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Tutorial: Saber Modelling for Poor Noobs


snakeeyesa27

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For those of you noobs (i am perhaps the biggest) who don't know anything about modelling, have zero bucks to spend on 3dsmax, and want a saber hilt of your very own in the game, this tutorial is for you, me just having figured it all out. Here we go!

 

1. Download Gmax and Tempest from www.discreet.com

a. Get familiar with these programs, especially modelling.

 

2. Using Tempest, import Kyle's saber.

a. How? Open assets0.pk3 (in base folder) using winzip. Select All (or just the saber) and extract somewhere using folder names.

 

3. Model your lightsaber next to Kyle's (so you can get the right size). When you are happy with it, delete Kyle's and move yours into the place his was (centered on the x,y,z origins).

 

4. As of now, it's possible to get this saber in game, but there would be 2 problems (i know from experience). Your saber will have no texture and emit no blade. The first problem we will solve is the blade.

 

5. Tags. You've heard about them, this is what they are. Small, one-sided right triangles. One side must be half the length of the other. How big they are in relation to your saber doesn't matter, they don't show up in game, but i made them fit within the hilt just to be anal.

a. So how does this triangle differ from any other? You must name it. There are 2 tags involved in saber hilts: tag_parent and tag_flash. tag_parent must be situated so that it lies flat, so that it's right angle (90 degrees) lines up with the x and y axes, and so that it lies where the top of your character's right hand is meant to go. i.e. the top of the grip.

b. tag_flash, which emits the blade, goes where you want the blade to start, the emitter. It is situated so the short side faces down with the sharp, acute angle pointing striaght up. the right angle lines up with the x/y axis and the z axis. Standing on it's end as it were.

 

6. Skinning the sucker: I'm not going into detail about uvwrapping and unwrapping, there are far better tutorials elsewhere (polycount). Once you have a 2d image (.jpg, usually), that you're happy with in Gmax (use the materials editor), you can now get it in game and fully functional! Here's how.

 

7. Compiling. Load your saber model and the tags. Select every bit of your saber (not the tags), and attach them together (under modify), so they are only one brush. Name this brush w_saber.

a. UVwrap it and then Unwrap it (again, check other tutorials) assign your texture to it, so it looks exactly how you want it to ingame, cause that's what it's gonna look like. now select everything (w_saber, tag_parent, and tag_flash), making sure your skin is applied in gmax. Go to export and export selected as .md3. Name this file saber_w.md3 to save time.

b. MD3 -> GLM: Now open up MD3VIEW, a program that comes with the jediknight2 tools. Open saber_w.md3 and select View Origin, under View. This will show you your tags, if they are installed correctly. Everything good? Now, export as a .glm.

Take this .glm and the 2d image (usually saber.jpg) and pak them up ( a whole other tutorial. if you don't know, ask me ). And if everything went according to plan, Your saber will be ready to slice and dice stormtroopers and other noobs alike!

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By the way, if you want to try my saber, with a picture of the real one, post a request (my email link is bad) and i'll send it to you, however, i don't think i'll post it, as it's very individual (based off the one i built myself). You can see the very top of it in my avatar, though it looks distorted. Mind you it's no Obi-wan saber, after all, this is the first model i've made for any game, ever. And tell me what you think of the tutorial!

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i dont think you need tempest to do jkii stuff. in fact, i've got stuff from gmax straight there wi/out tempest, so i know you dont. but you do need the .md3 export plugin, which can be taken from the tempest folder and used with gmax cos the tempest interface is frankly ****. if you want to do .md3s in gmax, just 'borrow' the plugins from gmax/gamepacks/tempest/plugins and put them in gmax/plugins. or, to save downloading 20mb of tempest for 170kb of plugins, download them from the files section of my site here. and im doing a full tutorial including skinmapping, specially for gmax, at the moment, so if you cant find anything helpful just be patient and ill get it done.

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DarthCobra is correct, tag_parent does nothing i can see, (at least as long as your saber is centered on the xyz axes). It might be necessary if it wasn't. Lord FBF is also correct, you don't need to download the whole tempest program, just the plugins will work fine. Which reminds me, i'd like to thank lord FBF for all the help he has provided me in learning this stuff. It's nice to know that some people will help out a noob.

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Master Shawn: if Tempest spouts some crap about "cannot find \GMAX\" or the like, worry not, cos its installed it anyway. just go to ur gmax install folder and run Tempest.exe (unless tempest.exe is under gmax\gamepacks\tempest, i forget). if that doesnt work (and i reccomend you do this anyway, cos the tempest interface sux), download the md3 and map export plugins from my site and ditch tempest for good! if u manage to get it installed, just take the plugins from gmax/gamepacks/tempest/pluging and put em in gmax\plugins, cos then u can use gmax to do JKII stuff wi/out bothering wi/tempest

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Master Shawn, the actual modeling isn't covered here. For tutorials on this, check out www.planetquake.com/polycount. There are plenty of other ones as well.

Bio Warrior, don't use tag_parent for now, that'll make things easier. I assume you have your saber model done, therefore tag_flash will go where you want the blade to extend from. Let my try to draw a picture. the "L" is your tag, shown without the third side. If you connect the 2 ends of "L" you get a right triangle with one side twice as long as the other (a tag). Here's the picture.

 

L <-Tag

TTTTTTTT

IIIIIIIII <-Emitter

MMM

llllllllllllllll

llllllllllllllll <-Handle

llllllllllllllll

 

Pardon the crudity of my drawing, i don't know how to post pictures. The tag must be named tag_flash, and it should be only one sided, with 3 vertices. If this does not answer your question, post again and try to be more specific

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Time tags have nothing to do with what we refer to as tags. A "tag" is simply a brush, like any other on your model, with a few differences. To create one, simply create a brush twice as long as it is wide, with a height of zero. now cut from one corner to the opposite corner. this is the shape of a tag, now, to truly make it a tag, you just need to name it, this is the only thing that makes it a tag instead of just another brush. you must name it tag_flash. Position it where you want the lightsaber to extend from and when you compile make sure the tags are not attached to anything.

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Here's what i did, though you can find other tutorials that are better, take your (for example) 1x2 rectangle. now, edit the vertices, (not sure how, offhand) it's under modify. take the vertex from one corner and delete it. that should work, if not, move the vertex into position so it makes the triangle. Any help?

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