http://blog.beamng.com/announcing-automation-beamng-drive-collaboration/ You can discuss about that here Automation-BeamNG Exporter FAQ: https://steamcommunity.com/app/293760/discussions/2/3559414588253724691/ And some more FAQ: Q: Will Automation mods work with this? A: Yes. If the mod although is using a custom material, that material could look weird in BeamNG.drive. It can always be fixed manually with a tiny bit of modding. Q: Can we mod the exported Automation vehicles? A: Yes. They will have the usual mod-ability of any of our vehicles. You can also use them as part of a more detailed mod for example. Don't forget to credit Automation Q: What is exported? A: The body-work (including all the fixtures, paint), the engine (with all your tuning), suspensions, steering, engine, sounds. Q: Do they have interiors? A: No. Automation cars do not have interiors. Q: The body have detachable parts? Will they crumple like BeamNG.drive vehicles? A: BeamNG.drive vehicles are meticulously hand-crafted. Exported Automation vehicles are going through an automated process. The body will be simpler than BeamNG.drive's vehicles, which will allow for some level of deformations. Certain parts will also be detachable (mirrors, spoilers, etc.) Q: Skin support? A: Exported vehicles does not have BeamNG.drive's skin support. One can always mod that in.
You guys never stop surprising, what a wonderful teamwork and for certainly this will benefit both companies, really cool!
I didn't see this coming! This opens up so many possibilities! I'm very curious about how the exporter handles Jbeam.
Will the repository have a separate section for these cars? If not I can see it getting clogged up with thousands of them quickly.
I see windows in those cars have been blackened, so there are no interiors, I guess there are not interiors in Automation? I guess there is .dae and that can be imported to blender for building cars more, adding interiors and other stuff. This works really well as I added Automation to my steam wishlist already, certainly works to other direction too
~Dramatic Music~ *Comes out from the Shadows* Automation doesn't have interiors, our small team just cannot afford the cost and time to do that for the ~300 or so base car bodies we have in game. It is something we would like to approach in the future if we have the resources to do so. If people want to edit the .dae and jbeams to add interiors etc, they are welcome to.
I can see this being incredibly useful for creating engines and suspension components for mods! A lot of the stuff under the body can now be made using automation (hopefully)
Some thoughts on this This will reduce the amount of mesh rips, russian mods, etc, nice to see. This will likely bring many more players to the game, and to the forums. Separate categories will be needed. I hope the real modding scheme doesn't go away. Will it be pricey? In the FAQ it says we should credit automation for mods using this exporter: can I use it for sounds or engine only? How does the jbeam look like? I'm not gonna make a car using it, don't worry, but I'm interested. Just a basic shape on a suspension jbeam? A 3d web of nodes? The amount of mods will be greatly increased; will the UI be fixed for this?
I personally think this is a great idea, because Automation specializes in engines and body design, and BeamNG specializes in physics and gameplay. I'm loving this idea.
As many other modders, I'm curious about the jbeam generating and if it could be used for more things.
If these vehicles will have simplified Jbeam and 3d models, they should be easier to run. Perhaps they would be great for large groups of AI vehicles.
Can't wait to export my vehicles over to BeamNG though. Will these vehicles be permitted to go on the forums as a mod or even the repo?
I remember when the Automation Engine extractor came out on here and I eventually knew this would be coming out for the game!