(Animated Textures) Two definitions. An animated bin - is a model that moves. For example, the dinosaur in crazy 98, the oil pump in sidewinder canyon, Alpine's helicopter and windmill, and all of Toxin's loaders. Each of these models is composed of several bins, each one slightly different from the others so that in the game it creates motion. A bin with animated textures - is a model that has a moving part. For example, Guitar Bill's txflames, globe and vulture, Anarchy's spooky trees, and Rooski's warning sign. Each of these models uses only a single bin, but each one uses many textures to create their effect. This page will deal with bins using animated textures.
Making animated textures on a model involves some planning ahead. First, you must know what the model will be. Then, you must make it. It should be obvious that you cannot create an animation on an unfinished model. You must also plan where the animation will go (eg. on the whole side of a model, or on a small part only) and make the faces where you plan to apply the animation. The model must be complete and fully mapped (except for the animation). And, it must be saved on the hard drive. For our example, I will create flashing lights on a railroad crossing sign. Let's look at the finished model now so you can see what we're aiming to do.
Step 1 - Defining the Animation When your "un-animated" model is made, saved and ready to go, clear
the working area and then goto Textures>Define Animation on the menu:
Click "Add Texture" and browse to the textures you want to include in
the animation.
For our example, I made two textures. One with the light on, and
one with the light off.
The animation will switch back and forth between these two textures
to create the impression of a blinking light - on one moment and off the
next.
Once the textures are loaded, they will appear in the column on the left. Now, you must give the animation a name. You will use this later
when you map the animation to the model. Any name will work but,
like naming groups, you should keep it simple and make it appropriate to
what you are doing. No spaces. For our example, I will define
two animations and name them Crossing and Crossing2.
Next, you must indicate a frame rate. This controls how fast or how slow the animation will appear on your model. Binedit measures the frame rate in frames per second. The rate you choose will depend on the effect you want to create. You may have to experiment to get it right. For our example, I will use 2 frames per second (I want to create a medium paced blink that goes left right left right on either side of the crossing post). The completed animated texture box(es) will look like this:
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First animation | Second animation |
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