Any decent free 3d modelling tools/animation creating tools?

[orgo.love]

As I improve my modding skills, I've gone from editing the basic text files, to using idx extractors/editors, and finally to graphic editing.

To go any further from here in making a new unit, would require me to learn 3d editing. However, all up to now I have been using free utilities, and 3dmax is an expensive piece of software. Are there any free 3d modelling tools/animation creating tools?


Btw, screenshot of how far I've gotten :D

Notice:
retextured RED druid-"fire mage"
new unit card (and also not shown but matching unit info pic as well)
fireballs coming out of the "fire mage"-not just one!
units being thrown everywhere due to the mage's force field attack
invincibility! This is a battle between 1 fire mage and 420 urban cohorts :O (no console cheats involved)





Right now, I'm trying to see if I can change the fireball into a blue flame and make an "ice mage."

[Makanyane]

ah - that means half of my answer to you in other thread about changing the texture name in 3dsmax wasn't going to be any use.....

no there isn't a free 3d modelling tool that you can use to export models in the right format for RTW (verc's script doesn't export from gmax only import)

you can save from gmax and get someone who has 3dsmax to open and re-export it for you if you can find someone (or get your models mainly sorted out and use the 30day trial of 3ds to do it yourself)



If you move onto modelling for M2tw you can use Milkshape3d for most things which is much, much cheaper (about $30 ish)


(I'm starting to feel quite sorry for the poor Julii in your mod!)

[Raz]

Don't know too much about importing/exporting but I know that Anim8er is a free 3D modeling tool. Sorry I couldn't be much more help.

[Herkus]

Blender is the best open source 3D editor in my opinion.
You can download it from their site.
www.blender.org

[Myrddraal]

Good work orgo.love

You're learning the fun way, and fast by the looks of things

[Flying Pig]

How have you made a unit of 1? Surely it needs to be 6 at least...

[Ibrahim]

got a question:

I got both G-max and blender, got the CAS importer/exporter, (i know it works with G-max), but I can't load the friggin CAS files! HELP!

[Makanyane]

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=76577

have a look at the Roman_Man's explanation to me about how to load script - you're probably missing the last stage where you actually select it on the right hand side panel.......


EDIT: Flying Pig, the unit card says there were 15 in the unit

[Ibrahim]

sorry, but I don't get the part past the utilities button bit (pictures of it can help)

[Ibrahim]

never mind-I got it running; thanks!
now next question(s)
anyone knows how to replace a curved sword with a straight one?

[Myrddraal]

@Flying Pig.

There is a workaround which envolves making a unit into a mount, and giving him 6 or more invisible riders.

@Ibrahim

This envolves using 3DS max or another model editor to physically replace the sword in the model with a curved one (which you could take from another unit). Once that's done, you'll have to get it's texture right (the textures are all in one for a unit, it's body textures are in the same file as its weapons). Check out Hoggy's modelling tutorial, it'll help.

[Ibrahim]

can you provide a link?
thanks in advance!

[Makanyane]

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=50461

is the one on head swapping - similar principles should apply

their might be more look in
links and downloads - models section

[Ibrahim]

one last thing: where may I get a program that is free, downloadable, full version, and can read/modify/make dds files?
thanks again for the link

[Myrddraal]

I believe Gimp has a plugin for it. Gimp is a pretty good image editor (apparently, though I can't get used to it), there's a downloadable plugin that allows you to load and save dds files.

[Ibrahim]

the GIMP plug in? that vile, retched, decrepid pain in the rear abomination? ; that's the reason I put in my last post for a .dds reader

how do I get it to work (I have had GIMP from day 1)

[Myrddraal]

Your guess is as good as mine unfortunately, I've never used it.

[beatoangelico]

irfanview supports dds natively, but it's only a viewer

[Makanyane]

see this thread
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=99491
Paint.net was being recommended and they seemed to think it supported dds for editing without plug-in.

I never had any problem getting the plug-in to work for GIMP though.....
think you just need the dds.8bi plug in from nvidia placed in the
GIMP-2.0\Plug-Ins\File Formats
folder...

I have to open the dds from inside GIMP though - windows doesn't seem to want to recognise it as a program that will open the file from the explorer menu.

[Seth Krn3ll]

Notice:
retextured RED druid-"fire mage"
new unit card (and also not shown but matching unit info pic as well)
fireballs coming out of the "fire mage"-not just one!
units being thrown everywhere due to the mage's force field attack
invincibility! This is a battle between 1 fire mage and 420 urban cohorts :O (no console cheats involved)



Right now, I'm trying to see if I can change the fireball into a blue flame and make an "ice mage."

I'm working to make a unit (Saruman) able to fire firebolts like those druids, but I'm stuck at one point:

First, as I need him to be a single unit, I made him a mount: added saruman_mount as a mount model in descr_mount, added saruman_isengard as soldier type cavalry in export_descr_unit, added saruman_mount model in descr_model_battle.
It all works, now I have my all alone Saruman in battlemap.

The hard point is about giving him missile firepower.

Saruman is now a mount unit, so his pri_attack is out of use (will be added to his invisible raiders, and they do not have ability to combat)
His attack is the secondary one, and there is no ranged attack there, because the game recognizes a missile type attack only in primary attack.

So as far as now all I can get is saruman going all alone and smashing enemies around in the air, but no magic fired.

Still working on that, if anyone have hints, I'll appreciate them.

[Thor the Bassist]

You could try a different method by making Saruman an officer for a unit and then have the unit comprise of (6) invisible soldiers. This then leaves Saruman as a normal troop and I think you can then have 2 attacks (unless its removed in that aswell).

What game are you doing this for because Alexander allows specific characters and so you can just make Saruman a character (I believe, I dont actually own the game but have heard this somewhere).

[Makanyane]

I don't think it will work as a mount - unless you actually want your Saruman to use an elephant skeleton so it can accept real riders....

see
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showp...6&postcount=15
and the rest of that thread for idea of using invisible siege weapon and visible officer to be the magic thrower.

EDIT: sorry just saw Thor's post - that might work too, the advantage of siege over normal unit is that you can make sure you only have one projectile coming from unit and alter its displacement so it looks like it comes from the visible officer.

[Seth Krn3ll]

You could try a different method by making Saruman an officer for a unit and then have the unit comprise of (6) invisible soldiers. This then leaves Saruman as a normal troop and I think you can then have 2 attacks (unless its removed in that aswell).

What game are you doing this for because Alexander allows specific characters and so you can just make Saruman a character (I believe, I dont actually own the game but have heard this somewhere).

Yes LOTR-TW its a mod for Alexander.

And Saruman is already a unique character in the mod, but I can't find where his statistics are set. There is not a saruman type in export_descr_units, just the model in descr_model_battle.

In the gameplay it appears as an officer, but I can't fiond the fiels where his bodyguard is set.

I don't think it will work as a mount - unless you actually want your Saruman to use an elephant skeleton so it can accept real riders....

Yup, I tried sort a workaround, but it worked: I already have saruman going aroudn and battling as a mount. The problem is that I can't give him ranged attack.


I'll work on both your hints, thanks.

[Ibrahim]

thanks! I got the skins of the Arabs changed (skeleton's proving harder)

them elephant-men (for extreme power of theirs) are awsome