Hard Light Productions Forums
Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => The Modding Workshop => Topic started by: pyro-manic on March 25, 2003, 08:11:33 am
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OK, a request for some help with POF editing.
I have a fighter for my new campaign, based on a reskin done by someone else. I've modded it through the tbl, but I need some further work done on it. I need the guns and missile banks moved around, and another missile bank added in to it. Can somebody either
a) tell me how to do this - what programs I need, and how to do it
b)do it for me.
Thanks all in advance! :)
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PCS.
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Personally I`d use modelview for this one first. Still you could do it with PCS too.
load your pof into modelview and have a look at the guns section. The rest should be pretty simple to figure out. Just move the firing points to whereever you want them to point and everything should work
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Only use PCS for the stuff ModelView can't do, such as dock points. Being able to see your project is unbelieveably useful, meaning ModelView is A1 SUPAR.
Once your pof is loaded, click the 'POF Editor' button, and a new toolbar will pop up. Clcik the 'Guns' button to enter the gun edit mode. From there it's a slice of piss to use.
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COOL.
Thanks for the info all!:)
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Umm upon adding guns to a new model (firing points, treating ship regardlessof type as a fighter with appropriate generic table)
IS there a certain way you should place the gun on the model? Like distance . I noticed the on the bomber DG sent me all the gun points have large crosshairs extending out on their axis... Are their more then one point that needs to be made and this is the distance between them?\
I ask cause I've been placing gunpoints on the surface of the model where I want it to look like it's firing out of a port,turrent,strip (whatever) that is painted on the texture (a flat surface that looks detailed)...
Problem is they are NOT firing... These are fighters using fighter weapons, weapons table good, table entry good, no need for beam free or turrent free (not applicable) and any needed effects/.pof's are in their folders so what's wrong? Am I too close on/in the model? How far away can you make a gunpoint from the mode's surface?
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Switch to wireframe view. Click on Create New weapon bank. Click on Create New firepoint. A 3-D crosshair should appear at the center of your model. Move this crosshair wherever you like and give it a normal of 0,0,1. Lather, rinse, repeat.
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Will do.
BTW what's a normal?
I've made other gunbanks in the past (ie like for the vandal) and missles too and they worked fine and I didn't use the normals blocks I just entered the coordinants in the blocks above the normals where I wanted the guns to be in game it worked. Was that just luck.
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Originally posted by Star Dragon
Will do.
BTW what's a normal?
I've made other gunbanks in the past (ie like for the vandal) and missles too and they worked fine and I didn't use the normals blocks I just entered the coordinants in the blocks above the normals where I wanted the guns to be in game it worked. Was that just luck.
The normal is the direction the gun is pointing in. The field you filled in is where the gun is. Obviously you`ll need to know where your gun is AND what you are pointing it at before you should attempt to fire it :D
With fighters it's fairly easy as normals tend to point straight forwards. With turrets it's more complicated as obviously a turret on the side has to aim sideways not forwards.
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I've gotten turrents working, proving that anyone can do it :)
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cause most of teh models I converted end up pointing straight up and not operatingnormally the turrents and guns won't fire correctly cause of model orientation. I just made a bord beam cannon and turrented it. the turrent won't fire (probably cause of no normal (keep gettingnull value 0 pof might crash , warning)... when I made a normal gun for it it worked and fires at target... but turrent with turrent free and beam free won't fire.
So I need to place a normal so the line points int eh direction I want the weapon to fire? is this a direct path like the guns or is this like an arc of fire (cone shaped) that will fire at targets int eh vicinity of that side? (BTW thanks for the info!)
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Primary and Secondary guns always fire directly ahead, but you still need to input a normal it seems. Turrents are given a normal and a FOV, or Field Of View. which is a cone centered over the normal. Thus, a FOV of 160 degrees would allow the turrent to fire up to 80 degrees away from the normal in a given direction.
Note that for multi part turrents, the base model is given the FOV and should be set to rotate aound the Z axis. The barrels (or 'arms' as the game calls them) rotate around the Y axis, and have no FOV data. Also, the barrels and their normal must point either straight up or straight down - the game engine doesn't like it otherwise, and is the reason why we don't have side-mounted multi-part turrents. When in doubt, open up a :V: model and see how they did it :nod:
And I used to think turrenting would be hard :cool:
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why does every one forget about Aurora (http://freespace.volitionwatch.com/blackwater/aurora.zip)
and if you want to learn about POF editing look at the link in my sig... and... click on it...
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Originally posted by Bobboau
why does every one forget about Aurora (http://freespace.volitionwatch.com/blackwater/aurora.zip)
and if you want to learn about POF editing look at the link in my sig... and... click on it...
I like Aurora but having to move all the textures every time I want to use it is pretty annoying (especially as most of my models use textures from inside the .vp).
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and the new version of PCS is better :D mouse support for the renderer, data import globally, integrated model compiler that is kept up to date
/me grins at his competetor confortable in his king-of-the-hill status
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The new version of PCS converted 3 or 4 models I couldn't convert before so good job! (and I forgot about Aurora, sorry Bob.....Dling it now!!!) :(
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yeah 1.3.3 has an improved polygon centroid algorithm
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really? must test it, good work!
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Thanks for the help people!
Got it sorted now. Stand by for the GTF Seneca....;) :thepimp: , a seriously badass fighter for my campaign.
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Originally posted by pyro-manic
Stand by for the GTF Seneca....;) :thepimp: , a seriously badass fighter for my campaign.
Why do they all have to be badass? Nobody makes fighters with crappy stats anymore.
*goes off to create some crappy fighters*
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'Snot a player fighter - the idea is it comes along and kicks the crap out of you....
Anyway, I'm also doing a weak-ass fighter! :D Sort of a fast scout thingy.
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Originally posted by GalacticEmperor
Why do they all have to be badass? Nobody makes fighters with crappy stats anymore.
*goes off to create some crappy fighters*
I do. All my fighters are crappy (In more than one way :D)
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I have a general rule of thumb when doing crappy/not crappy fighters:
(Okay, this is the Swarm War Rule of Fighter Design)
- Scout fighter: Two guns, one/two missile tubes
- Space Superiority: Two/Four guns, two/four missile tubes
- Advanced Fighter: Six guns, four missile tubes.
There are times when I break the rule. For example, the SWF Shrike has two guns, but it doesn't have missiles. The reasons for that will become VERY apparent when you play it!