103 réponses à ce sujet

[Dark_Ansem]

Assuming that one has models and textures ready, what has one to do in order to get custom armor to work in-game?

How can one avoid clipping issues if planning a weapon that covers the whole body?

does one have to import collisions for weapons and armor? or only for placeables? (a bit off-topic, but useful nevertheless)

thanks!

Modifié par Dark_Ansem, 20 février 2010 - 08:57 .

[foxunit]

For getting weapons ingame you can look here: http://social.biowar...6103/blog/1150/



I did not test it yet if armor is imported that way too, but I will try that soon and If you want Ill let you know

[Dark_Ansem]

I knew of that tutorial, thank you. but I believe armor is more complicated.

[foxunit]

I do believe armor is not only complicated but not supported by the tools we have atm, but I could be wrong

[Gammastar]

Nah, as long as you have the models and textures in the right override directory, it should be as simple as modifying itemvariations.xls to your needs (just look for armor variations instead of weapon variations).

And no, you don't need collisions for weapons (and though I can't personally vouch for it, I guess you don't need them for armor either).

Modifié par Gammastar, 20 février 2010 - 10:47 .

[foxunit]

But you need the bones for armor and right now Im not aware of a tool that is capable of exporting them proper, you dont need collision for weapons and as far as I understand the file system neither do you need them for armor.

[Gammastar]

well perhaps you are right then, foxunit

[Nattfodd]

Blender's users: NewbyPower tool.

Max Users: Chewy's tool.

[Dark_Ansem]

thanks Nattfodd, I'm a Max user. do you know about collisions?

[foxunit]

Just recieved the info that armor is indeed possible but not documented yet.


www.dragonagenexus.com/imageshare/images/259932-1265297626.jpg

Modifié par foxunit, 21 février 2010 - 12:38 .

[Dark_Ansem]

what armor is that? and thanks foxunit!

[foxunit]

It was done by Deception_2112 Im looking into the hints he gave me will report back later

[Dark_Ansem]

at least he's been answering YOU. I've tried to contact him for days.

thanks foxunit. I appreciate.

[foxunit]

Well I just imported the armor into MAX and Im looking into it

[Hel]

Keep us posted, foxunit!

I have been looking into custom armours as well, but I can not even get the standard armours to show up properly in Adinos' model viewer after I converted them to a 3DS format with tazpn's command line tools and then back to the game's format with ChewyGumball's model exporter. It is a quite frustrating procedure, I must say.

Now I can, my MMH file did not have the correct reference set to its MSH file.

Modifié par Helekanalaith, 22 février 2010 - 12:10 .

[Nattfodd]

Dark_Ansem wrote...

thanks Nattfodd, I'm a Max user. do you know about collisions?

For Armor you do not need collisions.
One thing i always ask: have you tried to import an existent armor into MAX to examine it, better an armor of the same type you want to add? Use Tapzn's tool to convert it into .FBX, then import it with centimeters unit scale into MAX. That's will be a good starting point.
Then you can try to export it without doing any modifications, using Chewy's tool and try to copy it into the ovveride directory to see if still works correctly.
If it works, then you can merge your custom armor mesh into the original FBX scene you imported, and try to position and scale it to approx match the original mesh.
Do your works with UVW coordinates.
Copy the skin modifier from the original mesh to your custom mesh.
Delete the original mesh.
Link your custom mesh to GOB hidden object.
Select the GOB and export with chewy's tool.
It should works correctly.

[Dark_Ansem]

Nattfodd wrote...

Dark_Ansem wrote...

thanks Nattfodd, I'm a Max user. do you know about collisions?

For Armor you do not need collisions.
One thing i always ask: have you tried to import an existent armor into MAX to examine it, better an armor of the same type you want to add? Use Tapzn's tool to convert it into .FBX, then import it with centimeters unit scale into MAX. That's will be a good starting point.
Then you can try to export it without doing any modifications, using Chewy's tool and try to copy it into the ovveride directory to see if still works correctly.
If it works, then you can merge your custom armor mesh into the original FBX scene you imported, and try to position and scale it to approx match the original mesh.
Do your works with UVW coordinates.
Copy the skin modifier from the original mesh to your custom mesh.
Delete the original mesh.
Link your custom mesh to GOB hidden object.
Select the GOB and export with chewy's tool.
It should works correctly.

and weapons do not need them too I guess. thanks

I still need to understand these concepts: UVW, GOB, Skin modifier. I'll have to download Chewy's too though. Do you recommend Tapzn even if he's not updating it for ages?

[Hel]

Dark_Ansem wrote...

I'll have to download Chewy's too though. Do you recommend Tapzn even if he's not updating it for ages?

You will need both tools, actually. While it is possible to use the XML files that ChewyGumball's exporter produces, it is not advisable. If you do not convert the files to a binary format the game itself will do it every time the model is loaded - this can be the cause of performance issues if you are not careful.

First acquire the necessary tools and plug-ins:
# Get the latest version of Adinos' model manipulator.
# Get the latest version of ChewyGumball's model exporter.
# Get the latest version of FBX plug-in for 3DS Max.
# Get the latest version of tazpn's command line tools.
# And get the latest version of Allstar92's GUI application or tazpn's tools for easier use.

I used this workflow to adjust an existing armour:
01. Use Adinos' application to select a model and export the necessary resources.
02. From the exported resources convert the MMH file to a FBX file with Allstar92 application.
03. Import the FBX file with 3DS Max - ignoring the binding pose warning it shows.
04. Edit the model's mesh.
05. Follow ChewyGumball's instruction manual - ignoring the collision box since armours do not have those.
06. Once all the modifiers have been applied select the GOB dummy.
07. Open ChewyGumball's plug-in and export both the XML files for the MMH and MSH.
08. In case of modifying an existing armour you will have to correct the MSH reference in the MMH's XML file.
09. When both XML files are ready convert them to their MMH and MSH counterparts with Allstar92 application.
10. That is it, you are now supposed to have a working MMH and MSH file for your armour.

I managed to adjust an armour's mesh by following those exact steps. To test the changes I quickly dumped the two files in the game's override directory and opened the toolset to inspect the results.

Please let me know if this workflow was helpful or if you are experiencing problems that are not detailled in the steps mentioned above. I will see about writing a tutorial on it when I am sure that it actually works for people other than me.

Edit: Ugh, this forum's formatting and editing functionality is a disaster! <_<

Modifié par Helekanalaith, 22 février 2010 - 01:38 .

[foxunit]

Ok i made a model and I imported the bones from an existing model, now theres a huge problem Max converted them to dummies any suggestions? Cause it is impossible, or at least for me ^^" to link 134 giant boxes that are named but just clustered around the model wich makes it baaad to link them proper. Im like one or two steps from making the armor playable, but this prevents me -.- this really is a pain.

[Nattfodd]

Dark_Ansem wrote...

and weapons do not need them too I guess. thanks

I still need to understand these concepts: UVW, GOB, Skin modifier. I'll have to download Chewy's too though. Do you recommend Tapzn even if he's not updating it for ages?

Yes you need Tapzn's tool for the conversion from .MMH to .FBX; it works quite correctly.
UVW coordinates are informations on how to apply the texture on the model.
If you ever have examined a texture file of a game of your choice you'll have noticed that the various part of a body or armor textures are scattered all over the texture image in an "apparent" confused way.
You said you have your custom armor and textures ready. So you have to tell to the 3D softwares/engines how they have to catch the texture and where they have to put it all over the mesh surface. The "how" and the "where" are the UVW coordinates.
To semplify this process for a beginner, its better to start from an original texture, and positioning the various part of the armor/body in the same way they are positioned into the original texture file, so you can leave the original UVW coordinates of the mesh.



GOB is an hidden object you will find into the imported armor/body to whom all other objects are linked.
You will also find the "SKIN modifier" applied to imported armor/body (i hope you know what is a "modifier" in a 3D sowtware, if you rember i explained this in another thread).

P.S.: i'm a beginner too

Modifié par Nattfodd, 22 février 2010 - 03:13 .

[Hel]

Also, for existing armours you might want to flip the UVW coordinates to get the textures to show up properly.

Modifié par Helekanalaith, 22 février 2010 - 03:13 .

[Nattfodd]

Helekanalaith wrote...

Also, for existing armours you might want to flip the UVW coordinates to get the textures to show up properly.

Yes, you are right. However It is explained into Chewy's tool instrunctions.

[Nattfodd]

foxunit wrote...

Ok i made a model and I imported the bones from an existing model, now theres a huge problem Max converted them to dummies any suggestions? Cause it is impossible, or at least for me ^^" to link 134 giant boxes that are named but just clustered around the model wich makes it baaad to link them proper. Im like one or two steps from making the armor playable, but this prevents me -.- this really is a pain.

You do not need to link the bones. They are already linked. You need only to link your mesh to the root object "GOB", then select it and export.

[foxunit]

Oh ok than than I will try that now ^^


*edit* tried that and it exported fine...so far im gonna test it ingame, but I noticed that my model is smaller than the other armors in the game although it is modeled at the same size as the rest of the armors oO, at least in max whats up with that?


I had a similar problem with weapons, but only with one and after reexport it was fine, I tried that with the armor too but that did not work. Also the skeleton in Tazpn tool is outside the mesh oO

Modifié par foxunit, 22 février 2010 - 03:53 .

[Nattfodd]

Have you imported the .FBX using the centimeters scale unit?

To see the bones at correct dimensions, while importing, select the "convert as dummy" option.