hi all,
recently, ive been practicing with the xsi mod tool & started altering the german player model for dods.

Now im altering some of the details to make him more realistic. Starting with the collar (see pic), but its no where near done yet.

I just want to know what i would have to do once i have finished changing/tweaking the model. For example lod's, recompiling, rendering etc.

Also, i'd like to add the recent m43 cap mod to my sniper class, similar to major konig in "enemy at the gates"

thanks
DArren

http://www.dayofdefeat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74776
http://www.dayofdefeat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74832

Those two should help you with getting it compiled and working.

Exporting the SMD's and LODs is a XSI specific thing and I don't have any tutorials or info to hand. I use 3DS Max myself.

my biggest worry atm is would i have to unwrap the model & redo the textures?

Well you might have to re-do the uv map for the collar to make it slightly easier to texture but if you leave everything as is you could use the base texture.

well thats good news! I have only just started modeling, but im getting the hang of it quite quickly as i have a friend nearby who helps me out.

one more question, would it be a good idea to model the buttons at the front of the tunic since they are flat textures atm & become stretched & deformed whenever the player model turns etc, or would this still happen, even with the buttons modelled in 3d?

Not if you assign all the vertices in the button to the same bone. It's only stretch if say half are weighted to the next and half to the clavicle.

Just a note though, actually modelling small details like a button is considered a bit of a waste of detail. To be honest, most people accept a certain ammount of distortion. You can reduce it a little with a good UV map but otherwise don't worry too much about it.

Remember you're the artists and your looking at it close up and in detail. Once it's in game most people are going to be seeing it from a distance and moving and their very unlike to notice or even care about button distortion.

Don't get bogged down in details.

ok, ive cleaned up the model a bit more, now ive got to finish the back half of the collar.

A friend showed me how to view a textured model in xsi, but it came up a bit dodgy just beneath th collar, anyone know whats happend?

hi all,
Now im altering some of the details to make him more realistic.
The uniform on the photo is M36,
http://ww2.ru/img/goods/August-388.jpg

but uniform on the game is M44.
http://ww2.ru/img/goods/07-02-2006-18-121837.jpg
Do you consider it?

ok, ive cleaned up the model a bit more, now ive got to finish the back half of the collar.

A friend showed me how to view a textured model in xsi, but it came up a bit dodgy just beneath th collar, anyone know whats happend?

Yeah, in the re-modelling process you've accidentaly borked the UV maps. You'll need to fix it for those polys.

This looks really good so far, but could you open up the collar a bit like the old models?

like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v225/robocain/collar.jpg?t=1189174298

glad you like it c2keo, since all 6 classes use seperate models, im planning on having some variation, im just using the closed collar for the sniper & the mp40 soldiers & with the authors permission, im also planning to use the m43 cap for the sniper

the stg44 soldier will be modelled so that he'll be wearing a waffen SS uniform, so he may or may not have the collar im modeling.

that leaves the other 3 that i havent gotten round to thinking about, but i'd like to see if i can give the mg an overcoat if possible.

The uniform on the photo is M36,
http://ww2.ru/img/goods/August-388.jpg

but uniform on the game is M44.
http://ww2.ru/img/goods/07-02-2006-18-121837.jpg
Do you consider it?

I found a website
http://www.lssah.com/uniforms.html

it may be the m40/41, which they say is the most common german uniform.

http://www.lssah.com/images/wssdasr01.jpg

on the same page you can see the m44, but it looks like the bottom part of the jacket had been removed.

what puzzles me is that the uniform ingame looks to be the 44 collar, but its nothing like it, just looks like an anorack or something. Yet if it is based on the m44, the length should be shorter like you said 213.

im starting to get the impresssion that much of the objects in dods were rushed, since much of the textures could have been better too!

i think the closed collar that im modeling now is the one that most are used too seeing, like on tv or films (allo allo) which is why i chose to do it. Now that im having some fun modelling stuff, i may change each class a bit.

Oh for the love of............

People.... it's simple to understand. The collar lapel on the current model is a more modern type; the actual cut of the jacket was a bit different. It is a really simple change. Sorry for the crappy but quick PS job

And BOTH version of the uniform were capable of being worn open or closed collar. The version you modelled above is very correct and just fine. However most combat photos I see have guys with the collar open.

hey Wile E, do you have a layered .psd for your gefreiter josef that i can use the dirt/stains etc from?

thanks for the info btw

ive done the mesh, but i have no idea how to redo the textures for the new polys. wtf is with all this mess i dont have a clue

Yeah you're UV maps have got gnarled. It looks like when you welded your seams all the vertices merged their UV points too. What you need to do is look for the "spikes" where one UV from part of the map as been pulled all the way across to another. You'll then need to break that spike vertex from the others and pull t back to the right part of the map.

Yeah you're UV maps have got gnarled. It looks like when you welded your seams all the vertices merged their UV points too. What you need to do is look for the "spikes" where one UV from part of the map as been pulled all the way across to another. You'll then need to break that spike vertex from the others and pull t back to the right part of the map.
I get all hot and bothered when you talk modeling tech mumbo-jumbo :D.

I wish I could explain it more clearly :(

When I open up the texture editting thing, All my stuff is displayed, including the gear maps. So I have the normal uniform map laying there with the gear maps overlapping it.

ill have to get some1 to do this for me, ive only managed to mess it up worse.

k, im trying to discover which tool removes the dodgy spikes or whatever they're called, ive selected on in the image "untitled.jpg", but there doesnt appear to be a tool that will break the line.

im using the mod tool free version of xsi, so its probably missing the tool i will need.

Post a bigger screenshot of that first pic.

while you're fixing the player model, can you make the head not so blocky. like the chin area, he looks like a square

here is a rough example. a more natural looking person. im not the best with photoshop or human anatomy, but it looks more normal than the default axis model



so the neck doesnt come out of the back of the skull, so his cheeks dont look like they're weighed down with lead, where he looks like hes fit for combat, not hammering nails into wood with his head

these forums wont allow images any bigger so i uploaded to imageshack.

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/3986/untitledno3.jpg

ok, ive managed to get the uv mapping sorted & ive almost finished texturing the new polys.

Ive been having a lot of problems with the shoulders, ive had to remove the right shoulder strap & pad & symmetrize the ones on the left to replace them. Also, ive had to move the texutre for the shoulder pads to where the old collar was & make the pads longer so that there was less of a gap between them & the collar. As a bonus, both shoulder pads only use one from the vtf, not two!

ok, ive been stuck on the sniper for ages now because of the trouble with weights & skeleton issues.

I've decided to start on a new one from scratch for the sturmtruppe.

For this one im using wile e's sturmman skin & altering the model so that it resembles the m44 uniform.

So far no major problems apart from trying to get the shape right. I think ive done well so far, just manipulated the polys a bit etc.