Chapter 7 | Importing Custom Vehicles

Introduction

In Virtual CRASH, one can easily import third-party vehicle meshes to use as a vehicle model. In Virtual CRASH 6, this process is easiest with .obj mesh files and corresponding .mtl material files. Of course, you can import other formats as well, such as .3ds, .fbx, and .dxf formats.

We began by importing our obj file into our scene. This can be accomplished either by dragging and dropping the file from Windows File explorer or by navigating to Project > Import (remember to set the file type in the lower right corner). This action will open the file import dialogue box. You will need to select the units for the mesh; however, the specific units chosen are not critical. Aim to select units that maintain the raw mesh at a manageable size within the workspace, as this makes it easier to work with.

Below we see the imported vehicle mesh.

If necessary, reorient the mesh so that it points along the global x-axis direction. This process is discussed in greater detail in this post.

Next, we must remove the mesh wheels. There are a few ways to accomplish this task. The easiest method is to leverage our model’s wheel materials. Navigate to the “Materials” menu, switch your cursor control to “Elements” [Shift+E], select the wheel-related materials from the material list, and left-click “select faces.” You should see the wheel-related polygon faces turn red (see below).

For any remaining wheel polygons, left-click (use [F1] mode to safely select without danger of moving faces), then delete.

Next, switch to vertex selection type [Shift+V]. This enables you to visualize the vertices of the mesh. In the left-side control panel, open “Vertices” and left-click “Remove Isolated Vertices”. This action will remove the hidden wheel vertices. This is a critical step, as vehicle specifications are defined relative to vertex positions.

Here we see our mesh without wheel vertices.

Clean up any unwanted vehicle components in the same manner. Once you’re satisfied with the final vehicle geometry, switch back to Object selection type [Shift+O], and select the vehicle. Navigate to Project > Export Selected. Save the model as a .vcm file.

Next, go to the assets browser and import a simulated vehicle model into the scene (it’s unimportant which one). Once the simulated “parent” vehicle object is in the scene, drag and drop your .vcm file from Windows file explorer on top of the parent. When asked “Do you want to replace current mesh?”, press “Yes”.

Don’t be concerned if the vehicle’s proportions appear incorrect. Remember, the parent vehicle’s specifications are being applied to your new mesh. At this step, the primary objective is to ensure the mesh orientation is correct relative to the wheels.

Modify the vehicle’s specifications as needed for your subject vehicle. You will see the mesh actively change size as you modify the length, width, and height values (more information here).

Finally, modify the vehicle’s materials as needed (more information here).

Chapter 7 | VC6 User's Guide

Chapter 7 | Importing Custom Vehicles

Introduction

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