New MDLOps

[JdNoa]

If you like I could help package this into an EXE...?

 

Edit: what is the mdlops.tws?

 

That'd be awesome, thanks. All the perl-to-exe programs I found were commercial.

 

Uh... oh, oops. mdlops.tws would be a textpad configuration file. That doesn't need to be in there.

[Kha]

OH!!! Thank you very very very... very much for this release JdNoa and tk102!!

 

I've managed to change the pause1 animation from the s_male2 file, it compiles without errors and worked into the game!

 

But now since I'm completely new at modding I have a few questions:

 

When I make a new animations in the s_male2 file, what else do I need to change to allow me import those animation into the game? Just adding a new line in the animation.2da file and call it using a script works?

 

And can I use any one of the animations file or just s_male2 file?

 

Thanks very much!!

Kha

[Dashus]

I believe (and someone correct me if I'm wrong - which is likely, given I have zero direct experience with this) this will not allow you to "create" animations. By "create" I mean actually add animations to the model. You have to replace existing ones. Then you can save the model off with a different name and specify the model to use in the utc (or ut*).

[JdNoa]

When I make a new animations in the s_male2 file, what else do I need to change to allow me import those animation into the game? Just adding a new line in the animation.2da file and call it using a script works?

 

And can I use any one of the animations file or just s_male2 file?

 

Thanks very much!!

Kha

 

What we ended up doing to add new animations to s_male02 was using an animation name that wasn't really used much.

 

The two looping animations I found that were mostly unused (only present on the Darth Malak model) were kdtlkangry and kdtlksad. If those don't show up in the NWMax animation name list - which I'm pretty sure they don't - call your animation something distinctive, like custom1start, and then edit the ascii model file and do a find-and-replace from custom1start to kdtlkangry.

 

You can call those two animations from scripting using the ANIMATION_LOOPING_KNEEL_TALK_ANGRY and ANIMATION_LOOPING_KNEEL_TALK_SAD constants.

 

As for whether you can use other model files... all I can say is try it and see. I had issues with some character files because when I tried to make animations I moved skin nodes, which just messes everything up.

[Kha]

I was thinking about the s_male1 file since it is much smaller and faster to compile, but as you said let's try and see what happens. Thank you for the info!

[magnusll]

Is it just me being stupid, or does mdlops have trouble exporting emitters? I'm trying to work with m36aa_01 (Valley of the Dark Lords), but when GMax/NWMax (v 0.7) tries to import the emitters objects, it complains about not being able to convert "undefined" to float.

 

Just double checking if this is the case or if I'm doing something wrong...

 

On a tangential note... JdNoa, would you mind if I duplicate the mdlops functionality in my walkmesh utility? I think having the ability to import/export both the area model and its walkmesh would be invaluable to area modelers, to avoid progressive misalignment due to successive roundings if nothing else. Note that I wouldn't reuse the actual code (rather pointless since mdlops is Perl and my utility is C#), but I could certainly use the info about the .mdl and .mdx structure which can be gained by reading the source.

[Pavlos]

Is it just me being stupid, or does mdlops have trouble exporting emitters? I'm trying to work with m36aa_01 (Valley of the Dark Lords), but when GMax/NWMax (v 0.7) tries to import the emitters objects, it complains about not being able to convert "undefined" to float.

 

Yes, emitters are yet another thing that we don't understand, so MDLOps doesn't have that sort of functionality .

[JdNoa]

Well.... emitters are actually partially implemented but not very well tested. The specific problem you're describing is because I never tested the emitter code using K1 models and it's doing something wrong there.

[Darkkender]

Hey JDnoa, one of the things in the past I had been working on was trying to make changes to mdlops so that it will support the larger model structures when converting to ascii and back. If I can find my notes on what I was changing I'll pass them on to you so that we can see if can't start make full fledged area models.

[Darth Xander]

what exacaly does mdlops do?

[stoffe]

what exacaly does mdlops do?

 

It's a converter tool that converts the MDL/MDX files used by the KOTOR games to hold 3d model data into an ASCII format the NWMax importer/exporter plugin for gmax/3dsmax can read.

 

In short it allows you to load 3D models from the game in a 3d application, and export back into a format the game can use (with some limitations since the MDL/MDX format is not fully understood).

 

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

--<< What is this? >>--

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

 

This is a Perl script for converting

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (kotor 1 for short)

AND Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, The Sith Lords (kotor 2 for short)

binary models to ascii and back again.

 

Binary models are converted to an ascii format compatible

with NeverWinter Nights.

 

It can also do some other operations on models,

like renaming textures and replacing meshes.

 

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

--<< Features >>--

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

-Automatic detection of binary model version

-Automatic detection of model type

-works with trimesh models

-works with dangly mesh models

-has limited support for skin mesh models (see below for more details)

-model properties supported:

-diffuse

-ambient

-shadow

-render

-alpha

-self illumination

-when reading in a binary model a text file is created

that lists all the textures the model uses.

-replacer function lets you replace 1 tri-mesh in a binary

model with another tri-mesh from an ascii model

-renamer function lets you rename textures in a binary

model

 

[Weiser_Cain]

Has this been idiot proofed for guys like me?

[Darkkender]

Has this been idiot proofed for guys like me?

 

Likely it hasn't if your asking now. Nothing is ever free from bad things happening from people making mistakes, especially with computers. (AKA Vista)

[Kha]

Is someone still working in Mdlops? Could it be possible to make it able to recognize Max smooth groups?

[Inyri]

I cheat it by exporting my files to another format (in this case GLM, which is a Jedi Academy model format, because it automatically cleaves the model by smoothing group) then I reimport it.

 

You might want to get on magnusll's case and see if he can implement something similar in KAurora.

[magnusll]

I cheat it by exporting my files to another format (in this case GLM, which is a Jedi Academy model format, because it automatically cleaves the model by smoothing group) then I reimport it.

 

You might want to get on magnusll's case and see if he can implement something similar in KAurora.

 

The idea is that KAurora will be able to import/export any model when I'm finished. I'm completing work on emitters to release the 0.3; after that, I'll tackle animations and the "missing" node types (like skinmeshes and danglymeshes). So in the end KAurora will work a bit like MDLops on steroids. I wouldn't hold my breath though; progress will be slow.

 

As for the specific question, I'm not sure I understand it fully. NWMax does export smooth group info (it's one of the values of the face array), but as far as I know there's no place within the Kotor face structure in which to put this info. I don't have the code at hand right now, but IIRC I decoded enough of the fields stored within Kotor faces to realize there was simply no place in which to put smooth group values. So unless you're proposing some built-in model preprocessing that results in... whatever it is that Max does with its smooth groups, there's no way of using that info with the Kotor engine.

 

OTOH, if you *are* proprosing model preprocessing, I could certainly do it, but I need to understand what to do first...

[Darkkender]

Hey Magnusll, Have you considered adapting NWMax's script code for converting models to convert the Kotor model's directly to a max format?

[Inyri]

I'm not sure I understand it fully.

I'm not sure I do either, to be honest. All I really know is how the model is made and how it ends up.

 

I guess the basics of smoothing groups is that if you have four polygons in a square, and the two on the left are smoothing group 1 and the two on the right are smoothing group 2, it will 'cleave' the vertices between them (so instead of three vertices connecting them you'll get six -- three on the left and three on the right). This creates the 'seam' between the two smoothing groups. This is all fine and dandy, but somewhere along the way in the modeling process the vertices are not actually cleaved, so once the model gets into KotOR the smoothing groups are rendered basically as useless information, as the game doesn't seem to use them in any way. I was just wondering if KAurora could potentially step in and correct this issue somehow (the most straightforward way seems to be to break up the model by smoothing group, but knowing what's 'best' is more you department).

 

I don't know if the original issue is with the exporter or what, but this just seems like a prime opportunity to take care of it to avoid folks having to manually cut their models apart to get them looking right.

[Kha]

What I would like is the other way around... when I get a body model and pass through mdlops it creates seams where there were none in the game, in the model the vertices are separated but before mdlops the game engine render the seam as they were conected you see no seam, after mdlops the seam appears.

 

Once Cchargin told he would look the smooth group thing to see how to render the normal here: http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?t=157286

[magnusll]

I guess the basics of smoothing groups is that if you have four polygons in a square, and the two on the left are smoothing group 1 and the two on the right are smoothing group 2, it will 'cleave' the vertices between them (so instead of three vertices connecting them you'll get six -- three on the left and three on the right). This creates the 'seam' between the two smoothing groups.

 

Ah... vertex duplication according to smoothing groups. Well it's certainly doable... in fact KAurora already does it, except it duplicates vertices according to the needs of the tvert structure. I could add the code needed to also manipulate the vertices due to smooth group info, though it probably doesn't make much sense to do it until I've completed the handling of all the Kotor node types.

[Kemosavi]

I'm really new to the whole "modding scene", but I've been working with Max for a while. Anyway, I've followed the Readme from the older one, and with both versions when I try to convert the .mdl it says "does not exist!" Any kind of help would be much appreciated!

[Sithspecter]

If you haven't extracted BOTH the .mdl and the .mdx, it won't work.

[Kemosavi]

If you haven't extracted BOTH the .mdl and the .mdx, it won't work.

 

 

I have both the w_blstrrfl_001.mdl and w_blstrrfl_001.mdx on my desktop, and it still won't work.

 

 

http://img210.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wotvb0.jpg

 

Edit:: It appears that the program could not read the space after my windows name. I put the files in my d: drive and it worked

[settoken]

Edit:: It appears that the program could not read the space after my windows name. I put the files in my d: drive and it worked

 

Man !!! if you're right it's the best day of my life !!!! ok it isn't but I'm really happy

That f*cking problem is turning me mad since 2 months

Nobody able to answer me

I'll test it and...man, thx a lot if it works

[Darkkender]

What OS are you using Kemosavi? If it is Vista it could be because of changes in Vista.