Couplers & Buffers
Dummy coupler/buffer rigs are provided in the car template. These must stay at X=0.0 and Y=1.05 (to align with other cars), and then should be aligned to the ends of your model along the Z axis. Once aligned, you should delete the children under [coupler_rig_front] and [coupler_rig_rear], leaving just the parents. This will save file size when you export your car later, but it won't harm anything if you leave the dummy visual parts of the coupler rig in your model.
Vanilla buffer models
| Buffer02 | Buffer03 | Buffer04 |
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| Buffer05 | Buffer06 | Buffer07 |
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| Buffer08 | Buffer09 |
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| S282A | S282B |
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Important
The coupler rigs must be part of your car prefab and must have the names [coupler_rig_front] and [coupler_rig_rear]. As usual, the "front" side of the model is in the +Z direction.
Note
The buffer stems are not included in the vanilla models, as they have set positions that cannot be changed. You must provide your own stems.
The models of the buffer pads (the spring-loaded mushroom-shaped plates) are replaceable by the modder. These objects are the Buffer_FL, Buffer_RR etc. transforms under [coupler_rig_front] and [coupler_rig_rear]. The meshes on these can be replaced with your own, but make sure to keep the original names (and check that there are no trailing spaces) as the CCL loader expects to find the buffers by name. Don't forget to set the buffer dropdown to "Custom".
Once your new models are added and aligned, the final step is to adjust the buffer anchors to match the pad positions. These are "buffer anchor left" and "buffer anchor right" under the BuffersAndChainRig child of the coupler rigs. Adjust the Z position so that the anchor is just outside the pad surface, but leave the X and Y dimensions at their original values. The buffer anchors control how the buffers interact with each other while driving, and it seems to be important that they line up along the X axis between different cars.
The default car template contains both the air hose and MU connector in each coupler rig. If "Use Custom Hose Positions" is checked (the custom buffers must also be enabled), CCL will use the hose positions provided in your prefab instead of the default locations. If your car is not an MU capable locomotive, the MU connector can be ignored or deleted. Care must be taken when adjusting the connector positions to ensure that the cables can still connect properly in-game.
