gps vehicle icon #4: tumbler batmobile

[aarrgghh]

thanks to rustythe1's contribution to the resource library here, the tumbler is now available as a garmin gps icon (http://glad-you-asked.blogspot.com/2008/02/more-cars-that-chicks-dig.html).

the model however put a big strain on my system -- so much that it crashed layout, rendering it useless.

so i exported individual sections as objs, by surface, and imported them into poser, where it was retextured and the images rendered.

since the icon measures only 80x80 and the tumbler's profile is very low, i created morph targets for the flaps, which deployed them, to try to heighten the icon's profile and increase visibility. the morph had to be set to 150% to make them stand out enough.

i also made a morph target for the model's front end, which i discovered at the last minute held the front wheels farther apart than the movie vehicle.

[Jedi2016]

That's neat. :)

[Matt]

I must admit to not knowing this as really possible but it certainly does make a cool little gimmick :)

[Rigel]

I agree with Mattman; I'm amazed that a gps allows you to change the vehicle icon like that.

[aarrgghh]

I agree with Mattman; I'm amazed that a gps allows you to change the vehicle icon like that.

customizing the vehicles has been a popular pursuit on gps enthusiast forums like gpspassion.com (http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/default.asp). while garmin uses a proprietary format that was deciphered last year (and they've since modified the format to accommodate larger icons -- though all previous ones still work), other brands like tomtom use a simple static image (http://www.ozpoi.com/Change_tomtom_go_&_one_car_symbol.html) rather than a multiple image file.

[waxxel]

very cool, me likee