Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 183: Evasive Maneuvers

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 183: Evasive Maneuvers

For years, I've waited patiently for a rework of the '89 JDM coupe body set - it was originally introduced as a mod for early UE4 builds of Automation, and became vanilla content in later patches, but over time, its limitations soon became evident. In addition to a lack of body styles other than the 2-door coupe, it also had too few morphing zones, and was too wide. Moreover, it only came in two wheelbases (2.24m and 2.45m), which was simply not enough in a world where similar body sets from the same era offer much more variety.

Thankfully, a few months ago, the in-house 3D modeling community came up with a solution by creating a completely new (if outwardly similar-looking) body set called the Evade. Although it is unlocked in 1992 (3 years later than its predecessor), it looks far better, with a narrower, longer body and hence better proportions. Moreover, there are now two coupe body styles (a fastback and a notchback, the former of which has a wraparound rear window,) and two convertible body styles (one each with a hard and soft top) per wheelbase (for a total of four different body styles each). Speaking of which, there are now four of those (2.26m, 2.52m, 2.65m, and 2.89m), allowing for much more diversity in sizes. In short, the Evade is to the 1990s as the '05 Mercy and '83 Bean are to the 2000s (and later), respectively.

Above, from top: The '92 Evade comes in a wider variety of sizes and body styles (including convertibles, sedans, notchback and fastback coupes, wagons, and even minivans) than the '89 JDM coupe body set it effectively replaces.

In parallel with these sports car-like variants, there are also 2- and 4-door sedans, as well as 5-door wagons (complete with two different types of C-pillars), and even 5-door liftbacks, although these variants are placed separately from the others. However, they all have more cab-forward proportions and lack a sub 2.6m wheelbase variant, although they have a separate convertible version based on the coupes. Finally, there is a minivan version with a ~3.0m wheelbase, and that one has panel van and passenger van variants, unlike the others. So what is it that makes the Evade body sets so much better than their predecessors?

Well, for starters, they have many more morphing zones than before, especially in the front and rear ends, and even along the sides and roof. This allows for a greater range of adjustments, and in more areas to boot. In addition, there are now many more colorable areas (roof, lower front and rear bumpers, etc.) than before. Finally, the wheel arches are more correctly shaped, and larger wheel/tire combinations will more easily fill them. The only downside is that most variants (especially the smaller ones) have somewhat narrower engine bays than before, thus increasing servicing costs for wider engines (especially when combined with dual-wishbone front suspension).

Above, from top: Unlike the body set that replaced it, the '92 Evade also has a much larger number of morphing zones, with great range in each one to boot.

As described previously, the Evade's size range is also quite generous, and similar to that of the '87 Fatale and '91 Vendetta, but larger than the '83 Bean's (sub-2m wheelbase variant excepted). By being unlocked later than all of them, however, it can potentially retain a contemporary look for longer with skilled design work, though not by much. The sedan- and minivan-based variants, however, are unique to the Evade, and not found on many of tis contemporaries. They compare favorably with other similarly proportioned body sets (such as the '94 Lancer-like sedan body and the '93 minivan body) in terms of overall attributes, although the lack of a smaller variant of the Evade minivan (which should have a ~2.8m wheelbase) could be a problem.

For historical context, consider the '89 JDM coupe body set's '80s equivalent, the '79 wedge-shaped coupe body set. It, too, began life as a mod, but suffered from the exact same set of problems as its newer, more curvaceous counterpart, and has since been superseded by the similar-looking '72 Moore body sets, which actually debuted before the '92 Evade and followed a similar set of principles (more body styles and wheelbase lengths, more morphing zones, etc.). Most sizes of the '72 Moore even have mid- and front-engined variants, unlike the '92 Evade. In short, the '72 Moore, with its far more angular aesthetic, is basically to the '70s and '80s as the more recently introduced '92 Evade is to the '90s and '00s. In fact, the mid-engined variants were created to replace a similar-looking vanilla body from the Kee era that never made it to the UE4 transition several years ago.

Above, from top: The '70s and '80s equivalent of the '92 Evade, the '72 Moore, underwent a similar treatment earlier in that it also received a greater number of sizes and body styles compared to its predecessor, one of which didn't even make the transition to UE4 (except via the janky and broken legacy body mod pack).

Returning to the '92 Evade, I created several test builds using the coupe versions in various sizes to see how well it worked, and was generally pleased by the results. One of them, the TSC Tigerwolf IV, was a test case for how a mod fixture (specifically, a headlight fixture that's part of a fixture mod pack) could be turned into a modular headlight lens. Set the fixture's first transparent slot to clear, amber, or red glass as appropriate, then change its first panel material to body color, chrome, or whatever material color/finish you want, and assign something like plastic, aluminum, or even carbon fiber to the second panel material slot, while changing every other slot to a transparent material, effectively hiding them. This leaves only the lens, inner surface, and outer surround visible, allowing you to place whatever modular headlight bulb fixtures behind the lens as desired.

Above, from top: With this mod fixture, if you hide every part of it except for the cover, frame, and bucket, it can serve as the lens for a modular headlight cluster from the late '80s, the '90s, or even the early 2000s.

In short, the '92 Evade and '72 Moore are case studies of how the game has evolved since the UE4 transition - initially, we were content to live with a limited number of body sets, sizes and styles, but over time, we started clamoring for more of all three, and we eventually got them - something that we are eternally thankful for thanks to the greater freedom and graphical detail the UE4 engine has given the dev team and modding community..