After Max had been officially cast aside as an old hat tool by Valve I expected this day would eventually come.

Read on.

http://www.softimage.com/community/xsi/events/gdc_2004/exp_hl2/inforequest.htm?src=2


March 24th oh yeah!

Sweetness, now I have ANOTHER tool to learn.

I'll probably just use XSI for final export, etc and carry on with what I know so far for modelling.

- Jed

greatttt !!!!!! :D


see you

Originally posted by Trp. Jed
I'll probably just use XSI for final export, etc and carry on with what I know so far for modelling.

- Jed

Don't worry about the change - embrace it! I moved from max to XSI within a week. Now that I've adjusted, I very much prefer XSI for modeling & animating - I think you'll find that both programs are very similar, just a different control scheme. All of the concepts are the same.

My biggest challenge was just trying to adjust to the new controls, getting rid of the years of "practice" I had with max that naturally told me X button did X function. The real headache came when I had to switch back and forth between the two programs on a daily basis

Thanks for the link, im sure it will come in handy :D

Boo!! Its Wednesday right now and thgere is no link! (2 am). :p

Originally posted by molotov_billy
Don't worry about the change - embrace it! I moved from max to XSI within a week. Now that I've adjusted, I very much prefer XSI for modeling & animating - I think you'll find that both programs are very similar, just a different control scheme. All of the concepts are the same.

My biggest challenge was just trying to adjust to the new controls, getting rid of the years of "practice" I had with max that naturally told me X button did X function. The real headache came when I had to switch back and forth between the two programs on a daily basis

Well I didn't say I wouldn't use it - its just getting around to learning it. I've only just started transitioning from Milkshape to Max as it happens. Just another one to learn I guess.

- Jed

The upside is guys: It's free! no warez! no permits! no lisences!

Will this work for Half-life 1 as well?

Originally posted by Trp. Jed
Well I didn't say I wouldn't use it - its just getting around to learning it. I've only just started transitioning from Milkshape to Max as it happens. Just another one to learn I guess.

- Jed

Same here, im starting to work on max soon...
Max still sitting on the throne, does it ?

Originally posted by Mortar
Same here, im starting to work on max soon...
Max still sitting on the throne, does it ?

Actually on a university level Max is second to Maya.

Way I'm learnt/learning it is

Milky - Max - Maya

- Ska

I'm a Maya man.

I just saw that today. I'm wondering if the free limitations will affect what I want to do in terms of modeling and animating. I'll have to wait till I get off work to try it...

Here ya go - 162Mb.

I'm hosting this on my own tracker and its being shared off my desktop - save you using Fileplanet.

I'll try and keep the seed up as long as I can but for Gods sake - DONT CLOSE DOWN BITTORRENT ONCE YOU'VE DOWNLOADED IT!!!!

Try and leave your BT client open to help spread it around a bit.

(you'll need to delete the .txt extension off the torrent file)

- Jed

what's up with the polycount limit? :(

Originally posted by Trp. Jed
Well I didn't say I wouldn't use it - its just getting around to learning it.
- Jed

Hehe, looked like you said you were going to use it for final export, I guess I shouldn't take you literally :)

Originally posted by molotov_billy
Hehe, looked like you said you were going to use it for final export, I guess I shouldn't take you literally :)

Well I meant for now ;) I can model quite happily in Milkshape and Max for now but obviously there arent any HL2 export features in those two apps. So until I get comformtable with XSI to a level where I'm happy I can equal what I do in the others I would probably just export from Milkshape/Max in 3DS or some other format and do final rigging and export and XSI.

- Jed

Wow, most powerful modeling prgram around, used by Valve.... yada, yada, and it doesn't even support 1280x960, a 4:3 ratio. It wants 1280x1024, a 5:4 ratio....what kinda crap is that.

And the installer doesnt support spaces in folder names.....w..t...f...

LOL Sounds like something I'd write ;)

- Jed

Oh man the XSI is giving me a headache. It needs 1280x1024 resolution. The text is sooo small and my monitor is going crazy and it's such a strain. Furtheremore, i thot it would be similar to 3Dsmax (seeing the viewports and timeline), but when i got down to it, man, it's horrid! The interface is so complicated can't get things easily done unlike Max which is so much more simpler. And all the features all appears out, all those strange greek windows with bunch of paramters....sigh....don't know crap bout it. So much @$(@ options in the drop down menus...lol...Max and Zbrush rollouts really rule big time compared to this argh interface!!!

And oh man, my Windows taskbar has clipped the lower part of the XSI window and can no longer be extended out again. Can't see Animation timeline properly lol!

Max is still the most easy to use app i've seen. XSI and all othe rprograms are just so complicated.

As someone who has never modeled before, I downloaded XSI and tried tried the boombox tutorial. I was going good, but when I saved and came back later, things weren't acting right. So I gave up.

All I need to be able to do is make simple props for my maps, like pipes and gutters and stuff. I will leave the hard stuff, like cars and thinks that involve curves, to people who know what they are doing.

Originally posted by Jello_Biafra

All I need to be able to do is make simple props for my maps, like pipes and gutters and stuff. I will leave the hard stuff, like cars and thinks that involve curves, to people who know what they are doing.

That's a good idea. Models are a huge part of levels with new games coming out - generally speaking, the layout and general shapes are worked out with brushes. Anything with detail, curves, etc is done with models. All level designers should at least try to take up a modeling program, it will help immensely.

If you're frustrated with XSI, take a break from it but keep trying. The stuff required for modeling & texturing isn't much more complicated than hammer. (especially entities :))
Look up some tutorials to walk you through the process and you'll be cranking out props in no time..

I've been using Hammer alot lately and I have to say its so much easier to place my own models rather than to communicate with a level designer and tell him exactly where you want each model. You can model and place it exactly how you want it, the first time out.

I'll second what Billy says - it took me ages to get my head around Milkshape when I started back in 2.0 and Max even longer. It took me 4 failed false starts to get ANYTHING constructive out of Max.

Take a break from it if things don't click at first, come back to it and one day you'll find suddenly everything comes together.

And don't try to hard to make anything, just make primitives, try the buttons, experiment with stuff - thats how I learn stuff. You cant really "break" it, just try things and see what happens.

- Jed

The thing is, do we need to clip models in HL2? Hopefully not.

Actually, models in maps really rule. Even in HL1. Great way to cut off wpoly using the .rmf -> .mdl method (you'll still need to do the necessary adjstments, skinning, etc. though). To begin with, the map below is an entire .mdl. I havent' added a road along that long stretch yet but it should be as simple as editing the .mdl without even touching the .rmf.

But even if the mapper knows how to model, certain props (especially more complicated ones but have no relation to the map except a prop) should still be left to a prop modeller. This is only true if the nature of the model is not something which is critical to the map. Mappers should still do (eg. walking on long submarine .mdl in a sub pen...), (a piece of terrain), (a huge bunch of trees compacted into 1 .mdl to save entitiy count), (a boathouse with an interior..though lighitng would be crapped). A model that flys by something or a ship that crashes into a tunnel, etc. Then again, it's possible for the mapper to export some guideline geometry from his .rmf file (using the rmf->.mdl method), for the "modelor/animator" to do his necessary work and keep within the map's space boundaries, ensuring the model's origin is strategically positioned in the worldspace and not blocked. To begin with, making a map is already a big task, not forgetting with the detail of HL2.

The only danger i see is people editing the props in the .mdls and "cheating". (ie. hahahah i can see thru that piece of furniture/plant I ownz JOooOO!)

My first model...

Now I just gotta figure out how to compile, mesh, and skin it.

thats looks really nice! and high poly. do a flatshaded screenie

Hard part of learning to model is finding a verry good set of in depth (FREE) tutorials.

still have not found any.

what sucks is im on 56k and cant get the new hl2 version of XSI EXP, i have the original version . :(

Originally posted by Glidias
Oh man the XSI is giving me a headache. It needs 1280x1024 resolution.

Try the layout file at the top of this page:
http://www.edharriss.com/xsi/Layout_presets/layouts.htm

- Jed

Originally posted by Silverghost
thats looks really nice! and high poly. do a flatshaded screenie

Thanks for the support, but the whole thing was done with the thing where you draw a line, and then have it rotate around an axis.

Well, it is a start.

Well I installed XSI. Gawd what a pain in the ass the GUI is! Not very intuitive, well not to me.

Not many import/export options either and OBJ format sucks.

So I wrote my own MS3D->XSI plug-in :)

*yoch yoch*

- Jed

yeah... well I made a box with a sphere on top and called it a torso.

Nice work Jed, are you releasing it.

Originally posted by MaRzY
Nice work Jed, are you releasing it.

yeah, when its finished. Need to fiddle a bit with the texture importing code. XSI requires you to spec the width and height of the bitmap which Milkshape doesnt have so I have to write code to find that out itself. :rolleyes:

- Jed

Marzy and jed, both of you... i can't understand how don't you work for some fancy mods or for retail games, hell... you got what takes and much more than it.

They prolly prefer independence. Working for a mod team you have people hammering after you for **** constantly even if you don't wanna do it. Being indepenedant, you can do stuff on your own schedule.

Unless someone asks you to make a U-Boat, that is. :D

That, and most mod teams are... less than professional.

Hey Jed, while you're writing plug-ins, make a smd importer/exporter for Maya 5.01.

Marzy was after one too for Lightwave.

If I can get hold of the SDK and some sample code for an export/import plug-in template I might able to do something.

- Jed

Originally posted by Mortar
Marzy and jed, both of you... i can't understand how don't you work for some fancy mods or for retail games, hell... you got what takes and much more than it.

a) no-ones asked me.
b) most mod teams are kids and disorganised.
c) im too much of a perfectionist
d) too curious, i like to dabble with everything. If it cant do something, i write something that will.
e) no formal qualifications
f) no job
g) no jobs available
h) dont want to move abroad.

- Jed

heh... maybe create your own engine, models, skins and game ? :-) your'e a ****en one man army.

Joking.