Unit Models- Help??

[knoddy]

Hey all just wondering could someone possilby write me an idiots guide to creating/editing unit modles etc. im pretty good at the text editing side of things but cannont create completly new units cos i cant create/edit models. if there is one already a guide around just point me in the right direction. cheers all ~:cheers:

[Myrddraal]

Heres a good one to get you started: Click here (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=39733)

By the way, Read my SIG...

[Malachus]

In all honesty Myrddraall, he didn't violate your sig. He asked a question, which is what you say the general modding forum is for.

[Duke John]

He posted in the Tutorials forum, Myrddraal moved it. And like the sticky and subforum description read, that subforum is not meant for questions. But hey, when will people bother to read descriptions before posting...

[Myrddraal]

In all honesty Myrddraall, he didn't violate your sig. He asked a question, which is what you say the general modding forum is for.

Exactly, thats why I moved it here ~;)

I don't like to leave re-directs in the tutorials forum, I do in the forge, but the tutorial forum needs to be free of clutter...

[Bwian]

OK..idiots quide.... this is about as simple as I can break it down. So simple even the executive commitee of the Judean Peoples Front could figure it out ~;)

Step 1) Get a copy of 3DS Max or the free GMax....which I understand also works

Step 2) Get an appropriate version of Vercingetorix's plugin for Max ( I know R5 and R6 are supported..other versions of Max might be as well )

Step 3) Learn to use Max. Here's a modeller I prepared earlier....

Step 4 ) Build your model. I have used double sided sticky tape for speed, but you should use glue. Cover it in sticky back plastic and leave to dry overnight.

Step 5) Attach your UV mapped model to the skeleton, and sort out the vertex weighting. Ensure all teh correct verts are attached to the correct bones.

Step 6) Export your CAS file

Step 7) Write all the stats and unit data up in the necessary text files and go play with it!!!

Now....any of that not clear...er..probably most of it...

[knoddy]

lol thanx for the help guys i will get to it as soon as i get a chance and if i have anymore problems i will let u know sorry bout posting in the wrong place too i realised after the post it was in the wrong place and was most affronted when i thought u had deleted it cos i couldnt find it but its all good now and i will direct all new questions in the right place. cheers

[knoddy]

ok well i got a copy of gmax and registered and everything but i cannot open CAS files to edit them is there some form of file compression here that i have to get around or wot. how exactly do i open the unit files in order to edit textures etc.

[Myrddraal]

Step 2) Get an appropriate version of Vercingetorix's plugin for Max ( I know R5 and R6 are supported..other versions of Max might be as well )

Thats the bit you missed. You need Vercingetorix's CAS extractor. To find the download, look in the complete list of tools in the guides forum.

[Tux]

Dont you you mean pak extractor for the textures or idx for animation?

[Bwian]

The PAK extractor will get the texture files out of the compressed archive, along with a full set of models. There are already ( if I rememebr rightly ) models outside of the pak. You can open them with the script file, but you won;t see them textured unless you extract the textures from the PAK file.

There is a good tutorial in the 'tools and tutorials' section on using the PAK extractor. It is a little tricky to use until you get used to it. It has to go in the right directory or it won't find the files :D

Get the script file for CAS import / export first, and get that to work. You should be able to get the CAs files in to look at the mesh that way.

[knoddy]

ok so i downloaded Gmax the free version and registered and downloaded the CAS extractor. but it is just a script file so i load the script into gmax and try to run.... nothing happens. if i try to open cas files i just gets error messages. can someone tell me wot im doin wrong or wot it is im not doin please cheers all.

[Bwian]

when you run teh script, you should get some extra options in your 'utility' section of Max. One of which is 'import CAS'. This is a picture I pinched from Hoggy's tutorial on making new models. The 'utility' one is the icon shaped like a hammer....
http://hoggy.metw.net/other/gud1.jpg

You cannot import CAS files using the 'import' option...this is a script, not a plugin. Also, using 'open' will likewise give you grief.

If you are running the script from the dropdown option at the top of the screen, it will appear as if nothing has happened!

In fact... go immediately to Hoggy's thread, and read it right through. Pay particular attention to Post 21 from Maly Jacek. This shows exactly how to activate the script. Now..it's shown in Max, but I understand Gmax should have an identical layout. Never used GMax myself.... but I understand it is the same.

[knoddy]

MAN OH MAN i had a look at the ones u suggested and did exactly as it say but when in the pictures they r suppose to get a thing where u can select to import cas i get nothing :furious3: :furious3: :furious3: :furious3: :furious3:
its really starting to annoy me i dont think im doin anything wrong it all looks the same except mine doenst have the little it that says import RTW export RTW like in the pictures in the guide man oh man

[knoddy]

lol HAHAAHAHA dont worry i fixed it so now im off to try and edit stuff an make stuff look cewl hehe thanx for all the help guys if i have anymore questions i will let u know

[knoddy]

well it seems to me that someone just doesnt want me to edit the units n stuff lol. i thought i had gmax all figured out and working well but when i try to export my edited unit files to CAS i get an error

--Runtime error:feature not avaliable: "fopen write mode"

could someone please tell me wtf this is and how to fix it cheers
p.s sorry bout the multiply posts but i keep thinking this is workin then get another crazy error. i also had some spare time this morning and have spent a while playing round so yeah.

[Spoonfrog]

Step 1) Get a copy of 3DS Max or the free GMax....which I understand also works I am hearing conflicting things about whether gmax can be used or not. I get the same error as knoddy when exporting with gmax (importing seems to work ok). This is what the script looks like after an export attempt:

-- Error occurred in exportButton()
-- Frame:
-- importPly: undefined
-- texname: undefined
-- fname: "C:\Documents and Settings\Desktop\test.cas"
-- dynamicArray: undefined
-- gChunk2: undefined
-- fp: undefined
-- bChunk: undefined
-- staticmArray: undefined
-- header: undefined
-- tCheck: undefined
-- null: undefined
-- gChunk1: undefined

Perhaps the scripting for gmax is more limited, so it does not understand the function "fopen" or something...

[knoddy]

well seeing as i cant get it to work i have downlaoded 3ds max and will attempt to get the export feature working with that but knowing my luck it wouldnt suprise me if i got more errors so ill prolly be back later complaining again lol cheers.

[knoddy]

YAY it works fine i created my first unit and it looks great i was goin to post screenies but for some reason whenever i take screenies in RTW it just takes a screen shot of a black screen so oh well lol.

[Sundjata Keita]

You can import models into gmax and edit them but you can't export them so you have to send them to someone with 3ds max to export them for you.

[Myrddraal]

Heres a tip knoddy, if you press print screen and minimise, then it will have copied the screen to the clipboard so you can paste into any pic editor.

[knoddy]

lol well i got my screenie and she looks all nice and stuff but i dont have a faintest idea how to place it in the thread if someone out there knows how(lol like every one else) please let me know so i can show my Parthia Infantry unit. lol maybe not historically accurate and sure i pinched the skin from the Eastern general but hey he goes hard and thats wots important lol