Vehicle Conversion Tutorial 3: Model Optimizing

Welcome to the 3rd tutorial of GTA V/IV to SA vehicle conversion.
This tutorial is pretty big and it's about optimizing the model. Often GTA V and GTA IV models have some useless UV seams and borders between polygons that increase the file sizes. Sometimes they also have noticeable holes like here:

It's up to you whether or not should you fix the model. I recommend you to fix all the bugs and optimize the model as much as possible... unless you want to convert mods in the notorious Italian style...

Automan's Reaper

 

Automan's Pegassi Osiris

Automan's Rapid GT

Anyway, the tutorial consists of 13 parts (YouTube videos) and one extra tutorial (not based on Lokus). The finished parts are clickable

• Part 1: Simple Bug Fixing tutorial
• Part 2: Advanced Bug Fixing - Welding All Vertices and fixing symmetry
• Part 3: Making GTA V styled seams (meant for Max Payne 3 or GTA IV vehicles but some GTA V cars may have bugged seams)
• Part 4: Making GTA V styled seams 2
• Part 5: Advanced Bug Fixing - Fixing holes, UV mapping, applying symmetry and generating custom normals (Boot and Bumpers)
• Part 6: Advanced Bug Fixing - Fixing the Bonnet
• Part 7: Advanced Bug Fixing - Fixing the Front Doors
• Part 8: Manually adjusting custom normals
• Part 9: Mirroring objects with custom normals
• Part 10: Advanced Bug Fixing - Fixing the Rear Doors
• Part 11: Advanced Bug Fixing - Fixing the Wings/Fenders
• Part 12: Advanced Bug Fixing - Fixing the Chassis/Body
• Part 13: Minor bug fixing
• EXTRA: Examples of outstanding model bugs - NOT FINISHED YET

I'd also recommend you to read some tutorials on the Autodesk Knowledge website. You may learn something about 3ds Max tools from there (these tutorials are for 2014-2018 versions of 3ds Max but there aren't much differencies between these and the 2012 versions)

Align (used in Part 2; will be used in Tutorial 4)

Bevel Polygons (used for lights in Parts 5 and 12)

Extrude Polygons (used only in Part 12)

Extrude Vertices/Edges (Parts 3-4)

Mirror selected objects (Parts 9-11)

Peel the Geometry (used to fix UV mapping in Parts 5-12)

Smoothing Groups (Parts 5-12)

Transform Coordinates and Coordinate Center (Parts 9-11)

Reset XForm (Parts 9-11)

Standard Snaps (Part 2; Will be used in Tutorial 4)

Symmetry modifier (Parts 5-13)

Unwrap UVW modifier (used very often)