Editing Ship Models/Skins

[Feuer Frei!]

I would like to know what sort of tools the modders here have in their 'tool shed' for skinning ships and working with placement of units or people for instance, putting clothes on them, is there a program that does all these things? Or would i need several programs, depending on what i want to do? Any of these tools freeware?
I noticed iambecomelife's fleet mod for eg. and would like to look at modelling my own ships, or customizing their appearances etc. Uniform mods, U-Boot skins.
Please educate this layman

[flakmonkey]

While id love to have been the author of the merchant fleet mod it was actaully made by iambecomelife

As for your question, you can use pretty much any 3d app that can export .obj files to make new units. Personally i use maya and 3ds max but these are quite expensive. Try a google search for wings3d, last time i looked it was free and quite fully featured. You will also need something like photoshop to create and edit unit textures (.tga format).

And for importing your work into sh3 you will need s3d, a quick forum search should find it.

Happy modding

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by flakmonkey

While id love to have been the author of the merchant fleet mod it was actaully made by iambecomelife

Well, don't i feel like a goose now, fixed in OP.

As for your question, you can use pretty much any 3d app that can export .obj files to make new units. Personally i use maya and 3ds max but these are quite expensive. Try a google search for wings3d, last time i looked it was free and quite fully featured. You will also need something like photoshop to create and edit unit textures (.tga format).
And for importing your work into sh3 you will need s3d, a quick forum search should find it. Happy modding

Fantastic! Just the type of answer i was looking for. Thanks a lot

If anyone else has anything to add to this i'm all ears.

[heidelbergensis]

You can try also Blender; it´s free and it´s a professional level tool in it´s current revision. Search for Blender.org and download it and try.

Cinema 4D is not for free, but it´s simplest version is enough to 3D modelling, and is cheaper tnan 3dsmax or Maya.

Great! Another modder. Good to see new blood.

[Feuer Frei!]

Thanks guys.
Is there like a step by step guide or something for working with editing models ingame?
I've got Wings 3D, S3D and i just need a free image-editing program i assume.
I've looked at the webpage for wings, but it's only very limited in how to use it.
What i'm asking is, do i export a model(ship, person, u-boot) with s3d first? then save that file onto desktop and open that up with wings 3d? Or how do i do all this?
Sorry for the ignorance, a step by step mini guide would be awesome, doesn't have to be a huge guide, just to get me started.
Thanks again Kaleuns

Yep.
Export say the Ship's main Hull with S3D.
Useing any 3D program you adjust the verts to suit your desires.
You'll have to re-do the UV layout after that or you'll get screwed up textures.
They'll be stretched if you don't.

Then once you've saved it, import with S3D.

Now that is the simple 'how-to'.
Actually DOING it?
There's gonna be some learnin' involved.


It does get easier as you go along and clowns like me are always closer then you sometimes wish.
So ask questions if you get flustered.

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by privateer

Useing any 3D program you adjust the verts to suit your desires.
You'll have to re-do the UV layout after that or you'll get screwed up textures.
They'll be stretched if you don't.

See, you've lost me there already Verts? Remember Jeff, i've never done this before

Then once you've saved it, import with S3D.

So export the .dat file of a ship, we will use Bismarck, (for some reason my pics aren't sticking here, i will use links)
http://i.imgur.com/CgWTl5f.jpg?2
with S3D, save onto desktop, which will be a .tga file, then what? Wings wont open tga files, is that why i need a photo-editing program?

EDIT: If i use Gimp for example, i would be able to open a .tga file and edit the image, then save as .tga over-writing original .tga and then importing that edited file into game again via s3d? Is that the gist of it?

Ahh. If your only going to work the skins export the .tga
Them use Gimp or the free Photoshop CS2 posted here at SubSim.
(I highly suggest you grap a copy of that!)
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=201285
Download and install. It works fine on this Win 7 system I travel with so ignore the warnings.

Edit that (the tga file) and use S3D to import it.
The verts stuff only applies if your doing an adjustment to the 3D model of anything.

Verts are the 'dots' you'd see in a 3D program that changes the shape of the object you are working on.

Now watch me juggle these Chain Saws while blind drunk.


See? I told you I was a Clown!

[Feuer Frei!]

Anyone got any experience with Blender? I've got a tga file open in Blender, it's of the U-boot 2sa, can i and how do i insert images onto the hull?
Also, adding camaflouage etc, new paint jobs? From here?

[Feuer Frei!]

Hallo Kaleuns
So is there anyone that can give me some pointers in working with gimp and sh3?
Specifically making emblems, load screens, uniforms, skins for u-boots?
I've scoured the web but for specifically the things i'm asking, there is not much in the way of step by step guides unfortunately.

[Mittelwaechter]

Hallo Feuer Frei,

Blender and 3dWings are programs to add or change 3d objects. If you want to add a cube behind your wintergarten, this is what you need. I guess they don't even open TGA files.
(TGA is a format like JPG or GIF - for pictures/images - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.tga)

CS2 or Gimp or Paint.net are the tools to change camouflage or do paintjobs or change any "flat 2d" screens for the game. They do open TGA files.

For the camouflage job you have to find the "skin" (TGA) wrapped around an ingame 3d object and change it to your liking. The ingame screens are TGA files too.

There are thousands of tutorials on the internet for both groups of tasks - especially for the painting stuff.

For i.e. Gimp: http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/

[Feuer Frei!]

Thanks for your reply Mittelwaechter.

Another quick question:

When editing or rather skinning Subs for example, how do i know what i'm changing in respect to what part of the ship.
Specifically these files: UFlak_High, mask_type, conning_stuff, Turm7c_1_deck for instance.

I understand the hull, deck files of course, pretty self-explanatory, just wondering about the above-mentioned.
What part of the ship are they?

I'm starting to get used to Gimp, and the different tools available within the program, but get a little stuck on some of those file names, and where they are on the ship. I've started experimenting skinning my own sub, albeit the outcome is still very simplistic I'm still learning.

As for install directory, i assume, after inspecting other skin mods submitted by users in the past that the install directory is ALWAYS Data/Textures/TNormal/tex?


Thanks in advance

[Mittelwaechter]

Color the different areas of the TGA's in significant colors and fire them up to see where what goes. Then watch the steel colored rectangle changed to pink in your TGA making a pink colored 10.5 cm barrel...

If you stay with this stuff and stand the learning curve I suggest you switch over to PhotoShop CS2 sooner or later. It's a ~700.- $ pro tool from 2005 - iirc - and freeware since a few days.

The directory is Data/Textures/TNormal/tex, because its where the game searches for the textures in the first place. You may extract TGA files from different other locations and files with S3D.

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by Mittelwaechter

Then watch the steel colored rectangle changed to pink in your TGA making a pink colored 10.5 cm barrel...

I don't quiete understand this line?
steel colored rectangle? You're talking about a tga file here for the gun? deck gun file is named? I assume uflak high is flak gun? what name is the deck gun tga?
Sorry for my ignorance.
PS: Thanks for your help.