Making sub models in SH5.

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Originally Posted by Targor Avelany

The model itself on those screenies was taken from SH3/SH4.
The actual model of IX from scratch still in works - I had somewhat of a turbulent year and a half, resulting in somewhat lack of time spent on the computer period.

I as sorry for that, and I hope everything is okay now

Originally Posted by Targor Avelany

The reason for using pre-existing models is simple: first I have to figure out HOW to import and how to correspont those things together, at least on a AI unit. Player unit becomes exponentially harder even if I leave all the inards of the sub intact. As a result you spend somewhat ridiculous amount of time just guessing what exactly causing what; while I'm not quiet capable of tweaking things on TDW's level it proves to be a major challange to import such complex structure.

You have two ways to match the position of different parts of the same model: you can either offset their xyz coordinates in your 3D modeller so that everything is in its right position, and then import each separate mesh in GR2 Editor making sure to zero bones' traslation/rotation data, or you can set custom xyz coordinates for each mesh, and then adjust their position setting bones' rotation/stanslation data appropriately, similar to what we do for placing equipments and sensors in their correct position. Translation data shown in GR2 Editor (as well as in S3ditor) is in the same unit legth as in 3ds and Wings, i.e. 1 unit = 10 meters. The first method is obviously easier, but it is not always viable. A good example of that is given by rudders, diveplanes, gun barrels etc. As far as I understand, the only way to make them to rotate correctly in game, is making their rotation axis to pass through the origin of the 3d world, before the GR2 import, so the correct placing of those model parts can only be done through translation of their bone.

Originally Posted by Targor Avelany

if you remember, for example, I had a major issue with some models, dive plane for example, that for some odd reason became inverted during the import. We had a simmilar issue with importing some AO maps for the OH2 for the baloons.

That's not an issue: left/right in SH games are inverted compared to what we see in modelling programs. This is not always obvious, as most models we are dealing with have a longitudinal symmetry. For asymmetrical objects all is needed is flipping our models around the x axis before importing them.

Originally Posted by Targor Avelany

Or same issue when I was working with my mine project that I still have and still not able to complete due to the same exact issue: in the game I'm not able to get the collidable object to exist at all.

Thats a veritable puzzle, but I am confident that the issue is caused by something so obvious that we don't see it. After all you had not problem making your lifeboats collisionable

[Targor Avelany]

Originally Posted by gap

Thats a veritable puzzle, but I am confident that the issue is caused by something so obvious that we don't see it. After all you had not problem making your lifeboats collisionable

That is true. And that is what annoys me the most! I'm not sure whether it is a problem with the original gr2 i'm using as a base or is it the way i'm importing/arranging bones/assigning things.
For example, i learnt that it doesn't really matter how to name the collision bone/mesh...
Well, once I finally settle down and actually hook up my computer properly i'll start working on all this things again.

[gap]

Originally Posted by Targor Avelany

Well, once I finally settle down and actually hook up my computer properly i'll start working on all this things again.