Factory Five Interactive Kit Builder Program [Archive]

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3D FFR

02-09-2012, 01:23 AM

Introducing a new way to build and customize your Factory Five Roadster!
http://3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/forum_imgs/TF5F_Welcome_Img.jpg (www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta)
Public Beta test - PC and MAC compatible
LINK: 3dautosports.com/ffr/beta (www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta)

March 12th update!

We have updated the program and switched on our matching website format to match the new Factory Five website. We have several features added including some updates. Please check it out and give the tires a kick!

A cool feature we completed is the ability to share a car by a link. Example if you go to this link, it will load the blue car pictures below.

http://3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/?b=770ad3eb
http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/03-13-2012/17-31-53.png

NOTE, screenshots might be iffy right now as we are working to bring a better system online soon.

Enjoy!!!

---------------------------------------------------

Our small team has been working with Factory Five to develop an interactive 3D program for building and customizing your very own MK4 Roadster. This is only a test BETA version. We are working iron out the bugs as we wrap up on a few extra features. Any feedback you could provide us will only make the program better! So please post your feedback and photos in here.

Note. Most users will need to install a webpage plugin update. This update is easy update to install, much like a flash update for your web browser. You only need to install it once and it works forever.

This program is designed to take you though the entire process of building your very own Factory Five Roadster Kit. Once you have completed your build, you have 2 options: review order and paint this car. At this point, you can create a custom paint job on your roadster. This is a great tool for anyone wanting to test paint combos on your roadster. You can also share this program on face book. Right now we have our basic sharing system turned on. Soon you be able to share the actual car you built on facebook.

We have a short list of updates and fixes that we need to do yet. As well as several system disabled, such as the ordering system and the Save/Load feature. We also have not completed our arrow key movement feature yet. Right now you can only use your mouse to move around. Note, you can use your mouse wheel to zoom in and out. We also have a hand full of features I have not listed here, but I hope that your feedback can help us decide on what to focus on first.

I would love to see people post photos of your virtual car here in this post. It is very easy to do. When you are using the program you can "take a screenshot". This will save photos in your "My Photos" bar. Click on "My Photos" and click on your saved photos to open them. By coping the photo address out of the preview image you can use that to post photos to the forum. We hope to have a much better way of sharing photos with a pre-formated "img" code link so can easily copy and paste it to your own forum post. Example below.

http://3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/forum_imgs/save_photo.jpg

Here are some examples photos taken right from the program:

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/09-02-2012/00-59-48.png
http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/09-02-2012/01-01-17.png
http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/09-02-2012/01-00-36.png

Big thanks to both Dave's at FFR, and to my local FFR group for being my personal test team.
During this beta process I will be hosting the program at 3D Auto Sports website.

FritoBandito

02-09-2012, 01:49 AM

Man. Wish this was available when I ordered my kit. The paint feature alone is a real hoot! Nice work!

Mario

FritoBandito

02-09-2012, 02:17 AM

This is really frikkin slick! Body:718aad, Stripe:e5e4dc
http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/08-02-2012/23-15-27.png

Mario

GloP

02-09-2012, 02:40 AM

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/08-02-2012/23-39-38.png

Just like I ordered it :)

Bill_VA

02-09-2012, 08:11 AM

Here's mine if I were to build another. The gray would be a medium silver/gray and the stripes would be more yellow.

One thing I think FFR is lacking is a choice in frame color, maybe just two black and gray (like the 15th Anniversary frame color). It would be worth the extra expense for me to have this option versus having it done myself.

http://www.humtech.com/4bill/07-59-38.png

By the way, really cool app!

Arrowhead

02-09-2012, 08:32 AM

This program is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your gonna run out of server space for picture storage!!!!!!

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/09-02-2012/08-28-15.png

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/09-02-2012/08-30-14.png

Dave Smith

02-09-2012, 10:18 AM

HUGE congrats on this beta program Mike! I am really impressed with what you did since last year. (I can hear Mike driving his Mk4 already!). Keep up the good work and also thanks to Mad dog for his help.

Crawleyscobra

02-09-2012, 10:29 AM

Here's mine...

One thing I noticed was that in the Engine/Transmission Mount package section there was no, "351" based selection option.

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/09-02-2012/10-12-53.png

Mad Dog

02-09-2012, 10:44 AM

Great job Mike! Love seeing these guys use the program and post their images.

WIS89

02-09-2012, 10:56 AM

Mike and Mad Dog-

What an awesome program!! You all have truly outdone yourselves!! WOW!

It would be awesome to be able to add meatballs and decals as an upgrade in the future.

But WOW, it is seriously cool to be able to "see" my ideas in the computer staring back at me. Well done to your team Mike!!

Regards,

Steve

3D FFR

02-09-2012, 10:59 AM

PaulW

02-09-2012, 11:47 AM

Great. I have a decision to make on colour and this will certainly help

WIS89

02-09-2012, 01:03 PM

Mike-

I thought of something that will make life miserable for you, but might be helpful for the builders.

Would it be possible to use manufacturer's color codes -- (the ability to actually type in the codes or noun names) in for the paint section? This way, we can see what an actual color code would look like, and use either the name "Wimbledon white," etc. or the color code PPG-12345, and see it reproduced on the computer. I know this is a herculean task, but it might be pretty cool, as it would be an actual reproduction of the color being considered, versus the closest we can get with the color wheel you have provided.

Don't mean to make life more challenging, but it would be pretty cool...

Still blown away by the work you have done!!

Regards,

Steve

Dave Smith

02-09-2012, 01:29 PM

Steve, You are a mind reader. We are in the process of developing a "Factory Five" line of colors with a major paint supplier that we have worked with in the past. It would be cool if these future FFR colors and others of OEM codes were part of it.

3D FFR

02-09-2012, 01:30 PM

trichardson

02-09-2012, 01:53 PM

Thanks Steve, I actually checked back a few months ago to see show we could convert the RGB value into a PPG color. I didn't have much success finding any thing that could help us turn a 6 digit code into a properly formatted 5 digit PPG code. I will add it to the list to look back into.

A good follow up question might be, can the RGB color be converted at the PPG store?

Just my two cents, you could go to the trouble of translating rgb to paint codes but nobody's screen would render the colors correctly anyway. Professional graphics people have to have their (very expensive) screens recalibrated very frequently to get the colors right.

BTW, can't wait to see a Coupe version. Preferably before I get to paint (that should give y'all at least five years at my current pace).

Crawleyscobra

02-09-2012, 01:58 PM

Thanks for the great comments guys. I am happy to see everyone is enjoying the program.

To Crawleyscobra. I will check into the 351, I was under the impression that the 302 mounts were used for the 351. If that is so, I might have to point that out. Also, I have a question for you, what kind of video card do you have Crawley?

I have an ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Series...

Regarding the 351 mount question... When I ordered my kit from FFR they asked if I was installing a 302 or a 351 so they would install the correct engine mounts... Or at least I thought they did. I could be wrong, my memory is'nt that good any more.

cobrajj

02-09-2012, 02:30 PM

The complete kit form shows the same 302/351 mounts, but the difference may be in the exhaust headers, because of the taller(1.27") block height of the 351. Jim

SirAustin

02-09-2012, 03:08 PM

Yup, I am in the process of going back and forth on color decision this helps a ton!!

MVRight

02-09-2012, 09:24 PM

Fantastic program. x2 on color decision - but it really just confirmed my choice ;)

jkrueger

02-10-2012, 12:17 AM

Very cool. Are you going to add FFR other cars as well. I just ordered a coupe.

j33ptj

02-10-2012, 05:33 AM

please amke one for the 33!!! ppppplllllluuuuuzzzzeeeeeee!!!

jimgood

02-10-2012, 06:04 AM

This is a GREAT idea. I hope you plan to do this for the other FFR offerings as well.

Since it's a beta, I'm assuming you want feedback. If you don't, let me know and I'll shut up. See screenshots below.

78297830
That's all I have time for today.

Rome

02-10-2012, 09:23 AM

This is really nice. It is a great way to go over what you are buying.

Having said that,. my suggestion would be to do two things. For each part or upgrade add some kind of buying link. There are parts/option I would like to get for my build and would love to be able to just click on them to order them. Such as upgraded brake system, side pipes, etc.

the Second suggestion is turn this into a Build MANUAL.

Just as you have it here. List each part that comes in the kit, and a diagram of exactly how and where to attach the part. After your customer has completed each step, and move onto the next step each completed step is added to the build. shown just as it is when you select an option on the current site.

It is already too late for me,.. but, I am telling you that would be a TREMENDOUS help for future customers. I swear, with such a build manual I could have completed my build myself in a couple of months rather than a couple of years.
btw, it could still be helpful to those of us who are finished or near finishing as a reference manual.
Please remember, not all your customers are gear heads who know all parts.
This would be a GREAT build manual.

3D FFR

02-10-2012, 10:55 AM

3D FFR

02-10-2012, 10:59 AM

A quick note - I updated the body paint material. For anyone who has already run the program you might have to press "Ctrl+F5" to force the webpage to load the latest version.

jimgood

02-10-2012, 03:12 PM

jimgood, thank you very much for find these errors. I am much better at crafting 3D models. I will correct these issue as soon as I unlock the database. If/when you find more, you are welcome to post it here, or just message me. Thanks!

No problem. If there's one thing I'm good at it's finding other people's mistakes. :p Seriously, let me know if you want help with editing. I'm pretty good at bridging the gap between gear head output and soccer mom input.

jayguy

02-10-2012, 05:03 PM

Amazing tool! Are you thinking about other options down the road, like being able to remove the roll bars completely, or under car exhaust? And I'll thow in another vote for a '33 Hotrod version too. :)

Thanks!

jayguy

02-10-2012, 08:40 PM

Been playing around with it this afternoon and found a couple of quirks with the hoodscoop option.

First, I think the pictures on the selections are switched.

7833

Second, when painting the car (at least the car I did) the hood ended up a different color than the scoop and the rest of the body.

7834

Definitely a cool tool though!

Rome

02-10-2012, 09:55 PM

jimgood, thank you very much for find these errors. I am much better at crafting 3D models. I will correct these issue as soon as I unlock the database. If/when you find more, you are welcome to post it here, or just message me. Thanks!

Rome. We have a way to show a link to the FFR parts catalog that currently we are not using. This system will allows the user to click and go to the parts page for the selected part. That seems like a great way to help someone who already owns the roadster and rebuilds their own car in the program. It is a great way to test out what any upgrade might look on your car. A good example might be the sun visors. You might have never considered to put them on your car, until you actually saw them on your virtual car.

Exactly,

Your second question is a great idea, and I considered including it into the program a very long time ago. I agree, that would be very cool, but it would required a great deal of detail and documentation. If we were to create that type of feature, I would suggest to have it in another program. Creating two programs, one is for creating the car, the other would on how to build it.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to make it a separate website/program. Please consider doing so. I am convinced that it would
A) Make the build process much easier
B)Make the build process much more enjoyable
c)Make the build process much quicker
D) increase the sales of FFR due to people seeing they can do it
E) be helpful to those who bought their cars from others
F)be helpful to those who already build their cars as a reference
G)Be helpful to those who want to make upgrades
H)Just be cool

As for the details that would go into the program? Besides the CAD drawings of the parts (which you apparently already have) and possible animation, I am sure the members here would be more then willing to help. For example You can make a request asking for the step by step process of doing the front suspension and I bet you would get plenty of responses which you could use for the program. You would just have to use the parts from the parts lists which you already have and show the process of the parts being put together just as you do with this site.

You don't understand,.. for a guy like me,.. and I'm sure I'm not alone,.. having such a too would have been a GOD send

Thanks for your consideration and for the GREAT site you already put together.

Just a suggestion.

Rome

02-10-2012, 10:10 PM

BTW, am I mistaken? on this page,.. I think you have it backwards. The photo without the hood scoop is labeled "Add hood scoop to my Roadster" while the picture does not have a hood scoop. (small picture on the left)
and the picture with the hood scoop says "do not add the hood scoop"
http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/
check it out

3D FFR

02-11-2012, 02:35 AM

Thanks Rome. I have fixed most of the hood issues.

I just added an update that I plan to only run for a few days. I had several messages asking about a background that looks like a garage. Part of our advanced features will have a garage model as an optional background. This garage model was left over from my original demo and I just updated the program with it. As of right now, you can not disable it. But soon we will add a way for you to enable/disable it.

Right now, you can pass though the walls such. This is will be normal until we add the advanced movement feature.

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/11-02-2012/03-22-33.png

jimgood

02-11-2012, 05:46 AM

Here's another suggestion for the brake upgrade page. After selecting either of the independent rear end selections on the previous page, having the description say "standard 8.8" makes me think "uh, oh. It's going to add the wrong axle to my order even though the price went up".
7835

Also, on the rear end selection page, I would use color to highlight only the parts that are actually included with the options. Otherwise, I'm thinking, "I get the entire rear axle with my selection".

If it's possible, it would be a good idea to change the mouse cursor to the "waiting" cursor when selections are made so that the user has a clear indication that something is happening (think you can do this in Javascript if it's not generated by the tool you're using). If you have a really high speed connection, it might not make a difference, but I have a **tty connection and it's hard to know whether anything is happening sometimes.

jimgood

02-11-2012, 06:06 AM

Back to the selection of the standard vs complete kit:
7836

Cobradavid

02-11-2012, 11:26 AM

This is a great tool!

Here's my virtual car:
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7838&d=1328977483

And the real thing:
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7837&d=1328977399

I'd love to see this tool expand to the other Factory Five models, especially the 33 Hot Rod.

David

3D FFR

02-11-2012, 11:56 AM

Cobradavid, that is AWESOME! I could not help myself and I had to give this a try: I used #341827 for my body color.
http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/11-02-2012/16-09-54.png

Thank you Jim! I am going to fix these things right now.

skullandbones

02-11-2012, 12:01 PM

I was curious about different powdercoating on the frame. It is really easy to test different color combinations that you might not have thought of otherwise. I don't know if FFR offers other colors in powdercoat. It might be like Henry Ford: "You can have any color you want as long as it is black". But I'm sure this program will make that request more common after people have had time to play with it. After this is incorporated into the process, people will probably wonder how they got by without it. It just seems to be a natural progression in the process (so many visually oriented people) . Thanks for your hard work! WEK.

ClemsonS197

02-11-2012, 05:02 PM

This very cool. It doesn't help me deciding on a color though.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/FinlayZJ/Factory%20Five%20Roadster/MK3Blue.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/FinlayZJ/Factory%20Five%20Roadster/MK3Silver.jpg

3D FFR

02-11-2012, 05:20 PM

Great photos/renders ClemsonS197. Could you message me the type of video card you have, thanks!

Rome, I wanted to thank you for your post and I am flattered you think I am using the cad data. But I had to create all of the art from scratch. Back when I started this, the MK4 didn't exist so I have had to make lots of changes including a new body since I started this project.

Dean

02-12-2012, 01:07 PM

Mike, For the tech impaired (me) how do you get past picking color to a screenshot/photo?

Colonist

02-12-2012, 03:00 PM

Wow! Ready for the coupe version to show up. Maybe you you should have a POM contest for the virtual cars, too....

Doodling:

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/12-02-2012/14-56-51.png

xatudor

02-13-2012, 10:35 AM

Just had a go and found it very easy to use. I found a small hitch with the last page of options (defrost/heater, EFI harness), If you select an option by accident clicking on it again doesn't deselect it. Apart from that I can't wait for the Hotrod and 818 versions.

LuckyWinner

02-13-2012, 12:47 PM

what about white....cant seem to make the car white? My wife is getting sick of me asking her, "what about this...or this...or this" Love the program

3D FFR

02-13-2012, 01:18 PM

xatudor, we tested that step out and I have not been able to recreate any bug. What might be confusing about that step is how it used. It is unlike the other steps. Where you can have multiple or none selected.

LuckyWinner, you might be fighting the reflection on the car. It is very white, but the reflection of the garage plays with the overall color of the car. I hope to provide a way for people to adjust the reflection value of the car in paint mode, but that is on our "maybe list".

That is awesome, maybe let your wife mess with the color selector. That way can bring her in on some of the process. :)

White - with reflections
http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/13-02-2012/13-12-54.png

castleguard

02-14-2012, 10:57 AM

Holy Cow! I'm still a ways away from building mine ( thought the light at the end of the tunnel can actually be seen now ) and I don't know how many times I've built it in my head thus far. This is fantastic! Worth it for the paint alone! Have been debating between copper w/black, and the traditional blue w/ white. This hasn't made the decision any easier, but it has made it more fun! Great job!

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/14-02-2012/07-30-31.png

Niburu

02-15-2012, 10:33 AM

too much fun
http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/15-02-2012/10-31-58.png

Don

02-15-2012, 10:45 AM

This has got to be one of the coolest things I have seen here. Very useful program...especially for the hardest part, paint selection!

CookieMonster92

02-16-2012, 08:05 AM

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/16-02-2012/08-00-24.png
What a fun program now i just need the money to build my own :)

Cobra79

02-16-2012, 05:17 PM

Tons of options!
I can do this all day!
My Fav's
Check out Lime Green, and Light Blue; they really pop.

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/16-02-2012/16-56-17.png

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/16-02-2012/16-57-21.png

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/16-02-2012/16-58-38.png

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/16-02-2012/17-08-11.png

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/16-02-2012/17-08-23.png

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/16-02-2012/17-08-52.png

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/16-02-2012/17-11-28.png

bulldog302

02-17-2012, 12:39 AM

This is absolutely awesome! Great job! I'll be sure to tell people to go online and virtually build their own when they ask me about mine!

3D FFR

03-13-2012, 04:48 PM

I am in the process of restoring the first version's photos on the server.

In this latest version of the program, we added wheels and carpet to the paint list. We also created an all new save system which will allow you to share a link of your car with anyone. You can now toggle on/off the garage background.

Example, you can open this exact car here: http://3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/?b=770ad3eb
http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/03-13-2012/17-31-03.png

http://www.3dautosports.com/ffr/beta/screenshots/03-13-2012/17-32-17.png

3D FFR

06-04-2012, 11:47 PM

I was getting some feedback about the car being too reflective, causing issues with pure white cars. I reduced the amount of reflectivity in the body to address this issue. Below are some before and after photos.

Before: http://www.factoryfive.com/interactive/mk4-roadster/screenshots/12/0501/14-01-35_120426bd18d6.png

After: http://www.factoryfive.com/interactive/mk4-roadster/screenshots/12/0605/00-38-52_120426bd18d6.png

Link to this car : http://www.factoryfive.com/interactive/mk4-roadster/?b=120426bd18d6

Jethrow

06-11-2012, 12:43 AM

That does look better. And I do like the orange!

If you are open to any further suggestions, how about the small trim stripe alongside the big stipes either being optionally different colors or not there at all?

Thanks again for this app.

sneasle

06-17-2012, 03:36 PM

Doesn't look like the screenshots are saving correctly for me. Aside from that, this looks awesome!

DadofThree

09-22-2017, 03:50 PM

bump

3D FFR

10-06-2017, 07:57 AM

bump
Unfortunately this software has been archived for a few of reasons, none of them related to the actual program, all the problems came from the 3D engine/tools used to create the program. From what I understand, the software was sucessful for FFR. But a vulnerability in the 3D engine caused issues for the site. And the creators of the 3D tools never came up with a fix, they ended support for that tool and recently started to support HTML5 3D.

I'd love to come back and revisit the software someday, I could turn it into an mobile app or convert it over to be HTML 5 compatible. Personally, I like the mobile app idea. I've had great success on mobile platforms as of late, the last app I released is now over 3 million downloads. :)

R. Button

10-06-2017, 08:23 AM

Great idea - so may web sites are adding 3D to their offerings - like Lowe's and Home Depot, to allow customers to see what the design would look like. We even are setting up a VR room at the Lowe's trial stores to allow a customer to layout the room while at the store. There are a number of other stores getting ready to offer VR on the web for clothing too. Good to see FFR out in front with some of these features!

Now if there was just a way to clean the bugs off my car by putting it in a VR room! :)

3D FFR

10-06-2017, 09:37 AM

Factory Five was ahead of the curve when it came to this builder program. I even talked about having Augmented reality as an options. You could place a piece of paper in your garage or driveway that had an FFR logo target. You then aim your phone at it and see your dream Factory Five car sitting in your driveway! You could walk around it, change the paint color on the fly, etc. But this was 2012, not many people knew the positive physiological impact of Augmented reality yet :P

broku518

10-06-2017, 12:44 PM

Would this let you order anything you like? Or user would get a warning? Say if you are trying to order parts that don't match or are conflicting with other parts.
These pictures helps tremendously. I ordered my kit last month and it took couple phone calls to validate that I ordered what I thought I ordered. :)

Yes, I had no idea what I was ordering LOL