Model Naming Convention

[Casuir]

What parts are ESSENTIAL, and how does the game determine which parts will display on any given model in a unit.

Not sure but theres models missing one or more of the main body parts, (some aztecs have no arms or legs), could be the engine just uses whatevers in the file.

Actual polygons are all the same ( do they HAVE to be? )

Nope

Does the game pick one at random ?

It would appear so, there doesnt seem to be anyway of controlling it

Since there are different numbers of parts for each 'chunk' I can assume they are mix and match. Again...does there HAVE to be 4 of these, 3 bodies...and are these values linked to something in model_db.

No on both counts

The model has 5 heads.... no helmet. When I compare this with, say, the Scot noble, the helmet is named head_helmet_short_hair_01, 02 with some variations to the central portion. Does a head just have to start head_ and end with _01, _02 etc ? That would make sense. The middle portion allows the modeller to differentiate. The start block tells the game what part of the whole thing it is, and the final part gives it a number of variations to choose from.

Each of these attachment types can have multiple variations. There is no limit on variations for any of the meshes. They are simply marked as thier mesh type (attachment, attachment1, head, body etc etc) and then the individual variation meshes are named with a sequential numbering. Head01 head02 head03 head04, pouch01, pouch02, pouch03 etc. The engine then knows to choose one of each variation by its numbering.

Not sure how grumpys exporter handles the name but the actual numbering doesnt seem to matter, berdiche_axemen for example has head_01, 12 ,07 and 08.

Lastly...the weapons. The peasant has 3 different types of pitchfork... Are their weapons randomly variable... or do they have some measure of control over which one is used?

All the mixing and matching seems to be random