Koniving, on 02 April 2013 - 09:32 PM, said:
Okay here's my issues. I have two of them.
I can get the models out. But at the moment the only file version I can do is obj. It comes out with no textures, no materials...so nothing to attach textures to unless they're one piece textures... but what I seen so far is not one piece.
So... Yeah, um. How can I export them into a usable 3-D format to animate them with their texture information intact so I can just attach the textures to them? Or, if someone has them readily available and with textures on and/or available to them, could they be uploaded here? I can't read MDF files without that converter, and can't seem to get textures when I convert.
My other thing is how to pick a specific variant?
Thank you. Please when replying, quote so I get a notification on the reply. Thanks!
Adridos, on 03 April 2013 - 03:14 AM, said:
What program are you using? I can assure you the UV maps are retained and if your program supports adding each layer separately (texture, bumpmap, etc.), you won't have problems applying them.
As far as variants go, you can only get those by going to the "Body" file, finding the right pieces, renaming those from .cga to .cgf, exporting them and only then adding them to the mech's mesh.
^ What he said. Obj works fine (I use it all the time when I'm moving MWO assets into 3DS Max). The texture files are in .dds format, and are UV mapped (relating the 3D triangles to a 2D space on an image) onto 2 texture sets, one for the main body, one for the other variants. 3DS Max can open .dds files natively (though it appears to have some trouble with a setting PGI are using for their normal maps), you can find a plug-in that allows Photoshop to read .dds files
here, and Noesis itself can export the files to .tga format. I don't use GIMP or Blender, so I can't talk about them, but they should at least load .tga files.
As a demo for assembling a variant, let's go with putting together a Centurion CN9-AL. Most of it's going to be pretty much stock, so you'll want the following files:
cn9_centre_torso_a.cga
cn9_centre_torso_pelvis_a.cga
cn9_centre_torso_pelvis_rear_a.cga
cn9_centre_torso_rear_a.cga
cn9_head_cockpit_a.cga
cn9_left_arm_clavicle_a.cga
cn9_left_arm_forearm_a.cga
cn9_left_arm_upperarm_a.cga
cn9_left_leg_calf_a.cga
cn9_left_leg_foot_a.cga
cn9_left_leg_hip_a.cga
cn9_left_leg_thigh_a.cga
cn9_left_leg_toes_a.cga
cn9_left_torso_a.cga
cn9_left_torso_rear_a.cga
cn9_right_arm_clavicle_a.cga
cn9_right_arm_upperarm_a.cga
cn9_right_leg_calf_a.cga
cn9_right_leg_foot_a.cga
cn9_right_leg_hip_a.cga
cn9_right_leg_thigh_a.cga
cn9_right_leg_toes_a.cga
cn9_right_torso_a.cga
cn9_right_torso_rear_a.cga
Basically, all the bits that are common to all Centurions. Rename those files so their extensions end with .cgf instead of .cga so you can open them with Noesis (or, if you're paranoid like me, make copies of them, and rename the copies). You'll also need to find all the .cga files that refer to the variant you're after: cn9_right_arm_forearm_al_laser.cga for the laser, and the additional cn9_left_torso_a_lrm10.cga, centurion_cn9_left_torso_a_lrm10_flap_left.cga and centurion_cn9_left_torso_a_lrm10_flap_right.cga files for the missile launcher that used in all but the Yen-Lo-Wang.
You can take a shortcut, and instead of handling all those files, find the centurion_scale.cgf file and use that. This is actually more complicated than it seems for two reasons. Firstly, it's got all the parts for the CN9-A, not the AL, so we'll have to find a way to remove the forearm. Secondly, the window textures on the _scale files tend to be a bit off with their UV mapping compared to the individual _head files. Thirdly, the more recent 'Mechs don't have _scale files, so this tutorial wouldn't help you with them.
So, now you've got them all renamed to .cgfs, chuck them through Noesis and make a bunch of objs out of them. Import them into your 3D modeller of choice, and you have the meshs. To get the textures, you'll be looking for a total of nine files.
Centurion_dif.dds - the diffuse (normal colour) texture for the main parts
Centurion_spc.dds - the specularity (how shiny and what colour shine) texture for the main parts
Centurion_ddn.dds - the normal map (fine bumpy detail) texture for the main parts
You also need Centurion_variant_dif.dds (and the spc and ddn) to apply to the -AL's laser, and Centurion_window_dif (and the spc and ddn) to apply to the cockpit window (which should be a separate object to the head itself once you've imported it. The techniques for attaching these files vary based on what program you're rendering in, so I won't go into detail on that, but Heffay's got a good tutorial on doing so for Blender on the first page.
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