Do I have to pay to model?

How to create models in XSI and other 3D applications and make them work in Battlefront 1 & 2. Post models, tips for application usage and share anything XSI, 3DMax, SketchUp, etc.

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wishihadaname
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Do I have to pay to model?

Post by wishihadaname »

Last time I tried learning how to model I couldn't get anything to export so I basically gave up. Since i'm not getting the models I need for Landing at Point Rain any time soon I thought that I may as well learn how to make my own models, but do I have to buy the full xsi software inorder to export or is there a workarround? And yes I know about meshex but does it work for everyone? after all it didn't work for me last time.
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by IndianaJoe »

You don't need to pay, unless you want to do player models and addon meshes, although i don't think (correct me if I'm wrong) you can't even buy the necessary software for playermodels anymore, if you do everything right, mshex should work, and you can do props, guns, buildings, etc
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by computergeek »

You can use mshex for addon meshes, unless they use cloth. And you can not buy the software to make the rest of the stuff anymore, your only option is to model it and use a trial version to export.
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by IndianaJoe »

computergeek wrote:You can use mshex for addon meshes.
I thought addon's needed to be enveloped to bones?
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by CodaRez »

IndianaJoe wrote:
computergeek wrote:You can use mshex for addon meshes.
I thought addon's needed to be enveloped to bones?

Right, but they are still static props. I made tons of addons with MshEx. :thumbs:

As for playermodels, ur best bet is to make them, envelope them(u will understand this later on if ur making a playermodel) and send it to someone for export. Most of the staff here have playermodel exporters.
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by wishihadaname »

so what exactly do I have to do to get something to export properly in meshex?
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by RogueKnight »

wishihadaname wrote:so what exactly do I have to do to get something to export properly in meshex?
Follow the tutorial on the download page. If you have questions, ask them here.
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by wishihadaname »

I followed the basic tut for creating a model but when I tried to export it in in meshex it just made the program crash, the last entries were all about going into some sort of loop.

Here's my procedure in case I missed something
1. Made a doorway out of three rescaled and moved cubes and then merged those cubes toghether into a polymesh and placed both the parts and the polymesh under the MS3DSceneRoot

2. Made two copies of the polymesh, one is named collision and the other is named doorway_lowrez, both copies are under MS3DSceneRoot

3. Saved the whole scene

4. Used crosswalk 5.0 to export a .xsi file named LPR_Prop_testing, converted mesh to triangles, exporting xsi normals, and exported selection only (I had everything under MS3DSceneRoot selected)

5. Placed the .xsi in the same place as meshex and hedr.msh and ran the program

6. got a crash...

Any ideas what I did wrong? does this have something to do with freezing changes (whatever the heck that means).
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by Deviss »

wishihadaname wrote:
Hidden/Spoiler:
I followed the basic tut for creating a model but when I tried to export it in in meshex it just made the program crash, the last entries were all about going into some sort of loop.

Here's my procedure in case I missed something
1. Made a doorway out of three rescaled and moved cubes and then merged those cubes toghether into a polymesh and placed both the parts and the polymesh under the MS3DSceneRoot

2. Made two copies of the polymesh, one is named collision and the other is named doorway_lowrez, both copies are under MS3DSceneRoot

3. Saved the whole scene

4. Used crosswalk 5.0 to export a .xsi file named LPR_Prop_testing, converted mesh to triangles, exporting xsi normals, and exported selection only (I had everything under MS3DSceneRoot selected)

5. Placed the .xsi in the same place as meshex and hedr.msh and ran the program

6. got a crash...

Any ideas what I did wrong? does this have something to do with freezing changes (whatever the heck that means).
well learn take time, i am not good on meshEX so i only can offer my service as your personal exporter untill you can get meshEX work fine :)
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by wishihadaname »

thanks deviss, I think I just made a mistake somewere along the lines though. Do you freeze transformations before you export, if so how do you do it?
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by Deviss »

wishihadaname wrote:thanks deviss, I think I just made a mistake somewere along the lines though. Do you freeze transformations before you export, if so how do you do it?
always freeze and fix parts first, later envelope, and latest export :)
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by CodaRez »

Of course he asked how though.

To answer that:

Image

To the right of ur modtool screen is where it usually is found.

Oh if you cant find it in there, try right clicking the "Transform" and "Snap" tabs.
This closes the tabs so u can reach the "freeze" button

Also multi select all ur stuff (M3dscene..., model, shadowvolume) before clicking the freeze button. Normally the middle mouse works, if not, select ur M3D-whatever and press "ctrl-t". This should only work if the M3D is a parent of ALL the stuff (all the stuff has been drag-and-dropped into the M3D) which is normally what should be done before export in the first place.
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by wishihadaname »

thanks, thats most helpful, whats enveloping though?
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by CodaRez »

That will be explained much later on when u have the ability to deal with playermodels, but its basically mapping the UVs of ur model onto bones, so they can move ingame. (e.g. hand UVs will be enveloped onto the "hand" bone, torso or armor parts probably enveloped onto the "ribcage" bone and so on)

Right now if ur making weapons (melee or ranged) or props, u need not worry bout enveloping though. And all those can be MshEx exported.

Addons require a simpler form of envelope, but the tut can explain that (in the XSI Tools thread) and they are also MshEx exportable.
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by Deviss »

CodaRez wrote:That will be explained much later on when u have the ability to deal with playermodels, but its basically mapping the UVs of ur model onto bones, so they can move ingame. (e.g. hand UVs will be enveloped onto the "hand" bone, torso or armor parts probably enveloped onto the "ribcage" bone and so on)

Right now if ur making weapons (melee or ranged) or props, u need not worry bout enveloping though. And all those can be MshEx exported.

Addons require a simpler form of envelope, but the tut can explain that (in the XSI Tools thread) and they are also MshEx exportable.
uv? nah, is model parts no UV, for example you enveloped ( is more easy use word: ATTACH) hand model part to bone right or left hand so when ingame the model move that bone will move the part you enveloped to him
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by CodaRez »

Deviss wrote: uv? nah, is model parts no UV, for example you enveloped ( is more easy use word: ATTACH) hand model part to bone right or left hand so when ingame the model move that bone will move the part you enveloped to him
Yeah, but the model parts are made up of UVs, which are in layman terms, the "points" of the model.

Things get complicated when ur trying to envelope the torso of the model, which have to correspond to the "ribcage" and "lowerribcage" bones.

Thats where different UVs of the model are enveloped to a corresponding bone to give fluidic movement. U can't envelope the entire torso "model part" of a clone for example to just the "ribcage", or else it will get stalky.
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by Deviss »

CodaRez wrote:
Deviss wrote: uv? nah, is model parts no UV, for example you enveloped ( is more easy use word: ATTACH) hand model part to bone right or left hand so when ingame the model move that bone will move the part you enveloped to him
Yeah, but the model parts are made up of UVs, which are in layman terms, the "points" of the model.

Things get complicated when ur trying to envelope the torso of the model, which have to correspond to the "ribcage" and "lowerribcage" bones.

Thats where different UVs of the model are enveloped to a corresponding bone to give fluidic movement. U can't envelope the entire torso "model part" of a clone for example to just the "ribcage", or else it will get stalky.
for no confuse, don't say him uv, because i can have one player model without uv and enveloping it and getting ingame XD
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by Lephenix »

Wishihadaname , have you created a texture and applied it to your model ?
And i think it isn t ,MS3Sceneroot but dummyroot .
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by CodaRez »

Lephenix_dor wrote: And i think it isn t ,MS3Sceneroot but dummyroot .
Apparently the name doesnt matter.
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Re: Do I have to pay to model?

Post by wishihadaname »

Yes, its textured, btw were do I need to put the texture file for the export/conversion?

ok, I tried freezing it but i'm still getting the exact same crash... any ideas?
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