3D modding, how?

[WilhelmSchulz.]

Im thinking of modifying the Conning tower in SHIV(I know this is SH3 mod shop but Im pulling all resources) Can someone help me? How do I do it. What do I need?

[Letum]

What do you allredy knopw and what experiance do you have?
What programs do you have for the task?

[WilhelmSchulz.]

Originally Posted by Letum

What do you allredy knopw and what experiance do you have?
What programs do you have for the task?

I am a uber noob. And I have jack.

[Mush Martin]

Well as an Still noobish to an ubernoob ill tell you.

It takes patience.

First off what do you want to do to the conning tower as it matters
in which direction to give advice.

that is to say, are you intending to just paint it ?
or are you intending to move it to a sub it doesnt belong too?
or finally are you intending to reshape to model into a different
shape and by extension if so then are you intending to replace
the origianal conning tower with yours or add your conning tower
as a new type?

MM

[WilhelmSchulz.]

Originally Posted by Mush Martin

Well as an Still noobish to an ubernoob ill tell you.
are you intending to replace
the origianal conning tower with yours or add your conning tower
as a new type?

MM

Yes.

[thefretmaster]

ok so you want to actually make your own 3d model or modify an existing one. you will need some software (obv) i use 3ds max 7. it lacks some of the features of 3ds 8 & 9 but you dont really need them. you can buy pre-owned copies off of ebay or other sites because it is pro stuff and can cost an arm and a leg. there are ofcourse illegitimate methods of getting it but that is your decision and you wont have all the help files and stuff that you need.
there are other programs available too (probably cheaper but sh3 was made on max, dunno about 4) i dont know about these.

you will probably be baffled by the system when you start it up, it is very different from other ways of 3d moddeling (eg CAD programs for industry) you use shapes to make up the model and change these to make the shape. you will want to find some tutorials. it is not quick to learn. just do a wide range of tutorials and find them when you need them.

if you already have a program of some kind you need to extract the files from the game, i dont have sh4 so i dont know if you can extract the 3d files the same way but you can use pack3d to get the files from the dat file in sh3. they should be in a .obj file format and 3ds can import these. thene you are free to mess around with the model. i am not very good at the rest of the process but thats how you get the file to mess around with hope it helps

[WilhelmSchulz.]

Is there a downloadable 3D program?

[Mush Martin]

Yes there are but it may be best to start at a cloning tutorial and
get pack3d all versions (I think my tutorial came with it I cant remember)

also hexediting may be required
you need to talk to someone with
more modelling experience than I as to
what hexediting skills you may need
and what is a good 3d modelling program.

[Maraz]

Originally Posted by WilhelmSchulz.

Is there a downloadable 3D program?

This one

http://www.ac3d.org

is very good, very easy to use and is not very costly. Anyway you can try it for 14 days before buying.

It can import objects extracted via pack3d, I hope it can also export them in the suitable format (I did not try that yet).

Cheers
Maraz

[thefretmaster]

unfortunately most 3d software is either expensive or cheap and basic, there are exceptions ofcourse. the reason for them being expensive is for the simple reason that people will get really good at it and will be some of the only people that can do it and will sell their work. i have seen models on sale for around £250-500 now that is a nice way to earn some money! basicly the companys know this and say that "if you are going to make loads of money out of this then we will have loads of money from you"

[petbse]

Originally Posted by petbse

It is free modeling tool, opensource GPLed(licence of the linux world) so you can do whatever you want with the source. It has many features of Maya and 3dsMax but is lacking on some proffesional feats but we aren't making Pixar movie here.
check www.blender.org its documentation was rather lacking a year ago but that may be different now. It is strongly polygon oriented rather then curve, but extrude surfaces and nurbs are there to some extent. It has also animation IKbones and walk cycles and so on. It has many features unseen in other software. It is quite complicated though. It has also its own game engine. May be good for testing models but the SH3 is surely different from it, havent tested it until now. I cant comment because I am no profesional. Its free its small its loaded with features. It knows Wavefront/OBJ format. What can I say from other peoples comments it may be better than older 3dMax versions and it is free as in free speach and as in free bear and peanuts

I am quoting miself again