2255 replies to this topic

[Mcgral18]

Mcgral18, on 12 February 2015 - 09:01 PM, said:

I have a request Heffay. How far back do your game files go?

I found the Victor-A in the files...and I'm curious how long it's been in there. They released mid July 2013, so if you have one from around then, would you mind searching for:

vtr_left_torso_uac5

Or any other LT ballistic. It would be greatly appreciated.

I understand why they might not have included it...but it's not really applicable in the current game environment. Maybe replace the MLs with a PPC, back in those days:

Sparks Murphey, on 13 February 2015 - 12:58 AM, said:

I might. My archive goes a far way back. It's on an external drive that's not plugged in right now, though, so it'll have to wait before I get a chance to check.

Heffay, on 13 February 2015 - 08:27 AM, said:

I have them from early 2013 or so. I try to archive off the files every now and then, in case I need stuff from previous versions.

I may need to be reminded a couple of times to look for this, but will try to get to it soon.

Mind if I bump this question?

[M-Lee]

Heffay, on 02 March 2015 - 11:18 AM, said:

The scale file only applies to the first 8 mechs they created. The ones after that have to be manually assembled using the mech importer script. Watch the 2nd tutorial (and supplemental) as those go into much greater detail on how to use that script.

Tell Me please, what i missed in this moment ? Why do i get this error ? Do everything in detail on video. Sorry me, if I have many questions.

[Heffay]

mech-importer.ps1 needs to be in the directory you're running it (and preceded with .\, so .\mech-importer.ps1. The cdf file argument is no longer needed).

Or even better, create a directory for your scripts such as c:\users\<username>\scripts and have that directory added to the path. That way you can run mech-importer from anywhere on the computer without the .\. Just go to the directory with the .cdf file and type in mech-importer.ps1.

Also be sure to delete the import.txt file each time you run it, since it just appends the file. And start up a new Blender session if one import doesn't work. Blender tends to cache info, so if you import multiple import.txt files, things get messy.

[mad kat]

This is where i come in and say i did it slightly different.

After a bit of head scratching and some much needed help from Heffay i copied the objects folder from the USB pen i had being trying to work off and dumped it on the desktop.

Then navigating to its location in PS on c:\users\user\desktop\objects\mechs\mech

Then opening the importer script in notepad and editing the path to c:\users\user\desktop Saving it then hit CTRL+A then CTRL+C and copied the entire contents from notepad.

Then go back to powershell and hit CTRL+V then right clicking for me sent the script running and hey presto, working import file created in the relevant mech folder.

Edited by mad kat, 03 March 2015 - 08:04 AM.

[mad kat]

Forrest recon:
Environment by loner1 moddb. Com

Edited by mad kat, 16 March 2015 - 02:03 AM.

[Sparks Murphey]

Recon, Forrest, recon!

[Superstoff]

Soo, first of all, thanks for the tutorial vids Heffay. Even if you claim that they are a bit outdated they still helped me to find, extract, rename, convert, import and rotate the relevant files for the mechs http://i.imgur.com/tRKmmro.jpg (May look unspectacular but for a total 3D-graphics noob like me a big progress).

So, my plan is to get a decent 3D-model of a mech to upload and print it at Shapeways which supports the following file-formats "STL, Collada, OBJ, X3D( B ) and VRML2"

So, as said I was able to convert them into *.obj files and open them in Blender. I didn't run your script yet. So my following questions regarding further steps are the following:

As said I want to 3D-print it, so therefore:
- Do I need to apply the texture *.png files for that? (I want to print it monochrome, so maybe steel or another metal)
- With which file to work: the atlas_scale.obj?
- Can I interchange the heads somehow? Like if I want the AS7-S head?
- I've heard that you need to reinforce the joints due to stability reasons, any tips for that?
- If I want to equip the model with my favorite loadout I need to run the script, right?
- Any other thing relevant for 3D-printing? Asking as a total noob: what kind of "resolution" does the *.obj have (I think it's the same as vector files, so basically no resoution, right?)? Are there recommended steps to add more details or such?


Thanks in advance.

Edited by Superstoff, 10 March 2015 - 08:17 AM.

[mad kat]

If your going to print the model the textures won't be necessary but i'd probably export the model into stl or obj and import it into something like solidworks to 'fix' various mech geometry to make it suitable for printing. Some mechs limbs are joined in a really odd and completely unrealistic way. Not only that some mechs have gaps that would need filling in prior to printing too.

[Heffay]

I don't know anything about the printing side of things, but if you want to make custom loadouts and geometry, you're probably best off using the mech importer script. You can get the founder head that way. Plus, if you stick to the _scale version that only exists for the original 8 mechs or so.

[mad kat]

Bit of work in progress.
Alpine peaks:

Edited by mad kat, 11 March 2015 - 11:04 AM.

[Mech42Ace]

Nice job mad kat,I would say that that davionist griffin is going down.

[AkoolPopTart]

Are the parts selectable or does it come as a solid figure? If it's that latter, so glad that Battletech mechs are really blocky, it'll make deleting vertices a lot easier.

[Heffay]

AkoolPopTart, on 14 March 2015 - 09:46 AM, said:

Are the parts selectable or does it come as a solid figure? If it's that latter, so glad that Battletech mechs are really blocky, it'll make deleting vertices a lot easier.

Selectable. Mechs are assembled from a couple of dozen objects.

[mad kat]

Here's some more:

Somewhere cold:

Environment:Frigid_by_dilekt
Locust Brotherhood of steel: (low res):


Desert Brotherhood of steel:

Environemt:The_Guardian_of_the_Desert_by_outeq

Edited by mad kat, 19 March 2015 - 09:02 AM.

[BlackWidow]

Superstoff, on 10 March 2015 - 08:03 AM, said:

Soo, first of all, thanks for the tutorial vids Heffay. Even if you claim that they are a bit outdated they still helped me to find, extract, rename, convert, import and rotate the relevant files for the mechs http://i.imgur.com/tRKmmro.jpg (May look unspectacular but for a total 3D-graphics noob like me a big progress).

So, my plan is to get a decent 3D-model of a mech to upload and print it at Shapeways which supports the following file-formats "STL, Collada, OBJ, X3D( B ) and VRML2"

So, as said I was able to convert them into *.obj files and open them in Blender. I didn't run your script yet. So my following questions regarding further steps are the following:

As said I want to 3D-print it, so therefore:
- Do I need to apply the texture *.png files for that? (I want to print it monochrome, so maybe steel or another metal)
- With which file to work: the atlas_scale.obj?
- Can I interchange the heads somehow? Like if I want the AS7-S head?
- I've heard that you need to reinforce the joints due to stability reasons, any tips for that?
- If I want to equip the model with my favorite loadout I need to run the script, right?
- Any other thing relevant for 3D-printing? Asking as a total noob: what kind of "resolution" does the *.obj have (I think it's the same as vector files, so basically no resoution, right?)? Are there recommended steps to add more details or such?


Thanks in advance.

It may not answer all / any of your questions but if you have not already done so, please go to:

http://reversedisabled.blogspot.com/

And check out his most excellent work. He's a little shy on the "tutorial" side of things but definitely gives you a great over view of not only what you can accomplish but how much work goes into proper translation. It's not as simple as just separating the parts in Blender, printing and reassembling. After all, the models are made to render well. Not specifically to glue together well.

[Heffay]

Since I got banned TWICE on Piranha Game's twitch channel trying to post this there, let me try it here.

[mad kat]

How do you get the hero skins to work? I've tried the thing earlier in the thread but it gives me the bright rgb colours?

[Heffay]

mad kat, on 21 March 2015 - 04:05 PM, said:

How do you get the hero skins to work? I've tried the thing earlier in the thread but it gives me the bright rgb colours?

Andreas80 made this and posted it a while back:

https://dl.dropboxus...o_camo_v3.blend

You replace the <mech>_body and <mech>_variant with it, and put the hero skin (objects\mechs\skins\heromechs) in the proper field, along with the normal diffuse/spec. The normal map is the same for both heroes and regular.

[Frank Olson]

Is there any way to easily get the mech models into a file that can be used with tinkercad or any other 3D-Printing app? I just want it to see if for example a kingcrab would still fit into the hangars I'm designing.

[Heffay]

Frank Olson, on 28 March 2015 - 03:17 AM, said:

Is there any way to easily get the mech models into a file that can be used with tinkercad or any other 3D-Printing app? I just want it to see if for example a kingcrab would still fit into the hangars I'm designing.

Not directly. Most methods involved importing it into Blender so that you can save it out in a format that can be used by other programs.