XNormal and Blender

wackedoutbiker · Post by **wackedoutbiker** » Fri May 25, 2007 7:18 pm

I'm having a few problems with these two programs:

when I send my model from milkshape to blender and smooth it in blender for sculpting purposes, the edges of the different groups get messed up and disconnected. I see why teh_psYco hates Blender, but it's all I got.

also, in XNormal, when I try to get the game character's map created, I get a lot of failed rays and the map doesn't quite match up, among other things. Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

zany_001 · Post by **zany_001** » Fri May 25, 2007 8:38 pm

could b just that the two programs export and import schemes dont work quite the same,but r u saying that it doesnt wrk wen u put it back to milkshape,or wen its still in blender?

wackedoutbiker · Post by **wackedoutbiker** » Fri May 25, 2007 9:26 pm

First off, the model groups get separated when I smooth them in Blender (maybe I should select all but the connecting coordinates) and in XNormal, when I try to make a texture bake of them, it comes out bad. Maybe I'll try a different approach, then get back to you.

Any ideas would be good though.

Voltare · Post by **Voltare** » Sun May 27, 2007 12:00 am

There is only 1 way around this: Create the model in Milkshape, smooth it in anything other than blender.Blender does things backwards from any other modeler i've ever seen, which of course, causes tons of problems, problems a game dev can't afford to have, which makes blender an awkward tool to use for game development.They really need to quit touting it as a game dev tool, cause it just isn't one.Yeah, you can use its built in game engine, if you can figure it out.I know of only 1 game that has blender-made models in it---planescape, the free mmo made on the crystal space game engine.Maybe you can ask them how they did it?

wackedoutbiker · Post by **wackedoutbiker** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 11:52 pm

Yeah, but if I use something else I can't sculpt in details like you can in Blender...would it be fine if I smoothed it in something else and then sculpted it AFTER I brought it into Blender?

And could you suggest a good freeware smoother tool? Because MS3d won't accept anything above 65,000 polys, and crashes when you try to do it. Also, I can't afford anything at the moment.

Voltare · Post by **Voltare** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 5:59 am

wings3d can accept it, and is even easier than blender to use-----you may even be able to use it as a bridge between blender and milkshape, as blender exports to .wings , which, of course is wings3d's file format.

come to think of it.....i think i'll try a makehuman model, imported into wings3d and saved out as .3ds.......

1 problem with this method....wings3d doesn't accept animations.

until someone makes a blender .obj + animations exporter( which i think is the easiest way) then blender can be used for nothing.

there may be a free animation tool that can accept some sort of animated blender file, i'd just have to find it.....gimme a few days to look for one.....

Voltare · Post by **Voltare** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 4:04 pm

wings3d works.....with, of course, a few problems: as i said before, blender exports things screwey.a makehuman model. opened in blender and exported as a .obj will look different when imported into any other modeler afterwards than when that same model was opened in anything else first.

A few alternatives for model smoothing and sculpting( I'm only going to put what works here)

CBmodel pro

Wings3d

and even good ol' Anim8or.

wackedoutbiker · Post by **wackedoutbiker** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 7:30 pm

I do have Wings3d, it's just that I don't have the proper plugins. I don't know what the one I want is called, either.

And also, does anyone have an e-mail address for the Planescape crew? I want to ask how they were able to use Blender so well to make their game's models, if it turns out there's no other option...

Voltare · Post by **Voltare** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:12 am

they use one of the very few engines that blender can export to good: crystal space...using blender's cal3d plugin.

your best bet, though, if you don't want to program your own engine, as you'd have to do with crystal space, and you want to keep using blender, is to use blender's own game engine.

other than that....you'll have to get a different modeller.

i'l be trying gmax out today, as we have exporters for it.....just to see if it's a viable choice.

as i do not and ain't gonna learn blender, EVER, if anyone has a simple animated .blend i could use to test thing out, like blender's .obj export, it's .md5 export, and possibly a few others, then i can see what can be done......

which brings up another possible animation route: .md5 models.I know there's a blender plug that exports .md5 ,not sure if i can import .md's into gmax yet....but if i can...then yer blender problems be solved!

wackedoutbiker · Post by **wackedoutbiker** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 9:54 pm

Got any modeller ideas? I'm looking for a good free one that doesn't suck. Preferably one that enables sculpting...I know there's that one on sourceforge in the other thread, but how do you set it up to work?

What runtime files do I need?

Voltare · Post by **Voltare** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 2:51 am

hang on for a bit-----zany's gotten the attention of the blender guys, and one of 'em has offered to build an exporter.......let's see what happens there.....

wackedoutbiker · Post by **wackedoutbiker** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 10:56 pm

Yeah, well, the main reason I've been wanting so badly to have a decent sculpting tool that would work for game development is so that I can bake the texture from it for details, and so I have a decent normal map.

After all, you gotta make a game look good nowadays if you want it to gain popular support.

Now tell me: who WOULDN'T want to game with the likes of this? (baked onto a lowpoly character and colored of course-don't look at me, it can be done)

http://sharp3d.sourceforge.net/mediawik ... hp/Gallery

wackedoutbiker · Post by **wackedoutbiker** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 11:03 pm

Holy #@$% that thing is too big. But anyway I think I'll mostly focus on the story and on creating lowpoly base models of everything that I will later sculpt detail into and bake. Fun, fun!!!!!!!

I'll keep a close eye on SharpConstruct, it looks like a promising alternative to ZBrush or Mudbox. I've heard a friend of the original developer is porting it to Windows.

MakeHuman is a good starting point for characters minus the hair and clothes (for now), but I often find I must butcher it in Vizup in order to get a decent polycount. Or does anyone know if a lower poly option is available? I might have to ask.

Voltare · Post by **Voltare** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 11:22 pm

what i plan on doing is this : using the universal packs from here as base, then exportin' 'em to something i can sculpt detail on 'em in......

Spyrewolf · Post by **Spyrewolf** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 1:10 am

@voltare:
it's usually better going the other way, if you try scuplt a low to high you'll usually end up messing up the silouette, i find it's better work flow going the way round just use the high poly to keep your lowpoly silouette's consistant.