Other Tutorial Threads:

How to make scope sprites (http://dayofdefeat.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6005)
How to make a MP40 in 3D Studio Max 4 (http://dayofdefeat.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10823)
1.0 Modelling FAQ (http://dayofdefeat.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1381)

The Basics
Installing Custom Models:
BACK UP YOUR OLD STUFF FIRST! If you do not like your new model you can replace it with the default.
To install a custom model or sprite you simply have to replace the old one. These are found in your dod folder (ie: serria/halflife/dod) under /models/ or /sprites/. Player models go under /models/player/TYPE (Us-inf, Us-para, ect) weapon models go in /models/. Sprites go in /sprites/ or /sprites/mapsprites/

Different model types:
There are 4 model types. normal models with no prefix, v_models, w_models, and p_models.
w_models are world weapon models. These are what you would see on the ground in the game.
p_models are the models for the weapons the other players (3rd person) are holding.
v_models are the gun that you see your atavar holding in first person.

Some models have accompanying t_models. This is because the textures are too big to hold in one file, so the textures are in a seperate .mdl

HalfLife Model Viewer
This is a very wellmade and important tool. Everyone should have this. With it you can double click on any model and it will open up for viewing. You can also import and export skins with this. Even if you do not edit models, this is still usefull. You can see hitboxes, test animations, look at the models in 3d, and much more. DOWNLOAD IT! (http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/files/hlmv125.zip)

Modeling
Basics of modeling
Halflife models are under .mdl format. These are sort of like a .zip. All the information about the model is contained inside them. You have the model, animations, and textures.
Before you can edit the models, you need to get the goodies out of the .mdl. This is achieved through Decompiling
Milkshape 3D
Before we move on to decompiling, we need to make you familiar with Milkshape (the easiest way to decompile).
This is what most halflife modelers use. Its free (30 day trial, then only 20 bucks to register) and designed for low poly modeling.
MilkShape 3D is a low-polygon modeler, which was initially designed for Half-Life. During the development, many file formats have been added.

MilkShape 3D has all basic operations like select, move, rotate, scale, extrude, turn edge, subdivide, just to mention a few. MilkShape 3D also allows low-level editing with the vertex and face tool. Primitives like spheres, boxes and cylinders are also available.

MilkShape 3D has also skeletal animation capabilities. This allows to export to morph target animation like the ones in the Quake model formats or to export to skeletal animations like Half-Life or Genesis3d.

MilkShape 3D currently supports 37 different file formats from 27 different games/ engines/programs.

Download Milkshape (http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/ms3d/download.html)
check the tutorials for more info.

Decompiling This is where the model is changed into .smd files, textures, and a .qc file. You can import the .smd into milkshape for editing.
Decompiling in milkshape: There are 2 different decompilers in this. open milkshape and go to TOOLS>HALFLIFE>DECOMPILE NORMAL HALFLIFE .MDL. This way isnt too great because using it sometimes distorts the textures on your model and you will need to realign them. The best way is to use Kratisto'd decompiler (TOOLS>KRATISTO'S DECOMPILER) because it decompiles them perfectly.
You can also use a .bat to decompile. This doesnt require milkshape. You can use Kratisto's decompiler in .exe form, and right click models to decompile (see next post down for DL)

Compiling
CLICK HERE FOR THE PLAYER MODEL COMPILER (http://www.dayofdefeatmod.com/john/studiomdl.exe)
This is always tricky for starters and vets alike. Compiling is the process of putting back (or from scratch) a .mdl. Getting the .qc right is a hassle, and there are many problems incountered in this process.
First double click the .qc and choose to open with notepad.
This is what a .qc looks like in notepad:


$modelname "C:\scrim\allie-sniper.mdl"
$cd "c:\scrim\"
$cdtexture "c:\scrim\"
$cliptotextures
$externaltextures

$scale 1.0

// 1 attachments
$attachment 0 "Bip01 L Hand" 0.000000 -1.000000 -1.000000
$attachment 1 "Bip01 R Hand" 37.000000 -11.000000 -3.000000
$attachment 2 "Bip01 R Hand" 42.000000 -13.000000 -3.000000
$attachment 3 "Bip01 R Hand" 49.000000 -14.500000 -3.000000


// 4 bone controllers
$controller 0 "Bip01 Spine" XR -30 30
$controller 1 "Bip01 Spine1" XR -30 30
$controller 2 "Bip01 Spine2" XR -30 30
$controller 3 "Bip01 Spine3" XR -30 30

// 21 hit boxes
$hbox 3 "Bip01 Pelvis" -5.000000 -5.000000 -7.000000 1.500000 6.000000 7.000000

$bodygroup body
{
studio "brit_body"
}

$bodygroup helmet
{
studio "brit_helmet"
}

$bodygroup head
{
studio "brit_head5"
}

// 330 sequences
$sequence look_idle "look_idle" loop fps 14 ACT_IDLE 2

You can compile in milkshape, but it usually will not work. Use the DoD Beta 3 Studiomld.exe included in the .zip below. all you have to do it drag the .qc into the .exe and it should compile.
The qc has to be edited to work right. Make sure the top three options are pointing to the folder its in. make sure all the refs and smds/textures are in that folder.
A common error of not compiling can be fixed by adding the line $externaltextures to the .qc. This makes the textures be in a seperate t_model.

Model Transparency
This new feature in 1.0 allows you to use a blue texture to not show up ingame. This is usefull for creating holes without wasting polys.
You can find a tutorial here. (http://collective.valve-erc.com/index.php?doc=1043360861-70912800)
this requite the new compiler.

Tools
MilkShape: (http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/) A shareware modeling tool (20 bucks to buy, 30 day trial) for those who want to model but cant pay the 1000s of dollars for more profesional 3D tools. This is a great program, and it easy to learn.
GMAX: (http://www.discreet.com/products/gmax/gmaxconsumer/index.html) A watered down, but free version of 3D Studio Max. You can directly make a halflife model, but you can make a m3d and open it in another tool, like milkshape, and convert it there.
3DSM: (http://www.discreet.com/products/3dsmax/) For those of you who won the lotto, or are really rich, you can pay $3,495.00 for 3D studio Max 5.0.
Refrences
Human refrences (http://www.planetquake.com/shattered/shine/images/ref/index.htm)
Tutorials
MilkShape
Introduction to Milkshape (http://www.machinima.com/displayarticle2.php?article=71)
Official Milkshape tutorials (http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/ms3d/tutorials.html)
Psionic's Milkshape 3D Tutorials (http://xu1productions.com/3dstudio/tutorials.html)
3DSM
Making a simple Spaceship (http://www.flipcode.com/tutorials/spaceship/)
Some 3DSM tutorials (http://raph.com/3dartists/tutorials/t-3dsmax.html)
Max Modeling Tutorials (http://www.oronto46.freeserve.co.uk/tutorials.html)
ZeroCartin's Modelling tutorial (http://www.planetquake.com/q3manga/oldsite/modelling_tut1.htm)
Various Helpful Modeling sites
Tips and tricks (http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.6/totb/)
Modeling a head (Q3) (http://swut.net/makingheadmodels.html)
Poly Reduction tips (http://www.planetquake.com/polycount/cottages/pixelated/hyper/tut3/tutorial3.html)
PolyCount (http://www.planetquake.com/polycount/)


Skinning
Basics of skinning
There are 3 types of skinning:
Re-Skinning: Drawing over an already existing model or making edits to it
Re-Coloring: Simple adjusting the hue/saturation, or brightness of a model to achieve a different look to the model.
Skinning from Scratch: Skinning on a brand new mesh (a colored wire frame)
BMPs All textures are 8 bit index colored bmps. They vary in size, and can be up to 512X512 (high res)
To edit a skin ALWAYS convert it to RGB mode first (IMAGE>MODE>RGB in photoshop)
Once you are happy with your skin, convert it into an index colored image. (IMAGE>MODE>INDEXED COLOR in photoshop) Keep the pallet 256 colors and check off preserve exact colors (in photoshop) You then save it as a .bmp, and check off 8bit.
Importing/Exporting in HLMV This is quite simple. To export open a model in HLMV. Click on the TEXTURE tab. select the skin you want to export, and simple click export.
To import you click TEXTURE tab and click on import, after you have selected the skin you want to import over. (THEY MUST BE THE SAME SIZE).
Tools
You will need HalfLife Model Viewer (http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/files/hlmv125.zip) to import and export skins.
Free tools
The Gimp (http://www.gimp.net/) A photoshop like tool that is free to use.
MS PAINT (www.windows.com) (You should already have this)
PaintShopPro Trial (http://www5.jasc.com/pub/psp704ev.exe) 30 days trial
Photoshop
Official site (http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/main.html) Costs about 600 dollars, but well worth it. You should be able to get version 6 for cheap. Some people sell old copies on ebay.
This is THE BEST program for photoediting. You can so so much with it.
Tips
-When starting off, use a plain grey to fill what you want to skin. Then using the burn tool you can add shading and shape it.
-Use a new layer to draw wrinkles. Draw them where the clothes would hang off the person in life.
-Use new and different brushes and lightly burn your grey skin in progress with them. There are some that can make it look like cloth. Some brushes make your metal have scratches on it.
-When you are happy with your skin, you need to colorize it. This can be done by overlay layers, or by IMAGE>ADJUST>HUE/SATURATION and checking the colorize option. Use the sliders to get the desired color.
Refrences
Clothes (http://www.planetquake.com/skindom/features/cloth/index.shtml)
Guns (http://www.securityarms.com/)
Tutorials
Skindom (http://www.planetquake.com/skindom/faq/quake2/)
Baneforge (http://www.planetquake.com/baneforge/tutorials/skin101.htm)

Meshing
Basics of Meshing
Tools
Tutorials


Animating
Basics of Animating
Animation is fairly tricky. All you really need to animate in Day Of Defeat is Milkshape3D, but it takes practice to get animating down perfectly. If you have access to it, you can use 3DSM to animate.
Tools
Milkshape3D (http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/ms3d/download.html)
Animation Master: (http://www.hash.com/) Cheapest professional animating tool.
Refrences
Tutorials
Walking Tutorial (http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.22/totb/index2.shtml)
Another Walking tutorial (http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.28/totb/)
Bring Life to low poly characters (http://www.planetquake.com/polycount/cottages/zedaxis/learn/cstut01.htm)
How to animate in character Studio (http://www.planetquake.com/polycount/resources/general/tutorials/cswingstut/cswingstut.shtml)


Sprites
Basics of Spriting
A sprite is a 2d texture that is shows in the game. This can be anything from HUD or a Sniper scope to a tree or an explosion.
They can be animated or still.
There are 3 programs you need to make and view sprites:
-a photo editing software
-Spriteviewer
-Spritewiz
Tools
Sprite tutorial (http://www.thewavelength.net/oldsite/2dart/tutorials/sprites.html)
Sprite Viewer (http://www.valve-erc.com/files/?download=/files/resources/sprview.zip)
Sprite Wizzard (http://www.valve-erc.com/files/?download=/files/resources/sprwiz.zip)
Wally (http://www.valve-erc.com/files/?download=/files/resources/wally_155b.exe)
Tutorials
Crosshair Tutorial (http://www.ticclan.com/tutorials/crosshairs-sprites.html)
Another Crosshair tutorial (http://www.dodhq.net/~omega/tutorial.htm)

Releasing
We use a tag system when releasing or requesting:
[MREL] = Model Release
[SREL] = Sprite Release
[MREQ] = Model Request
[REQ] = other Request
[REL] = other release

you can also mix it up or make your own, but be sure to include something infront of your thread name. (ie: i use |model release|)

IP Violations
IP stands for Intelectual Property. This is taking stuff from other games or someone else's work with out their premission. DONT due this. You will be banned.

Credit
Its highly frowned upon around here to not give credit when credit is due. Do not try to use someone else work and pass it as your own. If your found out people will not be happy with you.
Be sure to always give credit to people and include a readme.

Pictures
When posting pics for your releases, keep in mind that people with 56k modems may be looking at them. Try to keep your pics under 800X600. if its bigger or you have lots of pics, just link them with tags.

[u]Links
Tools
Animation Master (http://www.hash.com/)
Half Life SDK (http://dev.valve-erc.com/index.php?go=hl_sdk)
Milkshape (http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/ms3d/download.html)
HalfLife Model Viewer (http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/files/hlmv125.zip)
The Gimp (http://www.gimp.net/)
GMAX (http://www.discreet.com/products/gmax/gmaxconsumer/index.html)
Sprite Viewer (http://www.valve-erc.com/files/?download=/files/resources/sprview.zip)
Sprite Wizzard (http://www.valve-erc.com/files/?download=/files/resources/sprwiz.zip)
Wally (http://www.valve-erc.com/files/?download=/files/resources/wally_155b.exe)
Refrences
Human refrences (http://www.planetquake.com/shattered/shine/images/ref/index.htm)
Clothes (http://www.planetquake.com/skindom/features/cloth/index.shtml)
Guns (http://www.securityarms.com/)
Tutorials
PolyCount (http://www.planetquake.com/polycount/)
Introduction to Milkshape (http://www.machinima.com/displayarticle2.php?article=71)
Official Milkshape tutorials (http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/ms3d/tutorials.html)
Psionic's Milkshape 3D Tutorials (http://xu1productions.com/3dstudio/tutorials.html)
Making a simple Spaceship (http://www.flipcode.com/tutorials/spaceship/)
Some 3DSM tutorials (http://raph.com/3dartists/tutorials/t-3dsmax.html)
Max Modeling Tutorials (http://www.oronto46.freeserve.co.uk/tutorials.html)
ZeroCartin's Modelling tutorial (http://www.planetquake.com/q3manga/oldsite/modelling_tut1.htm)
Tips and tricks (http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.6/totb/)
Modeling a head (Q3) (http://swut.net/makingheadmodels.html)
Sprite tutorial (http://www.thewavelength.net/oldsite/2dart/tutorials/sprites.html)
Crosshair Tutorial (http://www.ticclan.com/tutorials/crosshairs-sprites.html)
Another Crosshair tutorial (http://www.dodhq.net/~omega/tutorial.htm)
Poly Reduction tips (http://www.planetquake.com/polycount/cottages/pixelated/hyper/tut3/tutorial3.html)
Walking Tutorial (http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.22/totb/index2.shtml)
Another Walking tutorial (http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.28/totb/)
Skindom (http://www.planetquake.com/skindom/faq/quake2/)
Baneforge (http://www.planetquake.com/baneforge/tutorials/skin101.htm)
Bring Life to low poly characters (http://www.planetquake.com/polycount/cottages/zedaxis/learn/cstut01.htm)
How to animate in character Studio (http://www.planetquake.com/polycount/resources/general/tutorials/cswingstut/cswingstut.shtml)
Custom DoD sites
The Pokemart (http://pokemart.dodhq.net/)
Dod Editing Center (http://dodec.dodstudios.net/)
Schlex Dod Site (GERMAN) (http://www.schlex.net/)
DoD Suff (http://dodstuff.houstondod.com)
Dod Weapons Depot (http://dodweapons.web1000.com/)
Editor321's Site (http://planethalflife.com/editor321)
The Model Shack (http://corporal_rossi.tripod.com/)
pm me to add your custom model site to this
OK BYE

Kratisto compiler/decompiler:

This really needs to be a sticky again, helped me a lot when I started doing this stuff.

There you go.. stickied. Now get to work on my shoulder pack for 1.0 and flag/animation packs.... I cannot live iwthout them.

Oh and as my stickied begs, Iwant all the patches/symbols back on teh uniforms.

Small order, big gain.

k, instead of spamming the boards i will post here so its all one thread, credits will be given.


Originally posted by DudeWheresMyKar?
First of all, open photoshop and make a new image.
you can go to 512X512 for a high res, or use something smaller or rectanglular. (256X128) just make sure its a multiple of 8.
Fill it with pure black (0 0 0) and Save it as a indexed color 8 bit bitmap.

Now open an existing model, or an unmeshed model. If the model is already skinned, click the materials tab.
there is usally two materials.
You will see a button with the skin name on it. click this and a menu comes up to select a skin. If you want to highres it, you'll have to delete that material and make a new one, if not just choose your pure black one over that.
(your whole model, or the group should be black in textured view)

Next click the model tab. Select the selector, and choose FACE.

now highlight your model and press CTRL+T.
the texture coordinator pops up. make sure your texture (I replaced standardequip with my black texture)

you should have a black background now with red dots and white lines on it. maximize this window so you can see it all.

Choose the Texture coordinator's selector and click anywhere on it to rid the red dots. before you do this you can scale or move around anything so it fits better, or is bigger so you have more room to skin on.

now press print screen, open a new picture in photoshop and paste.

Cut out your newly created mesh from the pic, and make sure it's the same size of the pic (in my case it has to be 512 by 512)
save it as a .jpg, and you now have a mesh.

-DWMK-

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Polygon
-------------------
Realistic Metal Tutorial by Polygon
-------------------

What you need to have to use this tutorial sucessfully:
-----------------------------------
-Adobe Photoshop 6.0 or higher

http://www.dodstudios.net/~poly/Polygon/Grunge1.zip

Download the brush set here---

-An imagination


To install:
-----------------
Place the brushes on your desktop, then , when selecting the
airbrush tool in Adobe Photoshop, click the small arrow on the right hand corner to import the brush set.
====================

Brush set: Contains over 270 brushes, most of them are scratch/rust/dirt brushes
perfect for work on wood or metal alike. This set is a compilation of brushes primairly
from other artists such as myself (Kos-Mike, Galen, etc). Notably, most of these came
from the BEST grunge brush website at www.nocturna.net/brushes. Also, this brush set features
third reich period insignia brushes created for Adobe Photoshop by Nomad. Special thanks
to all those who worked on this set. I myself never created any brushes for this pack.

Instructions.

Image 1
=============

http://www.dodstudios.net/~poly/Polygon/1.jpg

Use a base color to initially start your metal texture.
A good color to use is 25 25 25 on your color selector.

Image 2
=============
http://www.dodstudios.net/~poly/Polygon/2.jpg

After establishing your color, take a 300 sized brush and go over the image with a
dodge brush at a size 300 at the opacity 38%. Then, go over it again with a 300 sized burn brush at 28%
opacity. After wards, copy and paste the entire image and go to your
artistic filter>sponge. Then, set the slides to 0 0 1. Then, raise or lower
the opacity to a level around 26%. It shouldn't have too much texture, just
enough to create a metallic look. Then Flatten the layers.

Image 3
============
http://www.dodstudios.net/~poly/Polygon/3.jpg

Again using the burn tool, establish your dark area with a 300 burn brush to get an equal
shadowed effect. Afterwards, establish your lighted area with a 300 dodge brush to create
a valued effect overall.

Image 4
============
http://www.dodstudios.net/~poly/Polygon/4.jpg

When you have your shading appropriated, either darken or dodge your edges. In this case,
I burnt the edges for a border. I also used an airbrush tool at a 15 opacity with the sprinkle/dot
brush (towards the end of the brush pack in Adobe Photoshop) to lightly give some hints
of wear and scratches. Using the 1 pt brush is helpful for small scratches and indentations.

Image 5
===========
http://www.dodstudios.net/~poly/Polygon/5.jpg

Using the foundation for my metal texture, I then came up with an ornate design of my own
to show the use of darks and lights. Consistently, I made sure my dark incaved areas where dark
enough to show contrast. I use a cylinder to show an incaved lighting example. Notably, using a brush that
has a large smudge but with pointing edges gives the metal an even stronger texture which helps
overall to create a realistic effect. Notably, sharpening small scratches and edges make the metal
look sharp and straight. To do this, one must use a 1 point brush or a 1 point line at a 23% opacity and then
sharpening that line a bit with the sharpening tool.

I suggest using blue tins or light greens mixed for metal. While a flat grey is ideal, variegating
colors are better for an interesting metal appearance.

Thank you all for taking a look at this tutorial and I hope it helps you get a better understanding of creating metal.

===========

Wood references
----------------------

http://www.woodworking.org/ is an excellent place for finding
authentic wood to use as a reference.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Devin_Kryss
(Im assuming you know how to use the basics in MS3d, move, scale, rotate, and most importantly, Select tools)
First u need to decompile the v, and p, models in separate folders so u don’t get confused.
If your V_model is missing the right, not seen side you need to just mirror one side onto the missing half. I'd suggest doing this part one group at a time. Hide everything but one group. Use your select tool, and select everything veritable (this works best with FACE selection on) then start unselecting everything that ISN’T missing on the opposite side. As a side note, this only works one axis at a time. You can only do left-right (X axis) up-down (Y-axis) and front-back (Z-axis) so, if the bottom of the barrel is missing faces, just leave it be till your ready to clone the up-down parts, side-to-side make more sense to begin with.
Anyway, un-select every face that doesn’t need to be cloned onto the missing side, and de-select every face that needs to be mirrored front to back, or up-down. Once you have that done. Go to Edit> Duplicate selection. Then go to Vertex> Mirror left-right. Your selected duplicated faces should appear on the opposite side of the gun, and fill in the missing black spaces. They may not yet line up, and they wont be textured but they should be there. IF you don’t see them, you ****ed up. Go home and cry.
Now, heres what u do, u don’t deselect anything yet, cause these duplicates might need to be aligned with the gun, and fill in any gaps. SO use your move tool, and move it till it looks right, and u don’t see black lines (Hint: black lines are easy to see when viewing in smooth shaded or flatshaded modes) and if u missed a few faces, undo your move command. and deselect your duplicate side. Now select the faces you accidently didn’t duplicate over, and mirror them. Now, regroup your duplicates. Select them both in the group tab, and hit regroup button. (remember, if you regroup 2 groups that use DIFFERENT textures, they will use ONE texture, and your Tommy gun stock (or whatever) may have the barrel and metal stuff on it where its not supposed to = ****tay p_model) Anyway, so u have your duplicate lined up with the other side, you don’t see BIG black gaps on lines. You can now seal the 2 together. Use your select tool, set to vertex mode, and go by each vertex that borders your duplicate. Select the duplicates vertex, and the vertex that it just about overlaps. Hit Vertex> Snap Together (crtl-n) and the 2 vertices become one! Amazing. So if you saw small black lines, doing this to the vertices will close them, cause the vertices perfectly over lap. AND if you don't care about little black lines that you will be able to see through in-game, don’t release it here, cause im going to wipe my virtual ass with it, then you can go home and cry cause you did a half-assed job.
So now its perfectly bound together, and it looks real nice. repeat the steps for the missing front-back or top-bottom faces (but obviously you DON’T want to mirror top-bottom faces LEFT-RIGHT, they need to be mirrored-the right way)
Ok, you’ve got one group done, completely sealed, no gaps, no lines, no black spots, now go to groups tab, select the original, and all the other duplicates in your group tab. Hit regroup button, and it'll be textured. Bingo, one group done, it should be textured, if it's not, maybe you didn’t group it with the rest, you probably forgot to select it. You know what to do. And if you don’t, I expect to find you crying.
DO this for every group. DO one texture group at a time, and spare yourself the confusion, and possible texture ****-ups.

Right, your all done, it’s a nice full v_model, no missing faces. Now delete the hands. You don’t need hands for your P-model. Save this as something like 00-Pmodelref.smd. Now open your decompiled p_model. (time/frustration saving hint: if the v_model and P_model have textures of the same name, your v_model will use the p_model's textures. SO, copy your v_model textures into the folder you decompiled the p_model in. Then, once the P_model is open in ms3d, select the whole thing and hit regroup. Then duplicate the regroup. Delete the original regroup. You will be left with a single, untextured p_model floating in space, no texture mess, no confused group selects, no ****-ups)
Now, import your 00p_modelref.smd, but don’t check in skeleton. SKELETON BAD!!!! TRIANGLES ONLY!!!!
You will see 2 guns. The grey p_model, and your v-model. Select all of your v_model, leave that p_model alone, its serving as a frame for your new p_model, and move it over the original p_model. Scale, and rotate, and move, until it fits over it, notably, if its handle(s) take up the same place as the old one, if your v_model ISN’T pointing the same direction as the old P_model is, it will look ****ed up in game. AND you know what to do if you **** up.

IF you cant get it to fit over the old one, then you suck, and I don’t know how you got this far without going home to cry. But once its there, and it looks right, they over-lap for the most part (it doesn’t have to be perfect) then your almost done. Go to joints tab, and scroll to the bottom, where there’s usually a bone called p****. Select it with the mouse, and hit sel assigned. If it was the right bone, the vertices of the OLD p_model will be selected. If its not, try other bones. Once you found it, select all of your v_models parts, go back to the joints tab, and hit assign. Now everything is assigned to the p_model bones. Delete the untextured original p_model, and save over the original p_models reference, and compile it. If it didn’t compile, you may have ****ed up in a number of ways:

1. Didn’t put all the textures in the folder you compiled in, go home and cry, cause you’re an ignoramus
2. Didn’t save over the reference of the old p_model, which means your so dumb you cant work the save feature, and I don’t even know why your still here
3. Invalid bone assignment, you didn’t follow my directions, slap yourself until you forgot everything you've read
4. Too many vertices
Ok, don't punish yourself, this might happen. Open your p_model, and delete a particularly vertex heavy group. Now save. Now hit undo delete. Delete everything BUT the group you previously deleted, and save it as *whatever the name was*2.smd (include the 2)
SO now your model is effectively broken into 2 parts. Open the qc file
Find this line, or something similar (whatever is in the quotes is the name of your reference.smd, im using garand as an example)

// reference meshes
$body body "p_garand"

Copy it so you have:

// reference meshes
$body body "p_garand"

// reference meshes
$body body "p_garand"

and add a 2 to the bottom so it looks like

// reference meshes
$body body "p_garand"

// reference meshes
$body body "p_garand2"

Save and compile. IF it didn’t work, you ****ed up, and by now you know what to do if you **** up. Enjoy your p_model.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

sorry to have no info to give but them images above dont work :/

fix?

Originally posted by Dredd
sorry to have no info to give but them images above dont work :/

fix?

Images will be fixed soon, just leave your image code as is.

still searching for tuts..and i don't know if this will work with 1.0, if the regular models are like para


Originally posted by Cheeto
Here's a tutorial on how to update player models. See my thread above 'NEW 3.0 Player Compiler' for the newest version of the model compiler.

1. Decompile one of the new DoD infantry models into any folder except one with spaces in it’s path name (so you can’t do something like ‘C:\Program Files\SIERRA\update’ because the space in ‘Program Files’ kills the compiler), extract only the animations and QC file.
2. Open the QC file and delete everything except the htibox listings and the sequence listings. Save that under the name ‘animref’ as it will be easier to update multiple models then.
3. Using Milkshape 3D, decompile the player model you want to update into the same folder. Select all the checkboxes.
4. Open the QC file in Notepad and find the line for the reference, it should look like this:

$bodygroup body
{
studio "../allie-light/giSMD"
}

Alter it to get rid of the directories so it looks like this:

$bodygroup body
{
studio "giSMD"
}

If Milkshape didn't add in directories, don't worry about it.
5. Replace the listings for the hitboxes with the ones in the ‘animref’ file, do the same for the sequences (animations).
6. Using the DoD player model compiler, compile the QC file (should be able to drag and drop the QC file onto the exe unless you made a mistake) and you'll have a working Beta 3.0 model replacement. If there’s an error compiling, you may have to add the line ‘$externaltextures’ into the QC file just underneath the command ‘$cliptotextures’ This will create a separate MDL file holding the textures that will have ‘_t’ added onto the end of the name. It’s vital that both of these MDL files are in the same folder, or the model won’t work.

Originally posted by Rotkopf
Some of you might think that such an tutorial would be unnessesary, but you might be suprised if you would know how many emails are bugging me everyday which contain questions like "How do I install those models?" "Which folder?" etc.

Therefore I decided to write a little tutorial that should be easy to understand.

Here´s the link to it :

http://www.dodmaps.com/goto.php?showpage=tutorials/tut01_models.htm

I would recommend to make this a sticky, since many newbies are downloading models directly from the forum as well, and it sure is annoying to explain it over and over again.

Thanks for you attention. :cat:


this is about it for all the working tutorials, most are locked and i can't access them and some none of the pics work.

I hope this stuff (spam) helps.

Here is my compiling tutorial.

For weapons(the V models): Decompile with mdldec.exe. Edit the qc by adding $cliptotextures under $cdtexure. Open up photoshop or ms photo editor and resize the BMPs I.E.,a 486x470 to 512x512. Make changes to the model, skins, etc. Once your done compile with Milkshape.

For player models, mapmodels, P and W models: Decompile with Milkshape. Open up photoshop or ms photo editor and resize the BMPs I.E.,a 486x470 to 512x512. Make changes to the model, skins, etc. Once your done compile with studiomdl.exe.

NOTE: mdldec.exe does not add $cliptotextures to the qc but keeps the weapons origins. Milkshape decompiler adds $cliptotextures in the qc but does not keep weapons origins.

About $cliptotextures: $cliptotextures is a command that allows you to keep an image size and not let the compiler crop your image to some ridiculous size I.E. a 512x512 to a 470x428. Always have $cliptotextures in your qc file.

Yes. GJ Dodge, thx for posting lots of tutorials, including mine. I was gonan do it myself, but you beat me to it. But whats with this gh3y curse blocking stuff? Why would they do that to our baords?

gjfor doing this, ah i cant wait till i see most of the vets here. already i see the HackJob Master is here-Hello Devin :)

added section on releasing and lots more links.

The 3.0 compiler will not work with 4.0 player models. It obviously does with others, but I have been unsuccessful with players. Used both MS3D and the muzzleflash compiler pack [with renamed QC's so it should have worked]. It ran through the entire compiling process, but studiomdl.exe would crash when it came time to actually writing the MDL file [it grabbed all the anims and textures, but crashed when writing].

If a method is found, please let me know. I've got some great ideas for E&C's FJ set that I obviously can't even start working on.

Originally posted by =DD=Wolf Kahler
The 3.0 compiler will not work with 4.0 player models. It obviously does with others, but I have been unsuccessful with players. Used both MS3D and the muzzleflash compiler pack [with renamed QC's so it should have worked]. It ran through the entire compiling process, but studiomdl.exe would crash when it came time to actually writing the MDL file [it grabbed all the anims and textures, but crashed when writing].

If a method is found, please let me know. I've got some great ideas for E&C's FJ set that I obviously can't even start working on.

Right. The compiler dosn't seem to work for me either. It crashes right were =DD=Wolf Kahler said.

The first post isn't right. There doesn't appear to be any CLASS NAMES under player/models anymore. The different classes only show up under submodels in hlviewer. Is this correct?

The content of the original post in this thread was written for b3.1. The equivalent has yet to be written for v1.0.

FIXED that, and will go through and update it soon
OK BYE

pics for poly's tut don't work.

how do we use the modifoed models in a game do we just add it in our models folder and replace the origanal one's and that will work like other people can see that or is it just for me to see???

Do you all have any links to skinning tutorials?

SGT: poly's tutorial was from the old forum, and his pic host has chnaged of he deleted the pics


gamercjm: You just have to replace the model in the correct folder.
only you can see it in game

axiom:
Skindom (http://www.planetquake.com/skindom/faq/quake2/)
Baneforge (http://www.planetquake.com/baneforge/tutorials/skin101.htm)

TIPS: make sure your in RGB color mode
start off in greyscale to get shading and texture down, THEN add colour.

OK BYE

I don't know if this is posted anywhere else in these forums, but here's a link to a turorial on creating console images, as well as the files you need to do it. I'll quote it below incase the website goes down or something, just change all the cs stuff to dod and you'll be ok.

From http://www.stormpages.com/console/makeconsole.html

BEFORE YOU DO ANY OF THIS, DO THE FOLLOWING FIRST:
-FIND THE CACHED.WAD FILE IN THE HALF-LIFE\CS OR COUNTER-STRIKE\CSTRIKE DIRECTORY AND RENAME IT OLDCACHED.WAD.
-THIS YOUR PERMINANT BACKUP FILE OF THE ORIGINAL CACHED.WAD.

Your console background will be created first as a bitmap, but must be compiled into cached.wad in order to be used in the game. This is because the console is displayed by the 3D renderer, and must be loaded as a texture.

The Files needed to make cosnoles are all found under 'downloads' on the navigation side.

First, create a 640x480 8bit (256 colors) bitmap (note: it is improtant that u bring it down to 256 colors!) to use as the console image. Name it console.bmp, it helps avoid confusion. You’ll need qlumpy.exe, which is available in the zip file as well. Place console.bmp, qlumpy.exe, a simple text-file name cached.ls, and the makewad.bat file into the same directory. Make that directory a folder named console on your desktop (C:\WINDOWS\Desktop\console).

The cached.ls file should contain the following text:

$DEST "cached.WAD"

$loadbmp "c:\windows\desktop\console.bmp"
conback qpic 0 0 640 480

$loadbmp "c:\windows\desktop\console.bmp"
loading qpic 0 0 640 480

In that same directory, make a makewad.bat file to run the following command:

qlumpy cached.ls

You don't need to edit this, because I've already included the makewad.bat file that runs that command for you. So, just

run makewad.bat, and place the resulting cached.wad file in your mod’s root directory c:\sierra\halflife\cs (or c:\sierra\counter-strike\cstrike).

Now your ready to make a console. To do so, you need all the files I mentioned in the tutorial. So I included them in this zip file (http://www.stormpages.com/console/consolefiles.zip) .

Also usefull, how to add compile and decompile commands to the windows context menu.

1. Make sure studiomdl.exe and mdldec.exe are in directories with no spaces (e.g. c:\my documents\), the best place is in your half-life directory or in the root itself.

2. Make two batch files in the same directory, I called them compile.bat and decompile.bat, for the sake of simplicity.

3. To make a batch file, just right click on an open space in explorer, then goto new - text document. Rename it to compile.bat, if a window pops up asking you if you want to change the extension, click yes. Now, right click on the batch file and goto edit, once in notepad, add the following lines, I put the path to where I keep my files, you'll have to change this for where you keep yours.

D:\Games\Half-Life\dod\Tools\compiler-decompiler\studiomdl.exe %1
pause

The reason we use a batch file instead of linking to the file directly, is that the pause command keeps the DOS window open after the program is finished, allowing you to see if the model successfully compiled or what errors there were. Without the pause command, the window would close instantly, leaving you to guess what the problem may be.

Now save and close that file, and repeat the steps to make decompile.bat, you'll want it to look something like this, again changing it to your own directory.

D:\Games\Half-Life\dod\Tools\compiler-decompiler\mdldec.exe %1
pause

4. Once that's all done, all you have to do is add the command to the context menu:

In an explorer window, goto Tools - Folder Options and click on the File Types tab on the window that appears.

We'll do decompile first, since that's the one that's got to happen first anyway. Find and select the mdl extension in the list and click the advanced button near the bottom of the window. If the extention is not in the list, click the 'New' button underneath the list and enter in manually.

Click the New... button in the new window that comes up. In that window, type Decompile in the Action field.

Now click the Browse... button, and find the decompile.bat that you just made. Then close the top two windows by clicking OK to confirm everything you just did.

5. For compile, it's the same thing, just find the qc extension, and make sure you use the compile.bat. If you don't have qc in your list, you can enter it manually by clicking the 'New' button located under the list itself.

6. Now, you can decompile and compile by simply right clicking on the right file and selecting the command you made.

nice trigger

Is it possible to animate using Maya?

Since version 4.5 there hasn't been a working smd exporter for maya. Unless there is some other format that both milkshape and maya support and retains skeleton and animation data I don't think it's possible.

Is there one for 4.5?

Texture Tutorials
www.spyroteknik.com - Good for alot of advanced Photoshop stuff, lots of stuff to use for textures

www.gfxartist.com - More for the Art forum than here, but it still has some good stuff in there, as far as tutorials go.

so could someone help me step by step if i wanted to put Glimsharp's garand reload animations on another garand?
i need Milkshape and what else?

umm..the last post was quite a ways back but.....

just decompile the garand that has glimp's anims, then copy the reload.smd (sumtin like that), then decompile the other garand and paste glimp's anims on. Then compile it all back up and the end:D

Is there a .smd import tool for 3dsmax 4.2 or do i have to take it trough ms3d?

3d studio max smd importer. This works for Gmax as well.
http://web1.hamburg147.server4free.de/counter-strike/skinning-verteiler.php

3d studio max smd exporter
http://www.max3d.com/plugins/r4/smdlexp_r4.zip

tnx alot:cool:

If you filter past all the crap, theres some fairly interesting WW2 pics of various subjects, some in colour here.

http://community.webshots.com/topics/4/107204_views_0.htm

- Jed

Can anyone make or point me towards a tutorial for editing and exporting SMDs in 3dSM? I have the decompiler and the importer and the exporter...just cant figure out how to add stuf to a model and properly export it.

Originally posted by DANZA
added section on releasing and lots more links.

Omg, he forgot to say "OK BYE"

My whole belief system just came crashing down around me . . .

Unwraping, Skin-Meshing, UV Maping, what ever you call it, I need to know how to do it. I have lithunwrap, and found a few tutorials, but they were written uninteligebly. I can make out most of it, but there are nouns, verbs, adjectives missing, or randomly added in key areas that make finishing the map near imposible.
I don't need LithUnwrap, any free program will do, but I need to know how and hopefuly someone has seen a tutorial that is understandable.

a lot of these links are dead, i know that the sprites tutorial is one of them.