LaserCanon2 gun

[RepComm]

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[Unit 33]

Couldn't we pull the UV map from the .msh, so that we can... well texture it more accurately? Some of it just seems out of place.
You know, like tirpider did for the Rebel Medic backpack.

Good work though!

[tirpider]

UV.bmp in the attached zip

Good find.

[RepComm]

UV.bmp in the attached zip

Good find.

Oh sweat, that will be a very good use!
How do you do that btw?

[tirpider]

I loaded it into a shareware program (3DObjectConverter) and used it's "Unwrap UV" utility (in the tools menu) to save the UV's of each of the pieces.

Then I merged all of them with Paint.net.

3DOC can load various aspects of .msh files, but not all.  I contacted him about fleshing out the SWBF msh format (to add exporting, hardpoint recognition, and possibly animation), but he has his hands full with features and modern formats (understandable).  In future versions the author has said he will try to preserve the bones, but that version isn't ready yet.

Not all msh file will load into it because it uses polygon lists to build it's render.  Some of our msh files have the polygon list (NDXL) ommited as it is a depriciated feature in the game. Actually it's used for the console munging, but pretty useless to us. I have to rebuild the poly list as triangles from the triangle strips (STRP) to get some to show up in 3DOC.  I use the UV's to isolate 'pieces' of the mesh's that have been merged into one smoothing group.

I believe Unrwap3d can open our msh files as well.  It's also shareware, and DOES load the bones.  I can't afford to purchase too many single function apps so I don't know if it's export abilities would work for us.

[RepComm]

Ah I see, not the easiest thing to do then O.o
I shall try this sometime, perhaps after I learn some more about HexEditing.

[tirpider]

Ahh..
Sorry. I go into too much detail sometimes.

Getting the UV is as simple as file>open
Tools>Unwrap UV
and checking the "save UV" box on all the pieces.

Merging them gets wierd if you aren't used to layers, but that part is optional anyway.

[Unit 33]

I have re-skinned the model from scratch thanks to the UV map!
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/38022982/Lassercannon2.zip

[Snake]

How does one apply this UV to the model? If you need some special tool to do it then I can't because I have already taken up almost all of the hardrive..

[Unit 33]

How does one apply this UV to the model? If you need some special tool to do it then I can't because I have already taken up almost all of the hardrive..

What do you mean by applying the UV? The UV is a the "net" of the model which is used primarily for skin creation.
So you would dump the UV on top of the relevant targa and get skinning, like I did.

[Snake]

Ah, that makes sense. That's what I was getting at. Thanks!

[RepComm]

To UV models, I like to open them up in SWBF Viewer, export > filename.WRL (vrml2.0 format), then using Wings3D or some other converter, open it up, convert it to OBJ then using UV mapper, save a texture map for the model, then you can find out what the model texture reference is in HexEditor or Notepad by searching for .tga in it, then just save the UV as whatever the texture is named, then you can just edit that texture like regular skinning.

Note: If you use Wings3D to convert it, you might as well just not, and use it's own built in UVmapper, you can move facets and vertexes quite easily just like in UV mapper, you can also select 'like materials' that way you know exactly what you're doing. Practically no need to use UVmapper, or convert the model.

[Led]

I have re-skinned the model from scratch thanks to the UV map!
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/38022982/Lassercannon2.zip

nice--can you upload it here please ? 

[Unit 33]

nice--can you upload it here please ? 

I've er... Lost the file.

[Phobos]

I've er... Lost the file.

here it is