Hard Light Productions Forums
Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => The Modding Workshop => Topic started by: Vengence on October 12, 2005, 02:52:07 pm
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Ok, as many of you already know I made a fighter and I plan to port it to FS2. I used 3ds for the modeling and Truespace to add the local lights (as was instructed) and exporting to cob was successful and then I used PCS to convert it but as soon as I selected my file PCS turned all white and stopped responding and did nothing and it didn't tell me what the problem is.
(http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/9287/request4br.jpg)
More info:
1. Used 3ds Max7 to model. Attatched all objects as one object.
2. Exported as obj and 3ds.
-2a. Used 3d Exploration to export as cob
-2b. Imported obj or 3ds file into TS
3. Added and glued lights as children to the main model.
4. Exported as cob
5. PCS crashed.
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Well, I -think- there's a direct exporter from Max 7 to POF. Look in the stickied thread here.
Otherwise, make sure you're using the latest version of PCS. In the directory where you're doing the conversion there should be a log file telling you where PCS got stuck.
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No that exporter is not for 3ds 7. 4 5 and 6 yes but not 7. And there is no log file. It all just froze up. I have 5 separate cob files each worked out a different way. One has all needed lights, one has none, one was .3ds, another obj, and another 3d exploration. The one without anything said that "You forgot to group the objects", and the rest freezes.
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Ah, the 3ds 6 pof exporter seems to be working now. Now I must be careful, DO NOT SAVE AFTER EXPORTING!!!
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Well, it now works ingame!!! But my fighter is way too fast, 380m/s.
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That's a table issue. :) Good job on your conversion.
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I know its a table issue. I coded it that way. OK, time for the next level:
How do I apply Glow maps and relflective maps?
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Both are special maps with the same name as the base texture, but with a -glow or -shine tag on the end of the filename (before the filetype extension). Glow maps are rendered full-bright all the time and applied additively, spec maps determine the color of a reflection from a surface. Spec maps can have an alpha channel, which will be used as a mask for reflectivity with environment mapping.
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Ok, so if I use the original skin and make it black and add glowing lights and sorts it will glow in the game. Now -shine gets me thinking, I want the cockpit to reflect 85% and the body to reflect 15% but I don't know how to do that part. I don't know how to add Alpha channels in Photoshop. Final question, it can't be as easy as adding a name behind the skin file and putting it into the maps directory, there must be a catch or some kind of method in PCS. Any explaination?
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If you're wanting spec to be 85/15 you just have to adjust the intensity of the individual parts. So the hull would be mostly dark, while the cockpit would be relatively bright. Look at one of the fighter shinemaps from the media VPs for an example.
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I got the glow maps to work:D
(http://img427.imageshack.us/img427/4633/screen00276kj.jpg)
Sorry about the big pic, thats what I get for playing at maximum resolution.
But the reflection map doesn't really work. Though all I did was adjust the brightness and contrast. Either way I can live with the thing being very shiny. Last problem: On SOME missions the engine flare doesn't appear. It just was never there! Any cure for this overly buggy fighter?
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Missing thruster effects might have nothing to do with your design. How old / new FS Open build are you using? In some older builds there seems to have been a little bug that caused any non directly fredded models (= chosen from loadout screen and not present in mission in other ways) to lose their thruster effects.
IMHO try CVS 20/09 to get thrusters visible. link (http://fs2source.warpcore.org/exes/latest/September2005/)
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I'm using the latest 3.6.7 build. And I have no idea what that stuff is on that link
20050920-redmenace.rar 20-Sep-2005 02:39 3.3M ???
What does this stuff do?
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Stuff at the end of the link is a collection of quite new builds. Just extract the fs2_open_r-20050920.exe from the archive (20050920-redmenace.rar) file to your FS2 directory and then use launcher's browse button to select the proper (new) exe file. You might also need to do the OpenAL (dll) installation.
I think there are better instructions somewhere around here however... In fsdoc or under the Source Code Project perhaps?
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It looks to me like your shinemaps are working. You have to have environment mapping on to get environmental reflections, and environment mapping doesn't work at all in OpenGL.
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The relfections work on the entire ship but the reflected amount is the same on the entire ship and not just the cockpit so its a little bugged.
Ok, should be working now. This is the very last problem I'm getting and I really mean last as in once this one problem is gone it should be perfect:
I was flying my ship and was thrown around like a potato just by being hit by subach blasts and explosions. I can stand being thrown around by missiles but a subach tossing me away??? no way. I only modified the subach laser to move faster so that it would go alot faster than my ship. What would cause a blast or a hit to disorient my fighter?
Hmm, in PCS my fighter has a mass setting of over 900... but the herc is only 187. Could this be the problem?
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try decreasing the masses of the weapons proportionaly to the amount you increased their velocity...
Ex, if you doubled the velocity give it 1/2 the mass...
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Odd happenings with even the lightest hits or strange rotations in engine wash can be caused by poorly assigned MoIs (Moments of Inertia). Try to find design with similar profile and size and copy the MoI values with for example the ModelView.
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I increased the subach's speed by 50% but I decreased it's mass to 0.02 but it still tossed me around.
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MoI. Changed through Modelview. Open a :v: fighter and copy the values from there into yours.
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You shouldn't be changing weapons at the same time as you're trying to import a ship. If your ship is being thrown around by subach blasts then it's a problem with the ship, not the weapons, changing them will only cause headaches in the long run (unless you have some other reason to change them).
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Haha, thats what makes modding so fun! Fixing mistakes is more than half the effort and fun. Testing is the more annoying part of modding, takes time, effort, observation, constant in and out of game changes, and lots of pain. And thank you for the answer, good thing I still have ModViewer. Btw, I just found out that I had Direct3d8 set and not OpenGL, whats the difference in gameplay when this is set.
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Ok, my friend next door made a new fighter for FS2 and I put it ingame but it crashes several minutes into a mission every time I piloted it. It's polycount is 2800 (Maya 6 exporting problem, it was 1860 polies but now...). 6 gun banks, 1 missile bank, and a few average and normal number changes in the ship table. So what could cause it to crash the game?
(http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/1276/malak7aj.jpg)
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Let me guess, you haven't given it a dockpoint. And you've either got a friendly AI using one, or you're flying it yourself and calling for support.
All fighters MUST have a dockpoint, or the game will crash. This has been fixed in the most recent SCP builds I think, but it's still good practice to have one.
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Don't take me for a fool I know that crash before I even started modding. I added dockpoints and paths and NO ONE called for support. Also the game 'freezes' and not 'crashes and returns to desktop
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I'm not taking you for anything, that's just by far the most common cause of something not working.
If you've changed the tables, even trivially, there's two potential things at work. You need to isolate the problem to the model (use a stock table with equivalent gun/missile point numbers and change ONLY the model). And did you say it has 6 gun banks? Because more than three are not supported.
It may be crashing because of the shield mesh too. The older versions of the Max exporter messed up the sheild chunk pretty badly, so if you're using that then it's a possibility. However, beyond that, we'd need to know a lot more about how you're running the game to make any sort of determination as to what you're running in to.
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I said banks and not slots. 6 slots would be crazy! I have 6 banks but 2 slots (one has 4 banks the other has 2). I'm using the max 6 exporter but it had no problem last time I exported my Whirlwind fighter. However... the shield thing might be a cause but even when I'm hit the game doesn't crash, its as if its on a timer. However there is a big difference between my Whirlwind and my friends Malak, he made his in Maya and I imported it into 3ds which is quite problematic considering the programs use different 'ways' of dealing with modeling. In fact, his program says the Malak is 1650 polies but mine is 3300.
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That's a terminology thing. A bank is a set of firing points, as is a slot. I'm used to the two being synonimous. Six firing points across two banks is fine.
So you've got a model that can be safely substituted in to the Loki table entry. Try doing that and see if it still crashes.
You're new enough that you should have the converter with working shields, so I actually doubt that's the problem. However, if that was what is causing the crash, it wouldn't necessarily happen any time you get hit. Only certain shield segments would cause that.
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Usually, my problem is when it explodes or even below 10% and takes a killing blow..... Till then everything is fine.
BTW inferno (I think) had a fighter with 10 slots (firing points) in one bank and it worked just fine (SOC chaos?)
How about uploading the file(s) and have someone else look at it. Since someone more familiar with the process might spot something you haven't noticed yet.
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Sure, I am willing to upload it but... I'm going to have to use YouSendIt so it will only be up for a week or so.
Btw guys, I love FS2 modding! It is SO easy! I'm already modeling my third craft and planning my first capital ship.
Download via YouSendIt (http://s25.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2O0M7SDZH5I9T1MNH8RX8OBHLJ)
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It's the shield. Specifically, lower rear shield. And it managed to hard-lock FS2 as well; I've still got that darned lock-on beep looping in the background.
Man, you guys have really done it now. This crash managed to completely break the Windows XP sound API. The repeating beep didn't stop until my machine physically powered off (kept going through logout, shutdown, everything). Nice work.
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Damn man I'm sorry. But I did get the beeping for a while but it stopped after I got the task manager to shut FS2 down. But how do I fix that shield though?
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Darn it, another crash with my new model. Same way as the last, game froze.
8 Gun Firepoints (4 assigned to one bank)
4 Missile Firepoints (2 assigned to one bank)
Imported docking and paths modified to fit fighter
regular shield mesh
Game ran for a few minutes then froze. Shields again?
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OMG not Stratcom! Noooooooooo!
*Send repair crews immediately!*
(huggles Titan file)....
Hope you're back up soon SC...
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One of two things. The first is iffy, but you should make absolutely sure you have the latest version of the POF exporter for Max. (At 25 posts per page, it's on page 17). If that's what you have, download it again. If it still crashes after a clean export, then you'll need to use Truespace and PCS to convert the shield and then import it onto your model with PCS. Try the POF converter again first, and if you can't figure out how to export a dummy ship with your fighter's shields check back in and I'll try to walk you through it.
And it was only broken until a restart. Thus me saying it took a complete power off to get it stopped, implying that it had stopped ;)
Glad I'd be missed though ;)
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If you want to make things easy, just find a current fighter or bomber with a shield mesh the appropriate shape, then import and scale it with ModelView.
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Tried that Galemp, didn't work. The mesh just reverted back to it's old self somehow. And I'm going to check the new version now.
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I can't stand double posting but I also can't stand pressing that edit button all the time so:
My newest fighter (code named: Thunder) seemed to work ingame now but I'm not sure if it was because of the newer exporter. I could have been a total fluke because I removed the old plug-in and got a 'fresh' one which didn't have some kind of problem cause by 3ds. But there WAS a sign that it worked, my 2 recent models (the Malak and Thunder) had a MOI of 0.000 in model viewer at first but my first fighter (the Whirlwind) had MOI already in even though it was over the top and caused alot of bouncing around. When I re-exported the Thunder it had MOIs so it could mean a working model. However I only recently tested the Thunder in a small training mission with little problems.
(http://img439.imageshack.us/img439/5851/heavyfighter7es.jpg)