.
*'''Front Suspension To Disable''' will disable those suspension options for this body. This is useful if your body is shaped such that certain suspension types clip through the body, and you cannot solve it elsewhere.
*'''Rear Suspension To Disable''' will disable those suspension options for this body. This is useful if your body is shaped such that certain suspension types clip through the body, and you cannot solve it elsewhere.
*'''Chassis Type''' [missing info]
*'''Is Softtop Convert''' will set this body as a convertible with a soft top. This is for demographic calculations.
*'''Is Hardtop Convert''' will set this body as a convertible with a hard top. This is for demographic calculations.
*'''Cargo Subtracts''' will subtract the cargo volume from the cabin space in vehicles with a shared passenger and cargo area (wagons, MPVs, and such). This is useful for making cars where the more seat rows a body has, the less cargo space it has.
*The '''Seats''' section determines the maximum seat rows per applicable engine placement. For engine placements that aren't supported by the body as per the Engine Placement array below, their maximum seat values can be left as "None".

==== Engine ====

* '''Engine Placement''' is an array containing all the available engine positions for this body.

==== Chassis ====

===== Footprint =====

* '''Wheelbase''' is the wheelbase of the body in centimetres. Set this before setting anything else for best results.
* '''Track Width''' is supposedly track width in centimetres, but isn't actually measured accurately. Don't try and match it to real figures; just make sure the wheels are correctly positioned (with the correct tyres) and that there is enough room left in the wheel arches to make the tyres as wide as makes sense for the car (which might include having to use arch flare morphs). If you need room for wider tyres, set this a little narrower.
*'''Pan Width''' determines how wide the floor of the chassis is. This value must be set larger than the track width for it to have an effect.
* '''Y Offset''' is used to shuffle the mesh back and forwards to sit correctly in the middle of the chassis. If you're putting big numbers in here (more than 15, perhaps), you probably need to realign your mesh on the Y axis.
*'''Arch Width''' [missing info]

===== Vertical Position =====

* '''Default Suspension Height''' is used to set the default position of the ride height slider. Makes sure that supercars start off set low, SUVs start high, etc.
* '''Height Offset''' moves the car model up and down as compared to the chassis/wheels etc. This should usually be set so that with appropriate sized tyres, and Default Suspension Height set to 0, the wheels are nearly touching the top of the arches. Some cars might want to be set a bit higher (SUVs and the like), but remember that when a car is set to a ride height of 0, it has very little suspension travel, so you should be setting height offset on the basis of the lowest the car could possibly ever sit.

=====Front=====

* '''Firewall Y''' is a setting for how far forward the front firewall is. It's easiest to set this in side view in Wireframe mode. Set to match your mesh's firewall. This value is important for engine bay size.
*'''Firewall Z''' is a setting for how tall the front firewall is. It's easiest to set this in side view in Wireframe mode.
*'''Firewall Lean''' is a setting for how far forward the front firewall leans.
* '''Nose Length''' is used to set how far forward the engine bay goes. This is important for engine bay size. Make sure the chassis doesn't stick out of the car, even when you've moved morphs around on the nose.
* '''Cab Over''' is a tick box to say whether the engine goes under the front seats of your car body. Affects some statistics. Used for flat-nose vans and similar vehicles that lack bonnets.

=====Rear=====

* '''Rear Wall Y''' is a setting for how far backward the rear firewall is. It's easiest to set this in side view in Wireframe mode. Ignore this value for front-engine-only cars.
*'''Rear Wall Z''' is a setting for how tall the rear firewall is. It's easiest to set this in side view in Wireframe mode. Ignore this value for front-engine-only cars.
* '''Tail Length''' is how far the back of the chassis goes. Important for rear engine bay size, but not very important for front-engine cars. Be careful that it doesn't stick out of the car.

====Wheels====

* '''Max Wheel Diameter''' is the maximum wheel & tyre diameter in centimetres. Set this by adjusting the default tyre size to work out what the biggest practical tyre size would be, then putting that number here.
* '''Min Wheel Diameter''' is the minimum wheel & tyre diameter in centimetres. Set this by adjusting the default tyre size to work out what the smallest practical tyre size would be, then putting that number here.
* '''Default Wheel Diameter''' sets what tyre diameter is loaded on the car by default. Set it to something within reason for the car type.
* '''Default Rim Diameter''' sets what rim diameter is loaded on the car by default. Set it to something within reason for the car type. Remember to set it correctly for a tyre profile that makes sense for the type and age of the car. Older cars need high-ish-profile tyres, due to in-game restrictions on using low-profile tyres in early eras.
* '''Default Wheel Width''' sets what tyre width is loaded on the car by default. Set it to something within reason for the car type.

====Aero====
This contains the drag, front lift, and rear lift coefficients, which are calculated automatically alongside the body boxes. However, for legacy purposes, here are some reference materials:
* '''Cd''': Drag Coefficient (''not including cooling drag'') - You can use this calculator to estimate https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eIZKdCemwtb8KQJK4aQzicIyN80ESoDY2FN7UPR7JV0/edit#gid=588180347
*'''Cl Front''': Front Lift Coeeficient - You can use this calculator to estimate https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eIZKdCemwtb8KQJK4aQzicIyN80ESoDY2FN7UPR7JV0/edit#gid=588180347
*'''Cl Rear''': Rear Lift Coeeficient - You can use this calculator to estimate https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eIZKdCemwtb8KQJK4aQzicIyN80ESoDY2FN7UPR7JV0/edit#gid=588180347

====Path (Legacy Class)====
This is a legacy option for older bodies. You shouldn't need to touch anything in here unless you are converting a pre-UE4.24 mod.

====Body Boxes====
This contains all the sizes and positions of the body boxes, and are generated automatically in the [[Car Body Mods#Generate Thumbnails|thumbnail generation]] stage.

===== Manually enlarging engine bays =====
Engine bay bounds are determined by four points on one side of the car that form a rectangle. These points are then mirrored to form a box representing the engine bay.

For more adventurous mod bodies such as open-wheelers, you may find that the engine bay isn't long or tall enough to fit a suitably-sized engine. This can be fixed by increasing the two larger Y or Z values to the desired amount after you've generated the thumbnail, body boxes, and mesh data. Keep in mind that when you regenerate the thumbnail and mesh data, your modified engine bay values will be overwritten, so it may help to store them in a text file somewhere.

==== A note on convertibles ====
Convertibles should have their body tag set to the type of body they are aside from being convertibles, with the 'soft top' or 'hard top' convertible values being set separately. The 'convertible' body type is no longer used.

== Set Bone Limits ==
Once you've set all the other car body settings, you'll need to set the limits for bone movement.

While simulating in the car body scene, make sure your car is loaded and select it.

[[File:Annotation_2020-03-17_155800.png|frameless|360x360px]]

You should now see a set of blue squares at the locations of your bones as you set them in your modelling program. Click on one of these blue squares, and start to move it along an axis to see how it affects the body. You can set the current position of the bone as the new limit of that bone by right clicking on it and selecting "Add to limits".

[[File:UE4ModCreation_20.gif|frameless|360x360px]]

Right-click on a bone and select "Move all bones to bind pose" to move the bones back to their default location.

Note that if you accidently set a bone's limits too far, there are two ways to fix it: you can either right-click "Reset Limits" and then set the limit again, or (if you know what you're doing) type a new limit into the appropriate axis of the corresponding bone in the Bone Constraints array.

The following other options on right-clicking a bone are as follows:

* "Move all bones to max" will move a bone as far as possible in the positive axes it can move.
* "Move all bones to min" will move a bone as far as possible in the negative axes it can move.
* "Reset limits" will remove all limits from a selected bone.
* "Move all bones to bind pose" will move all bones back to their default positions.

Bones that appear red are bones that exist as part of the skeleton but aren't weighted to any vertices on the car.

== Generate Thumbnails ==
While simulating, load your car body.

In the Body Edit Scene Bluetility, click Generate Thumbnail.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_21.gif|frameless|377x377px]]

You should now have two more files in your mod content folder, but don't let their lack of an "unsaved" asterisk icon fool you: these files do indeed need to be saved. Right-click the files and save them manually; otherwise, they will indeed stop existing.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_23.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

You are now done creating all the files and settings you need! You can now export your mod body.

=== For additional body variants ===
For additional variants, repeat the same process for each CPP. If you copied the CPP from one variant and edited it for a new one, this will replace the original thumbnail. To avoid this problem, clear the thumbnail (and mesh data) from "Variant Preview Texture" on each additional variant before generating their thumbnails.

== Export Your Car Body ==
[[File:ShareMod.png|alt=|right|frameless|240x240px]]

#In Unreal Editor, at the top toolbar, select "Share Mod" and then click on the name of your car body.
# Select a path where there are no spaces in the file path. As an example, <code>C:\Users\Name\Documents\Unreal Projects\AutomationGame</code> ''will not work'', since the phrase <code>Unreal Projects</code> contains a space. <code>C:\Users\Name\Documents\ModExport</code> ''will'' work, because there are no spaces in the file path.
# Once your build is successful, you need to launch the "Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game Workshop Tool" from your "Tools", which can be accessed by hovering over "Library" in Steam.
# Enjoy your new car body!

== FAQ ==
'''Q''': I get a Max Script error running the script to unwrap my body like so:

[[File:Maxscript_Err_Unwrap.png|frameless|240x240px]]

'''A''': Car bodies in UE use 3 UVW maps and your mesh currently has less. To ensure you have enough maps, take the [[Car Body Mods/unwraperror|following steps]].

'''Q''': I get a Max Script error running the script to mirror my body like so:

[[File:Vertex index error.png|frameless|240x240px]]

'''A''': Save the body file as is, close 3ds Max, and then reopen the file. This fixes most instances of this error.

'''Q:''' Unreal won't open the SDK project files.

'''A:''' Make sure you're running the correct version of Unreal Editor. It should be version 4.24.3.

'''Q:''' I got my body in the game, but it looks weird whenever I apply fixtures.

'''A:''' Refer back to [[Car Body Mods#UV Unwrapping|the UV unwrapping section]], where this problem is addressed.

Car Body Mods

2022-01-08T01:43:56Z

The Stig Is A Spy: car material list, body preview settings, note on manual engine bay size

== Overview ==
A car body is a collection of files, of which a <code>Body Variant Preview Data</code> file is the parent.

The <code>Body Variant Preview Data</code> contains the settings and applicable options for the car body, as well as a reference to the car body mesh.

The car body mesh itself is a skeletal mesh in UE4, which is set up in a specific way. The mesh needs a set of placeholder materials assigned to it, as well as needing a certain orientation and size and specific UV layouts, along with highly specialised modelling and rigging.

== Workflow ==

# In a 3D modelling package:
## Create a car body mesh.
## Set up the skinning/rigging and morph targets.
## Create the UV maps.
# In UE4:
## Set up a mod.
## Import the car body to the mod folder.
## Ensure that the placeholder materials are properly assigned to the body.
## Create and fill out a body variant preview file.
## Generate the car thumbnail and preview info.
## Cook the mod.
# In the Automation Workshop Publishing Tool:
## Set up a workshop item.
## Share your mod.

== Creating the Car Body Mesh ==

=== Overview ===
Prior experience with modelling (particularly with subdivision surfaces) is required to make good Automation car bodies. Should you lack said experience, the links below are some good places to start:

* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjEaoINr3zgEq0u2MzVgAaHEBt--xLB6U BlenderGuru Blender 2.8 Beginner Tutorial]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppASl6yaguU&list=PLrjIgEdKLivgpCMmFC0_sV60Y_Ftp-WLD CGGeek Blender 2.8 Beginner Tutorial]
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa1F2ddGya_-UvuAqHAksYnB0qL9yWDO6 Blender Foundation Blender 2.8 Fundamentals]
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLda3VoSoc_TRuNB-5fhzPzT0mBfJhVW-i BornCG Blender 2.8 Tutorial Series]

Automation car bodies in particular should be created as a half, and then mirrored at or near completion to ensure symmetry and minimise the amount of work required to tweak them. Which half of a body you decide to model is irrelevant.

For an overview of how a vanilla body is modelled, Hard Rooster has made a [[Blender_Specific_instructions#Modelling_a_Body_in_Blender_in_9-hours|video series]] covering the modelling of a body from start to finish in Blender.

=== Notes ===
* UE4's units are in centimetres. For example, 100 units in UE4 are equivalent to 1 metre.
*A finished car body mesh is made of between 7,000 and 30,000 triangles (though a common upper limit is 15,000 triangles).
**This varies depending on things like the curvature of the body (compare a 1980s van to a 1950s sports car, for example), morphs that may require special topology, and the size of the body (as insufficient triangle density on a larger body may result in fixture tearing).
*Panel gaps (including door seams) are modelled into the car.
**A transparent mesh is often added over the panel seam to make fixtures conform more smoothly.
* The entire car should be one object/element.
*The body must not contain integrated mirrors, grilles, lights, badges, vents, door handles, aerials, fuel caps etc. Those should be made separately as fixtures.
**An exception may be made for sculpted vents (without the actual vent area, such as those on the LD Dodge Charger) or character lines, if they can be morphed flat and/or don't interfere with the versatility of the body.
* Use quads as much as possible, as they shade and reflect better than triangles.
* The body must be single-sided and must not have backfaces. It is made double-sided by materials in UE4.

 <gallery mode="packed" widths="200" heights="180">
File:Topview2.jpg|Top view
File:SideView2.jpg|Side view
File:3dview.jpg|3D view
</gallery>

==== Coordinates ====

* The front of the car body should face towards the negative Y (front to back) axis.
*the center of the body should be roughly at 0 on the Y axis, and exactly 0 on the X axis.
* The bottom edge of the car should roughly sit at 0 on the Z axis, with the top facing towards positive Z (ie: it should not be upside-down).
** Remember that the Y axis in 3ds Max and Blender runs ''forwards and backwards,'' whereas the Z axis runs ''up and down.'' This may not be consistent across all 3D packages.

* All vertices at the centre of the car (where it's cut in half) should be ''exactly'' at 0 on the X (left to right) axis.

== Applying Materials ==

Automation uses a set of placeholder materials applied to the mesh to define different paintable parts of the car.

'''''Only one of each material is supported.'''''

* If you need more materials to assign, consider adjusting your mesh, because there are no more materials to assign than those listed here, and you can only have one of each. 😉
* These will be replaced with the correct materials (if you've assigned the material slots correctly), informing the game what various areas of the car are used for, and what materials they require.
* These materials are colour-coded to represent the different areas of the car, and are replaced with the proper in-game materials dynamically. Make sure to assign these placeholders correctly!

=== List of car body materials ===
The following materials are used on car bodies:
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
!Material Name
!Area Used
!Paint Category
!Colourable
!Location in UE4
!Notes
|-
|<code>Bonnet</code>
|The bonnet
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Bonnet
|General paintable material. Has its own visibility toggle in-game.
|-
|<code>BonnetCam</code>
|Above the bonnet; determines the default location of the bonnet camera
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/BonnetCam
|This material is invisible in-game and has no effect on aesthetics.
for the Exporter, the bounding box origin of the geometry which uses this material defines where the bonnet camera will be.
|-
|<code>Bumper_Front</code>
|The front bumper
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Bumper_Front
|Prior to the Light Campaign 4.2 update, front and rear bumpers could not be painted separately.
|-
|<code>Bumper_Rear</code>
|The rear bumper
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Bumper_Rear
|Prior to the Light Campaign 4.2 update, front and rear bumpers could not be painted separately.
|-
|<code>CabinBounds</code>
|Deprecated
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/CabinBounds
|Since bounding boxes for car calculations are now done dynamically since the Light Campaign 4.2 update, this material is listed for legacy purposes only.
(This material was previously used to determine cabin size.)
|-
|<code>CargoBounds</code>
|Deprecated
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/CargoBounds
|Since bounding boxes for car calculations are now done dynamically since the Light Campaign 4.2 update, this material is listed for legacy purposes only.

(This material was previously used to determine trunk size, as well as front trunk size for mid- and rear-engine-only bodies.)
|-
|<code>Car_Roof</code> (formerly <code>Soft_Top</code>)
|General car roof slot
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Car_Roof
|General paintable material. Was previously exclusive to softtop convertibles until the Light Campaign 4.2 update.
|-
|<code>Chrome</code>
|Areas that must remain chrome
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/ChromeBUS
|For parts of the car that should always be chrome, use this material.
This material cannot be changed in-game.
|-
|<code>DriverCam</code>
|Inside the cabin; determines the default location of the driver camera(s)
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/DriverCam
|This material is invisible in-game and has no effect on aesthetics.
For the Exporter, the bounding box origin of the geometry which uses this material defines where the driver camera will be.

Optionally, this material can be split across boxes on either side of the car, allowing for different left- and right-hand driver positions.

For the BeamNG exporter, this position is then raycast forward, with any resulting collision with a vertex or face becoming the driver camera position. Effectively, this means the default driver camera position is just in front of the windshield, but aligned with the bounding box origin on the X and Z axes.
|-
|<code>FrontBounds</code>
|Deprecated
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/FrontBounds
|Since bounding boxes for car calculations are now done dynamically since the Light Campaign 4.2 update, this material is listed for legacy purposes only.

(This material was previously used to determine front trunk volume in rear-engined cars with a front engine option.)
|-
|<code>LipPlacement</code>
|Around undertray, over panel gaps, and over wheel wells
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/LipPlacement
|Used to cover panel gaps, wheel wells, and undertrays so that fixtures can conform to them.
This material is invisible in-game.
|-
|<code>LowerBounds</code>
|Deprecated
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/LowerBounds
|Since bounding boxes for car calculations are now done dynamically since the Light Campaign 4.2 update, this material is listed for legacy purposes only.

(This material was previously used to determine a car's engine bay size and general weight.)
|-
|<code>Paint</code>
|The primary paint colour
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Paint
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Paint_Two_Tone</code>
|The secondary paint colour
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Paint_Two_Tone
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Paint_Misc_1</code>
|Misc. paint
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Paint_Misc_1
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Paint_Misc_2</code>
|Misc. paint
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Paint_Misc_2
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Paint_Misc_3</code>
|Misc. paint
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Paint_Misc_3
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Trim</code>
|The general trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Trim
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Trim_Misc_1</code>
|Misc. trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Trim_Misc_1
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Trim_Misc_2</code>
|Misc. trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Trim_Misc_2
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Trim_Misc_3</code>
|Misc. trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Trim_Misc_3
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Plastic</code>
|Underbody
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Plastic
|Used for underbodies and wheel wells.
|-
|<code>Reflective_Mirror</code>
|Deprecated
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Reflective_Mirror
|Used for reflective mirror glass, back when mirrors were modelled into car bodies.
|-
|<code>Steel</code>
|Areas that must remain steel
|N/A
|No
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Steel
|For parts of the car that should always be steel, use this material.
This material cannot be changed in-game.
|-
|<code>Tray</code>
|The bed of a pickup truck or ute
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Tray
|Fixtures cannot be placed on this material.
|-
|<code>Window_Pillar</code>
|The pillar trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Window_Pillar
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Window_Trim</code>
|The window trim
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Window_Trim
|General paintable material.
|-
|<code>Windows</code>
|The car's windows
|Body
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Windows
|General paintable material.
Using the default Adjustable Window material, window transparency can be adjusted in-game.
|-
|<code>Wing_Mirror_Trim</code>
|Deprecated
|Trim
|Yes
|Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies/Wing_Mirror_Trim

|Used for mirror trim, back when mirrors were modelled into car bodies.
This material is listed for legacy purposes only.
|}

== Creating Body Morphs ==
Automation car bodies support both morph targets (shape keys), and skinning (rigging) for morphing parts of a car body. You can mix and match as many of each as you want, but be careful with overlapping morphs.

In-game, the morph which is selected is defined as the morph with the highest weight of the selected face/vertex.

* Morph targets are treated as having a maximum skin weight of 0.3 for the vertices that move the most, and multiply down to 0 for vertices that the morph doesn't move at all.
** For instance, a morph target which tilts the window pillar forward or backward would have a maximum weight of 0.3 at the top, and 0 at the bottom, with the vertex weighting blending down through the vertices like a gradient.
* Skin weights should be weighted roughly similarly to morph targets, so the maximum weight of a skin morph should be about 0.3.
** You can go as high as 1 if you are not using morph targets, or if your morph targets do not overlap a particular area of skin weights.
** Skin weights should be defined in 8-bit intervals only. UE4's skeletal meshes only support 8-bit weights, so having your skin use values as a multiple of 1/256 is important. As a rough estimate, values that are a multiple of 0.004 work fine, but be aware that values of less than 0.012 may be ignored.

=== Creating morphs with skinning ===
Skinning is the main system used to allow the player to drag around and deform a car body in Automation. It's done via weighting specific vertices to various "bones" that are a representation of what the player is dragging in-game when deforming the body.

It's also probably the single most confusing step of car creation in Automation, as it's done in a way that doesn't have a great deal in common with any other widely used game art process. It uses the same tools as skinning a character in a 3D modelling application, so referring to some character skinning tutorials may give you useful insights into the tools used, but the way Automation uses it is quite unique.

====Basic skinning overview====
In Automation, bones are used to define which part of the morph moves, but are non-hierarchical. The bones float in space around the car without any connection to each other, with only a Root bone as their parent.

* Every vertex on a skinned model has a skin weight to at least one bone, and at most four bones.
**This weighting will be a number between 0 and 1, defining how much a vertex follows the movement of a bone.
**The weighting is an 8-bit bit value, ie; all values are rounded to the nearest 1/256th
**For vertices that do not use a bone and instead are morphed with morph targets, they must still be weighted to the Root bone. all vertices must have a weight, and all weights must add up to 1.
**for vertices with weights that add up to above 1, you will get errors. do not do this. all weights must add up to 1.
**'''''All vertices must have a weight, and all weights must add up to 1.'''''
*When you morph the car in-game, your mouse movements move the bone, and the vertices follow the bone.

====Setting up bones for morphs====
Bones should float freely around the area which they will deform. All bones should be parented to the origin of the car called <code>Bone Root</code>. The naming and hierarchy is important.

It is a ''requirement'' for the root bone to be named <code>Bone Root</code>; otherwise, the body will not work correctly!

The morphs you create are up to you, and vary depending on the shape of the car and which parts can be deformed attractively, but almost every car will have bones for:

* Front and rear wheel arch flares
* Windscreen rake angle
* Rear window rake angle
* Boot/rear length or angle
*Front and rear bumper length (or front and rear overhang in general)

There is no real limit to how many bones you can have, but each vertex should only be skinned to 4 different bones before issues occur (i.e. vertices may not move how they should), and it can be very difficult in-game to select and deform an area that's skinned to more than 2 bones. This is because in-game, when you hover over the car, the bone weighted the most to the vertex under your cursor is the bone that you will be moving.

Bones should be created floating near the part of the car they deform. Their location isn't really important to how they function in-game, but having them placed correctly makes it much easier to understand what each bone is for adjusting their limits in later stages of the modding process. Also, a morph will not work if its bone's origin is off-screen while trying to move the morph in-game. Try to keep the bones relatively close to the areas they're morphing.

Note that if you are using the 3ds Max script, you do not need to create bones for anything on the opposite side of the car (e.g wheel arches on the other side), as they will automatically be mirrored when you mirror the car body. If you are not using the script, or you are using Maya or Blender, all bones that should mirror their actions on the other side of the car (such as wheel arches) should have the correct naming nomenclature so they work correctly in-game. The following suffixes work for mirrored bones in Automation:

*<code><Name>_opposite</code>
*<code><Name>_R</code>
*<code><Name>_L</code>
*<code>L.<Name></code>
*<code>R.<Name></code>
In this case, <code><Name></code> is the name of the bone/morph. 

[[File:BoneLayout2.jpg|frameless]]

[[File:ArmatureNaming_01.gif|frameless]]

====Adding bones in 3ds Max ====
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="300" heights="240">
File:ArmatureNaming 03.gif|1. Add a Skin modifier to the modifier stack of your car body mesh.
File:ArmatureNaming 04.gif|2. From the Parameters section of the Skin Modifier, press Add Bones.
File:ArmatureNaming 05.gif|3. Select all the bones from the list, and press Select to add them to the skin. (You can use filters to make sure you're only getting helper objects like dummies in the list.)
</gallery>

====Adding bones in Blender====
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="360" heights="240">
File:ArmatureNaming 06.gif|1. Add an ''Armature'' modifier.
File:ArmatureNaming 07.gif|2. Select your armature.
</gallery>

====Weighting the skin====

Now comes the complex bit. Weighting skins is a difficult and creative proccess that's almost like remodeling the car into different shapes, but with only skin weights to do it with. Wheel arches are often the easiest place to start on a new model, and a good way to start is to move a bone a reasonably large distance in the direction you want it to move (say, 25 to 50 cm) and then start weighting to that bone's new position.

* Remember that the higher you set the weight, the farther that area will move with mouse input, and the less weight will be available to assign to other bones. This isn't too important on wheel arches, but can be an issue on other parts of the car which may share more bones.
* all weights on a vertex need to add up to 1, and if the current bone is the only bone assigned to that vertex, it can't have a weight less than 1. By adding the root bone as a second bone, you can now adjust the weight of the bone you want, and the bone root will take the remaining weight.
* Bones in Blender affect vertex groups of their same name. To skin a mesh, you assign vertices of that mesh to the vertex group (of the same name as the bone you want them to be affected by), and then adjust the weight of that vertex (as a value from 0 to 1) to that vertex group.
* Keep in mind that Unreal Engine rounds bone weights to the nearest 1/256 (with intervals of roughly 0.004). This minimum weight interval isn't 100% reliable in some cases—instead, a minimum of 0.008, 0.012, or 0.016 may be used.
* You may also use weight painting as per [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb7obMX2SCf3UqP4R2w_El05BLpFcUpSw Hard Rooster's video tutorial series], which requires more setup but is generally faster and more convenient.
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="300" heights="240">
File:Blender ArmatureVertexGroupNames 01.gif|1. Create a Vertex Group from the Object Data tab with the same name as each bone.
File:Blender VertexWeighting 02.gif|2. Select the vertices you want to be affected by certain bones, and assign them to the matching vertex groups.
File:Blender VertexWeighting 01.gif|3. In the Item panel (accessed in the Viewport by pressing <code>N</code>), adjust the weights for the vertices.
</gallery>

Effectively, what you're doing here is using weighting to remodel the car into the shape you want it to be at the furthest extremes of bone movement. If you can make it the correct shape with the bone moved to its maximum position and with the bone back in its normal position, everything in between should take care of itself, and any bone position in between should look good too.

[[File:MoveBone2.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

Windscreens are also a good place to learn to skin, as you can basically move the windscreen bone forwards, and then try your best to use skin weights to make an almost vertical windscreen. If you can get that working correctly, then you should have a bone that lets you smoothly change the angle of the windscreen.

[[File:MoveWindscreenBone2.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

=== Creating morphs with morph targets ===
For Automation, we support using morph targets and shape keys for morphing a car body. This is done by storing a default value (the base car) and a morph to morph to (the morph target/shape key), and interpolating between those two shapes for every morph. The game supports morph values between 0 and 1 only. This is why skinning is better for the corners of a car body, because that allows for a full two (or even three) dimensions of movement for every morph, and in both directions. It is up to you to decide which method you would prefer to use. Morph targets are generally easier to set up.

==== In Blender ====
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="360" heights="240">
File:BlenderMorphs 01.gif|1. Create a new shape key.
File:BlenderMorphs 02.gif|2. Select the shape key.
</gallery>You can now edit the mesh to be in the new position you want it to be in for that morph.

Repeat for as many morphs as you would like, taking into consideration that every vertex that each morph affects will add to the total polygon count for that body. If you have too many morphs on a body with too many polygons, the game will take longer to load fixtures onto it!

==== In 3ds Max ====
We do not recommend this, but you can do it if you really want to.

# Duplicate your mesh.
#Adjust your mesh, '''''without adding or removing any polygons''''', to create your morph target.
# Create a Morpher modifier, and put it above the Edit Poly modifier, and below the Skin modifier (if you're using one).
# Pick the duplicate mesh as one of the morphs.
# Repeat for all morphs.
#Yes, it's ''that'' tedious. We hate 3ds Max.

=== Morphing tips ===

* Look carefully for any strange deformations in panels when moving your bones. It's very important that panels remain as smooth as possible when deforming, as reflections will very obviously show any kinks. The above example of the windscreen is a great example of a morph that deforms the overall shape of the body too much (look at how the top of the windshield becomes a curve and then eventually a kink—this is bad).

* Test out what happens if you move two nearby bones at the same time. Sometimes, two bones' movement combined can cause strange polygon overlaps, though this can often be avoided with careful skinning and a smooth falloff of weights between the two bones.

* Don't try and make too many different skinned areas. 10 or 12 is a sensible maximum, and try and avoid more than one bone affecting the exact same area (some overlap is okay though), as this may make them hard to select in-game.

* Sometimes you'll have to make changes to the mesh to make your car deform nicely in an area. Poly flow is very important for good deformation.

* Don't forget that any weighting you give a vertex to a bone will be taken from another bone to keep a total weight of 1. This can get very confusing and cause you to chase your own tail a bit. You have been warned! This isn't so much an issue in Blender (since vertex groups can be locked), but in 3ds Max, ''ohhhh boy'' I almost tore my hair out on more than one occasion.

== UV Unwrapping ==
If you're planning to do a pelt unwrap as described here, please swap this unwrap step with the mirroring step, and perform your mesh mirroring first. If you plan to use the 3ds Max script for unwrapping, please perform this step first and then move on to mirroring.

=== Unwrapping fundamentals ===
UV unwrapping is the process of unfolding the mesh onto a flat 2d plane which describes which part of a texture is applied to which part of a mesh. Think of it like taking a completed papercraft model of a car and unfolding it back to a [https://i.pinimg.com/736x/36/b3/0e/36b30ecf06c7127270612ed37e693a16--toyota-land-cruiser-doll-party.jpg flat sheet]. In most games, UV mapping is important for how the actual visible textures on objects appear, but in Automation, it's mostly important for how the fixture system works. When you place certain fixtures (such as lights, a grille, or door handles) onto the car, it projects a fixture-shaped hole onto the alpha (transparency) channel of the car body.

For the holes to be projected correctly, you must unwrap the car as one complete piece, without any separate islands of polygons. Otherwise, fixtures can project across multiple parts of the car and give you holes in unwanted places. The UV unwrap must also give a fairly even amount of texture space to each area of the car, as any low-resolution areas will cause jagged holes around the outside of fixtures; this is called "tearing".

It is for all of these reasons that the unwrap of a car mod has to be what's called a "pelt" unwrap (named for its resemblance to a flat animal pelt). For Automation cars, it looks like this: <gallery mode="packed" widths="360" heights="240">
File:Car unwrap.gif
File:Car unwrap again.png
</gallery>

=== Unwrapping a car with a pelt unwrap ===

==== Make sure your car is one element ====
This part is important, as it defines how the pelt unwrap works, which in turn determines how the fixture system cuts holes in the car. If parts of the car are not connected in both the 3D viewport and the UV viewport, the fixture will cut out an incorrect hole.

Any lip placement areas must be properly unwrapped despite the material being invisible; otherwise, tearing across the body can occur.

===== to see if your mesh is one element: =====

In 3ds Max, enter the Edit Poly modifier and click Element mode. Select one face of the car, and hide unselected faces.

In Blender, select one face of the car and press Ctrl+L to select linked faces, and Shift+H to hide unselected faces.<gallery mode="nolines" widths="420" heights="240">
File:Car body is not one mesh.png|If your selection ends up looking like this, your car is not one element, and has unjoined faces between the selection and the rest of the mesh. This will not work. Join your mesh together properly.
File:Car body selection correct.png|If your selection looks like this, with the entirety of the mesh selected, then you have done it correctly and there are no un-joined elements. Good job!
</gallery>

==== Doing the pelt unwrap ====
However it's done in your choice of 3D application, perform a pelt unwrap on your car. In Blender, it looks like this:

[[File:Pelt_unwrap_step_1.png|frameless|360x360px]]

Next we need to orient the unwrap so that the centre of the car in the UV sits on the centre-line of the Y axis, and scale the unwrap up so that it covers as much of the UV space as possible:
[[File:Car_unwrap_step_2.png|alt=|none|thumb|360x360px|It is ''vital'' that the top and bottom halves of the unwrap here are perfectly symmetrical, and that the centre line of the car is perfectly straight along the middle.]]

* Make sure this unwrap exists on both the first ''and'' second UV channels. The first channel will be used to calculate the normals, and the second channel will be used to calculate the fixture cutouts.
* make sure the car's center line is exactly in the middle of the UV layout.
* make sure that the top and bottom halves of the car are perfectly symmetrical.

=== Unwrapping a car with the 3ds Max unwrap script ===
From the Car Body Export Helper utility (located on the Utilities tab, with the hammer icon, in the top right of 3ds Max), press the "Unwrap Car Body" button. If you don't see this menu, go to utilities, then click on MAXScript, which will bring up the Car Body Export Helper option; then, click on the name.
[[File:3DS-Max-Car-Unwrap-Script 01.gif|none|thumb]]The UV unwrap should now be complete, and with the UVTESTING map applied, the result should look something like this:

[[File:Checker.jpg|frameless|360x360px]]

===== Note for finished bodies made via the 3ds Max script =====
If you've finished your body and have it running in game, and it looks like this whenever you add fixtures...

[[File:WeirdFixtures.png|frameless|360x360px]]

...then the UV maps are broken. You need to follow the steps below to fix the UV maps. this happens because 3DS-Max is The Worst.

unwrap the body and apply the Unwrap UVW modifier. Change the Map Channel to "2" and then click Move, after which you will move the Unwrap UVW modifier below the Skin modifier.

# Start off with your un-mirrored, but complete body.
# Apply the UV Test material and unwrap your body (which at this point is only half) with the Car Body Export Helper Tool.
# Add the Unwrap UVW modifier. Under the Channel panel, navigate to the Map Channel box and change the "1" to "2".
# There should be a pop up. Click Move.
# Now move your Unwrap UVW modifier so that it sits below the Skin modifier.
# Select your car object and mirror it using the Car Body Export Helper Tool. After mirroring you will notice that your Unwrap UVW modifier has disappeared.
# You can now follow the export steps to re-export!

[[File:WeirdStep1.png|frameless|360x360px]][[File:WeirdStep3.png|frameless|360x360px]]

== Mirror the Half Body ==

=== The traditional method ===
# Mirror your mesh.
# If you've already unwrapped your mesh without mirroring the UV maps via modifier setitngs, select the mirrored half, and flip the UV of that half along the Y axis:
# Duplicate the bones for the wheel flares on the opposite side, matching the distance from the centreline. Set the name of the mirrored half to the same as the un-mirrored half with "_opposite" at the end of the name of the bone. Duplicate the bone weighting from the non-mirrored half, rename it to match the mirrored bone, and clear the weighting for each on the opposing side so that the weighting for each wheel flare only includes the respective wheel:
[[File:Flip UVs part 1.png|thumb|alt=|A mirrored mesh before mirroring the unwrap.|300x300px|none]][[File:Flip uv part 2.png|thumb|alt=|A mirrored mesh after mirroring the unwrap.|300x300px|none]]

[[File:Mirror_weighting.png|frameless|240x240px]]

[[File:Mirror_weights_values.png|frameless|240x240px]]

[[File:Mirror_weights_2.png|frameless|273x273px]]

=== If you're using the optional 3ds Max script ===
Mirroring is simple; from the Car Body Export Tools utility, just press "Mirror Car Body". This will mirror the mesh, mirror the UV unwrap, and duplicate the required bones.

[[File:3DS-Max-Car-Unwrap-Script_02.gif|frameless|221x221px]]

== Fix Everything You Just Broke Mirroring the Body ==

=== If you're using the 3ds Max script ===
===='''Check wheel arch bones have their opposite counterparts created'''====
Wheel arch bones require an opposite bone. This is to allow the game to morph the wheel arch on the other side of the body to the same length, but in an opposite direction to that which you have moved. (The same applies to any other bone that moves along the X axis, e.g. a running board morph).

When the mirror script is run, it determines which bones require an opposite by checking all the vertices on the zero X axis for each bone. If none of these vertices have a weight value, the script will create an opposite bone.

If, after running the script, your double-sided body does not have the expected opposite bones, then you will need to go back to your original half body and check that none of the vertices for that bone on the zero X Axis has any weight applied to it. Remember that ''zero weighted bones still count as having a value'', and you should use the Remove Zero Weights button to remove these.
[[File:Centre_verts.png|alt=|thumb|420x420px|Selecting all centre vertices.]]
One method to check for weights on the zero X axis is as follows:
[[File:Weight_table_view.png|alt=|thumb|420x420px|The weight table.]]

#Ensure that all vertices of your mesh are visible.
#Select all the vertices along the zero X axis.
#Open the weight table (found in the weight properties rollout).
#Set the weight table view to selected vertices.
#Scroll down the list of weight for the bones in question. Any weighted verts should be easy to spot, as there should not be any. These can be zeroed by right clicking the weight value. (You may want to make note of any weight values for other bones (excluding the root bone) on that vertex, as these may alter as a result of the above and you will want to correct them.
#Once all erroneous weights have been zeroed, use the Remove Zero Weights button.

These steps should ensure your opposite bone is created when the mirror script is run again.

====Ensure other bones do not have opposite bones when not required====
In some cases, your body may have bones that are purposely designed to morph vertices on the outside of the body that are not intended to move along the X axis (e.g. The "Hofmeister kink" found on the <code>10sSedan02</code> series of bodies). The mirror script may create an unwanted opposite bone for these.

This can be avoided by temporarily weighting a vertex on the zero X axis to the bone in question. Ideally, pick a vertex that is weighted only to the root bone so as not disturb the weights of other bones. Once the mirror script has been run, you can remove the temporary weight applied to that vertex.

====Check that both halves of the body are welded together====
The mirror body script should weld both halves of your body together, but for ''reasons'' (3ds Max is spaghetti), this does not always occur. This can be seen by your body having an unexpected crease or seam down the centre.

Once you have welded the two halves together, perform a visual check to ensure that no ''unintentional'' welds have taken place. e.g. top and bottom vertices on a window frames. If this happens, undo your weld command and select the centreline vertices in smaller chunks, and avoid selecting the vertices in question at the same time.

====Check skin for distortion along the centreline vertices====
When two skinned vertices are welded together, either automatically via the script or manually, 3ds Max will attempt to combine the weights of both the old vertices into one. Unfortunately, it's not very good at it, and many of the welded vertices on the centreline end up with odd weights. This results in a distorted skin (see below). This isn't an issue with Blender.

[[File:Distorted_Skin.png|frameless|360x360px]]
[[File:Weight_table.png|alt=|right|frameless|360x360px]]
To correct the distortion, you will need to check and correct the centreline vertices. The most methodical way is to start from one end of the body and work your way to the other end as follows:

# Expand the skin modifier and select Envelope.
# Open the weight table and set to selected vertices.
# Select the central 3 vertices at one end of the body and view the weight values in the table.
# Where the mesh is distorted, you will usually see one vertex in the weight table that's the odd one out.
# Amend the values of this vertex to match those on either side of it. (For vertices with more than 2 bones, you may need to untick normalize to stop Max from altering your amendments—remember to re-enable it once completed).
# Repeat the above steps, working along the body until you reach the other end.

=== Check that the same UV maps exist on the first two UV channels ===

==== In 3ds Max ====
To Check the maps:

# Under the utilities tab click on the More... button.
# Select "Channel Info" from the list and click OK.
# Click the newly available Channel Info Button and review the channel info.

[[File:Channel_inf.png|frameless|360x360px]]

The bottom 3 lines of the above screenshot represent the 3 UVW maps. In this case, the maps are identical, as they should be. If, however, there is a mismatch between the three maps (from either null data or different numbers of vertices), they will need to be be corrected. If your body does not have 3 maps, see [[Car Body Mods/Unwrap Error|here]].

In most cases, <code>1:map</code> is the correct one. One method of correcting the maps is as follows:

# In the Channel Info box, select the line representing the correct map.
# Select Copy.
# Select one of the incorrect lines.
# Select Paste.
# Repeat for the other map if it's also incorrect.
# Close the channel info box and click on the modifier stack tab.
# Move the UVW Mapping Paste modifier(s) to between the skin and the mesh.
# Collapse the modifiers into the mesh.

==== In Blender ====
Open the Object Data menu and select the UV Maps submenu. Open a UV editor and check that the UVs look correct in the first two UV channels.

[[File:Uvs_still_there.png|frameless|360x360px]]

If one of these is not correct, delete it and simply duplicate the correct one.

== Export Car Body to .FBX File ==

=== In 3ds Max ===
This step is easy!

1: Select the car body mesh, then go to File > Export > Export Selected

2: Save the FBX file somewhere. It won't actually be distributed with the mod when complete, but name it well, and put it somewhere in a properly named folder, where it'll never need to be moved or renamed. If you move it, UE4 will get confused if you try and reimport it, which you'll need to do if everything isn't perfect, and nothing is ever perfect.

3: Make sure your export settings look like this image:
[[File:3dsmax_exportsettings_01.gif|alt=|none|thumb|374x374px|Occasionally, you may get warnings on exporting the .FBX that the matrials are not compatible with the chosen format and objects may appear grey. This warning can be ignored, as we use our own materials.]]

=== In Blender ===

# Select the armature, and then the mesh, and then go to File > Export > FBX.
# Save the FBX file somewhere. It won't actually be distributed with the mod when complete, but name it well, and put it somewhere in a properly named folder, where it'll never need to be moved or renamed. If you move it, UE4 will get confused if you try and reimport it, which you'll need to do if everything isn't perfect, and nothing is ever perfect. Make sure your export settings match like so:
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="320" heights="240">
File:Blender-export-settings-01.gif|1. Under Main, make sure the forward direction is set to -Y forward, with Z up, and Selected Objects ticked.
File:Blender-export-settings-02.gif|2. Under Geometry, set smoothing to Normals Only, and tick Tangent Space.
File:Blender-export-settings-04.gif|3. Under Armatures, untick Add Leaf Bones.
</gallery>The animation tab doesn't matter, as we don't use animations.

You are now ready to import your body to Unreal Engine!

== Import Car Body to Unreal Engine ==

Now it's time to bring all your hard work into Unreal Engine.

Follow the [[Modding]] page for installing and opening the Automation Modding SDK.

If you've never used Unreal Engine before, now is a great time to watch this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4XlBKeE46E introduction to UE4 playlist from Epic]. It's for a fairly old version, but most of it still applies.

===Creating your Car Body Mod===
Press the Create Mod button in the top bar of the UE4 Editor.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_01.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

Select the Blank Project, and fill the wizard out with all of your details, such as your name and a short description of the mod you're making. Then, click Create Mod to generate your plugin files.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_02.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

The Content Browser window should now show your plugin content. This is where you'll put ''all'' of your mod files. '''''Never modify any files outside of your plugin folder'''''. you can copy materials and such from the main content folder, but only if those files are copied to your mod folder. The end result of your mod should be a default content folder that is identical to the default state of the SDK, and all of your own modified files within the one plugin folder you want to release. Do not edit or modify files within the root content folder, and do not reference any files within any other mod folder.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_03.gif|frameless|267x267px]]

You should now have an empty content folder:

[[File:UE4ModCreation_04.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

=== Importing your car body to the mod folder ===
Press the Import button in the Content Browser with your mod content folder selected to import your car body FBX file.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_05.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

In the following pop-up import options, make sure the following settings are exactly as described:

[[File:UE4ModCreation_06.gif|frameless|559x559px]]

#''Skeletal Mesh'' should be set to '''True'''
#''Import Mesh'' should be set to '''True'''
#''Skeleton'' should be set to '''None'''
#''Import Meshes in Bone Hierarchy'' should be set to '''False'''
#''Import Morph Targets'' should be set to '''True'''
#''Normal Import Method'' should be set to '''Import Normals and Tangents'''
#''Material Search Location'' should be set to '''All Assets'''
#''Material Import Method'' should be set to '''Do Not Create Material'''

Once you have configured the import dialog correctly, press I<nowiki/>mport,<nowiki/> or if you are importing multiple car bodies, press Import All.

You should now have a Skeletal Mesh (pink icon), a Physics Asset (yellow/brownish icon), and a Skeleton (light blue icon) in your mod content folder:

[[File:UE4ModCreation_07.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

== Check the Materials ==

The materials applied to the car body denote what part of the car that is. They aren't so much ''placeholder'' materials as they are ''identifier'' materials; the materials that are applied to the car determine the category of paint on that material slot in-game.

Double click on the Skeletal Mesh for your car. You should then see a screen like this:

[[File:UE4ModCreation_09.gif|frameless|360x360px]]

If instead, when you import a car, you see something more like this, then you will have to apply your materials manually:

[[File:UE4ModCreation_08.gif|frameless|360x360px]]

The materials to apply to the correct slots on your car body are located in <code>Content/Cars/Meshes/Bodies</code>.

Descriptions of the materials to apply are found in the [[Car Body Mods#Applying materials|Car Body Material Options]] step.
== Set Car & Chassis Data ==

===Create car body variant data===
This is the file that will contain all the stats about your car; how many seats it can hold, how many doors it has, what the wheelbase is, etc..

Create a Body Variant Preview Data object in your mod folder from the Add New menu.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_11.gif|frameless|342x342px]]

Name your Body Variant Preview Data file correctly. The name of this file will determine the name of the body in-game.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_12.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

Open the Body Variant Preview Data file. In the top field, drag and drop, or use the arrow button, to put your skeletal mesh file into the Skeletal Mesh data field.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_19.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

The data inside the Body Variant Preview Data file determines the stats of your car design.

The data is set within the file, but updates in real-time in the body edit scene, which you should open first.

Opening the body edit scene and loading your car will help you visualise what all the data in this file translates to in-game.

=== Loading a Car For Editing ===
Open the <code>ThumbnailGeneratorLevel_Car</code> level.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_13.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

On the top bar, select the drop-down menu next to the <code>Play</code> button, and select <code>Simulate</code>.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_15.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

This will start simulating the "game" (in this case, the thumbnail generator level). It is important that everything you do in this level is done ''while you are simulating the level.''

In the <code>World Outliner</code>, search for the <code>BodyEditSceneBluetility</code>. This utility will be the interface between the level, which will have your car loaded in it, and your Car Body Variant file.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_14.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

In the Details panel of the <code>BodyEditSceneBluetility</code>, you will find buttons and options for loading your car body.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_16.gif|frameless|267x267px]]

The <code>Load Body</code> and <code>Unload Body</code> menu options will do just that—load and unload your body—but you have to specify the body you want to load first, which is done in the Variant Asset menu.

Select your Body Variant file from the content browser, and put it in the Variant Asset list by either dragging and dropping it in to the icon, or by pressing the arrow button next to the icon.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_17.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

Press <code>Load Body</code>, making sure that you are Simulating.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_18.gif|frameless|311x311px]]

You should now see your car loaded into the scene. You can begin to edit the data within the <code>Body Variant</code> file and see it update in real time in the scene, which is really helpful for setting chassis data.

[[File:Annotation_2020-03-16_171445.png|frameless|240x240px]]

*

#

=== What all the Body Variant settings mean ===
[[File:Untitled-27.png|alt=|right|frameless|1073x1073px]]

====Mesh====

*'''Skeletal Mesh''' is the physical mesh of your body.
*'''Car Material Settings''' are the default materials that should be applied to certain slots when a player loads it in-game. For instance, you may find it useful to set the window trim on an older body to chrome by default.
*'''Mesh Data''' is a generated file that you dont need to worry about. We'll make one of these in the [[Car Body Mods#Generate Thumbnails|thumbnail generation]] stage.
*'''Bone Constraints''' are the physical limits of where bone morphs can be affected. This is an advanced menu for if you want to enter these manually. For most poeple, we have an easy system for assigning these bone limits in the [[Car Body Mods#Set Bone Limits|bone limit setting]] stage. If a bone does not have limits, the player will be able to drag the bones around in any direction they want, as far as they want, and this almost never ends well. Note that ''morph targets don't need to have their limits set.''

==== UID ====

*'''Family GUID''' is an unique identifier that is shared between all variants of the same body family. If you are making more than one car body in the same family, they should all share the same family GUID.
*'''Variant GUID''' is an unique identifier that is unique for this body. Every body in Automation needs to have an unique GUID. If you, by chance, happen to generate or use the same Variant GUID as another body, when you try and select one the game may instead chose the other for you. If this happens, generate a new Variant GUID.

==== Preview ====

* You shouldn't have to set anything here. These will be populated in the [[Car Body Mods#Generate Thumbnails|thumbnail generation]] stage.

==== Settings ====

*'''Variant Body Type''' determines the category of the body in-game. Different categories have different advantages and disadvantages.
*'''Year''' is the year that this body unlocks in Campaign. Bodies that are closer to the current year (and thus more recent) score better in some categories, but having a body unlock the same year as its real-life inspiration or counterpart is ill-advised due to the time it takes to engineer cars in the campaign. Generally, Automation bodies are 3 to 10 years older than the cars they're based on.
*'''Doors''' determines the number of doors on this body, which affects some demographics' statistics.
*'''Maximum Seat Rows''' is a legacy value that determines the maximum number of seat rows your body can have (which affects some demographics' statistics). This value has been superseded by the Seats section below, which allows different maximum seat row values for different engine placements.
*'''Is Release Ready''' is a dev feature we use to allow us to configure and adjust bodies that are not ready to be in-game. If this box is unticked, you will not be able to see it in-game.
*'''Seat Options''' is a legacy option that is no longer used.
*'''Front Suspension To Disable''' will disable those suspension options for this body. This is useful if your body is shaped such that certain suspension types clip through the body, and you cannot solve it elsewhere.
*'''Rear Suspension To Disable''' will disable those suspension options for this body. This is useful if your body is shaped such that certain suspension types clip through the body, and you cannot solve it elsewhere.
*'''Chassis Type''' [missing info]
*'''Is Softtop Convert''' will set this body as a convertible with a soft top. This is for demographic calculations.
*'''Is Hardtop Convert''' will set this body as a convertible with a hard top. This is for demographic calculations.
*'''Cargo Subtracts''' will subtract the cargo volume from the cabin space in vehicles with a shared passenger and cargo area (wagons, MPVs, and such). This is useful for making cars where the more seat rows a body has, the less cargo space it has.
*The '''Seats''' section determines the maximum seat rows per applicable engine placement. For engine placements that aren't supported by the body as per the Engine Placement array below, their maximum seat values can be left as "None".

==== Engine ====

* '''Engine Placement''' is an array containing all the available engine positions for this body.

==== Chassis ====

===== Footprint =====

* '''Wheelbase''' is the wheelbase of the body in centimetres. Set this before setting anything else for best results.
* '''Track Width''' is supposedly track width in centimetres, but isn't actually measured accurately. Don't try and match it to real figures; just make sure the wheels sit correctly in the mesh (with correct tyres) and that there is enough room left in the wheel arches to make the tyres as wide as makes sense for the car (which might include having to use arch flare morphs). If you need room for wider tyres, set this a little narrower.
*'''Pan Width''' [missing info]
* '''Y Offset''' is used to shuffle the mesh back and forwards to sit correctly in the middle of the chassis. If you're putting big numbers in here (more than 15, perhaps), you probably need to realign your mesh on the Y axis.
*'''Arch Width''' [missing info]

===== Vertical Position =====

* '''Default Suspension Height''' is used to set the default position of the ride height slider. Makes sure that supercars start off set low, SUVs start high, etc.
* '''Height Offset''' moves the car model up and down as compared to the chassis/wheels etc. This should usually be set so that with appropriate sized tyres, and Default Suspension Height set to 0, the wheels are nearly touching the top of the arches. Some cars might want to be set a bit higher (SUVs and the like), but remember that when a car is set to a ride height of 0, it has very little suspension travel, so you should be setting height offset on the basis of the lowest the car could possibly ever sit.

=====Front=====

* '''Firewall Y''' is a setting for how far forward the front firewall is. It's easiest to set this in side view in Wireframe mode. Set to match your mesh's firewall. This value is important for engine bay size.
*'''Firewall Z''' is a setting for how tall the front firewall is. It's easiest to set this in side view in Wireframe mode.
*'''Firewall Lean''' is a setting for how far forward the front firewall leans.
* '''Nose Length''' is used to set how far forward the engine bay goes. This is important for engine bay size. Make sure the chassis doesn't stick out of the car, even when you've moved morphs around on the nose.
* '''Cab Over''' is a tick box to say whether the engine goes under the front seats of your car body. Affects some statistics. Used for flat-nose vans and similar vehicles that lack bonnets.

=====Rear=====

* '''Rear Wall Y''' is a setting for how far backward the rear firewall is. It's easiest to set this in side view in Wireframe mode. Ignore this value for front-engine-only cars.
*'''Rear Wall Z''' is a setting for how tall the rear firewall is. It's easiest to set this in side view in Wireframe mode. Ignore this value for front-engine-only cars.
* '''Tail Length''' is how far the back of the chassis goes. Important for rear engine bay size, but not very important for front-engine cars. Be careful that it doesn't stick out of the car.

====Wheels====

* '''Max Wheel Diameter''' is the maximum wheel & tyre diameter in centimetres. Set this by adjusting the default tyre size to work out what the biggest practical tyre size would be, then putting that number here.
* '''Min Wheel Diameter''' is the minimum wheel & tyre diameter in centimetres. Set this by adjusting the default tyre size to work out what the smallest practical tyre size would be, then putting that number here.
* '''Default Wheel Diameter''' sets what tyre diameter is loaded on the car by default. Set it to something within reason for the car type.
* '''Default Rim Diameter''' sets what rim diameter is loaded on the car by default. Set it to something within reason for the car type. Remember to set it correctly for a tyre profile that makes sense for the type and age of the car. Older cars need high-ish-profile tyres, due to in-game restrictions on using low-profile tyres in early eras.
* '''Default Wheel Width''' sets what tyre width is loaded on the car by default. Set it to something within reason for the car type.

====Aero====
This contains the drag, front lift, and rear lift coefficients, which are calculated automatically alongside the body boxes. However, for legacy purposes, here are some reference materials:
* '''Cd''': Drag Coefficient (''not including cooling drag'') - You can use this calculator to estimate https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eIZKdCemwtb8KQJK4aQzicIyN80ESoDY2FN7UPR7JV0/edit#gid=588180347
*'''Cl Front''': Front Lift Coeeficient - You can use this calculator to estimate https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eIZKdCemwtb8KQJK4aQzicIyN80ESoDY2FN7UPR7JV0/edit#gid=588180347
*'''Cl Rear''': Rear Lift Coeeficient - You can use this calculator to estimate https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eIZKdCemwtb8KQJK4aQzicIyN80ESoDY2FN7UPR7JV0/edit#gid=588180347

====Path (Legacy Class)====
This is a legacy option for older bodies. You shouldn't need to touch anything in here unless you are converting a pre-UE4.24 mod.

====Body Boxes====
This contains all the sizes and positions of the body boxes, and are generated automatically in the [[Car Body Mods#Generate Thumbnails|thumbnail generation]] stage.

===== Manually enlarging engine bays =====
Engine bay bounds are determined by four points on one side of the car that form a rectangle. These points are then mirrored to form a box representing the engine bay.

For more adventurous mod bodies such as open-wheelers, you may find that the engine bay isn't long or tall enough to fit a suitably-sized engine. This can be fixed by increasing the two larger Y or Z values to the desired amount after you've generated the thumbnail, body boxes, and mesh data. Keep in mind that when you regenerate the thumbnail and mesh data, your modified engine bay values will be overwritten, so it may help to store them in a text file somewhere.

==== A note on convertibles ====
Convertibles should have their body tag set to the type of body they are aside from being convertibles, with the 'soft top' or 'hard top' convertible values being set separately. The 'convertible' body type is no longer used.

== Set Bone Limits ==
Once you've set all the other car body settings, you'll need to set the limits for bone movement.

While simulating in the car body scene, make sure your car is loaded and select it.

[[File:Annotation_2020-03-17_155800.png|frameless|360x360px]]

You should now see a set of blue squares at the locations of your bones as you set them in your modelling program. Click on one of these blue squares, and start to move it along an axis to see how it affects the body. You can set the current position of the bone as the new limit of that bone by right clicking on it and selecting "Add to limits".

[[File:UE4ModCreation_20.gif|frameless|360x360px]]

Right-click on a bone and select "Move all bones to bind pose" to move the bones back to their default location.

Note that if you accidently set a bone's limits too far, there are two ways to fix it: you can either right-click "Reset Limits" and then set the limit again, or (if you know what you're doing) type a new limit into the appropriate axis of the corresponding bone in the Bone Constraints array.

The following other options on right-clicking a bone are as follows:

* "Move all bones to max" will move a bone as far as possible in the positive axes it can move.
* "Move all bones to min" will move a bone as far as possible in the negative axes it can move.
* "Reset limits" will remove all limits from a selected bone.
* "Move all bones to bind pose" will move all bones back to their default positions.

Bones that appear red are bones that exist as part of the skeleton but aren't weighted to any vertices on the car.

== Generate Thumbnails ==
While simulating, load your car body.

In the Body Edit Scene Bluetility, click Generate Thumbnail.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_21.gif|frameless|377x377px]]

You should now have two more files in your mod content folder, but don't let their lack of an "unsaved" asterisk icon fool you: these files do indeed need to be saved. Right-click the files and save them manually; otherwise, they will indeed stop existing.

[[File:UE4ModCreation_23.gif|frameless|240x240px]]

You are now done creating all the files and settings you need! You can now export your mod body.

=== For additional body variants ===
For additional variants, repeat the same process for each CPP. If you copied the CPP from one variant and edited it for a new one, this will replace the original thumbnail. To avoid this problem, clear the thumbnail (and mesh data) from "Variant Preview Texture" on each additional variant before generating their thumbnails.

== Export Your Car Body ==
[[File:ShareMod.png|alt=|right|frameless|240x240px]]

#In Unreal Editor, at the top toolbar, select "Share Mod" and then click on the name of your car body.
# Select a path where there are no spaces in the file path. As an example, <code>C:\Users\Name\Documents\Unreal Projects\AutomationGame</code> ''will not work'', since the phrase <code>Unreal Projects</code> contains a space. <code>C:\Users\Name\Documents\ModExport</code> ''will'' work, because there are no spaces in the file path.
# Once your build is successful, you need to launch the "Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game Workshop Tool" from your "Tools", which can be accessed by hovering over "Library" in Steam.
# Enjoy your new car body!

== FAQ ==
'''Q''': I get a Max Script error running the script to unwrap my body like so:

[[File:Maxscript_Err_Unwrap.png|frameless|240x240px]]

'''A''': Car bodies in UE use 3 UVW maps and your mesh currently has less. To ensure you have enough maps, take the [[Car Body Mods/unwraperror|following steps]].

'''Q''': I get a Max Script error running the script to mirror my body like so:

[[File:Vertex index error.png|frameless|240x240px]]

'''A''': Save the body file as is, close 3ds Max, and then reopen the file. This fixes most instances of this error.

'''Q:''' Unreal won't open the SDK project files.

'''A:''' Make sure you're running the correct version of Unreal Editor. It should be version 4.24.3.

'''Q:''' I got my body in the game, but it looks weird whenever I apply fixtures.

'''A:''' Refer back to [[Car Body Mods#UV Unwrapping|the UV unwrapping section]], where this problem is addressed.