Mav Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 in answer to your first port, you can use 3DSMax, you are not limited to gmax. and to your sanity check errors, the most common reason for a sanity check error is forgetting to hit the resetXform button under the mesh tools rollout of the NWNMax plug-in. Also it is advised that you never change the name of the aurora base/ignore N-gons/dummies, I don't know if it matters or not, but I play it safe and I don't change their names. Also when you export the model, be sure to click "Export Geom only" do not export the animations. Hope this helps, Mav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord_MalaKdoggk Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 in answer to your first port, you can use 3DSMax, you are not limited to gmax. and to your sanity check errors, the most common reason for a sanity check error is forgetting to hit the resetXform button under the mesh tools rollout of the NWNMax plug-in. Also it is advised that you never change the name of the aurora base/ignore N-gons/dummies, I don't know if it matters or not, but I play it safe and I don't change their names. Also when you export the model, be sure to click "Export Geom only" do not export the animations. Hope this helps, Mav TY sir, I admit shortcutting on the tutorial steps as I wasn't replacing the model with something else, I was only editing an exsisting model and exporting it back. But on closer examination of the stock import NONE of the verts are welded together which would explain the sanity check errors. I will correct the verts, and delete everything except the base hilt model and save it as a custom model, then replace an exsisting saber hilt as per the tut and see if it works. I am still wondering when I retexture it, do I need to have everything in the kotor\override folder to ensure the correct texture paths or does it matter ?? Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 if you want to use a custom texture, than yes, the .tga and .txi files will have to be in the override, but you can use MDLops renamer function to ensure that the textures for the new model have a unique name so you wont override the game textures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord_MalaKdoggk Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 if you want to use a custom texture, than yes, the .tga and .txi files will have to be in the override, but you can use MDLops renamer function to ensure that the textures for the new model have a unique name so you wont override the game textures. I finally got it into K1 last night (thanks to Achille's tutorial), and all works great except for 1 small detail- My blade is invisible. It does damage but it's completely clear, my tga's and txi's are in the override folder but I can figure out if the blade texture file is referenced correctly from the model file, or because I moved the verts on the 2 planes that are the blade in the model. Has anyone else ran across this problem ?? I also figured out the sanity check problem- I welded together every vert that appeared in the sanity check report (i had to move a couple that were too close together as they aren't supposed to be welded together). Perhaps my welding of a couple of verts on the end of the blade funked it. I'm trying to use the Turquoise blade color. The texture is direct from the game and unaltered, maybe I need to remove or fix the alpha channel (doesn't it control opacity???). Maybe all I need to do is take it to a workbench and install the crystal ???? I dunno, but as it's almost perfect I'd sure like to get the blade working, please help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 ^^^ as far as I know, you're not supposed to move the verts or adjust anything on the planes for the blade... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord_MalaKdoggk Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 ^^^ as far as I know, you're not supposed to move the verts or adjust anything on the planes for the blade... doh. well, before I start from scratch, I just realized I didn't add my new crystal (which has the color info) to the saber crystals 2DA file. (I'll be using Mav's tut for this one) But since I didn't actualld do a 'cut and paste' the hilt into another sabers file ( I edited a short saber by streching the hilt and blade) and renamed it, I actually imported someone elses saber and matched the blade planes length between the 2 sabers then deleted the other persons saber from the model. Perhaps I can simply delete my current blade planes, and import another set of planes from someone elses saber model (as they should be already at the correct coordinates), i would hate to relink the whole mess. BTW, anyone know where K1's color codes are listed ?? I assume theres only 7, but I'm not sure which is which without exporting every blade color tga. Maybe I can use 'longsaber_crystal_pack_by_chainz_v1' to fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 I assume theres only 7, but I'm not sure which is which without exporting every blade color tga. Maybe I can use 'longsaber_crystal_pack_by_chainz_v1' to fix it. Not sure how it would 'fix' anything, but feel free to use the mod and/or files contained in any way you see fit The longsabers (Malak model saber) is still a single handed saber.. just well.. long.. hehehe.. There's 2 complete sets of colors in the mod BTW, so be sure you're using the base ones unless you want my custom funky zig-zag blades freakin you out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord_MalaKdoggk Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 Not sure how it would 'fix' anything, but feel free to use the mod and/or files contained in any way you see fit The longsabers (Malak model saber) is still a single handed saber.. just well.. long.. hehehe.. There's 2 complete sets of colors in the mod BTW, so be sure you're using the base ones unless you want my custom funky zig-zag blades freakin you out Since my saber is now using a crystal thats 'un-named' in the crystals.2DA file, I figure that adding the correct data into the file will hopefully fix the invisible blade as the blade was originally the k39 item (from the 'sith saber')recovered from korriban. If it doesn't fix the problem, my plan was to use you 'MoTf' crystal for the saber blade (since the uti file is known to work) since it's the correct color. Now that I'm thinking about it... what makes the game know the diff from a short saber, and a 'long' saber ??? My hilt is a hair longer than Malak's, and the blade is a bit longer (as it sits lower in the hilt but ends at the same height) as well as narrower- My saber began as short saber #6.( see post 150) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T7nowhere Posted September 20, 2006 Author Share Posted September 20, 2006 But since I didn't actualld do a 'cut and paste' the hilt into another sabers file ( I edited a short saber by streching the hilt and blade) and renamed it, I actually imported someone elses saber and matched the blade planes length between the 2 sabers then deleted the other persons saber from the model. Perhaps I can simply delete my current blade planes, and import another set of planes from someone elses saber model (as they should be already at the correct coordinates), i would hate to relink the whole mess. If you want a the longest blade length then use malaks saber model. I think your over complicating things. Making sabers is straight forward but it should be done a certain way to minimize possible mistakes. Open your saber hilt in gmax or 3ds and delete everything except the hilt,then import Malaks hilt position your hilt, unlink malak's hilt and link,yours then reset xform and export.If you get a sanity error only about welding verts then ignore it, its almost impossible to make a model for KotOR and have all the verts welded. EDIT: Now that I'm thinking about it... what makes the game know the diff from a short saber, and a 'long' saber ??? It's the base item that determines what type of saber it is. Use KT to open baseitems.2da and it will make sense. Its best not use other peoples uti files. You can extract a new copy of one of the defualt game saber uti's and then edit to suit your needs. doing this will also allow you to release the mod without needing to get anyones permission since your useing the games files and not another modders files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord_MalaKdoggk Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 Thanks T7, between your advice, Achille's tut, and the tut from the first page, I got it working. Seems my initial export of the MDL file from the game was funked, as I was missing the 2 plane dummy's that control reflectivity of the beam from the backside from the get-go. Now that I've made 6 sabre's over the weekend I'm comfortable with the process (but I have to admit, the UVW unwrapping I cheated by doing it in milkshape then converting it back into Gmax). I'll post it in kotorfiles this week. Does the same procedure work with K2 models as well ?? or can I just add it 'as-is' to K2 ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimShadow Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 I hate to bump a thread over a month old, but is there another link to get the tutorial? The one from SWK doesn't seem to exist anymore. I'm guessing it was lost when the server went down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth333 Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 I'll check. To my knowledge the site is intact. However, it is possible that the tutorial was moved elsewhere. Edit: I verified and the file is indeed missing. What's weird is that it seems that it is the only file missing in the entire site I contacted t7 and he will upload it again later today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T7nowhere Posted November 7, 2006 Author Share Posted November 7, 2006 I hate to bump a thread over a month old, but is there another link to get the tutorial? The one from SWK doesn't seem to exist anymore. I'm guessing it was lost when the server went down. Ok, it is re-uploaded. To save ya from having to go back to the first page here is the link saber tut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimShadow Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Alright, thanks for the tutorial and...thanks for puting it back up. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SithStarSlayer Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Are there any tutorials, or publications out there that are easy enough to read and simple enough understand how to take hand-drawn artwork and convert it to a 3-D by using PhotoShop CS? Like the Darth Talon MOD, or this image: http://img258.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gmaxhelp3vi.jpg ? I can draw anything, character wise... This what I can do so far: http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n107/SithStarSlayer/VOS-SHOWDOWN.jpg The image on the right is the original, on the left is what I turned it into. I just haven't got a clue as to how to do this from scratch, digitally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord_MalaKdoggk Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 I'm having a bit of trouble getting my saber mod I created for K1 to work in K2. I suspect it's the model itself (the MDL/MDX) but I also noticed the filenames for K2 are a little bit different. Is there a K2 specific lightsaber document available so I may chase down my problem ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T7nowhere Posted November 14, 2006 Author Share Posted November 14, 2006 ^^ You need to re-rig your hilt with a K2 hilt model, you can't just compile it as a k2 model. delete everything in your k1 gmax/3dsmax scene except for your hilt and import a freshly exported and decompiled K2 hilt model. Rig, export and replace.The process is exactly the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord_MalaKdoggk Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 ^^ You need to re-rig your hilt with a K2 hilt model, you can't just compile it as a k2 model. delete everything in your k1 gmax/3dsmax scene except for your hilt and import a freshly exported and decompiled K2 hilt model. Rig, export and replace.The process is exactly the same. Yup, I figured as much- I seem to recall Redhawke saying the k1 model won't work in K2 but I figured it was a script problem. Anyhow, I took a look (with GMax) at all the k2 saber models and found a problem I can't fix: sabers 1 thru 5 are standard lightsabers that blades end at the same spot but start at different places near the hilt. #6 is a short saber. ...but 7 thru 10 are interesting as they have VERY long blades (as they appeared the first time I opened them with GMax), but as I open them the second and later times the blades no longer appear in Gmax- nor do 2 of the 4 blade planes show as an aurora trimesh- they ALL show up as 'dummy' s to the hilt. Does GMax open these puppies from a file buffer after the first time I opened them or are saber 7 to 10 simply 'bladeless' ?? If there is a GMax filebuffer, where is it, and can I purge it to make these saber models import correctly again ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T7nowhere Posted November 15, 2006 Author Share Posted November 15, 2006 Don't worry about the blade less game hilts. When using the replacer function you won't be replacing the blades, only the hilt. YOu can however change the orientation of the helper but thats it. IF you really need the blades then just use a model that has a couple of the blades there. btw what are you trying to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord_MalaKdoggk Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 Simply converting the K1 saber I made to K2, but as I used Malaks 06 saber from K1 (for the ungodly length blade) as a template I was simply looking for it's equivilent in K2 (it's not saber 06 in K2). After the initial import into gmax, GMax quit displaying the blades in the viewer for sabers 6 thru 10. I saw at least 2 in 7-10 group that had longer than stock blade lengths in Gmax the first viewing, but forgot what number they we're and since I can't see them anymore I didn't want to make 4 sabers just to find the one with the longest blade. Other than that I've already got it into the game but I have to re-do the mdl/mdx again as GMax defaults to the wrong alpha channel value, and I forgot to correct it before I merged it with saber 8 (the one I'm using in game), so my hilt texture is very dark. [edit 11-17] I corrected everything and used #9 for the template. It's still a stock length blade (as is #1-5,and 8) but the start position of the blade is perfect, I may leave it as-is and release it next week unless I find the longer blade in the other 2 models (7 and 10). [edit 11-27] My bad, it is #6, tho' #9 is much better looking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Down Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 Do I also need MDLops when using 3Ds Max 8 ? - Ghost Down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 Do I also need MDLops when using 3Ds Max 8 ? - Ghost Down Yes. It's the only way to convert the model to a readable format (ascii) in 3dsMAX It will also re-convert your model after MAX export so that K1 or TSL can read it.. (binary) You'll also need to make sure you have the NWmax plugin for 3dsMAX: http://nwmax.dladventures.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenbob1973 Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 I have looked all over swk for your saber tut t7, and i cannot find it. could someone help me find it please. Sorry i should be more specific. when i click on the link it takes me to swk. i tried saving target as but it save the swk page. Is it something i am doing. sorry to bother you with my ignorance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T7nowhere Posted January 13, 2007 Author Share Posted January 13, 2007 ^^^ ??? The Download link is on the first page of this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenbob1973 Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 i tried saving target as again but it saves the swk web page. The link takes me to swk. I am completely lost. Sorry for my ignorrance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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