I am completly stuck!

The Event Camera stuff is triggered by StateMachine controllers.
The Death Event is triggered in this file:
GraphHitPointsAll.dat
Number 11, if I recall right, is Death.

That sends you to the screen you see.
It's nothing more then a Camera Path using BezierWaypoints
and Target Controllers to fly past the Sub as rendered in Game.

I would suspect that there is no way to have this point at a seperate
animation/image as it may be a Hard Coded instruction.

As i said, I Suspect.
That does not mean it can not be done.
It just means I can not tell you how to change it.
As I never looked that close at this issue.

[Hans Witteman]

[QUOTE=privateer

As i said, I Suspect.
That does not mean it can not be done.
It just means I can not tell you how to change it.
As I never looked that close at this issue.[/QUOTE]

Thank a lot privateer every bit of help is deeply appreciated i will look at that later since now i am struggling with sh3 who playing trick on me at one moment i open sh3 and it behave differently each time i reopen it i am very confused right now since each time i import my model sh3 it does a different think. I think the image and video will have to wait until i managed to make my lightmap work there is so much confusion around the import/export and uvw channels that i swear i will write a complete, concise,clear and definitive tutorial so nobody have to fight with the software like i am doing right now.

I truly suspect file corruption in import process but i cannot pin point at what stage it occurring...

I even download Flakmonkey TypIIA lightmap to compare files and mine are identical to is tree nodes, so right now i am turning around to understand what is wrong.

And i think that in the thread of the ambient occlusion tutorial there is part of my answer but i think Skwasjer is not available to answer anymore.

The thread say :
Does the 2nd map channel in S3D show you the correct uv map in the preview window? It sounds like the uv coordinates aren't right. If they are right though, then I'd like to have a look at the .dat.

Oh, and you may want to check if SelfOccEnable is true in the UnifiedRenderControler.

But i don't know where i can check if SelfoccEnable is enabled.

Regards Hans,

I had troubles with importing models today myself.

A face kept showing up inverted in S3D and in Game.
But other programs, 3D Max included, showed it as fine.
I finally detached the whole area and welded a few verts.
then re-imported everything and the problem was solved.

SH4 uses the UnifiedRender Controller.
Not Sh3.

[Hans Witteman]

Originally Posted by privateer

I had troubles with importing models today myself.

A face kept showing up inverted in S3D and in Game.
But other programs, 3D Max included, showed it as fine.
I finally detached the whole area and welded a few verts.
then re-imported everything and the problem was solved.

SH4 uses the UnifiedRender Controller.
Not Sh3.

I know what you mean i did something similar last night detaching part of the conning tower weld a bunch of loosed vertices re attach and import again without any problem.

I am totally lost again with the lightmap and what make me angry is that i don't know wich software is at fault

When you are perfectionist it is sometime more a plague than a gift believe me!

I uninstalled and reinstalled sh3 but the same problem is occurring again.

Regards Hans,

In 3D Max (or any 3D program)
check that the UV mapping shows in the window when unwrapped.
Sometimes the UV mapping gets shifted and won't
work right in Game or S3D.
I have had to move the mapping up into the window then export
from Max to correct this.
I can do screen shots if you need to understand what I mean.

[Hans Witteman]

Originally Posted by privateer

In 3D Max (or any 3D program)
check that the UV mapping shows in the window when unwrapped.
Sometimes the UV mapping gets shifted and won't
work right in Game or S3D.
I have had to move the mapping up into the window then export
from Max to correct this.
I can do screen shots if you need to understand what I mean.

Hi again privateer know what you mean i always check if it show in window cause sometime you have to reload the edit window twice before each channel show up.

I have reinstall old max version to see if the old obj exporter work better and again same damn problem, it is getting on my nerve seriously now.

I will try something else tonight but i am getting tired ouff.

Regards Hans,

[skwasjer]

The general structure of a DAT-file is:

- material
    - (optional) embedded image
    - texture map (set to: Ambient Occlusion)
        - (optional) embedded image
- root node
    - model
    - label (name of node/model)
    - controllers (f.ex. UnifiedRenderControler)
    - subnodes

Whenever building new DAT-files, it is best to use an existing file that matches the layout of the unit/object you are building. For interiors, you pick an interior file. For a ship, you pick a ship-file. Then you strip it down to a bare minimum and build from there. I tend to copy alot from other files too by using CTRL+SHIFT+C (copies selected subtree structure instead of just a single chunk).

For the AO-map, when using Max, you must ensure you use the correct import function (import UVW-file for AO-map, instead of extra OBJ-files). Obviously, you must have exported the UVW-file from Max.

So you have:
- model.OBJ (main model)
- model-uv2.UVW (AO-map)

The extra channels 3, 4 can be forgotten. The game does not use them, and they are left overs from the devs (iow. channels they used during design of the models).

If you have an AO-map, you must have the UnifiedRenderControler. Again, check existing DAT-files on where to place the controller. It should be a child of the root-node, and placed before any subnodes, but after the label/model.

Last, the order of each chunk is very important (a treenode = chunk). The order is indicated by the number in the name (and seen at the top of each chunk-page). You can move chunks up/down in this order using the green arrows. Again, check existing DAT-files (or reuse them) for the correct order.

Originally Posted by Hans Witteman

I badly need help i get this error message from Sh3 after saving : ``the node is referencing a material but the index of the material is higher than the index of the node``.

This message indicates that the material-node is placed after the node that references it. Look at the number in the name of each treenode. If f.ex. the material it's number is 10 but the node that uses it has number 7, you get this message. Correct this by moving the material (and it's subnodes) to the top of the file using the green up/down arrows.

[edit]
Final note: before importing an OBJ-file, you MUST have set up the DAT-file with all the materials (use the same name or order as in Max), and have those materials assigned to the node that 'hosts' the model-chunk (the one you import into). If not done, the import may succeed, but will not yield correct rendering in most cases.

Hope this helps,

skwas

[Hans Witteman]

Originally Posted by skwasjer

)

The extra channels 3, 4 can be forgotten. The game does not use them, and they are left overs from the devs (iow. channels they used during design of the models).

Hi again skwasjer,

Do you mean that if i have put additional uvw channel in max ex; 3,4,5,6
the game won't be able to see them or you mean they where just leftover from the developers?

Thank you are helping me greatly once i will grasp most of the important concept i won't be asking much questions.

Regards Hans

[Hans Witteman]

Originally Posted by skwasjer

If you have an AO-map, you must have the UnifiedRenderControler. Again, check existing DAT-files on where to place the controller. It should be a child of the root-node, and placed before any subnodes, but after the label/model.
skwas

Hi again,

On this one i look extensively in nodes tree and for Silent hunter 3 i don't see any UnifiedRenderControler, i just load Flakmonkey lightmap for TypeIIA DAT files and his AO are working fine without having any UnifiedRenderControler in it, so i am now perplex on this one? Maybe you are talking about Silent hunter 4 am i right?

I am feeding on your precious infos!

Regards Hans,

[skwasjer]

Originally Posted by Hans Witteman

Hi again skwasjer,

Do you mean that if i have put additional uvw channel in max ex; 3,4,5,6
the game won't be able to see them or you mean they where just leftover from the developers?

Thank you are helping me greatly once i will grasp most of the important concept i won't be asking much questions.

Regards Hans

I am only speaking about the DAT-file here:
channel 1: diffuse map
channel 2: AO-map

If you bake your lightmap in Max to channel 6, export it to -uv2.UVW. How you work in Max and what channels you use is of no relevance to S3D/game.

In SH4 (don't know about SH3), you sometimes see in DAT extra channels too: 3, 4. These are what I mentioned 'left overs from the devs'. The game only knows about 2 channels.

[skwasjer]

Originally Posted by Hans Witteman

Hi again,

On this one i look extensively in nodes tree and for Silent hunter 3 i don't see any UnifiedRenderControler, i just load Flakmonkey lightmap for TypeIIA DAT files and his AO are working fine without having any UnifiedRenderControler in it, so i am now perplex on this one? Maybe you are talking about Silent hunter 4 am i right?

I am feeding on your precious infos!

Regards Hans,

I don't have SH3 installed, so I can't check, but I remember SH3 had UnifiedRenderControler too (but privateer indicates it doesn't, so I'd go with that). Whether it is required I do not know, perhaps if it is left out, AO-map is implied from whether the 2nd UV-map is available on the model and a lightmap texture configured on the material... In SH4 at least, it IS required for AO to work.

All I can say is, most commonly, the problem is with incorrect chunk order, the model was not imported correctly (DAT-materials not set up properly prior to import) or the UnifiedRenderControler is missing or incorrectly setup. So you should try verifying this.

[edit] CORRECTION, I misread your question: interiors do NOT have the UnifiedRenderControler (neither in SH4), this is reserved for external models/units. Instead, for interiors you must have an InteriorIllumination-controller for the lightmap to work afaik!

Perhaps all a bit confusing yes, since I generally talk about SH4, but most info applies to SH3 as well.

Hope this helps.

[Hans Witteman]

Originally Posted by skwasjer

If you bake your lightmap in Max to channel 6, export it to -uv2.UVW. How you work in Max and what channels you use is of no relevance to S3D/game.

I am still a little bit confused with this one because as an ex: I import so far and remodel the entire Turm2A_1_conning int_high and i have split the original uv layout as 2 separates uv layout instead of 1 in vanilla version, i made one for the floor at 1024x1024 and one for the rest of the interior conning tower at 2048x2048 and both show up fine in sh3 editor and in game.

For the Turm2A_1_conning ext_high i even have 3 different uv layout total and all show up fine in your editor and in game, so if the game can only have 2 channel usable why my 3 channels are all working fine?

Maybe it is because we both are trying to communicate in our non native language

But i sincerely appreciated your time and effort to help me out.

Regards Hans,

[Hans Witteman]

Originally Posted by skwasjer

[edit] CORRECTION, I misread your question: interiors do NOT have the UnifiedRenderControler (neither in SH4), this is reserved for external models/units. Instead, for interiors you must have an InteriorIllumination-controller for the lightmap to work afaik!

Does Turm2A_1_conning int_high count as an interior asset or exterior i mean that if the command room ans sub interior count as interior assets then Turm2A_1_conning int_high is outside just as the sub hull is??

Yes you are helping me a lot believe me i have work almost 12 to 15 hours a day since the last 3 weeks on this project because i am recovering from surgery. And so far i did wonder with that first TypeIIA i am very happy with the result it is totally historically accurate the only part i couldn't touch was the height of the Conning tower floor because i don't think it is possible to found the node for crew members position on CT floor i did search a bit but i think it is hardcoded maybe.

Regards Hans,

[skwasjer]

Originally Posted by Hans Witteman

I am still a little bit confused with this one because as an ex: I import so far and remodel the entire Turm2A_1_conning int_high and i have split the original uv layout as 2 separates uv layout instead of 1 in vanilla version, i made one for the floor at 1024x1024 and one for the rest of the interior conning tower at 2048x2048 and both show up fine in sh3 editor and in game.

For the Turm2A_1_conning ext_high i even have 3 different uv layout total and all show up fine in your editor and in game, so if the game can only have 2 channel usable why my 3 channels are all working fine?

Maybe it is because we both are trying to communicate in our non native language

But i sincerely appreciated your time and effort to help me out.

Regards Hans,

Hi Hans,

Texture size is irrelevant, you are talking about different materials applied to one model, but they all still use map channel 1 for the diffuse uv-map. That's why S3D and the game show it correctly.

Again, for the lightmap you can also have it use multiple textures (multiple materials), but they all should use the same map channel (2 in the case of S3D/game)

[skwasjer]

Originally Posted by Hans Witteman

Does Turm2A_1_conning int_high count as an interior asset or exterior i mean that if the command room ans sub interior count as interior assets then Turm2A_1_conning int_high is outside just as the sub hull is??

Yes you are helping me a lot believe me i have work almost 12 to 15 hours a day since the last 3 weeks on this project because i am recovering from surgery. And so far i did wonder with that first TypeIIA i am very happy with the result it is totally historically accurate the only part i couldn't touch was the height of the Conning tower floor because i don't think it is possible to found the node for crew members position on CT floor i did search a bit but i think it is hardcoded maybe.

Regards Hans,

I cannot answer this question because I don't have SH3, but when talking about conning towers (as seen in exterior view), then they count as the exterior.