Pack3D - Manual and Bugs Reports here...please

[Sansal]

Well:

After a month typing hard, with Java's api, trying it with Sergbuto and some other things here I give you the first version of my hardworked Pack3D (Windows version)

http://24flotilla.gamab.net/pack3d/Pack3D.jar

You only have to download the file, as it is without decompressing, in the SH3 folder or wherever you want. If you have www.java.com already installed you must only double-click the jar file and the application will pop up.



First steps:

The first, and only thing you can do, is choose the .dat file which you want to work with. Click on "Get Dat" look for the file. Depending on the file's size it will load faster or slower but it doesn't keep loading more than 40 seconds. You'll see something like this:



If you have a 3D edition program like Wings3D, Maya, 3DMax, etc., you'll be able to see the design of any thing from the game looking for the respective .dat file and then clicking on "Export All" will create a subfolder in the unit you have previously chosen where all files that can be viewed and modified are stored so you can place them again in that unit.

They look like this (well, actually a bit better, illumination is not my best)



Mommmmmmm, I want to make a model and play with it in SHIII.

The first thing is to prepare the needed files before cloning anything. Is as easy as copying the files of the most similar unit to what you want to do to a folder inside SEA, AIR, LAND or SUBMARINE, name that folder and replace the part of the original name with the one of the new folder always regarding file extensions and suffixes.

Then, you have to assign it to the country you want to make the testing. That is made by taking the .cfg file inside roster, country, unit class, you copy it and take it to the country you wish. Then you change the name of that file with another that will be the name of that class and finally you edit that .cfg file and the other .cfg which is in the .dat folder and change the classname with this new one.

And now you can dig it, execute Pack3D and the first to do is cloning the copied file. That's what you use "Clone" for.... if you had hit it on a genuine .dat ... then nothing... it's ok, now you have a file different to those of the SH3 players. You create a test mission where the original and the cloned unit appear so you see whether they work in the same mission or not.

After this, a bit long but simple, now you can start to work importing textures and 3D objects, the program only allows to replace 3D objects and textures with new ones, be them modifications of the original ones or externally designed objects. A second part is to come where you'll be able to modify flotability, weight, power, max speed, armor, drag.......I hope not to spend another month like with this one. To insert an .obj in the same folder where that design is there must be another one with .mtl extension.

Referring to textures you'll be able to use only one for aircrafts and two for ships (you can see 4 textures in the textures section but actually they're only two). More textures could be inserted, but is something that I'll see according to what you ask but putting more would be overdimensioning a lot the .dat size. 95% or more of the size of a .dat are actually textures.

Thanks as always, to the whole 24th Flotilla and to Subsim's community that has followed the work, giving ideas, knowledge, tests and over all, motivation to finish it. I don't want to put any nicks because I would always miss one and that wouldn't be fair.

Enjoy,