[Galemp]

Hey! I've just been messing around with some modeling but I'm using TrueSpace 2 (free.) TS2 doesn't support plug-ins, so, no TrueView. How else can I do hierarchies? I'm using Sandwich's immensely useful tutorial, but without the TrueView extension I can't make seperate subobjects.

(And don't flame me and scream that I need to upgrade to TS5 or whatever. I'm going to do my best with the toold at hand, thank you very much.)

[KARMA]

upgrade to ts5:lol:

there should be the "keyframe editor" (at least there is in newer versions) that works like trueview
but even if you don't have it you should be able to do hierachies anyway:
once you have all your separate objects, glue any object individually with a light, then glue the objects (that now are groups) together, maintaining the right order (from the most perifercal to lod0), and you still should be able to select subobjects using arrows
the big problem is that in this case you can't change names. i don't know what happen if you save a mesh as a cob with a name , if the mesh takes the name of the file or not, this could be a solution, other solution would be to use lithunwrap that - if i remember well but not sure- lets you edit the name of the objects...the problem in this case is that lithunwrap doesn't save truespace hieracy properly nor it saves proper cobs (well, they works but you can't edit the shadings of a cob generated by lithunwrap), btw since there are others using ts2 or even ts1 to do hierachies i'm confident that the keyframe editor is present, maybe with different name and aspect and maybe function, but present

[Killfrenzy]

In a nutshell for a single-lod object (As I've not gotten LOD and debris to work yet!):

Main hull (LOD 0)--> on it's own.

Thrusters --> Glue AS SIBLING to local light. Glue AS CHILD to LOD 0

Subsystem objects --> Glue AS SIBLING to local light. Glue AS CHILD to LOD 0

(see a pattern emerging? )

Turrets

Turret base (or hexagonal turrets) --> Glue AS SIBLING to local light.

Turret barrels (if applicable - I've not got their axes working properly yet) --> Glue AS SIBLING to local light

Complete turret --> Glue barrels AS CHILD to base. Glue WHOLE OBJECT (base, barrels and lights) AS CHILD to LOD 0.

Shields --> Glue AS SIBLING to local light. Glue AS CHILD to LOD 0.

Shields must be triangulated, and have a monotone colour. Don't worry about which colour to use, as you can define shield colours in the tbl.



But I use True View anyways as it's about 875% easier!

[DTP]

Originally posted by GalacticEmperor
Hey! I've just been messing around with some modeling but I'm using TrueSpace 2 (free.) TS2 doesn't support plug-ins, so, no TrueView. How else can I do hierarchies? I'm using Sandwich's immensely useful tutorial, but without the TrueView extension I can't make seperate subobjects.

(And don't flame me and scream that I need to upgrade to TS5 or whatever. I'm going to do my best with the toold at hand, thank you very much.)

sry for being late, but GE, TS2 makes a complete mess when you name the different subobjects for instance if you call an object "turret01" and save the file, then TS2 renames the object to "turret,1". I think PCS ignores this and assignes the subobject as a turret anyway, but you would have less control over what object would be called what.

so to make sure you would have to HACK the SCN or COB file and rename turret,1 to turret01

but dont reopen it in truespace after you have hacked it.

--
regarding how to do hierachies.

well first off,

you need to know how to navigate through the hierachy

start by making a box(cube), a sphere, and a cone

Try and glue them all together by selecting the Cube and pressing glue as sibling and glue on the cone and the sphere by cliking on them.

note that all three are now white

press the down arrow key once(to move one level down), now only one of them are white and the others are orange.

that means the one that are white are selected, and the others are part of that group but somewhere else in the hierachy.

now press LEFT arrow button.

now you are selecting another object or group on the same level

you can do this branching to inifinity but you dont need that.

what you need to understand is that in COBTOPOF(not the program) world everything consists of groups.

all turrets are before converting, a group.
all debris are before converting,  a group.

A trick to achive this is to glue a light onto a mesh. but if you have a group that will be of several meshes that is not nescasarry. becuase when you glued them togehter you will ofcourse get a group. you just need to call the toplevel of that group the correct name.

try to distingush the differences between gluing as child
and gluing as siblings.

See how it affects the groups.

When you glue as child you will get a new top level group( and you dont want that, or you will have to do everything backwards).

I know, been there done that.

When you have glued on as sibling the toplevel group will remain the same, and it might also create a new group but only if there is no group on that level yet. and this goes for all kind of objects, regardless of type, may it be groups, meshes or lights.

thats the way you do hierachy in TS2.