2255 replies to this topic

[zagibu]

Nope, I just reimported the Atlas, works fine for me.

[Seijin Dinger]

hmmm now Im wondering what I did wrong on those files

[Seijin Dinger]

Ok here is what it looks like when I run the script for the Atlas which fails, vs the Archer which works

Same exact script copied from 1 directory to the next, works on all but those 3 mechs I listed the other day

[TexAce]

Ok I tried this now the first time. However I use Cinema4D professionally @work so I didnt want to get into blender.

Here my experience with all this and the hurdles/problems I encountered:

- I actually didnt need the powershell stuff at all.
- You can just select all cga files in the explorer and just drag and drop them into the cry engine converter and it automatically creates the OBJs and MTL files. Which is cool.
- Since the import.txt only works in blender I cant use it either. C4D does use python but I believe the syntax needs to be completely different for it to work.
- I dont need to convert the DDS files either since I can just use them as they are in Cinema.
- I didnt have to flip UVs or texture maps or anything, it works flawlessly with the maps provided. I just had to crop them to 2K*2K to cut out the LOD stuff in the maps.
- However what I wasnt able to do is to get ONE single OBJ file which contains the whole mech. Only parts.
And dropping all the parts into a C4D file results in each part being at center, so no way to arrange them correctly to form a mech. I would need to move each part of the mech manually and by eye-measure which is a no go. I believe the information needed for the parts to automatically be placed at the right coordinates just is not provided in the obj, or am I wrong?

Did anyone found a way how to get all those OBJs into one single file without blender?

And about the cryengine sandbox workflow by ghogiel:
- I tried that, downloaded the cry engine, even made myself a fake cry engine account but I wasnt able to log in when opening the editor (it asks you for username and password but I tried it several times and it didnt recognize my newly created initials at all). Have no clue why I cant login into the stupid engine editor.

Does anyone by chance already have an OBJ with the conmplete King Crab in it? (It needs to have the correct UVW tags, rest I dont need).

And third:
Which phong angle do I need to set in C4D for the mesh to behave the same as in the game? its either too smooth or too blocky, especially noticable on the middle toros of the KGC and the chrome front tow part on the nose.

And forth thing:
Since I was able to try the textures at least on the front ct of the KGC I noticed that no way in hell are those 3 textures (normal, spec and diffuse) enough to get the visual fidelity you have in the game. Something is missing. It looks like all the mechs use another external bump map on top of all other stuff to get all the dirt, scratches and sub-detail they have in the game. Anyone can confirm?
Perhaps the normal map needs to have its normals flipped somehow, gonna try it in Element3D next, since I can flip the normal map interpretation there on the fly.

I can post some examples of what I mean tonight.

Edited by TexAce, 04 April 2016 - 03:05 AM.

[Heffay]

Seijin Dinger, on 03 April 2016 - 01:34 PM, said:

Ok here is what it looks like when I run the script for the Atlas which fails, vs the Archer which works

Same exact script copied from 1 directory to the next, works on all but those 3 mechs I listed the other day

The Atlas directory has an extra .cdf file in it... something like atlas_movie.cdf. It's not an actual .cdf file, but the script is only expecting a single .cdf file in the mech directory, and it gets confused as a result. You should be able to temporarily rename the movie .cdf file so it has a different extension (atlas_movie.cdf.tmp), run the importer, then rename it back.

[Heffay]

TexAce, on 04 April 2016 - 02:57 AM, said:

- I actually didnt need the powershell stuff at all.
- You can just select all cga files in the explorer and just drag and drop them into the cry engine converter and it automatically creates the OBJs and MTL files. Which is cool.

That's interesting... I never really tried it that way, and glad it works out.

TexAce, on 04 April 2016 - 02:57 AM, said:

- Since the import.txt only works in blender I cant use it either. C4D does use python but I believe the syntax needs to be completely different for it to work.

The import.txt is a python script that uses Blender specific APIs, which is why it doesn't work for other programs.

TexAce, on 04 April 2016 - 02:57 AM, said:

- I dont need to convert the DDS files either since I can just use them as they are in Cinema.
- I didnt have to flip UVs or texture maps or anything, it works flawlessly with the maps provided. I just had to crop them to 2K*2K to cut out the LOD stuff in the maps.

The converting of the DDS and flipping UVs was only necessary for old versions of Blender and using the old Noesis tool to export the geometry. cgf-converter and currrent versions of Blender don't require this either.

TexAce, on 04 April 2016 - 02:57 AM, said:

- However what I wasnt able to do is to get ONE single OBJ file which contains the whole mech. Only parts.
And dropping all the parts into a C4D file results in each part being at center, so no way to arrange them correctly to form a mech. I would need to move each part of the mech manually and by eye-measure which is a no go. I believe the information needed for the parts to automatically be placed at the right coordinates just is not provided in the obj, or am I wrong?

Did anyone found a way how to get all those OBJs into one single file without blender?

This is going to be the issue. The .cdf file is an xml file that contains the rotation and translation of the individual mech parts. You can manually apply these changes to each of the objects, but that is a lot of work (which is why I made the script in the first place). Assuming C4D has its own import scripting features (specifically being able to import an .obj file, rotate and translate it), you should be able to modify the mech-importer.ps1 script to do these activities for you.

mech-importer also does a few additional things like set up the Cycles materials in Blender, assign vertex groups (needed for when the armature is brought in), etc. Probably not needed for C4D, but that will probably have its own separate requirements.

Anyway, not sure what specific help I can provide, but will do what I can!

[Seijin Dinger]

Heffay, on 04 April 2016 - 06:09 AM, said:

The Atlas directory has an extra .cdf file in it... something like atlas_movie.cdf. It's not an actual .cdf file, but the script is only expecting a single .cdf file in the mech directory, and it gets confused as a result. You should be able to temporarily rename the movie .cdf file so it has a different extension (atlas_movie.cdf.tmp), run the importer, then rename it back.

Thanks
I was wondering that but kept thinking it couldnt be it because I specified atlas.cdf and not atlas_movie
I dont need that file because this directory is not anywhere near my game directory

now to figure why the Highlander IIC failed

[Seijin Dinger]

nevermind I just redid preparing the Highlander IIC from unzipping the .pak and it worked this time

[TexAce]

Heffay, on 04 April 2016 - 06:20 AM, said:

This is going to be the issue. The .cdf file is an xml file that contains the rotation and translation of the individual mech parts. You can manually apply these changes to each of the objects, but that is a lot of work (which is why I made the script in the first place). Assuming C4D has its own import scripting features (specifically being able to import an .obj file, rotate and translate it), you should be able to modify the mech-importer.ps1 script to do these activities for you.

mech-importer also does a few additional things like set up the Cycles materials in Blender, assign vertex groups (needed for when the armature is brought in), etc. Probably not needed for C4D, but that will probably have its own separate requirements.

Anyway, not sure what specific help I can provide, but will do what I can!

Well the biggest help you could do is send me over an FBX with all assets of the KGC already arranged correctly

I tried several methos of tricking the OBJs to place themselves correctly into the scene but it unfortunately doesnt work.

Too bad, I started having fun with this....

[TexAce]

@Heffay why are there 4 rotation values in the cdf file for each part? What does the 4th value do? Also are those in radians? It doesn't look like degrees.

[Sparks Murphey]

TexAce, on 04 April 2016 - 11:37 PM, said:

@Heffay why are there 4 rotation values in the cdf file for each part? What does the 4th value do? Also are those in radians? It doesn't look like degrees.

The 4 values to a rotation is because they aren't your standard Euler rotation system, they're quaternions.

An Euler rotation description basically says "rotate this far on the x axis, then this far on the y axis, then this far on the z axis." Which works fine and reads easy, up until you rotate the x or y axis through 90 degrees. Then one of the axes mentioned later now overlaps with one of the earlier axes, and you find yourself unable to describe a rotation.

Quaternions instead use three values to define a point in space relative to the origin and to point "up" at that. That only gives you two axes of certainty, though, so a 4th value is then used to express how much rotation you need on the new axis between the origin and the defined point.

Pros to using quaternions:
* They don't get locked in the way that Eulers do.
* Animation of their values results in smooth, even paths
* It's trivially easy to procedurally point an object at another object (say, a gun at a target)

Cons:
* They aren't really human readable.

TexAce, on 04 April 2016 - 02:57 AM, said:

- However what I wasnt able to do is to get ONE single OBJ file which contains the whole mech. Only parts.
And dropping all the parts into a C4D file results in each part being at center, so no way to arrange them correctly to form a mech. I would need to move each part of the mech manually and by eye-measure which is a no go. I believe the information needed for the parts to automatically be placed at the right coordinates just is not provided in the obj, or am I wrong?

Did anyone found a way how to get all those OBJs into one single file without blender?

I sympathise. I use 3DSMax and the idea of getting Blender out irked me. I resisted for a long, long time, even going so far as to learn about quaternions so that I could manually read the .cdf files and do the rotations by hand.

Trust me, as someone who has walked a similar path to the one you seem to be setting down, it is far, far easier to get Blender (it's free, after all) and treat it as a somewhat over-featured object extraction tool. You run the parts through the converter, dump them into Blender with Heffay's script to get them all in the right position, then export the result to an OBJ where you can open it in the modelling suite you actually want to use.

[TexAce]

Sparks Murphey, on 05 April 2016 - 02:56 PM, said:

The 4 values to a rotation is because they aren't your standard Euler rotation system, they're quaternions.

An Euler rotation description basically says "rotate this far on the x axis, then this far on the y axis, then this far on the z axis." Which works fine and reads easy, up until you rotate the x or y axis through 90 degrees. Then one of the axes mentioned later now overlaps with one of the earlier axes, and you find yourself unable to describe a rotation.

Quaternions instead use three values to define a point in space relative to the origin and to point "up" at that. That only gives you two axes of certainty, though, so a 4th value is then used to express how much rotation you need on the new axis between the origin and the defined point.

Pros to using quaternions:
* They don't get locked in the way that Eulers do.
* Animation of their values results in smooth, even paths
* It's trivially easy to procedurally point an object at another object (say, a gun at a target)

Cons:
* They aren't really human readable.


I sympathise. I use 3DSMax and the idea of getting Blender out irked me. I resisted for a long, long time, even going so far as to learn about quaternions so that I could manually read the .cdf files and do the rotations by hand.

Trust me, as someone who has walked a similar path to the one you seem to be setting down, it is far, far easier to get Blender (it's free, after all) and treat it as a somewhat over-featured object extraction tool. You run the parts through the converter, dump them into Blender with Heffay's script to get them all in the right position, then export the result to an OBJ where you can open it in the modelling suite you actually want to use.

Yeah I figured it must be quarternions.

However I hit a wall with this so I'm trying to do it with the cryengine editor instead. But the problem is that most mechs dont have a single CGF file anymore but dozens of cga files.

How would you import one of the mechs fully into the Engine?

Also how can I import any cga/cgf geo at all into the engine, since the sandbox doesnt let me browse my files, only the assets inside the sandbox. This whole thing drives me nuts!

[TexAce]

Heffay, on 04 April 2016 - 06:09 AM, said:

Sparks Murphey, on 05 April 2016 - 02:56 PM, said:

Yeah, I lost nerve dealing with this so I'm just gonna pretend I'm a whale and offer a mech of your choice as a gift from the gift store to anyone who agrees to send me an FBX of the King Crab with UVs intact (so I can slap those texture maps on it with ease).
The mech you choose can be up to 12 USD worth.

I really want that mech in Cinema!

EDIT: I recieved a file, just have to check if UVs are intact. Not sure yet. Just wanted to let you know.

EDIT 2: DONE! Got it!

Edited by TexAce, 08 April 2016 - 08:44 AM.

[Wanderer of the Mists]

I'm looking to get my TBR-Prime (I) made in 2 sizes for HQ model/mini and one for me to paint on with gimp. I will get you a mech of your choice from the gift shop up to 30 or more if the quality is worth it. PM me if interested


http://steamcommunit...s/?id=661218879

Edited by NomadWolf991, 08 April 2016 - 11:09 AM.

[Seijin Dinger]

Looking at the few files I have left to fix due to import issues, I think the biggest pain will be the Crab

Edited by Seijin Dinger, 11 April 2016 - 11:52 AM.

[TexAce]

Here is the first render of my KGC series. Done in Cinema4D. This is only the start.

Thanks go to zagibu for providing me with the FBX. I just had to add the claws and then I started to redo the texturing.

[Seijin Dinger]

TexAce, on 11 April 2016 - 12:23 PM, said:

Here is the first render of my KGC series. Done in Cinema4D. This is only the start.

Thanks go to zagibu for providing me with the FBX. I just had to add the claws and then I started to redo the texturing.

I wish I had half as much ability as you do. All I can really do is use the import script in Blender and delete or move opbects as needed

[Wanderer of the Mists]

Seijin Dinger, on 11 April 2016 - 11:51 AM, said:

Looking at the few files I have left to fix due to import issues, I think the biggest pain will be the Crab

probably that thing looks complicated

TexAce, on 11 April 2016 - 12:23 PM, said:

Here is the first render of my KGC series. Done in Cinema4D. This is only the start.

Thanks go to zagibu for providing me with the FBX. I just had to add the claws and then I started to redo the texturing.

O.O thats amazing heck i wish i could figure out how to get any of the stuff to work and was a quarter as talented as he is

[Heffay]

Holy crap, that looks fantastic, TexAce!

[Rabtar]

Can anybody recamend a 3D printing service other than Shapeways? The one I had them print lost far to much detail to properly cast or even paint well and it is very resistant to sanding of any kind. My friend is having trouble dyling in there printer and I need something to work on while I job hunt. I would even be willing to throw some $$ at you guys to print stuff for me given the quality of the prints I'm seeing here.