redrob41

Hi cchargin, I don't know if you're still checking in here anymore. I was wondering if you ever solved the smooth group functionality with MDLOps? I found this post http://www.lucasforums.com/showpost.php?p=1973627&postcount=11

Is there someone else that has taken over updating MDLOps?

Thanks

How are things with you?

sorry I've been incommunicado, but I haven't downloaded FaceBook Messenger. I'm not sure if I want to. I might switch to BBM.

I've been playing lots of Destiny (LVL 27 Hunter), and I'm about to go on vacation.

That's pretty basic. What does your website look like?

I'm a little too busy ATM, but what did you have in mind?

I thought that they already were? I don't think I've added anything new in at least a year. Or do you mean the original, in-game textures? That would take a long time to extract them all, but it's doable (when I get home from work that is)

It would be a fun in-joke if he threatens to rearrange someone's face, or "take your head off and put it on your sidekick's body" since I'm the guy that mods all the heads

Awesome. So, how much ass does he get to kick?

Thanks, but I've got a script that will allow the player to pick it up while she's on the Ebon Hawk. I was more worried about making it compatible with other mods that already change her grove appearance and saber, so that's why I chose the Hawk instead.

I've sent you a PM with links to the newest skins. Have fun with your renders

If you look at the close ups, the metal spirals on the bottom side, you'll see that the circular details are a little crisper on the one being held by

Show spoiler

(hidden content - requires Javascript to show)

the white fur hand. The Yellow fur is the 512x512

I'll send you back the files for it (including a Max saved in 2010 format) and the 1408x1408 tga for making renders

Thanks. So, I've got the new Cer'xos Fang working and in-game. I saved the tga at 512x512 and it still looks good close up in-game, and I added a little baremetal shine. During normal game play, no one is going to notice the difference.

Show spoiler

(hidden content - requires Javascript to show)

Can you guess who (yellow vs white fur) is holding the 1408x1408 (7.56MB) texture and which is the 512x512 (1MB)?

I can probably fix the other saber's uvw map, but it might go faster if you send me the max file from when it was working and you could still take nice render screen shots. Otherwise, it might take me another week or two.

I think it was that I imported to max (2011 not 2012) just the model, not the animations. I've fixed that, but now when I get it in-game, only some of the blades show up. The vertical and horizontal blades are visible, but the diagonal ones aren't. I just ran the ascii through MDLOps straight; should I have used that replacer button?

Otherwise, I've got all the uvw mapping done. I've also re-packed the tga, so that it's only 5MB instead of 16MB, but it still has the same resolution.

Yeah, I've never really worked wit sabers before, so I'm not sure of how they export and convert through MDLOps. When I tried it the other day, it took a looooong time for max to export, and almost as looong for MDLOps (is that normal?). It did get in the game, but I never tried it in combat, or with the blades out (I was tired and just wanted some screen shots).

I'll probably just send you the 3DSMax files (I think I'm on 2012).

only if you reply to the conversation, or post on my page. You'd just been posting on your own page, so it doesn't count as part of the convo. Oh well, I got this message anyway.

So, I've re-mapped all the green globes, and half of the red spikes and one of the emitters. I've still only done 5 of the 16 spirals. It's slowly getting done.

Where did you get the marble textures for the red spikes and blade housing? I'm thinking that I could make the tga smaller, without reducing resolution, if I pack the uvw map differently, and overlap some elements.

Also, do you think that it would be possible with saber hilts to have two separate objects that use two separate textures? I've done that with a helmet and some body and head models for RoR characters. The reason why, is so that we could use two different effects (say, CM_Baremetal on most of it, but CM_Crys on the green disc part). Would something like that work with a saber?

well, what I've done, is I've detached faces to separate objects, uvw mapped them, then attached them to form one object. I haven't tried them yet where I've attached them and then uvw mapped them. But, it's just like working on a face mesh; the head is one object, but there are separations (seams) where the xyz verticies occupy the same coordinate, but aren't welded together.

Anyway, I'll just keep plugging away on this one, and send it to you to check out.

BTW, you keep replying on your own page, so I don't get the message notification. I always need to click the "View Conversation" before replying.

here is an in-game shot. The green arrows point out where I fixed the outside spirals, and one of the circular faces. The red arrows show unfixed parts for comparison. The extreme closeup is because I used T3 with his first person view set to default (instead of his blue scan lines).

Show spoiler

(hidden content - requires Javascript to show)

I think that if you make uvw edits, then weld verticies before exporting from max, it will scramble the uvw map.

Maybe I should compile it and test it out before I go further.

So far, I've fixed four of the larger, outer spirals (the left half):

You can see how the spirals on the right half, and the inner spirals, have stretches. The good news, is it is totally fixable.

So, I started on the red saber hilt, and so far, I've separated 8 spirals out of 16, and fixed the uvw map on 2.5 of them (my first test trial needs to be fixed a bit more). Once I've finished at least four of the spirals, I'll post a pic.

I think I figured out how you can fix the uvw map and get rid of all those black lines. I can do it, but it might be faster for you, if you've still got some older files where all the spiral tubes are separate entities.

Anyway, I used the face selection tool, and selected all the faces of one side of a spiral (I treated it like it was still a rectangular box). Then I detached those faces to it's own object. Once that side (with all its own polygons) was no longer joined to other polygons on every side, it was easy to make the uvw map straight. Then, I selected the DblSbr03 object and used the "Attach List" command and attached them all back together.

good grief! 2048 x 2048 tgas for lightsaber hilts? They're absolutely gorgeous, but who's going to see that kind of detail in game? That's bigger than the body and head textures we made for Juhani herself. Maybe we could reduce the size a bit, so that the download size isn't astronomical? I'm thinking 512x512 or max 1024x1024.

By the way, what are the "minor deformations" that you mention? Is it in the mesh itself, or just the uvw mapping? About the only thing I can see, is a black edge along the 'spiral helix' of Cer'xos Fang (is that intentional?). I'll see what happens if I tinker with them (I'm betting on not much, since you're better at max than I am).

The designs are so delicate and beautiful. I don't know how safe they'd be to use, what with fingers getting caught in the spirals, but that's why this is sci-fantasy.

I know that nagging feeling in the back of my brain when something I worked on isn't "right", so I sympathise. At some point though, I either have to accept it, or not release it and move on .

You might as well send them to me as is. Maybe I could take a crack at the uvw fix? If we can't sort it out by July 17 (I need to set a firm date or I'll let it slide forever ) then I think we should release it with the tiny faults. As long as they don't make the model explode in-game, I think most people will forgive.

So, did you ever get TSLPatcher figured out?

I think the main thing, is to properly credit J7 with everything he contributed, especially the fact that he started it all. I'd prefer to wait for his blessings, but people have been waiting for 3 years, and he hasn't logged in for 7 months, so who knows when he'd get a chance to look at it and give a thumbsup.

No rush for the sabers, since I'm at work right now. Later tonight or this week will be fine.