• New Horizons on Maelstrom
    Maelstrom New Horizons


    Visit our website www.piratehorizons.com to quickly find download links for the newest versions of our New Horizons mods Beyond New Horizons and Maelstrom New Horizons!

New Modding Tools!

Pieter Boelen

Pieter Boelen

Navigation Officer
Administrator
Storm Modder
Hearts of Oak Donator
Thanks to Peter Willemoes' hard work in public relations with Akella and seaward.ru, we have now been given the modding tools that Akella and Seaward.ru use to develop models and textures for the official Storm-engine based games, such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Age of Pirates and the upcoming City of Abandoned Ships. This is what Seaward.ru spokeperson Edward Zaitzev has to say about these tools:

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->ConvertorTX.exe - Texture convertor from .tga to .tga.tx.
gm_view.exe - Models viwer for .gm.
potcShips1.rar - Initial files for sloop and frigate.
SailorTool.rar - Tool for set the sailor's path on the ships.

Dir Maya - Maya plug-ins.
GrassGenerator.exe - Tool for convert grass on land location. The grass is necessary for unloading from Maya with collisions!
PatchCreator.exe - Tool for convert wolking patch on land location.

Dir Maya5.0 - Attention. Files on this directore must copy into the Maya 5.0 (or Maya 5.1). Copy files from bin to bin directory Maya. Copy files from scripts to scripts directory Maya.

How to include plug-ins in Maya.
Window->Settings/Preferences->Plug-in Manager. Set the SD2AniExport.mll and SD2GeoExport.mll.

How export .gm file from Maya.
File->Export Selection. Press Options. Set Build BSP for export with collisions. Choose Product and press Export selection. Set path to .gm file and call it. Press Export.


I think now it is necessary to understand that you have received. I am ready to answer your questions in process of their occurrence.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The tools can be found here:
<a href="http://piratesahoy.net/build/tools/akella_tools.rar" target="_blank">Download</a> (14,9 MB)

A password is required for opening the file. To prevent unauthorized use, please PM me for the password. I would kindly request you all to not redistribute the password to anybody else. I'll take care of that.

Some tools are meant for use with Maya 5.0, which can be found on the PotC FTP.

Now we need to figure out how to use these tools for making proper ship, character and location models. Please post here with your comments on the tools and any problems/questions that might occur. Then we can try to figure things out for ourselves or otherwise ask Mr. Zaitzev for help with using them.
 
Pieter Boelen wrote:<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->We have to find out if the SailorTool can make PotC walk files or AoP sailorspoints files. Perhaps it can only make the AoP ones, which would mean we cannot use it for PotC unless we find a way to convert it somehow. Perhaps the coordinate systems are similar?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Cylon13 wrote:<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Aye the SailorTool IS for PotC. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Peter Willemoes wrote:<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I have tried to get the readme.txt-file translated with the babelfish-link (thx Julian) but it is half pure nonsense, half my guessing. Also, I dont know anything about working in Maya or the file-extensions mentioned here. If anybody would like to try translating the original text or make something out of this, you´re MORE than welcome! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />

<!--c1--><div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain'><!--ec1-->Plugin for Maya v4.0 and v.4.5

The plugin consists of 3 parts.
2 of them are Maya-independent: it is necessary to copy export.dll into the folder AW\.Maya4.?\.bin\SD2GeoExportMel.
It is necessary to copy mel-files into folder AW\.Maya4.?\.scripts\.others\
This part of the plugin depends on the version of Maya and if there exists a MAI 4.0 and 4.5

Copy D2GeoExport.mll into folder AW\.Maya4.?\.bin\.plugins\Exported objects:
- polygonal mesh.
The material must be assigned to the object:
-.Pyuong
-.Lamber
Incadescene is more than zero for the materials, which emit luminous energy.

Value
- energy density per unit of area.
CosPow is assigned the spread of the outgoing directions of photons relative to the standard of the vertexes of triangle.
Object must contain mapping. To each UVSet, you must be (prilinkovana?) its texture.
-.map (compulsorily?) - base texture.
-.bump (optionally) the color of the pixels of this texture will be (znakovo?) added to the color of the pixels of base texture.
- if the additional mapping is not necessary its UVSet, it is possible to use field Bump Mapping in the editor of the materials of Maya.

Additionally, mapping considers place2dTexture = transformation of the textural coordinates:
Repeat UV = tayling of textural coordinates

Offset = displacement of mapping

Rotate UV = turning of textural coordinates; all the remaining options in place2dTexture are not considered.

Locator in the scene = indication that everything which to it fastened will be unloaded into the separate file of geometry.

Other locators, that are fastened to the geometry, create separate file - the means of the formation of hierarchy.

The triangles of object have VertexColor. In Maya, it is not originally vertexColor that determines the vertex.
In this case, it is the unloaded value ARGB = of 255,127,127,127.

Color of vertex = coefficient of the diffuse component of material.

During unloading of objects with those painted vertexColor´ami object, it is necessary to triangulate before the unloading.

For unloading the geometry it is necessary to isolate the locator, to which this object is attached.

For unloading the locators without the geometry must also be isolated.

Object cannot be unloaded, if the material texture is not assigned.

Materials with two textures cannot be placed to the object with one mapping.

In the object it is not possible to combine triangles with one or two uVSet'ami.

During unloading of the geometry in parallel are created atg-files, into which are written the obtained errors and information about the exported objects.<!--c2--></div><!--ec2-->

"Incadescene is more than zero for the materials, which emit luminous energy. "? Any rocketscientists out there? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" /><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
 
Yay! on my first ever time going near a modelling program, i managed to add reasonable oars to a sloop (as a practice) now, I'll see if I can make a ship.
 
Did you manage to put the sloop in the game yet? The modeling is doable; it's the conversion process that always causes the main problems.
 
We should set up a good ship modeling with Maya 5.0 tutorial as soon as we've figured out how to do it.
 
Btw does SailorTool have ability to change those sailor models on ships? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />
 
The actual MODELS? You can just replace the models in RESOURCE\MODELS\LowCharacters. I have the AoP ones in there now and they work fine and look better. Though I think they could do with some improved textures.
 
Ah; but that is not done through the walk file, but is hardcoded somewhere. The SailorTool can do nothing about that.
 
Damn ..but those current hi-poly sailors sure need some new textures. <--- Agrees. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />
 
The AoP sailors have got more detailed models, but their textures are very low resolution. I'm sure some of our members here could do better. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />
 
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->"Incadescene is more than zero for the materials, which emit luminous energy. "? Any rocketscientists out there? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" /><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Those translation tools can really provide with interesting challenges! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />

No rocketscience though: "Incadescene" should have been Incandescence,
... which occurs in light bulbs, because the filament resists the flow of electrons becoming incandescent... hereby making light!

So you assign values for how much light you want out of something to the: "Incadescene" atribute
<img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" /> This is how languages evolve with Babelfish! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />
 
i still don't see what that sentence is supposed to mean. maybe he's talking about the lighting issue?

there already was a mod for better deck sailors. though the animations needed tweaking, which we could, in theory, do now.
 
The AoP sailors ARE better and have got the correct animation. Only the textures are very low resolution.
 
well, that can be fixed, so why not? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />
 
Exactly; I'm using the AoP ones myself now. I just want better textures. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />
 
let's go find Thomas. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />
 
<!--quoteo(post=235089:date=Feb 1 2008, 03:02 PM:name=Pieter Boelen)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pieter Boelen @ Feb 1 2008, 03:02 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=235089"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Exactly; I'm using the AoP ones myself now. I just want better textures. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" /><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Hint, hint!

Perhaps after I get the Ugly Smuggler out of the way.

I'm finished with the rigging (though MT will probably still find fault) and just need to make some final touches to the skin.

Oh wait, I still have a Jolly Mon experiment to do.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top