How to Model New 3D Units

[Roman_Man#3]

Yes, I am lost as well in gmax. Could someone just simplify it a bit, I am hopelessly lost.


RM3


ps. Caledonian Rhyfelwyr, you need to draw a box around the model with the selection tool to grab the vertices, and then you hit the weld selection button.

[tofu_san]

Hi,

I am a bit lost too. I get the basic idea (like most computer stuff, all pretty logical).

One basic question. I have created a carthaginian archer unit (based on easter archer unit) and after a bit of fiddling, in custom mode everything looks good, except that the carthaginians won't fight!!

By that I mean, I think the basic archer unit has a knife whilst the skeleton I have used is is for a sword. (Does anyone know what the hc is for in the skeleton name e.g hc_swordsman is it cavalry based?).

What do I need to do to get a weapon in their hands (which is easiest):-

1) Change the archer skeleton with 3ds Max so he has a sword?
2) Change texture with Photoshop so that he has a sword.
3) Change a file some-where to point some-where else. (I got an error when I tried skeleton hc_fast knife)

I am guessing it is option 1?

Cheers.

[Squid]

IIRC If you want a model to use a different weapon you'll need to change the model. Then you'll need to change the texture, then you'll need to change the animations (which is sounds like you've already done).

Just as a note: If you're moding vanilla, there is a carthaginian_archer model already in DMB, and there is a texture for it in the pak files that isn't in the default game. If you implement it, it will work like the numidian archer (i.e. dagger not sword as secondary weapon IIRC)

[tofu_san]

You're right, I did use the numidian archer file that was already there.

But I guess the program doesn't know that a model with a longer weapon is a sword compared to a shorter one, so I'm still not sure what to do here. There must be a way to link the weapons, no?

I don't mind the archers with either weapon. At the moment i think there is no weapon because of the confilct between the description (archer, secondary weapon is a knife) and the skeleton llokup description (weapon is a sword) I think, so not sure if changing the model or texture is the answer?

[tofu_san]

It's all hunky dorey now. I forced them to fight hand to hand and the knives do appear (sure they didn't first time I tried though?).

I think I was also put off by the fact that the bow is in left hand but their right hand is stuck out as if there should be something there, but I tested other umodded bog standard cav archer units and they all look like this (well they do with my lame graphics card anyway)

[Squid]

I meant there is a carthaginian texture for the archer (it just isn't used) it looks like the numidian one, but is in white. To change which animation a unit uses you need to change the skeletons in DMB.

You can use the carthaginian texture by adding this to the carthaginian_archer model where the numidian texture line is located.

texture			carthage, data/models_unit/textures/unit_carthage_light_archer_carthage.tga

EDIT: The default skeletons for the carthaginian_archer should be fs_semi_fast_archer, fs_semi_fast_dagger if you use these when the unit does melee combat it will use its dagger. And as a note you can't just change the texture to add a sword its more involved then that. There's a tutorial for adding new units to the game in the tools section if you look it up it will give you better instructions.

[tofu_san]

Yeah,

I have already inputted that line of text. I see that for each unit available to a faction there is a separate texture lookup line.

I don't think the default skeletons you suggest were correct as I think (but not sure) that fs_blah_blah denotes a footsoldier and hc_blah_blah denotes cavalry mounted soldier skeleton, so when I used fs_archer... the unit was on top of a horse but standing without bent legs which looked a bit weird, like some-one sitting on the footpegs of a motorbike!

Changing to hc seemed to sort this out, but I couldn't change to fs_hc_semi_fast_archer and dagger because this returned an error of no such skeleton to look up so I went for fs_hc_archer and fs_hc_swordsman and this seemed to sort things out and the unit actually still fight with a knife. I would be interested to know why using the fc_hc_swordsman file I used didn't make the figure appear with a sword, does the texture file with the knife overide this or is it becauase the primary weapon file is a bow? I am sure I got the idea because that is how other archer units in RTW are set up
as well.

[meliritos]

Hello all. Recently I confronted the following problem. When i used cylidrical mapping to map a new model for RTW, although the mapping coordinates looke fine in 3d max, when i imported it as a .cas file the model appeared with a dreadful distortion. Wlesmana suggested that the .cas importer works in a simplified way, much simplier than 3d max, so i used only planar mapping and it worked without this distortion. But the problem is that only cylindrical mapping produces the results i want. Is there sth to do about it so that i can use cylidrical mapping without worrying that the outcome will be horrible? Has anyone else encountered the same problem with cylindrical mapping. And what does the Grand Master, Hoggy himself has to say about that? Help me master...

[ole-warhammer]

Any other programs than 3ds max? I have used it up :P

[Aradan]

Well, there is always gmax, but it certainly doesn't have the same capabilities as 3dsMax

[ole-warhammer]

When I import CAS files in BI, what CAS file? LOd 1, 2,3 or 4?

[ole-warhammer]

Sorry for double posting.

Plz help me. On me, it is not skin on it :(

The texture path is this:
D:\Program Files\Activision\Rome - Total War\Data\models_unit

And do you use LOD 1, 2, 3 or LOD 4?

[Makanyane]

sorry no idea on the skin - I'm not sure you can view texture properly in gmax if that is what you are using now? (at least I couldn't work out how to make it do it either)

As far as the lod's are concerned, I think that lod1 is the 'large resolution' version, so logically you'd load that one and make changes to that. You can run game using only lod1 models, just replace the references to the other ones in the DMB file. If you wanted to re-make the smaller ones you need to search for 'making low-poly models' I think, and re-make them from your new lod1 so it ties up.

You'll have guessed by now I'm not a modeller so hopefully someone else will help....

[Marcus Furius Camillus]

say, I' can't find the .CAS extractor, can I dowload it with another link ?

[Makanyane]

It's listed in various places, unfortunately so are some dead links! A working one is:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/downl...do=file&id=141

[Charge]

нах, типа fixed

[Marcus Furius Camillus]

k, thank's

[Seth Krn3ll]

erm.. not sure what that is. Check you're importing into a clean scene ie one with nothing in it. Check you are not importing one of the .CAS files that says it's an older version. Check that you have the texture that is used on the unit unpacked... If it still doesn't work best to look here http://www.stratcommandcenter.com/fo...p?showforum=35
to see if your question has been asked by someone else.

Having the same error here, and well, it can't be an older .CAS given its a totally new model (a overlay scene actually). I took the scene root from the roman huge city overlay and created ex-novo all the other meshes.

here's the message:


If anyone have suggestions I'd appreciate them, thanks.

Seth