Need Help Worldmap Ships

[Levis]

So, how hard is it to create a ship for the world map?
How hard is it to just retexture one (create the same model with other textures).

Could someone give me a little rundown of what needs to be done for both things? I keep gettings weird things in tool, if I load up the models they are all f*cked up etc so I must be doing something wrong, altough I'm running tool in a w7 x64 envirioment which doesn't seem to help either so maybe I should run it on a vm.... but still can someone give me a little hint of what to do.

I need this so I can add ghost ships and treasure galleons to the worldmap.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

I know they have been changed but not when or by whom.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

The current ones were done by me, many, many years ago. Back in the days when I still did some 3D modeling.
I used 3D Studio MAX, but I don't think I have the source files anymore.
That is why the US ship model is the same as the pirate one, just with a different texture applied.

The same should be possible for Ghost Galleons/Treasure Ships:
Just HEX-Edit an existing worldmap ship model to use a different texture.
That only leaves you a choice between stock game schooners, brigs, fleuts, frigates, caravels and galleons though.
But I'm afraid that is the best we can do without this becoming a big lot of work.

Is it possible to give the worldmap ships different icons depending on something other nationality? Just like in AoP and CoAS!?!

 

[Levis]

It's something I want to test. But as far as I can see the message which is send has a nationality in it and by this the right model is selected. so if we send say "ghost" as nationality in the code and make sure there is a ship for it, it should work.

I tought the textures where changed by tool, but this is just done by hex editing? No problem then, altough I still want to see if it would be possible to have sails which are shreaded for the worldmap ghostship. And I'm looking into particle effects to see if they can have a fog. Same for the treasure galleon. Want to do something special with that too...

Can you have transparant parts in the textures?

 

[Pieter Boelen]

The TOOL is used for model-editing. Just re-texturing can be done with HEX-Editing alone.

Unfortunately the game engine does not appear to support alpha maps on worldmap ship models. I just tested it:
Actual texture (GM Viewer): In the Game:

I also have no clue if it is possible to trigger particle effects on the worldmap.

However, I did once manage to load a ship deck scene WHILE on the worldmap and I got:
- Ship deck ran in the background (invisible) and the worldmap continued on the foreground
- It was a stormy sea and I got all the storm and rain effects on the worldmap
- I got a working dialog going also while still seeing the worldmap
That was.... unexpected, to say the least!

 

[Armada]

This is a cool idea.

Unfortunately the game engine does not appear to support alpha maps on worldmap ship models. I just tested it:
Actual texture (GM Viewer): View attachment 16058 In the Game: View attachment 16059

That just looks like the game is still using the normal sail texture instead. If it really didn't like alpha maps, it would just fill the gaps with grey, surely?
Maybe it would load the alpha texture with a new game or restarting the game?

 

[Levis]

This is a cool idea.


That just looks like the game is still using the normal sail texture instead. If it really didn't like alpha maps, it would just fill the gaps with grey, surely?
Maybe it would load the alpha texture with a new game or restarting the game?

The TGA image file is set up in a way where there is a seperate alpha channel so you still have the full image and the alpha channel says how transparent it should be. And it seems the engine doesn't do this so it shows the normal files. Altough I think it does show a sligt change in brightness between where the alpha channel is black or white.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

That just looks like the game is still using the normal sail texture instead. If it really didn't like alpha maps, it would just fill the gaps with grey, surely?
Maybe it would load the alpha texture with a new game or restarting the game?

Unfortunately not. The normal sail texture for that model is the weathered one.
The fact that my screenshot shows black sails proves that it IS using the torn texture. But it doesn't work.

 

[Levis]

I can change the model so the sail looks torn.
I tried that and I can get it in the game but the textures don't map on it cause the texcoords get lost during the editing. What tools can set these texture coords?

 

[TheBlackKnight]

So, how hard is it to create a ship for the world map?
How hard is it to just retexture one (create the same model with other textures).

Could someone give me a little rundown of what needs to be done for both things? I keep gettings weird things in tool, if I load up the models they are all f*cked up etc so I must be doing something wrong, altough I'm running tool in a w7 x64 envirioment which doesn't seem to help either so maybe I should run it on a vm.... but still can someone give me a little hint of what to do.

I need this so I can add ghost ships and treasure galleons to the worldmap.

I did replacements for ships into HD for models/textures already for CoAS on my installation, so I should be able to help you guys out.
I actually planned to post them eventually when I got around to finish compiling the HD GUI Mod.
So you all are aware just as in POTC, CoAS cannot use torn sails on the world map as no alpha transparency is allowed.
The only way to do is modify the ship model to depict the torn sails with gm editing, essentially "cutting out" the sails from the model.
The only other easier option to texture the sails to make them "look" like they are torn.
It is possible to use CoAS ship models with POTC, if you want a bit more variety, as there are frigates, sloops, and man-o-wars among a couple of others.

Here is one of my rextextured world map ships modified from old Russian updated models.
(They ended up using this model as the player's ship in POTEHO!)

 

[Pieter Boelen]

To tear the sails, the models would probably have to be exported to VRML with the GM Viewer, then modified with Maya.
I suppose. But I've never done that.

 

[Armada]

Very annoying about the lack of alpha map support. I don't see why it has to be that way, but I guess there must be a reason.

To tear the sails, the models would probably have to be exported to VRML with the GM Viewer, then modified with Maya.
I suppose. But I've never done that.

GM Viewer exports to OBJ format, and TOOL exports to VRML. The former is the better method for working with Maya, though.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Very annoying about the lack of alpha map support. I don't see why it has to be that way, but I guess there must be a reason.

Probably because they didn't think they'd need it and never bothered coding it in.

Very annoying about the lack of alpha map support. I don't see why it has to be that way, but I guess there must be a reason.

AH! After so many years of not doing it, I got my formats mixed up.
I remembered the GM Viewer method was the "newer" way and the VRML method was what I used myself in the past.

 

[Levis]

I can get the files in my modeler and edit them but the texture info gets removed and i cant find a way to get them to work again. In my modeler i do have the texture info but cant export it to a vrml format it seems....
You need to use the maya export to gm plugin to get texture data to be exported?
I'm still looking if i do manage to keep the texture data tough... Cause i prefer my own modeler above maya.

Im very interested in those other ships btw.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Well, what I used to do is to export to VRML with the TOOL, then edit the model file, save as VRML and use TOOL again to export to GM.

 

[Levis]

Yeah i did that, but when i say to use a certain texture after importing it again it doest recognises it cause the ploycount is changed...

 

[TheBlackKnight]

I can get the files in my modeler and edit them but the texture info gets removed and i cant find a way to get them to work again. In my modeler i do have the texture info but cant export it to a vrml format it seems....
You need to use the maya export to gm plugin to get texture data to be exported?
I'm still looking if i do manage to keep the texture data tough... Cause i prefer my own modeler above maya.

Im very interested in those other ships btw.

Are you referring to my post? (not sure)
If so what ships do you want?
For treasure fleets, a large man-o-war would work well.
For ghost galleons, you also have a few choices, but I have none with "torn sails".
I could probably whip something up for you, if you know what you want.

If anybody wanted to go really "ape crazy" (and I am not volunteering here), you could actually use another full size size model such as Pieter did, and downscale the image to fit the world map after adding masts and sails back to the model, but a lot of the detail would be lost because its hard to see anyway due to world map size.

Case in point with the my modified corvette model above that was based on the Dog of War from CoAS. The detail is there, but you cannot really see it, because I was using texture equivalencies on full scale ships to incorporate them into the small scale model.
Performance hit is minimal on a modern systems, but many people would not even notice the changes.
I am just detail focused.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Very true on the detail. That is one of the reasons I used the PotC stock game ship models for the worldmap and not custom ones.
The original game models were not that detailed anyway.

 

[Levis]

I was thinking about converting one to the worldmap also already.
I'm interested to see the one with torn sails. I think I will use the portugues for the treassure galleon with modified textures and more cannons on it. That I can manage to do.

I'm getting closer and closer with getting my own models in the game.
I'm able to get the texture coords back for the models but tool still errors. I can open them in all other modelers I have so it must be something stupid which those modelers fix theire self and tool can't do.
but I think I know how to fix this also.