Modding => 3D Modelling & Animation => Topic started by: Phanjam on September 12, 2016, 03:29:28 am
Title: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on September 12, 2016, 03:29:28 am
I find that after TL1CP i dont seem to have any desire to create new classes and im not skilled enough to attempt a TC or anything like that. But i would love to get new items into the game if i can, maybe even help Anarch with his TL1 Armors mod XD .
So i will (once again) attempt to learn Blender. Just thought id share this and hopefully doing so will shame me into actually getting it done! :D anyway wish me luck!
Title: Re: Learning to use Blender
Post by: Kva3imoda on September 12, 2016, 04:02:21 am
Go, PJ, go! ;)
Title: Re: Learning to use Blender
Post by: gytfunke on September 13, 2016, 05:52:48 pm
Good luck, PJ!
Title: Re: Learning to use Blender
Post by: Phanjam on September 15, 2016, 02:34:32 am
LOL! Thanks Kva and Gyt!!!
Well I downloaded Blender which is now version 2.77a and also downloaded the scripts recommended by SixShot in his tutorial (http://torchmodders.com/wiki/doku.php?id=importing_armor_models_using_blender).
I will install and test the set-up in the next few days. I hope those scripts will work with version 2.77a :D !
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on December 23, 2016, 12:37:56 am
First of all, I renamed this thread to "my blender journey" because something tells me it is really going to be a journey! :D
So...
First challenge - import a standard TL2 character mesh into Blender - done.
Tutorial/s used: Torchlight to Blender Import Export (http://torchmodders.com/wiki/doku.php?id=torchlight_to_blender_import_export) by Wolven
It was not straightforward though - I only got to this stage by first generating the .XML files manually (drag-&-drop on to the OGRE XML Converter shortcut) and putting them into the same folder as the .MESH and .SKELETON files. So I guess I cheated. I hope I can solve this eventually.
From here I will try to follow SixShotOverdrive's tutorial (http://torchmodders.com/wiki/doku.php?id=importing_armor_models_using_blender) for combining mesh pieces.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on December 23, 2016, 01:31:17 am
Well, I'm using Blender v. 2.65. I remember some issues with more recent version.
I guess I can try to install an earlier version...
How about the main import/export script? The link in your short tut points to ImportExportTL_blender25x_v0.6.1.zip (Sep 27, 2012) but there is a later one... ImportExportTL_blender25x_v0.6.2.zip (Mar 10, 2013) Are you using the 6.1 version also?
Thanks again!
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Kva3imoda on December 23, 2016, 06:41:08 pm
Should I be using 32bit Blender? I have Win10 so I installed v 2.65a 64bit... :-[
I use 64bit.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on December 25, 2016, 07:39:29 pm
Thanks Kva. I also checked v2.68-64bit (because I had it from an earlier download). tried it but it also did not work.
Then I noticed from Dusho's scripts documentation he said use OGRETools v1.6.3 for TL1 models and v1.7.2 for TL2 models. So i tried that too but it still gives the 'boneID' error message :(
Can you suggest anything else I can try Kva?
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Kva3imoda on December 25, 2016, 09:05:42 pm
I tried to import one of the TL1 wardrobe .MESH files (the Alch's Homunculus set) but I got this error message...
You picked a bad set, try another. 8) This homunculus set contains some error, I do not know the solution yet.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on December 25, 2016, 09:16:11 pm
Haha! Thanks for the tip Kva. I will try it now ;)
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Kva3imoda on December 25, 2016, 09:21:17 pm
https://yadi.sk/d/u4HifL6y34yVih
Put these files in your folder. I corrected model and renamed it (homunculus.mesh). Now all should be all right if you import this mesh.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on December 25, 2016, 09:57:50 pm
Ahahahaha!
Thank u very very much Kva! I didn't try others right away because I was lazy to connect my external hard drive where all my TL1 MEDIA files are :P Thanks so much for this!
But I will try other sets during this holiday break and let you know how it goes :D
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on December 27, 2016, 04:35:23 am
I have positioned the various Homunculus pieces over the HUM_M model...
But I got excited and did all the positioning first :P , so I wanted to check before proceeding...
1. It says I'm supposed to join the meshes, but I'm not sure which to join together. SixShot's tutorial seems to say to join the new mesh with the whole HUM_M mesh ("In object mode, select both meshes, making sure vanquisherM is active and join them (ctrl + J)").
2. Since I'm working with a bare HUM_M model (no armor) I'm thinking I shouldn't join anything. Instead shouldn't I only assign the meshes to bones?
3. I did join together some of the new mesh pieces. Like, I joined the left and right boot together. Is this right?
4. I used some new names in the OUTLINER, like Homunculus/Boots, etc. Will these become the SUBMESH names? Is every line in the OUTLINER a submesh?
5. I noticed there are 2 "bone structures"...
Will I be deleting the structure from the added Homunculus model, leaving only the HUM_M structure?
6. A related / reverse question - will I be deleting the model mesh of HUM_M, leaving just the Homunculus model mesh (like a "shell" over the bone structure)?
Sorry for all these dumb questions! But I am very excited by all this!
Oh and yes, the other meshes seem to import fine...
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Kva3imoda on December 27, 2016, 05:28:54 am
In the beginning try to do something simple. I suggest starting with a helmet and shoulder pads because these parts are attached to only one relevant bone. You must understand how it all works and you need more experience to do more serious things.
Try to do my guide for beginners (http://torchmodders.com/wiki/doku.php?id=basics_of_rigging_in_blender). ;D
I have positioned the various Homunculus pieces over the HUM_M model...
You did this in Object mode or Edit mode?
P.S. And I'm impressed, your first steps are encouraging. :)
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on December 27, 2016, 07:33:47 am
Thanks v much Kva for reminding me of your tutorial ;) Yes i will use it AND i will start with fewer pieces as you suggest. If i have questions i will ask for your guidance, i hope u won't mind!
Yes i positioned all the pieces in edit mode. Their "origins" are all the same as the HUM_M mesh. I made copies of the Homunculus mesh, removed the parts (vertices?) which i would not re-position and positioned/scaled/rotated what was left. So in the outliner, each "Homunculus/..." is an edited copy of the original import.
Thanks for your kind words and encouragement! It means a lot to me coming from u!
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Kva3imoda on December 27, 2016, 02:36:22 pm
Some tips for you PJ.
Firstly always (almost always) for imported models(parts, meshes) use this sequence: In Edit mode 1. A - Choose all 2. W and select in the menu Remove doubles
This will make your Mesh a "single whole object". When the model is imported, for some reason, the object is divided into separate pieces.
After this operation, you can select objects/meshes fully: Mouse pointer then L
note: Some thin objects such as a fabric, ribbons, stripes etc may be corrupted, here you need to see it and find a solution how to avoid it.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on December 28, 2016, 07:05:05 am
Thanks again Kva! Today i just kept reading through your rigging tutorial, because i couldn't actually open Blender at work :D
I will find the time to work up to my first export attempt tomorrow. I expect it to not work, but i'll make sure i learn along the way ;)
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Anarch16sync on December 29, 2016, 07:47:32 am
Firstly always (almost always) for imported models(parts, meshes) use this sequence: In Edit mode 1. A - Choose all 2. W and select in the menu Remove doubles
This will make your Mesh a "single whole object". When the model is imported, for some reason, the object is divided into separate pieces.
After this operation, you can select objects/meshes fully: Mouse pointer then L
note: Some thin objects such as a fabric, ribbons, stripes etc may be corrupted, here you need to see it and find a solution how to avoid it.
I would be careful removing all doubles, most of the hard edges for armor and other models is made using double vertices, so if you merge does the hard edge becomes a soft edge, on the model this doesn't show, but you notice the difference with the lighting.
Also, Phan remember that you have to use the TL2 naming convention for the materials, the meshes objects can have any name in blender since the mesh name is not exported, but the materials need to follow the naming structure of head, pauldron, arm, mid_arm, etc.
And good luck on your Journey :D I'll be lurking around and post if I see I can help you.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 01, 2017, 02:15:00 am
Thanks so much @Kva3imoda and @Anarch16sync for the tips! I see @Vkoslak is back around too :o hope you guys don't mind if I ask so many questions ;)
As suggested by Kva, I am working on exporting ONLY the TL1 Destro Heavy Plate helmet to TL2...
Based on the ENVATO tut linked by Kva, I tried making the Mesh a child of the Armature, using the "with automatic weights" option. But the helmet Mesh vertices would not "stick together" during posing, I guess because different parts of the helmet Mesh were reacting to different bones (based on proximity?)
I also saw tuts which said to join (ctrl + J) the new Mesh part with the base model Mesh. But instead I tried just joining the helmt Mesh to the Hum_M/Scalp Mesh of the base model. To my surprise, the result was very satisfactory.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 01, 2017, 02:40:01 am
Hmm, seems I cannot export to TL Mesh. I selected all parts (Meshes and Armature) of the model with shift + LMB in the Outliner...
and attempted to export, but I get this error message...
Sorry but what might I be doing wrong?
EDIT:
Tried again. It gave me the .MATERIAL file, but no .MESH file :( Also it did not pop-up an error inside Blender, but the console still said 'file not found'...
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Kva3imoda on January 01, 2017, 04:28:07 am
I'm not sure if this will help, but never select a skeleton.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 01, 2017, 07:11:12 am
Thanks Kva but it was because of a simple error on my part!
Remember I mentioned I had to do manual conversion to .XML of the .MESH and .SKELETON files first and leave them in the work folder, otherwise Blender would not import the model? So I re-checked my __init__.py file and OF COURSE I TYPED THE WRONG OGRETOOLS PATH :D >:(
I fixed the path and it now exported 8)
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 01, 2017, 07:35:05 am
Now the issue seems to be the Submesh Materials...
In Blender the Submeshes are like this...
(http://i.imgur.com/Rf9pCai.jpg)
So in the .MATERIAL file, the Submeshes and Materials for both HuM_DHPlate/Scalp and HuM_DHPlate/Helmet are in there...
If I leave both Submesh/Material blocks in the file, it is textured like this...
But if I remove the material HuM_DHPlate/Scalp block, it is textured like this...
I already tried making the old TL1 texture file Destroyer_HeavyPlate_Helm.dds into a DXT3 compression .DDS file (it was DXT1), but this did not help.
I'm thinking I should I remove HuM_DHPlate/Scalp from the Mesh itself inside Blender...
Any ideas would be very appreciated ;)
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Kva3imoda on January 01, 2017, 07:57:28 am
Now the issue seems to be the Submesh Materials...
Well, for your submesh HuM_DHPlate/Helmet you need one material HuM_DHPlate/Helmet But you bear in mind that Dusho`s Mesh Viewer not correctly show some submeshes and textures(in wardrobe 3d models).
I'm thinking I should I remove HuM_DHPlate/Scalp from the Mesh itself inside Blender...
This does not necessarily. This material does not affect the exported model.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Anarch16sync on January 01, 2017, 07:58:48 am
That's because you have two materials in the HUM_DHPlate/helmet mesh, the dusho exporter won't export multiple materials for one mesh, and will only work with the first one, also, you don't need to export all the hum_m base model with your helmet, if you only export the helmet and the skeleton It will work and you are going to have a smaller file.
You should remove the HUM_DHPlate/scalp material from the helmet mesh, and that should do it.
Also if someone knows something about scripting it would be awesome to modify the dusho script so it can export multiple materials per mesh.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Kva3imoda on January 01, 2017, 08:10:08 am
the dusho exporter won't export multiple materials for one mesh, and will only work with the first one
Based on my experience, materials does not need for export. The 3d model automatically gets materials for appropriate submeshes with the same name. Technically, 3d model in .mesh format stores only the submesh information. Like this: <submeshes> <submesh material="any_submesh_name"
These materials(in Blender) only allow properly create *.MATERIAL file. In most cases, I create this *.MATERIAL file manually.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Anarch16sync on January 01, 2017, 09:44:35 am
the dusho exporter won't export multiple materials for one mesh, and will only work with the first one
Based on my experience, materials does not need for export. The 3d model automatically gets materials for appropriate submeshes with the same name. Technically, 3d model in .mesh format stores only the submesh information. Like this: <submeshes> <submesh material="any_submesh_name"
These materials(in Blender) only allow properly create *.MATERIAL file. In most cases, I create this *.MATERIAL file manually.
Yes but if you check the .material file, you will see the material name and it's properties (alpha, difusse, texture, etc.) but this materials are 1 per sub-mesh object. You can check this by joining all the parts from an armor model and export it, since you exported only one object, you will end up with one material for all the parts.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 01, 2017, 05:38:11 pm
Wow thanks SO much guys for the added info; I love it when I'm able to pick up new knowledge from the experts!
I thought of reducing the Material of the Submesh to just 1, because it seemed the efficient way to me. So I tried to "unlink" (right-click on Material name) the HuM_DHPlate/Scalp Material from the model. But when I tried to export I got this error message...
Since I could not understand this :P I decided to try just playing with the .MATERIAL file.
I left both Materials in the .MATERIAL file but tried using the helmet texture for the HuM_DHPlate/Scalp Material and it worked!
...the dusho exporter won't export multiple materials for one mesh, and will only work with the first one...
So I tried removing the HuM_DHPlate/Helmet Material and leaving only the HuM_DHPlate/Scalp Material, still using the helmet texture file and it also worked (same result as the pic above).
I will probably try to go for a full set export using what I've learned so far - one more set for Anarch's TL1 Armors Mod!
P.S. It bothers me a little that (a) there are unnecessary Materials in the model and (b) the Material name in the .MATERIAL file is the wrong one :P (should be /Helmet not /Scalp).
I think I will also try NOT to use "joining meshes" and instead I will directly assign Mesh parts to Bones with weight-painting. I am hoping this will allow me to remove the unnecessary Submeshes AND their Materials safely, resulting in a "cleaner" model and .MATERIAL file.
Pls comment or correct me!
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 01, 2017, 05:40:54 pm
Vkoslak posted in this thread about an update he made to Dusho's TL Mesh import/export script, which I moved over here (http://torchmodders.com/forums/3d-modelling-animation/blender-update-to-dusho's-tl-mesh-importexport-script/).
Here's a quote of his post (visit the moved topic above to DL his updated script ;) )
I know scripting, but knowing the blender api stuff...
I took a quick look. Line 706 is where things start:
materialName = ob.name if len(ob.data.materials)>0: materialName = ob.data.materials[0].name
For a test I made a cube with half red and half white as 2 materials. Dusho's script errors out. Probably because I didn't put textures on it.
I used the regular Ogre3d exporter and it worked. What it does is split the materials into their own submeshes.
I'm pretty sure the def bCollectMeshData(meshData, selectedObjects, applyModifiers): method can be changed to loop over the materials and separate them into the submeshes the same way ogre3d exporter does.
I'll give it a try after some coffee.
EDIT: I got it working! See attached (http://torchmodders.com/forums/3d-modelling-animation/blender-update-to-dusho's-tl-mesh-importexport-script/).
Things I changed: I put a checkbox on to the exporter for "Enable by Material". Default is old behavior. Added code so that it supports exporting a single mesh with multiple materials as submeshes. If exporting by material, submesh material names are taken from the actual material name, not the mesh data name. Now supports multiple textures per material.
There is a catch to the export by material. If you are exporting more than one object and a single material is used more than once, it will probably not do what you want. I was thinking it should combine the meshes assigned to the same material?
Anyways, give it a try. Let me know if it needs any tweaks.
@Vkoslak I'm kinda blown away this thread pushed you into making a new imp/exp script for Blender ??? :D
Thanks so much for this and I will test soon as I can.
Would you be okay if I also post your script in its own thread in the "Tools" section of this site?
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Vkoslak on January 01, 2017, 06:47:02 pm
Sure thing. It's just some edits to Dusho's script.
If I'm really going to mess with it, I should put it in source control on github.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 01, 2017, 07:51:35 pm
Sure thing. It's just some edits to Dusho's script.
If I'm really going to mess with it, I should put it in source control on github.
Okay I moved it over (http://torchmodders.com/forums/3d-modelling-animation/blender-update-to-dusho's-tl-mesh-importexport-script/) ;) just wanted to ask though - what would be the advantage of being able to export multiple Materials for a Mesh?
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Vkoslak on January 01, 2017, 09:26:04 pm
One thing you could do would be to just have one mesh instead of all the pieces. Then you assign pieces via the materials.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Anarch16sync on January 02, 2017, 08:00:20 am
Sure thing. It's just some edits to Dusho's script.
If I'm really going to mess with it, I should put it in source control on github.
Okay I moved it over (http://torchmodders.com/forums/3d-modelling-animation/blender-update-to-dusho's-tl-mesh-importexport-script/) ;) just wanted to ask though - what would be the advantage of being able to export multiple Materials for a Mesh?
The efect of normals, that's the shading effect, with one mesh with multiple materials the blender won't recalculate the normals on the edges and you are going to have a uniform shading on all the unions, you can see that this doesn't happen with the heads I made for the destro, you will notice in the forehead/scalp shading specially. It's a minor thing, so I never asked for it before :D
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 03, 2017, 08:14:40 am
Hi everyone!
I'm getting the hang of moving/rotating/scaling in edit mode to put new armor pieces on to the base models.
But when I reach the stage for rigging I end up deleting my work file because I keep screwing up; I've done this maybe 10 times already, each file averaging about 2 hours of work :D .
What I've been trying to do is "join" each armor piece mesh to an existing sub-mesh of the base model (i.e. join 'new-chest-armor' to 'existing-chest-submesh', etc...). And then I try to weight-paint to get each mesh to deform properly in posing. But like I said I keep screwing up, specially on the weighting.
I AM having fun still, but I am getting impatient to produce results :P So I decided to come here and ask for some directions please!
The pic above is my latest workfile for the Alch Homunculus set - it has no rigging at all yet. Can I ask please for suggestions on the best sequence of "next steps" I should take? Anything would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Edit - Thanks Vkoslak and Anarch for the added info about multiple materials for meshes :)
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Kva3imoda on January 03, 2017, 02:36:13 pm
So I decided to come here and ask for some directions please!
You need a Plan - The Big PJ Wadrobe Plan! :D
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 03, 2017, 02:41:50 pm
Haha! Thanks mucho Kva! Right now my plan is just to import more sets for Anarch's TL1 wardrobe mod ;)
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Vkoslak on January 03, 2017, 05:15:58 pm
Keep an unmodified base mesh around and use it to transfer paint weights from. That will get you most of the way there. I think I documented how to do that elsewhere on this site a while back.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 03, 2017, 06:19:01 pm
Hey thanks so much V! Will comb thru your posts in a bit.
A question tho - should i choose a base mesh with a similar silhouette to the mesh im transferring to? Or would the bare Hum_M / Hum_F be fine?
EDIT
So I found your Custom Armor and Rigging (http://torchmodders.com/forums/modding-questions/custom-armor-and-rigging/msg1861/#msg1861) tutorial post, which also pointed to your video tutorial (https://youtu.be/d2_9uicFJXw) on the same topic.
Great stuff! Am going to try and replicate your methods for my current challenge :D Will report back with what I get.
BTW, would you mind if I copy your tutorial post over to the Torchmodders wiki?
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 04, 2017, 03:43:04 am
Did about 2 more work->deletes :D
Taking a break for today. At this time I have a model with all the necessary meshes all properly named for TL2 (pauldrons = shoulders, forearm = upper gloves, hand = lower gloves, etc.)
Tomorrow I will try weight-transferring from a standard Hum_M mesh...
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Vkoslak on January 04, 2017, 07:19:30 pm
I would think if I post something on these forums, and you feel its appropriate for the wiki, go for it.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 04, 2017, 11:48:33 pm
I would think if I post something on these forums, and you feel its appropriate for the wiki, go for it.
Thanks Vkoslak! It's up on the wiki (http://torchmodders.com/wiki/doku.php?id=weight_transfer_technique_in_blender) now ;)
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 04, 2017, 11:59:08 pm
Hi Guys! Can I get little process-check by way of your opinions?
The process I'm using is...
1. Using standard Hum_M as the "base mesh".
2. Make all the new-mesh parts into "children" of the base mesh armature.
3. Shift+select a Hum_M mesh part and its new-mesh counterpart (ex: Shift+select "Hum_M foot" and then "new-mesh foot"), making sure the new-mesh part is "active".
4. Go into weight-paint mode (ctrl+tab).
5. From the left-side tool panel, select "Transfer Weights".
6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 for each mesh part (e.g. Pauldrons, Calf, etc...)
Am I missing anything?
The results I am getting are okay I guess, but I find there is still a LOT of manual weight painting that needs to be done...
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Anarch16sync on January 05, 2017, 05:29:24 am
Well, certainly you're getting it right :D
Just for comparition let me post a rundown of how I do it. (Less weight painting involved)
1. Using Starndar Hum_m/Hum_f as base mesh. (Same)
Tip: Use ctrl+g to make the mesh into a group, then you can change the outline (Panel in the Top-Right) to organize the objects per group, helpful when working with a lot of meshes with submeshes.
2. Load the TL1 armor to work on.
Tip: Make duplicates for the "new" parts you will work on, this helps keeping the original intact in case of screw ups.
3. Transfer the Helmet and shoulders (scaling, positioning, etc), to have it use weighted to the Hum_m skeleton, you can just look at the properties panel (Righ panel), and in Modifier: Armature change the object it's using, from the original to the Hum_m, this preserves the old weights but now they move with the Hum_m skeleton.
4. Search for a vanilla armor that has a similar siluette to the TL1 armor, then mix and match the parts, a bit of editing here and there. (This parts come already weighted, so less work with that, also makes it easy to make Male/female version with less work)
5. Re-texure the TL2 armor parts with the TL1 armor textures. I found that a good start is to re-scale, reposition and bake the textures on a duplicate of the new armor part, then fix a bit the texture editing the UV of the duplicate, then Baking the texture of the duplicate on the original to have it use the original UV map. (Most gloves/boots textures are the same for male/female so having unmodified UV maps, make the texture works for both)
The hardest part usually is the chest part for this, since is what gives a lot of character to a armor set, and Male/Female version needs different editing and texturing
6. Give it a little touch to the textures on Gimp.
7. Rename everything to the TL2 naming convention, and check to have the right material and textures per submesh
8. Export with skeleton, delete the skeleton (it exports with all the bones rotated), copy-paste a Hum_m/Hum_F skeleton and remane it to the eskeleton your armor uses.
9. Done (In theory)
Tip: Save at every succeful step, so you don't have to make everything again. Also keep a .blend file of the final version, for quick edits and fixes.
That's kind of what I do, is a bit different that transfering all the original parts and weighting, but mix and matching TL2 armor takes time and gets tedious, also retexturing can get tricky. But I post this so you have an idea of how to aproach it another way if the result you're getting are not what you really expected or are having trouble with the weighting.
Hopes you or anyone finds this useful, also keep the hard work Phan, you're making really good progress.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Vkoslak on January 05, 2017, 05:17:12 pm
My tutorial was done with a (now) older version of blender. The default options have changed.
Set it up like what is in the attached screen-grab.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 07, 2017, 05:09:23 am
Thanks very much Anarch and Vkoslak!
I tried working on a smaller project so I wouldn't have to worry about so many sub-meshes > I made an "Alchemist Hair" FEATUREOPTION :P
I practiced the weightpainting using Vkoslak's method and I got it to move properly with the .SKELETON! Thanks so much Vkoslak!
Then I made it into a FEATUREOPTION and got it into the game too :D
BUT as you can see from the screens, the texture is all messed up. Here I learned even if you have a working UV-mapped texture for your mesh which is defined in your .MATERIAL, it seems the game insists on using its own textures.
So Anarch I found this part of your reply very interesting...
Quote from: Anarch16sync
5. Re-texure the TL2 armor parts with the TL1 armor textures. I found that a good start is to re-scale, reposition and bake the textures on a duplicate of the new armor part, then fix a bit the texture editing the UV of the duplicate, then Baking the texture of the duplicate on the original to have it use the original UV map.
What I understand you're saying is...
1. scale/reposition the texture of the new-mesh part so that it "fits" on to the existing-mesh part;
2. in the .MATERIAL file, point to the new texture for the sub-mesh (of your new-mesh model) that is supposed to use it.
Am I getting it right? And for the scaling/repositoning, are you working in Blender, in GUTS or just in your photo editor?
Since I was successful in the weightpainting, I'm excited to try it on other armor pieces and eventually a full set (like the Homunculus set I've been working on) ;)
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Anarch16sync on January 07, 2017, 08:29:26 am
[...] Then I made it into a FEATUREOPTION and got it into the game too :D
BUT as you can see from the screens, the texture is all messed up. Here I learned even if you have a working UV-mapped texture for your mesh which is defined in your .MATERIAL, it seems the game insists on using its own textures.
The hair features use the textures defined by the wardrobe file, so if you want it to work with the TL2 hair textures you are going to need to redo the UV maps for those textures.
So Anarch I found this part of your reply very interesting...
Quote from: Anarch16sync
5. Re-texure the TL2 armor parts with the TL1 armor textures. I found that a good start is to re-scale, reposition and bake the textures on a duplicate of the new armor part, then fix a bit the texture editing the UV of the duplicate, then Baking the texture of the duplicate on the original to have it use the original UV map.
What I understand you're saying is...
1. scale/reposition the texture of the new-mesh part so that it "fits" on to the existing-mesh part;
2. in the .MATERIAL file, point to the new texture for the sub-mesh (of your new-mesh model) that is supposed to use it.
Am I getting it right? And for the scaling/repositoning, are you working in Blender, in GUTS or just in your photo editor?
Since I was successful in the weightpainting, I'm excited to try it on other armor pieces and eventually a full set (like the Homunculus set I've been working on) ;)
All this was for blender, but I was talking of baking the textures, to have a TL2 armor mesh use a TL1 armor texture. I started with this since I saw this post from Kva (has a video tutorial on baking): http://torchmodders.com/forums/tl1-armors-wardrobe-mod/anarch's-wardrobe-mod/msg4585/#msg4585
You need to reposition the meshes so the baking works, that what I was talking about.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 07, 2017, 11:49:00 pm
I started with this since I saw this post from Kva (has a video tutorial on baking): http://torchmodders.com/forums/tl1-armors-wardrobe-mod/anarch's-wardrobe-mod/msg4585/#msg4585
You need to reposition the meshes so the baking works, that what I was talking about.
I remember that discussion now; thanks so much Anarch! It looks like exactly what I need to learn...
For my own convenience I quote Kva's post below, and also Vkoslak's post which Kva was following...
Reading through it, there is a section on copying UV maps. It is really short, so I started poking around and found this: http://www.screencast.com/users/blenderwho/folders/Jing/media/8999e39f-0a49-464a-b558-e3ac2bcc8c4f (http://www.screencast.com/users/blenderwho/folders/Jing/media/8999e39f-0a49-464a-b558-e3ac2bcc8c4f) Transferring UV images from one model to another based on different UV layouts. As long as the models are somewhat close.
I tried to do the same, but I failed. I'm doing something wrong. :( After I press "Bake", I do not have new texture map, but only a black image.
I subscribe to "blendernation" on twitter, and a couple of days ago I saw something relevant to my interests. https://blog.sketchfab.com/retopologise-3d-scans-low-poly-game-assets/ (https://blog.sketchfab.com/retopologise-3d-scans-low-poly-game-assets/) I have a kinect and some 3d scanning software. Hell, that's where the face and some of the boots on my witch mod came from. I just did the retopology by hand.
Reading through it, there is a section on copying UV maps. It is really short, so I started poking around and found this: http://www.screencast.com/users/blenderwho/folders/Jing/media/8999e39f-0a49-464a-b558-e3ac2bcc8c4f (http://www.screencast.com/users/blenderwho/folders/Jing/media/8999e39f-0a49-464a-b558-e3ac2bcc8c4f) Transferring UV images from one model to another based on different UV layouts. As long as the models are somewhat close.
I'm still monkeying with it, but it looks promising.
Back to the journey! :D
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 08, 2017, 01:16:51 am
My Blender Journey, Homunculus Suit Project, Day 12
End of the weekend so my project will slow down again until next weekend. My current "base" project .blend file is like this...
I made it this way to have a (hopefully) clean point from where I can apply my new learnings about (a) weight painting and (b) texture baking.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 08, 2017, 06:38:47 pm
While trying the baking procedure I encountered the "Feedback Loop Detected" error message (for Blender 2.65; in later versions the error message is "Circular Reference In Texture Stack").
I found this tutorial and I'm working with it to see if I can get around the problem...
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Vkoslak on January 08, 2017, 10:44:15 pm
I would guess that means you are trying to draw to the same texture you are copying from. You probably need to change your texture slot.
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 09, 2017, 02:14:10 am
Hi Vkoslak! Yup that was it exactly :P I've since succeeded in generating the baked texture onto a new UV map.
I'm working on the "/ExChest" material, so I made a completely new UV map for it. I will next try to bake onto the pre-existing UV map of a pre-existing sub-mesh (hope it's not much more difficult :o !).
Ever onward!
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 13, 2017, 02:11:09 am
I haven't found any help on the web for an issue I have (maybe because it's specific to OGRE meshes) - something about my materials just isn't exporting properly.
It shows all fine in Blender...
But refuses to display properly in Dusho's viewer. This has no rigging whatsoever so I haven't tried getting it into GUTS yet...
Even the .MATERIAL file seems to be all in order :-[ any ideas for things I might try pls?
Thanks guys!
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Kva3imoda on January 13, 2017, 03:08:53 am
But refuses to display properly in Dusho's viewer.
Dusho's viewer has a problem with submeshes with specific names(for example simultaneous use */chest and */exchest) . :) I wrote about this earlier in my guide. I'll show you what I mean.
2 different viewers: (http://s24.postimg.org/cyinaivz9/Chumbacket_VV.png)
In addition, the viewer may have problems with combination .png/.dds textures in a .material file. This is not a big problem, there just need more experience. ;)
another viewer (http://forums.runicgames.com/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=54581&hilit=Mesh+viewer)
Title: Re: My Blender Journey :P
Post by: Phanjam on January 13, 2017, 08:42:17 am
Thanks so much Kva! Yes, my new material shows up correctly in the OGRE Mesh Viewer...
Okay I think I can do the other materials now. I still haven't done any rigging on this mesh yet, even though I studied it before this materials stuff. Sooo little time!!!