ZylonBane on 27/5/2004 at 18:13
Quote Posted by Shadowspawn
Don't forget my BintoE and Eto3DS tools. You can take apart existing Thief binary objects to see how they were made. Always educational.
Speaking of which-- anybody ever figure out why some objects suffer texture warp when partially offscreen, but others don't?
Eshaktaar on 27/5/2004 at 20:56
I think it's the repetition of a (small) texture across a large, non-rectangular surface that gives the Dark Engine headaches.
E.g. the golden picture frames look very distorted when only partially displayed. The small texture is repeated many times across the front frame, which consists of four trapezoids. I tried to remake a picture frame from scratch, but ended up with the same effect in the game.
Yametha on 28/5/2004 at 00:09
Quote Posted by Dark Arrow
The inbuilt UV mapper isn't that horrible once you learn how to use it. The first thing you have to do is place your camera in the right place and looking at the model in the right direction. After that you should only have to do some minor editing.
I did learn how to use it. The biggest problem is not placing the camera, but scaling the texture. Have you tried placing a texture so it lines up precisely with three points? Or making something that neatly unrolls to take up all avialiable texture space?
Sluggs on 28/5/2004 at 09:21
Well, i'm slowly beginning to get used to this program now. I've started to make a fountain for Thief as a test object.
Inline Image:
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i133/SluggsUK/anim8or/comingalong.jpg OK. Back to the fountain! :D
PS. Thank the Builder this has grid snapping, just like Dromed! In fact, i feel like i'm in Dromed with Anim8or!
Oh, one last thing! Can you dismantle finished objects, say the Thief objects, to see how they were put together and view each part's properties or are they just one whole object when finished and cannot be dismantled? I'm asking so i can learn from them and i need to know how to make a cube invisible to make a Vhot for attaching particles to.
[EDIT]
Can you cut-out shapes like you can in Dromed? I'm trying to carve a hole for the water, there won't actually be any in there, but i'm not getting very far. I did manage to carve a hole through a square but that was with using the "Bridge" command. However, i can't do that when i don't want to carve a hole right through the square, also using the "Inset" tool! I want to make a cut-out like you make Baths and Pools in Dromed. I'd have thought that the "Extrude Faces" tool would have done that by pulling downwards as in making a hole but it doesn't work. Once i have these couple of questions answered, i can be on my way. I don't need a walk-through, just a couple tips on using the right tools/commands for the jobs in question.
So, can i stick a cube in that fountain above and cut out a hole, Dromed style, or is it done another way?
Sluggs on 28/5/2004 at 18:41
Thanx very much MM but that didn't work because i was trying to make the top mesh go into the next mesh underneath and it wouldn't cut through the 2nd mesh. I eventually did it by dismantling the object and making it in parts, again!
I just learned that by selecting 2 faces, the top and bottom, and using the method you described, you can apply that to both sides at once! :D I was doing each side separately about 30 mins ago! :tsktsk: (Made things much easier doing them both together!) :cheeky:
Still, all that stuff is to be expected when you are learning - You learn from your own mistakes!
I love this program man! I'm not missing Dromed just yet. I'm sticking to learning Anim8or for a bit!
PS. I'll post another screenie later on.
OK! I've got what i have done of my fountain, so far, in Thief 2.
Inline Image:
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i133/SluggsUK/anim8or/fountaininthief.jpg I haven't learned the texture side of object creation yet so it's textureless, besides, the water function part of the object isn't in and neither is the water yet anyway! Still, after about 8 or 9 hours, roughly, learning Anim8or, i can't really complain! :D
I took the model design from this one in my FM... Once my new object is complete, i shall be replacing this one with the object, thus reducing poly counts.
Inline Image:
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i133/SluggsUK/anim8or/source.jpgAfter seeing the original size it was supposed to be, the model is twice the size! I am i right in thinking that "1" in Anim8or is "0.50" in Dromed then or are they the same? They appear to be the same actually - I think i just made the object a little too big! :p
As for Vhots, Schwaa has a tut for those on his Low Poly Guild site. :D I can't really go wrong now. I just need to learn the texturing side now and i'm off! WOOT!
Mortal Monkey on 28/5/2004 at 20:53
One unit in anim8or is indeed one unit in dromed. However, for the sake of smooth texturing and the 3d viewport, I tend to make my models at 10 times the size, then just group everything (Edit > Select All and Build > Group) and scale it down (Edit > Scale > Scale Custom...) before exporting.
Sluggs on 28/5/2004 at 20:58
That's good to hear. It makes creating objects for Thief much easier. What a coincidence! :wot:
Thanx for that tip. I'll experiment with that when the fountain is complete. Do you do that though before you texture it?
A new discovery! I have just learned that you must locate your model at 0/0/0 in Anim8or before you save the final .3ds file else you will run into problems when flooring the object!
weadford on 29/5/2004 at 06:29
You're absolutely right, sluggs. 0;0;0; is the center of the scene. And if you move your object it won't be in the center. In fact, you insert the object as well as the surrounding space. In the beginning I made a key and placed it in DromEd and when I handle it, the key was rounding and rounding like a planet around the sun. 0;0;0; is also the turning point.
