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How To: Create Your Own Art Using Pgi's Mechs

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#1661 Iacov

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Posted 14 December 2015 - 09:53 PM

oh, is there any way I can update powershell under win7? otherwise I was going to upgrade to win10 during the holidays

at first I extracted as normal the objects.pak,but then I realised that there are no mechs in there anymore... there is a new folder called mechs and in there are able mechs separately in a pak
that's why there is this marauder/objects/mechs/marauder structure
to be honest I don't even know if the textures are included in this pak

and just to make sure.... how important is it to have an exact /objects/mechs/mech name/body structure?

again, thanks a lot!

#1662 Void Malign

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Posted 14 December 2015 - 11:33 PM

Trying to use cgf-converter, got unexpected exception and emergency closing program. converter making obj file, but this file is empty. how possible to fix it? tried to run cgf-converter from different places - from folder, with certain mech model, from outter folder on same disk, reslut is same.
Posted Image

here is my PS version
Posted Image

how possible to resolve this problem?

#1663 Heffay

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Posted 15 December 2015 - 04:44 AM

View Postspiritus infernus, on 14 December 2015 - 11:33 PM, said:

Trying to use cgf-converter, got unexpected exception and emergency closing program. converter making obj file, but this file is empty. how possible to fix it? tried to run cgf-converter from different places - from folder, with certain mech model, from outter folder on same disk, reslut is same.

how possible to resolve this problem?


Change -objectdir to e:\mwo instead of the mech directory. It's supposed to point to where you extracted the pak files to, not any of the subdirectories.

#1664 Heffay

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Posted 15 December 2015 - 04:52 AM

View PostIacov, on 14 December 2015 - 09:53 PM, said:

oh, is there any way I can update powershell under win7? otherwise I was going to upgrade to win10 during the holidays

at first I extracted as normal the objects.pak,but then I realised that there are no mechs in there anymore... there is a new folder called mechs and in there are able mechs separately in a pak
that's why there is this marauder/objects/mechs/marauder structure
to be honest I don't even know if the textures are included in this pak

and just to make sure.... how important is it to have an exact /objects/mechs/mech name/body structure?

again, thanks a lot!


Windows 7 .Net upgrade:
http://www.microsoft...s.aspx?id=36359

It's pretty important to use the proper paths. A lot of the data stored in the Cryengine data files is relative to where the top level is stored. For example, the MaterialName chunk stores the name of the material file, but in the .cgf file it can be either just the file name, or the path if it's not in the same directory. My program has to sort out where it is to get the names of the materials, since they aren't stored in the .cgf file.

In addition, the .dds files can be located outside the mech directory as well, which is why it needs to know the top level. It's annoying, but I don't really know a way around it yet. In addition, mech-importer.ps1 uses the same info (you have to manually edit that) to make sure it knows what mech it's working on. So much is assumed in Cryengine based on the location that I basically have to have that info to make the programs work reliably.

If I ever get the time, I'll work on a graphical interface that can help make the process a lot easier to understand.

#1665 Void Malign

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Posted 15 December 2015 - 05:29 AM

View PostHeffay, on 15 December 2015 - 04:44 AM, said:


Change -objectdir to e:\mwo instead of the mech directory. It's supposed to point to where you extracted the pak files to, not any of the subdirectories.


changed, same result.Posted Image

#1666 Heffay

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Posted 15 December 2015 - 08:16 AM

Hehe, now put the -objectdir argument into quotes.

e:\3d\cgf-converter.exe $file -objectdir "e:\mwo" -obj

#1667 Iacov

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Posted 15 December 2015 - 09:22 AM

thanks a lot, I'll give it a try and will check the path thoroughly...
it's strange that the structure changed with the last patch (mechs not in "objects.pak" anymore, but in separate paks)

thank you heffay for all the work you put in this!

#1668 Wonderdog

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Posted 15 December 2015 - 01:44 PM

I suspect that breaking the mechs out into seperate files is due to the growing size of the objects .pak - it'll be easier / less data to transfer to update the smaller files during patching.

#1669 Heffay

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Posted 15 December 2015 - 02:07 PM

View PostWonderdog, on 15 December 2015 - 01:44 PM, said:

I suspect that breaking the mechs out into seperate files is due to the growing size of the objects .pak - it'll be easier / less data to transfer to update the smaller files during patching.


Yup, there seems to be a 2 GB limit to the file sizes. This provides a logical structure so it's easier to maintain.

Star Citizen has a different philosophy: Fill up a file to the max size, then increment a number and do it again. :) Tough to tell where each of the assets are from the file name, and if one gets corrupted it's a 2GB download. But, I guess that's a solution too.

#1670 Wonderdog

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 02:23 AM

Hey Heffay, any tips on the Powershell command line needed to do a batch convert of all cga's into obj's with your converter app? (Used to do it this way in Neosis).

i.e. rather than launching each mech convertion individually from the \body directory.

Not a big drama, would just be handy to parse a full set at once!

I've got:-

foreach ($file in (Get-ChildItem -recurse *.cga)) { .\cgf-converter.exe -objectdir g:\whatever }

but the cgf-convertor is complaining about args.

Edited by Wonderdog, 16 December 2015 - 02:24 AM.


#1671 Void Malign

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 03:56 AM

View PostHeffay, on 15 December 2015 - 08:16 AM, said:

Hehe, now put the -objectdir argument into quotes.

e:\3d\cgf-converter.exe $file -objectdir "e:\mwo" -obj


nothing changed =)
Posted Image

#1672 Heffay

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 07:56 AM

View PostWonderdog, on 16 December 2015 - 02:23 AM, said:

Hey Heffay, any tips on the Powershell command line needed to do a batch convert of all cga's into obj's with your converter app? (Used to do it this way in Neosis).

i.e. rather than launching each mech convertion individually from the \body directory.

Not a big drama, would just be handy to parse a full set at once!

I've got:-

foreach ($file in (Get-ChildItem -recurse *.cga)) { .\cgf-converter.exe -objectdir g:\whatever }

but the cgf-convertor is complaining about args.


It changed recently, so be sure to grab the latest copy. Here is what I would do.

1) Extract all the .pak files to a new directory. Let's say e:\mwo for example.
2) From e:\mwo\objects>, get rid of all the LOD files (optional, but a good idea since you don't need them)
get-childitem -recurse *lod* | remove-item (Note that I think this removes a Davion cockpit item, but who cares about Davions!)
3) from e:\mwo\objects>, convert all the .cga files. Repeat for .cgf and .skin (in case you want pilot models!
foreach ($file in (get-childitem -recurse *.cga)) { cgf-converter.exe $file -obj -objectdir "e:\mwo" }

... That should just about do it. That assumes that cgf-converter is in the path, and honestly, it probably should be. It just makes everything a lot easier.

Please note I haven't tested the commands above. That's all from memory, so I'm not guaranteeing it to be 100% accurate. :)

View Postspiritus infernus, on 16 December 2015 - 03:56 AM, said:

nothing changed


Can you confirm that you're using the latest cgf-converter.exe? I ran it against that file a day or two ago and it didn't have any problems.

#1673 Wonderdog

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Posted 17 December 2015 - 02:23 AM

I added a .\ to the path and it worked :)

Test prints with my new bigger FDM printer are working great - going to see if I can get a couple of action figure scale print outs done as christmas presents for folk!

Also, super happy to discover that the new IIC mechs are all put together by the same noble soul as most of the other recent mechs, and they're close to printable straight out of the gate.

#Wonderdog

#1674 Heffay

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Posted 17 December 2015 - 05:16 AM

View PostWonderdog, on 17 December 2015 - 02:23 AM, said:

I added a .\ to the path and it worked Posted Image

Test prints with my new bigger FDM printer are working great - going to see if I can get a couple of action figure scale print outs done as christmas presents for folk!

Also, super happy to discover that the new IIC mechs are all put together by the same noble soul as most of the other recent mechs, and they're close to printable straight out of the gate.

#Wonderdog


Glad to hear it! And if you ever want to make a tutorial on how to print them up, it would be much appreciated. I think printing mechs is something that interests a TON of people!

#1675 Void Malign

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Posted 17 December 2015 - 06:21 AM

View PostHeffay, on 16 December 2015 - 07:56 AM, said:

...

Can you confirm that you're using the latest cgf-converter.exe? I ran it against that file a day or two ago and it didn't have any problems.


downloaded from link in 1st post two days ago, so think converter have latest version. but will redownload and try again

#1676 Iacov

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Posted 19 December 2015 - 07:06 AM

upgraded to windows 10 and everything worked like a charm, thank you very much, heffay!

has anyone advice for me, how i can rotate the arms properly to match the ingame model?
because everytime i "mark" one arm, it rotates from the center of of all marked parts (so around the ellbow)
any idea how i can rotate it within the joint?
and what degree are you using? currently i think 15 might work best

best!

#1677 Wonderdog

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Posted 19 December 2015 - 09:48 AM

View PostHeffay, on 17 December 2015 - 05:16 AM, said:


Glad to hear it! And if you ever want to make a tutorial on how to print them up, it would be much appreciated. I think printing mechs is something that interests a TON of people!


Happy to!

What is the toughest bit for people, I could do a video demo? You'll all struggle to understand my Scottish tones though...

Edited by Wonderdog, 19 December 2015 - 10:17 AM.


#1678 Wonderdog

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Posted 19 December 2015 - 10:47 AM

View PostIacov, on 19 December 2015 - 07:06 AM, said:

upgraded to windows 10 and everything worked like a charm, thank you very much, heffay!

has anyone advice for me, how i can rotate the arms properly to match the ingame model?
because everytime i "mark" one arm, it rotates from the center of of all marked parts (so around the ellbow)
any idea how i can rotate it within the joint?
and what degree are you using? currently i think 15 might work best

best!


You need to change the pivot point mode to active element mode - here's a picture.

http://i.stack.imgur.com/vs4TT.png

Make sure the sub part (eg upper arm) you want to pivot using is the one that's selected last (or focus on it) to set it as active

#1679 Iacov

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Posted 19 December 2015 - 11:35 AM

View PostWonderdog, on 19 December 2015 - 10:47 AM, said:

You need to change the pivot point mode to active element mode - here's a picture.

http://i.stack.imgur.com/vs4TT.png

Make sure the sub part (eg upper arm) you want to pivot using is the one that's selected last (or focus on it) to set it as active


thanks a lot :)

only thing is, that as soon as i remove doubles and turn tris to quads, the model looks like this:
Posted Image
i guess its just a visual thing, without influencing the actual model - but does anyone know what's causing this?

best

#1680 Wonderdog

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Posted 20 December 2015 - 07:42 AM

Something about re-attaching UV maps... I'm sure theres a post about it somewhere in this thread.





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