Help Needed - Mob Modeling

[Windcatcher]

Absolutely we're taking in models for SimpleClient, but there's a real lag in terms of time before you'll see them ingame, as so far I'm the only one doing the rigging...

If you supply models already rigged, I need them to be rigged in Anim8or as that is the only model format that OpenZone understands. If you want to just supply a model, it can be in any format that I can import into Anim8or, such as .3DS.

[Runeblade]

Hey, this probably isnt the best place to ask a quick question but I currently have a thread up in the support so I didnt want to start another already.

The question is- Does the weapons being put into te gequip8 file need to be textured to be seen in game? So far I haven't used any textured weapons and none of them are showing up. A quick example: I just did another sword and was invisible then I did a plain cube and was invisible. Both with coordinates 0,0,0 in the middle of the cube and on the hilt.

Now when there dropped on the ground there still invisible but I to pick them up I have to click on different area's, so its proving that the model is their on the ground in correct form but I just cannot see the model.

Models im going to use as Npcs though are working fine.
Ex: *Open source, not mine*
http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w...t=EQ000411.jpg
http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w...t=EQ000409.jpg
I'll import them as specific untargeted zone objects like those above and see what I get.

[Runeblade]

Well I've been at it since the last time I replied. From 1a.m. to 11:49am ive been fiddling with importing and exporting models at my fastest pace but I still havent figured out this program. The most I ever got most of the time was just 1 part of the weapon, namely the hilt. Once though with a weapon in just 1 part I got the full model in, which was very sweet at the time, but never had one part of any model a different color then white.

I figured that maybe if I put in a weapon that had more then one piece( a weapon that had 2 or more models overlapping to make the whole model) it would only load 1 piece. It seemed the case when I attached the elf model to my short sword and sure enough, half of the elf model was showng floating above me ( It has 2 parts to the model).

Along witht that I found that ordinary material coloring doesn't even show ur model. Its just invisible but u can still pick up the model off the ground. But if i apply a texture from say a bitmap image, then i can see my model, but only in a white coloring.

Basically i've tried everything, models with and without texture mapping, models with just 1 and more then 1 part, adjusting the 0,0,0 origin point around, etc.

So idk. Getting static Npcs to show and hav texture on has worked fine since the start. But exporting objects in the gequip8 file has been a real pain. Idk just looking for some comments, maybe a walkthrough to show what a model needs to be exported out of OZ and some screenies of some weapons working ingame with or without texture?

Sorry for such a long post lol

[Scorpious2k]

Originally Posted by Runeblade

Basically i've tried everything, models with and without texture mapping, models with just 1 and more then 1 part, adjusting the 0,0,0 origin point around, etc.

So idk. Getting static Npcs to show and hav texture on has worked fine since the start. But exporting objects in the gequip8 file has been a real pain. Idk just looking for some comments, maybe a walkthrough to show what a model needs to be exported out of OZ and some screenies of some weapons working ingame with or without texture?

Sorry for such a long post lol

1) you have to texture everything

2) all textures have to be .BMP files and sized in powers of 2 - 8 X 8, 64 X 128, 256 X 256, 512 X 1024... each side has to be a power of 2 (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, etc ). They can be the same (square) or different making a retangular texture. But in the case of textures, size does matter.

3) if you are importing 3ds, it always copies the colors used and adds them to the texture, but it doesn't ever work the way I think it should, making objects that look fine in OZ but black in eq for example. I normally have to go in and edit the color out

[Runeblade]

Thanx for the reply Scorpius. I have been using 512x512 bmp for my texturing but for weapon models I always get a white model but static zone objects are fine. I'll fiddle around with them some more and see if I can learn anything else.

[oldlurker]

Windcatcher: Do you know of the Worldforge project? Especially the Ember client looks very promising and has quite a good choice of models, maybe there is a efficient way to convert these to your client.

http://wiki.worldforge.org/wiki/Ember

There are videos that show the model and terrain editor in action.

[Runeblade]

Alright i've been waiting to really get started on customizing a zone until I made sure I could do everything I visioned and was wondering is it possible to add npcs with custom models or change npcs models to a custom model?

3 Main questions

1. Custom armor- What is the extent of custom armor? Can I make my own chestplate skin or maybe even model where as I equip the chestplate item and it shows up on my char as my customized skin/model?
*Helmet models seem the closest to been customized and find it strange that any helmet that shows, being leather,chain,plate etc is all under the model IT63. Seems odd that a plate mail helmet would be using the same model as a leather head piece. Cloth helmets though don't show up and have a model number of 0. I guess not showing gives it that number.*

2. Model Swap- How do I swap eq models with my custom made ones? I have a real trippy idea that I could whip up in a day or two with a custom model, a couple of npcs,an added waypoint grid, and custom quest.

3. Zone size- Why are eq zones the size they are? Why arent like north and south qeynos hooked together or all the karana's? Is it so you dont have a mob chasing you over 3 zone lengths to get to safety for the karana's since dieing there was a pain back in kunark and qeynos having to many npcs to handle in 1 zone for the old hardware of the time?

Zone size- If its just something simple I would like to increase zone parimeters by x3 but only if my second question *Model Swap* is do-able.

If I can get info on how to do one or both of those, I'll start overhauling new zones like crazy with buildings, scenery, etc. I've been staying up 2days sleeping just afew hours sometimes so I can get this moving before school starts >.<

Extra - I've played with Anim8or for an hour and it is alittle different then my old Gmax program for rigging and animating and is frustrating atm but i'll learn .

[John Adams]

I think if you make super-massive zones, it might kill the performance of most PC-based servers running the emulator. Not to mention what it might do to memory. I am pretty sure that's the sole purpose for everything being chunked in the first place (ala SOE). Though there was probably also some "immersion" reasons behind zones, too.