I wrote this guide to share some of what I have learned about Model Viewer. I cover the basics of installing Model Viewer and basic functionality. This guide is not comprehensive.

This guide depicts the use of Model Viewer on a Windows based computer. Directions for use on other systems may vary.

The Transport Fever Model Viewer is a program used to view and test models. It is a useful tool for any modder while preparing a mod for the Workshop.

What Model Viewer Can Do:

- View the model. Model can be rotated, tilted, and viewed with or without shading.
- Play animations
- Test changing the age (dirt and rust overlay) of a vehicle model
- Test changing the color of a vehicle model
- Test vehicle model with different company logos
- Test passenger load (seats)
- Generate screen shots
- Generate GUI icons for use with the mod

Model Viewer is an executable program that must be installed on your computer. It can be obtained via a link in the Transport Fever Wiki ...

https://www.transportfever.com/wiki/doku.php?id=modding:developerinfo:tools

Also be sure to install the Vehicle Stage mod. The link is provided on the same web page.

Installing Model Viewer:

1. Download Model Viewer (use link provided above).
2. Extract the contents of the ZIP file to your Transport Fever directory (i.e. where transportfever.exe is located). For Steam users, this will be…

/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Transport Fever/

Once extracted, you should see the file "ModelViewer.exe"

Installing Vehicle Stage Mod:

1. Download Vehicle Stage mod (use link provided above).
2. Extract the contents of the ZIP file to your Transport Fever "mods" directory...

/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Transport Fever/mods/

This should create the following directory which contains the mod:

urbangames_model_viewer_vehicle_stage_1

Model Viewer is opened by running the executable "ModelViewer.exe" located in your Transport Fever directory...

/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Transport Fever/ModelViewer.exe

Once executed, you may see the following popup.


Click "Run" to continue.

Next a black command type window will appear and then the main 3D window. Give it a moment to load.



Once the XYZ axis appears, the program has loaded and is ready to use.

To open a model, click the "Open" button located at upper left.


This will display a file and folder listing. The program defaults to the Transport Fever model folder
/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Transport Fever/res/models/model/


While testing a new mod, I typically place a copy in the "mods" folder
/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Transport Fever/mods/

To get to the "mods" folder, click the double dots ( .. ) at the top of the list.


Now you should see the mods folder.


As you can see, I have a lot of mods installed. For this example, we will open an EMD GP7 Soo Line repaint located in emd_gp7_soo_line_1 .

Note: The model files for a mod are buried down several levels in a mod folder as you will soon see.

1. Click on the "emd_gp7_soo_line_1" folder.
2. Click on "vehicle".
3. Click on "train".
4. Click on "usa".

Note: This mod has 3 vehicle models available. For this example we will use "emd_gp7_soo_line_1961a.mdl".

5. Click "emd_gp7_soo_line_1961a.mdl".
6. Click "Open" to open the model. Give it a moment to load.


Once open, you inspect the model and manipulate the view as follows:

- Left Mouse = Rotate and pivot the view by holding the left mouse button and move it around the axis.
- Right Mouse = Move the object within the viewport by holding the right mouse button while you move.
- Mouse Scroll Wheel = Zoom in and out.

Important Note: An error message will NOT be displayed if there is a problem with the model. Instead you must check the black command window to see if there are any error messages. If your model doesn't load in under a minute, then you might have a problem.

It should go without saying that a mod should be thoroughly tested before submitting it to the Steam Workshop. Model Viewer can help.

Vehicle mods allow for aging (with dirt and rust textures), color customization, and logo customization. Model Viewer lets you test these.

TESTING AGE:

1. Click "Options" at the top right of the screen to display the options menu.


2. Adjust the age using the + and - next to the "age" option (lower left of option menu). The age can be 0 to 4.



TESTING CUSTOM COLORS & LOGOS:

Custom colors and logos can be tested in a similar maner. Those options are located near the "age" tester in the options menu.

Prior to submitting a mod to the Steam Workshop, you must generate images and GUI icons. Model Viewer can generate these for you. This is done using the "Screenshot" button. This one button will generate several images of the model (3D and various orthographic views) as well as the necessary UI icons (models_20 and models_small).

GUI icons are used by Transport Fever in various locations such as the vehicle purchase dialog, the vehicle details dialog, and so on.

1. Click "Screenshot" button located at the top of the program window.

Note: You will NOT receive a message when it completes. But you will see activity in the black command window and when finished, the 3D window will change.



When finished, you can find the output files in the following directory...
/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Transport Fever/model_viewer/screenshots/

There you will find two directories:

gui_icons
website

gui_icons:

As the name implies, "gui_icons" contains the UI icons in TGA format that you will need for the mod. Within the "gui_icons" folder is a series of sub folder which should match the directory structure that would be used by your mod. Example: for this mod, the structure and files generated are...

models_20 =
gui_icons/res/textures/models_20/vehicle/train/usa/emd_gp7_soo_line_1961a.tga
gui_icons/res/textures/models_20/vehicle/train/usa/emd_gp7_soo_line_1961a_cblend.tga

models_small =
gui_icons/res/textures/models_small/vehicle/train/usa/emd_gp7_soo_line_1961a.tga
gui_icons/res/textures/models_small/vehicle/train/usa/emd_gp7_soo_line_1961a_cblend.tga

For other types of vehicles, this directory structure will vary. Instead of "train" you may have "waggon", "truck", "tram", etc.

website

The "website" folder contains all the various screenshots in TGA format. You may want to use some of these for workshop images or you may want to generate your own images another way.

You can copy the required files from here to your mod work area.