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AI Model Generation

rhumbaflappy

rhumbaflappy

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I wanted to see if there were any free pumpjack models. There were some, but I thought i'd try to make my own. I didn't need great quality and didn't want to spend a lot of time modeling.
There's no doubt ai has entered Flight sim modeling. FS2020 and 2024 have tons of procedural models as well as photogrammetry. There are tools now available to create 3d models from text or 2D images. I ran across this:

I followed the instructions to install and run the programming. I used this as one of my images:
oil-pump-jack-isolated-white-background-33093225.jpg


And here's the results after a bit of tweaking in Blender:
TrellisPumpjacks.png

They are similar to photogrammetry. The models could also be used as a template to create a better mesh, but from a bit of distance, they look OK. Now to popu;ate the planet with hundreds of thousands of pumpjacks... well, maybe not. :laughing:
 
I wonder if we "decimate" the latter 3D models, might they be better than ex: LiDAR-derived 3D objects on Google "photogrammetry" ? :scratchch

GaryGB
 
This afternoon I tried both solutions (I'm curious)

Hitem3D: The second is bluff but ... you have to register and we are limited via 100 credits granted for the first use. The second drawback is the number of poly generated: much too large for my taste.
For example, I was able to generate an avatar of cpt pilot but the result is not usable without a lot of "retopology work" on the model.
The face of the avatar looks much better with this program !

Captain.jpg

1752511973335.png


Trellis: The first solution gave me a bit of trouble because it did not want to finish the installation on the first attempt.
Fortunately, the second one went well. The result is much faster and in my opinion better because although the number of poly is lower, the retopo work is less important.

Top_gun_A.png

1752512100995.png


This software is simple and fast and gives good results: I will use it in the future !

What is "retopo"?
In Blender, you can have objects that you want to "re-mesh". You can use "decimate" to lower the numbers of poly but there is an other solution much better.
For this, we use a special plugin "Retopology" which allows adding a 3D layer on the object. Then with specific commands for this plugin we can redraw a mesh at its convenience over the 3D model.
Here is a presentation of this technic:

It’s a bit difficult at the beginning but with a little practice we manage to do very good things.
With an object from photogrammetry, it’s the ideal.

Here an old work on a Porco Rosso (photogrammetry downloded via Sketfab). Meshes of the face and the body are re-done via "retopology technic", the scarf has not been made yet. This was done with Blender 2.83.

1752512576717.png
 
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Original.png


InstaLOD studio (free) has a Remesh profile that can reduce the model to a fraction of vertices. It remeshes and resets the materials and UVs for the new mesh.

Remeshed.png


You can then use it's Optimize profile to create LODs from the newly remeshed model to get a set of LODs. Lots of options to control the number of faces (and their resulting vertices). Not time consuming, and reloading into Blender works well. GLB is the format I use as it is glTF with textures included. 2931480 vertices to 12206 in a very few minutes. A few minutes more for the LODs. Then import to Blender to tweak the materials, and export.

I'm still learning the process, but from the time you find a good image of the asset until you have the final LODs in the sim, might be a couple of hours or less.
pumpjack_03.png
 
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I will try also to see the process for avatar/pilot creation ... but do you have a link ?

[EDIT] I have try a search and obtain Simplygon (license) or InstaLOD via Abstract Store (Pioneer License).
 
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Lagaffe said:
I will try also to see the process for avatar/pilot creation ... but do you have a link ?

[EDIT] I have try a search and obtain Simplygon (license) or InstaLOD via Abstract Store (Pioneer License).
Click to expand...
InstaLOD Studio has a Pioneer license. https://shop.instalod.io/product/64cd3a99a6487104e158dfb6/buy
Currently it's free if you make under $100000 per year in your modeling business. You have to register with the AbstractID. It's on that page as of today. The page explains it is $1188 per year with a discount of $1188 leaving a net payment of $0. You want the studio version, NOT the blender version... that is payware, and offers nothing more than Blender integration. If you use Trellis or one of many image-to-model solutions, InstaLOD Studio is very useful to clean things up. And if you are looking for something to create LODs easily, it's very good. You can save profiles of a working LOD process, and it will automate that process for you. I'm still learning it.

Simplygon is expensive. $5250 per year if you make under $100000 per year income. That's all I know about it.
 
Thanks Dick,
I am waiting for the e-mail from Abstract Store ...

[EDIT] Yes, it's done but the license seems to be valid from March 5 2024 to March 6 2026 - 3 Entitlements Renewable for a product "purchased" the July 16 2025 ...

1752667715694.png


Do you have the same thing? Well, it is free for 2 years so it's better than nothing :rolleyes:
 
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I think their plan is to make it renewable when the license expires. But, plans can change. It's quite powerful, and really helps with AI-generated models and photogrammetry. And it's quite useful for LOD generation.
 
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