Any 3d Milkshape users here? (ST Models Available)

[Atrocities]

Here is an LWO model that I made by converting a MOD file.

[shinigami]

And here it is as an .x file (no textures.)

This ship, while pretty, illustrates the problem with converting models from other games, at over 5500 faces you're looking at the game engine getting bogged down when you have whole fleets going at it.

Not trying to discourage anyone, just wanted to point that out.

[Atrocities]

We can made basic shapes look good, its just texturing them. David Gervais has posted about a program that helps to reduce the ploygon counts on models so perhaps that might help to reduce these models down to a more workable size.

[shinigami]

Unfortunately most game models have already been optimized as far as they can go without leaving holes in the model, that's part of the artist's job.

To get models for conversion that won't tax the system (for Trek) you'll probably have to go back to Armada I and earlier.

I hate to say it, because I love this game, but the 3d engine in SEV is woefully behind the times and underpowered. Then again, 3d is not what the game is all about!

[President_Elect_Shang]

Despite these challenges I am very happy to see the old Atrocities fire stoking back up. I was a little worried that the SE Series was about to lose one of its greatest. I have faith you will get the models working and produce them for us all to admire and use.

[Atrocities]

Well I guess we could go pull the Armada models, and perhaps even those from BOTF for that matter.

I wonder if there is a way to beef up the 3d system in SE V via a patch or something?

[shinigami]

Not that an end-user could do. Now if MM were to do a rewrite...

What we're running into is a problem that plagues small software developers, either they have to pay through the nose to license an engine from someone else, or they have to reinvent the wheel in order to put some eye-candy on the screen.

[se5a]

ok got it. meta is just a bit fussy about where it looks for the texture files.

in meta.

Open LWO6_Model.lwo (the other one does not have the textures mapped)
it should open the model and you should also get a little "Material Panel" (click "MatPane" button if it's not there)
the material panel will have 4 materials in it, double click the first one, you will get a bit "Material Property" window.
at the bottem of the window there's a text box labeled "Texture" with "f_lakota_1.bmp" in it.
this is where metasoquia is a bit dumb, it's not looking in the folder where the mesh model is to find the texture. so click the "Ref" button and direct it to the correct file in the SFC_Excelsior_B directory.
do this for all the materials and you should be good.


these models are rather high polly, you could reduce some of them by taking out some of the detail underneeth the ship, since you don't see that much in seV. also some of the rounded dome bits could probibly be reduced too, they are probibly a bit higher than whan you need in seV.
then again, some peoples computers may be able to handle the high pollys anyway

[Kana]

Atrocities said:
Well I guess we could go pull the Armada models, and perhaps even those from BOTF for that matter.

Well there are plenty of models for Armada 1 and 2...and I think that someone posted the BOTF models somewhere for SFC, I think I saw them on battleclinic the other day.

Best sites for Armada models and mods...

http://armada2.filefront.com/
http://www.armadafleetcommand.com/afc/index.php