Modeling help

[envenger]

Hi i have just started modeling 1-2 days back i have some doubts in makign doodads. Can any say me the steps which i should follow cause i am confused in what to do with the texture i used and about blps.

It there any description about doodads and what do they do cause i have no idea about them like i want to make bridges, castle walls, castle gates roofs, houses do i need to assign them different doodads
like i want my walls to stop out side intruders and make my castle gate so that players can climb on them from the interior of the city is possible?
(i may talk like a noob but i really have no idea about them)

 

[NullCurrent]

I made a tutorial about simply model editing, How to: Edit Models.

You can use that tutorial to learn about the texturing your models. Simply go down to the part that says: "Retexturing a Model", from there, it should give some pretty understandable directions.

About climbing on top of models and having model paths, you have to do all of that in the doodad manager. From there, there is a editable value that says something like model pathing or something (I forget what it's called). From there you can choose the kind of pathing you want like 4x4 units, etc.

To allow units to climb onto city walls, etc. You have to allow the model to not have any pathing, and to use pathing blockers (pathed invisible doodads) and invisible platforms (next to pathing blockers in the doodad menu) to allow units to walk in the air (the platforms/city wall). This part is very tricky, because you have to use the "ctrl" button along with page up/page down buttons to move the invisible platforms up and down to the position where the city wall is.

I hope this helps, and if you want, I made a terrain that uses these kinds of concepts that I can upload if you want, just let me know. Good luck!

 

[envenger]

Yup thanks for help
yup upload it i need to learn a lot
another question is if i made my model in gmax
then what about files in blp?
ineed to convert texture files to blp?
does doodas need to blp files?

 

[NullCurrent]

Well, I couldn't find my original map with the pathing/invisible platforms, but there is an example in another one of my maps, I'll upload it still.

Spoiler

Here is a screenshot of the example you want to look at. Those walk-ways are actually walkable, check how I moved the invisible platforms up to the point where the walk-ways are, and also check how I added pathing blockers all around the platforms... you may have to turn on pathing mode view (press "P"). If you can't find that area, look towards the middle of the map.

-----------------------------------

As for the texture questions, I am not sure if I understand you completely but, all warcraft models require their textures (skins) to be in .blp format, the .blp image is then "pasted" or UV skinned onto the blank model. From there, you need to specify to the model that you are using X.blp. I hope this explains... tell me if you don't get any part.

Good luck!

 

[envenger]

thanks for it now i got everything related to it

my .blp question as every easy( it may be a stupid question cause i have not done it yet)

i make a model in gmax then? what are the processes after that?

another question

I made a walkable path in air. Will the path under it be wakable?

 

[Laiev]

i think no...

 

[NullCurrent]

Yes, Laiev is right, you can't walk below a path.

Please excuse big pictures, can't seem to get spoiler to work, sorry

As for the texture process, just convert your model into .mdl and do the following process (from my tutorial):

Re-texturing a Model:

Acquire Resources:

1. Go to windows and open the MPQ Browser. At the bottom of the list.
2. A window should pop up, looking like this:
   
   Spoiler

   
3. Go to file and select either: War3.mpq or War3x.mpq. These will be the range of models/scripts/etc. you will browse. War3x.mpq is for the expansion.
4. For this tutorial, I will be using War3x.mpq and using the model "Unit\Creep\Zombie\Zombie.mdx".
5. Double click the model you want to use and look at the War3 Model Editor screen.
6. Save the model as a .mdl file. Type: "Whateveryouwanthere.mdl" or select file type as .mdl.
7. Next, open the MPQ Browser again and find the texture you want to use. Mine will be "Unit\Undead\Ghoul\Ghoul.blp".
8. Don't open your file! Right-click the file and select "export". Save your file as whatever you want and where ever.
9. Because the Vertex Modifier can't open .blp's, you will have to convert the file into .jpg.
10. Copy and paste the BLP/TGA converter into the folder where your .blp file is.
11. Click on your .blp file and drag it on top of the file convert program. Like this:
    
    Spoiler

    
12. Now that you have the .blp in .tga format, open the file in IrfanView.
13. In IrfanView, save the .tga file as a .jpg file.

Re-texturing the Model:

1. Open the Vertex Modifier and open your model file. Mine is the zombie
2. It may ask which geoset. A geoset is a certain part of the model mesh, the part you want to retexture can be any of the geosets, you will have to find this on your own. My geoset I want is in the 1st geoset.
3. Once you find the geoset you want to work in, go to tools and UV mapping. It should look something like this:
   
   Spoiler

   
4. Once the UV mapping window pops up, click on "Load Image" at the top right.
5. Load your .jpg file of the texture you want to use. It should then look something like this:
   
   Spoiler

   
6. Now, all you need to do is move around the vertexs (the squares) and put the faces (triangles that make up the mesh) onto the parts of the texture that you want to show. Mine looks like this:
   
   Spoiler

   
   TIPS:
   • Select certain vertexes and use the drop-down menu that says "Top", "Front", and "Left" and click the "Remap" button. This will make the selected vertexes look like if you were looking at the model from those views.
   • Select vertexes outside of the UV mapper and they will be selected in the UV mapper when you go to it.
7. When you are satisfied, click "Save Changes".
8. Save your model and exit the Vertex Modifier.
9. Open the War3 Model Editor and open your model. If your model looks like crap, don't worry. We haven't told the model to even use the texture.
10. Go to the MPQ browser and look for the texture that you used. Right-click this texture and select "Use as texture".
11. Go back and go to "Windows" and select "Material Manager". It should look like this:
    
    Spoiler

    
12. Double-click on one of the materials, and when a new window pops up, double click the material layer in this window. It looks like this:
    
    Spoiler

    
13. In the next window you should see the texture that that material uses. If the texture is the one you re-textured, go into the drop-down menu and find your new texture. Mine looked like this:
    
    Spoiler

    
14. Now press ok and get back to the main screen. Your model should look beautiful! Mine look like this:
    
    Spoiler

    

 

[envenger]

Man i am too much confused now i need to make doodads

So which software should i use

lets see i make model in gmax? dex expoter script, then magos model editor then how will find the texture files which to use? will the texture file i used gmax be used? i am not getting enough time to test testing this for the first time is hard man

 

[Sooda]

Use to create models Gmax. Export your made models from Gmax with BlinkBoy's NeoDex script (follow implementation instructions from wc3c.net).

By the way NeoDex script appears in menu bar where are File, Edit, View, etc , in the end of them.

Gmax uses *.bmp (and some other) image formats.

First extract from Warcraft 3 *mpq files texture which you want.
Convert that texture to *.bmp with Warcraft 3 Viewer (or image viewer).
Create model in Gmax,
Use *.bmp version of texture on your model.
Edit texture in Gmax UV Editor.
Select all your model (model should be editable mesh) and use NeoDex to export your model data to listener (Like a command prompt for Windows)
Grab all data -- copy/ paste (or get YAGG -- Yet Another Gmax Grabber program) to text file, remove from start "Generated by NeoDex" or similar with "//" in front of, and from end "Successful compile" or similar line.

Remove from under texture path "Replaceable 1" or similar line, it makes your model covered in team colour else in game. Change texture path to same texture path as in *.mpq, save file as *.mdl (just instead of *.txt choose ALL FILES and type YourModelName.mdl)

Convert that *.mdl to *.mdx and import to World Editor.

Tips:

Try a lot, don't try to be precise -- just model freehand so it resembles what you want to achieve, you learn quicker when you try things a lot and use undo, also save a lot and when things get wrong reload from old save.

You learn how Gmax is used (learn to move your view in 3D windows, learn to move object, then learn how to move one vertex (point), etc).

First try to get things working,
create cube, convert to mesh, slap texture on it (don't edit it in UV editor), export with NeoDex, Edit *.mdl, convert to *.mdx, import to World Editor and try does it work.

Only then proceed and try something more challenging.
Try Gmax official tutorials (can be downloaded from Turbosquid home page).
To learn Gmax use FlightSim or other similar tutorials for Gmax (they aren't made 1:1 but help tons).
Read all modeling tutorials on here:
http://world-editor-tutorials.thehelper.net/cat_modeling.php
go to wc3c.net and just skim their modeling tutorials. Try things out. Read Flight Sim tutorials or Trains tutorials, they are good.
Do simple things when you feel ready take harder things and so on.
You can't animate in Gmax so well. No, we don't support warez, no asking where to get 3DMax 5 -- buy it or use Gmax.

Do to anything well learn from tutorials. It takes time to learn, don't assume today you want to model and next day you do high quality content.

Practise on squares, cubes, triangles, circles, spheres, then move on.

EDIT:
By the way buildings there are pathing maps, they work as 1 pixel is 32x32 square in game, colour of pixel determines can you walk, fly on it or not. Use the Gimp to create such images, tutorial:
http://world-editor-tutorials.thehelper.net/pathmaps.php

 

[envenger]

thanks man now i know everything really thanks u clarified my all doubts and thanks nullcurrent +rep
finally i can make what i want