A start on the .MESH file format

[GrumpyOldMan]

Hi Bwian

I know you were bringing in the skeletons as an exercise in creating a new mesh but I couldn't resist playing with the Cas convert tool. I actually found two zips on my hard drive with Cas skeleton figures and I think they're both yours.











Hope you don't mind.

Edit:- Have been playing a game with skeleton archers taking on Urukhai pikemen and there is a distinct slowdown when using large amounts of skeletons, I used the 'med' Cas figure as the base and that has around 1200 tris, this is about twice the normal m2tw tris count (for what is shown for each figure). The m2tw engine does not cull backfaces so rather than make meshes for the ribs (this takes up about 300 tris) you could use a normal body and map the ribs on the texture with alpha transparency, this would help cut down on tri count.

Cheers

GrumpyOldMan

[Casuir]

I think you're wrong there grumpy, most of the meshs I've got converted look to be 1500-2000 tris per ingame model, 300 tris for most heads alone.

[GrumpyOldMan]

Hi

@Casuir and Bwian

I think you're wrong there grumpy, most of the meshs I've got converted look to be 1500-2000 tris per ingame model, 300 tris for most heads alone.

Yes you're quite right Casuir, I must be coming down with 3d fever or something, I've been working so much with converted cas files I was taking their maximums as m2tw's. I just ran it again with even more units and it ran fine. I must have had something running in the background .

Cheers

GrumpyOldMan

[Bwian]

GOM ... I made a new skeleton model for MTW2, with a few extra tweaks nad a better head model. Those are definitely my old skeletons...and I can see some real benefits to having the RTW CAS-MTW2 MESH converter! I can slap together a CAS file for RTW in a matter of minutes with complete certainty .... but I still want to understand what is happeneing and why things are not working rather than have a tool do it all manually. I may need to do things this way again

I will try the bounding sphere thing. I have not looked at that properly, and need to go back when I have my thinking head on!

Bone weighting is OK. I have deliberately set it how it is, and I know it is working OK... or at least...as I expected it to! I will check you suggestion anyway to make sure I don't introduce a problem when I start proper weighting. I am still new to Milkshape as a 'proper' tool, so tips like this will stop me screwing things up while I go!g up the texture a

Also...the normal map thing sorted out my bad UV textures. The screenshot I posted was after I had fixed it, and the textures are showing correctly. It's just that bits of my skeletons seem to be missing! I'll see if the bounding sphere cure it. Fingers crossed!

Finally....those are most definitely my old skeletons! Nice to see someone downloaded them.... and nice to see them looking pretty in the MTW2 engine. These ones should look even better when done since the feet and hands are more defined, and I re-did the proportions slightly. The necks are too short relative to the shoulder position, and the sternum was very much an afterthought! The new ones have clavicles, better defined radius and ulna on the high detail LOD, and feet that look more like feet. It adds a few polygons...but in proportion to the increase in actual base model polys on the stock figures. I am lightening up the texture as well, to make them more 'desert bleached' and improving the definition on the skull for the MTW2 version. Should look a whole lot better!