[TEC] Ship skinning...

tater · 08-23-07, 11:00 PM

It is a total nightmare?

I wanted to try and make some more commercial looking merchant skins. The top rectangle looked to be the hull.

I made the top very dark (on Nagara), the bottom very light, and I put ABC in black in the light area middle, and DEF in white on the dark. Checked the skin.

The black and white areas were ALL OVER the ship, the letters were forwards and backwards and different sizes. So is the skin mapping super crappy in SH4, or what?

tater

FooFighters · 08-24-07, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tater

It is a total nightmare?

I wanted to try and make some more commercial looking merchant skins. The top rectangle looked to be the hull.

I made the top very dark (on Nagara), the bottom very light, and I put ABC in black in the light area middle, and DEF in white on the dark. Checked the skin.

The black and white areas were ALL OVER the ship, the letters were forwards and backwards and different sizes. So is the skin mapping super crappy in SH4, or what?

tater

I know the merchants are worse, but also try a subskin

tater · 08-24-07, 08:20 AM

It looks to be pretty much impossible to do, sadly. The nagara's hull texture also forms her decks, and all the 1/2 walls along the side of the superstructure as well as the masts. It would be totally impossible, for example, to give her a black hull, because the rest of the ship (superstructure) becomes maybe 2/3 black when you do.

tater

FooFighters · 08-24-07, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tater

It looks to be pretty much impossible to do, sadly. The nagara's hull texture also forms her decks, and all the 1/2 walls along the side of the superstructure as well as the masts. It would be totally impossible, for example, to give her a black hull, because the rest of the ship (superstructure) becomes maybe 2/3 black when you do.

tater

I 100% agree, but it would be great to see combat and merchants without all the rust.
The aircraft carriers looks like it's been underwater for 50 years.

SlimDuce · 08-24-07, 09:08 AM

I couldnt agree more!!! The stocks ships are modeled great but the skins are just awful.

tater · 08-24-07, 09:52 AM

It's not just that they LOOK awful, the merchant skin I looked at was so horribly organized that reskinning Nagara is impossible.

I guess I need to look at others.

I wanted to try my hand at skinning, but unlike any aircraft I've messed with to skin (Il-2) they used the same texture for so much of the ship... ugh.

tater

tater · 08-26-07, 12:08 AM

Someone shoot me.

argh.

OK, take the simple little Taihosan Maru.

The T01 file is easy enough to understand. Color parts and you find that the top part that is clearly the hull is used in dribs and drabs elswhere. Fine. The middle of the ship has the same texture starting going in 2 directions. So if I wanted a meatball flag, I make a half a flag, put it in the right spot... and it works. At a certain distance I see a line in the middle though.

So I look at the O01 file. A bunch of shapes that represent the different parts of the ship. Better! I color a few in, look at taihosan, and the middle of the hull is one bigh contiguous section in the O file! So I add a flag. No dice.

So close. The people who skin this crap need to get a medal. What a nightmare.

SlimDuce · 08-27-07, 11:11 AM

Would it be possiable to esport the model it something like 3Dmax or something and work on it that way? I would to see a project started to start replacing the stock models in the game if it is possiable anyways.

tater · 08-27-07, 11:16 AM

Do you know how to do such stuff?

I sure don't, but I'm more than willing to help anyone who does with pictures, research, etc.

I can get a few simple ship skins done to add some variation, but the complex stuff I was gonna have a crack at will be VERY difficult. Take Nagara. The hull is in like 6-7 sections in the O file (the only way to do dazzle paint is in the O file, IMO). The problems are, one, that the sections are all over the O file, so making a contiguous line in multiple sections is hard. Two, some adjacent sections are rightside up, some upside down, some mirrored, and some a combination of two of those. My head spins looking at it.

tater

SlimDuce · 08-27-07, 11:25 AM

Sadly no I dont. Wish I did thought. I can remember years ago trying to do something like that in Starfleet Command and the textures were the same way. Made no sense to me at all. I used to say that was the best modding community around until I found this place. Surely someone here know how to do this and I offer my help as well if anyone wants to take up the task.

FooFighters · 08-27-07, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tater

So close. The people who skin this crap need to get a medal. What a nightmare.

I don't need a medal, just some 12 hours lasting patience pills
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

08-23-07, 11:00 PM	#1
tater Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New Mexico, USA Posts: 9,023 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 2	[TEC] Ship skinning... It is a total nightmare? I wanted to try and make some more commercial looking merchant skins. The top rectangle looked to be the hull. I made the top very dark (on Nagara), the bottom very light, and I put ABC in black in the light area middle, and DEF in white on the dark. Checked the skin. The black and white areas were ALL OVER the ship, the letters were forwards and backwards and different sizes. So is the skin mapping super crappy in SH4, or what? tater

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08-24-07, 08:20 AM	#3
tater Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New Mexico, USA Posts: 9,023 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 2	It looks to be pretty much impossible to do, sadly. The nagara's hull texture also forms her decks, and all the 1/2 walls along the side of the superstructure as well as the masts. It would be totally impossible, for example, to give her a black hull, because the rest of the ship (superstructure) becomes maybe 2/3 black when you do. tater

08-24-07, 09:08 AM	#5
SlimDuce Watch Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Arkansas Posts: 26 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I couldnt agree more!!! The stocks ships are modeled great but the skins are just awful.

08-24-07, 09:52 AM	#6
tater Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New Mexico, USA Posts: 9,023 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 2	It's not just that they LOOK awful, the merchant skin I looked at was so horribly organized that reskinning Nagara is impossible. I guess I need to look at others. I wanted to try my hand at skinning, but unlike any aircraft I've messed with to skin (Il-2) they used the same texture for so much of the ship... ugh. tater

08-26-07, 12:08 AM	#7
tater Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New Mexico, USA Posts: 9,023 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 2	Someone shoot me. argh. OK, take the simple little Taihosan Maru. The T01 file is easy enough to understand. Color parts and you find that the top part that is clearly the hull is used in dribs and drabs elswhere. Fine. The middle of the ship has the same texture starting going in 2 directions. So if I wanted a meatball flag, I make a half a flag, put it in the right spot... and it works. At a certain distance I see a line in the middle though. So I look at the O01 file. A bunch of shapes that represent the different parts of the ship. Better! I color a few in, look at taihosan, and the middle of the hull is one bigh contiguous section in the O file! So I add a flag. No dice. So close. The people who skin this crap need to get a medal. What a nightmare.

08-27-07, 11:11 AM	#8
SlimDuce Watch Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Arkansas Posts: 26 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Would it be possiable to esport the model it something like 3Dmax or something and work on it that way? I would to see a project started to start replacing the stock models in the game if it is possiable anyways.

08-27-07, 11:16 AM	#9
tater Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New Mexico, USA Posts: 9,023 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 2	Do you know how to do such stuff? I sure don't, but I'm more than willing to help anyone who does with pictures, research, etc. I can get a few simple ship skins done to add some variation, but the complex stuff I was gonna have a crack at will be VERY difficult. Take Nagara. The hull is in like 6-7 sections in the O file (the only way to do dazzle paint is in the O file, IMO). The problems are, one, that the sections are all over the O file, so making a contiguous line in multiple sections is hard. Two, some adjacent sections are rightside up, some upside down, some mirrored, and some a combination of two of those. My head spins looking at it. tater

08-27-07, 11:25 AM	#10
SlimDuce Watch Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Arkansas Posts: 26 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Sadly no I dont. Wish I did thought. I can remember years ago trying to do something like that in Starfleet Command and the textures were the same way. Made no sense to me at all. I used to say that was the best modding community around until I found this place. Surely someone here know how to do this and I offer my help as well if anyone wants to take up the task.