Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 260: Roof Transplant Surgery Experimentation

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 260: Roof Transplant Surgery Experimentation

Roof transplant surgery in Automation is not an entirely new phenomenon, dating back to the introduction of mods that allow for the placement of a full roof set via a 3D fixture (or set thereof), but I've recently been intrigued by several possibilities in particular that involve this procedure. To get started, however, you must hide the stock turret - roof, pillars, windows, and window trim (along with other trim areas as appropriate, depending on the body set you're working with) - by setting their materials to transparent. With the entire turret now hidden from view, you can fill the void by placing, rotating, and resizing a 3D fixture roof where the stock item once was. Here's a pair of recent examples to prove my point.

Above, from top: This test build underwent roof transplant surgery to give it a roofline and fastback profile more befitting of its long-nosed, short-tailed shape - to say that it went well with the downward-sloping rear end was an understatement.

Here, I took the '96 Kompact (2.69 wheelbase) in fastback coupe/wraparound rear window configuration and hid the entire turret using the procedure described above, before filling in the resulting gap with a variant of SHD's 00s Euro Coupe Roof 3D fixture set (specifically, the one marked FER_575) and using decal patches and a rescaled wing mirror fixture to plug any holes in the bodywork. The resulting design looks and feels airier and more muscular than it would've with the stock roof, regardless of morphing settings - especially with the cab-rearward dash-to-axle ratio I eventually chose.

Another example of a body set that underwent a similarly drastic transformation is shown below.

Above: I'd originally wanted to use the same fixture variant (albeit with different scaling and rotation scalings) as I'd applied to the first example on this build based on the '92 Evade (2.53m wheelbase in notchback configuration, with a wraparound rear window) - but I ended up settling on a different variant (specifically, the one marked JAG_XKR) due to its more curvaceous profile gelling particularly well with the car's more rounded shape compared to the other possibilities I've tried.

To be fair, the result isn't quite perfect, what with the base of the A-pillar still overlapping with the base of the front windscreen, but it still works well enough. Nor are these the only combinations I've investigated recently - I've also examined other combinations, including placing the C6-like variant of the 00s US Roof fixture set on the '88 Copy Cat - but these two are a decent start, and could be refined and developed further to get even closer to my desired result.

In short, there is a place for roof transplant surgery in Automation - it's a vital tool for when you realize that even your best efforts can't provide a suitable roof/pillar profile with the stock morphing range of your chosen body set - but it has to be done carefully, since it will take a lot of time, practice, and patience to get right. Another caveat is that the new turret won't exactly match the position and shape of the stock one (regardless of what morphing settings you gave the latter), so keep that in mind when you're also combining a roof transplant with a 3D fixture interior. Even so, if your skills are good enough, you might be able to combine the two to create a more detailed and intricate design than the game would normally allow.