Model Help (texture, hardpoints)

from GalCiv2 Forums

 

Thats a picture of a model I'm trying to get into Galactic Civilizations II.  I'm really only concerned with it working in Twilight.  As you can see, I've got some texture problems.  The majority of the ship has been covered in what I assume to be the default Terran texture.  This appears MOST of the time, however the ship has appeared totally gray twice, and I haven't been able to replicate that problem as of yet.

You'll notice silver-gray outlines on the doors, missile pods, etc.  I put those there, and they are showing up reliably everytime I see the model.  Though out of picture, the engine color is working properly too, appearing in the correct place and changing color based on what I pick in-game.  

I have set a texture for the ship, though it is not appearing.  The .PNG file is located in the gfx/models folder, the name has not been changed.  The ship texture was set as Material1, the silver/gray was set as Material2, and the engine color was set as Material3 in Google Sketchup.  

So, I have two questions.  One, how do I get my Material1 to appear in game?  

Two, is there any technique for adding hard points/"dummies" to a model WITHOUT using 3DS Max, keeping in mind that I do not particularly care where the hard points end up?

 

And, here is some random information that might be helpful.

- The model was made using Google Sketchup 7

- The model is in .x format, and is working in the game, both on map and in ship designer.  The ship can move, the AI can control it, it does not cause crashes, etc.

- The texture in question is in .PNG format, is 512x512, 166 KB, and is stored in the gfx/models directory WITH the model.  It is named "UNSCFrigate", which is the name the exporter gave it, and it has not been changed.

- The model is also stored in gfx/models, and is named "s99_Medium_2.x".  This is the name the model was exported as, and has also not been changed.

- Only three materials were used.  Material1 was the ship texture, which does not appear.  Material2 was a silver, which appears reliably.  Material3 was a blue, has been set to the engine color by the game, and appears/works reliably.  Textures for Material2 and Material3 were NOT exported, though they continue to work in-game.

- The appearance of the ship remains unchanged, regardless of which race controls the ship in question.

 

 

 

 

UPDATE - The ship appears to be taking on the texture of the last thing that I selected.  The following picture is the exact same ship, selected after I selected a Colonial Raptor from New BSG.  I'm thinking that maybe it can't find my texture, but I'm not clear as to why.  The Galactica mods that I downloaded all contained only a texture and a .x model file, both placed into gfx/models, and then they worked perfectly.  My own ship matches this, everything is in gfx/model, the model is a .x and the texture a .png, and the game can find the model obviously, so I wonder what the deal with the texture is?

 

modding
6,171 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

UV mapping determines how & where any reference texturing gets applied to your model; in technical terms, you need to define how the png "deploys" by coordinates definition present in the x file itself.

Sadly, hard points are to be considered "dummie" (in 3dsMax terminology) and i have yet to find any (free or affordable sharewares) 3d programs which would allow straight forward conversion or outright design in anything other than a demo of Okino's Polytrans.

I also must point out that the S99_Medium_2.x file name you currently have might also "grab" the default texturing if its particular PNG isn't saved within the model structure by using the proper settings (SD staff, only?) in 3dsMax.

 

Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Sorry for not having anything to contribute, but I'm just glad you use that System Alliance logo from Mass Effect I made! :D

 

By the way, your ship looks quite good for something made in Google Sketchup, I always thought it was nothing more than a programme to build Facilities and other various buildings. I had problems with textures myself back in the SW mod development but I was never able to fix them.

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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Ha, yeah, it's a good logo, it's all I use for Terran now.  

 

Well, I guess I'm going to end up remaking the model in 3DS Max.  I much prefer SketchUp's easier/less crowded interface, but oh well.  I'm basically trying to put together a "jumble of sci-fi that I like" mod, with some ships from Halo, New BSG (A lot of these already exist, but I was mostly going to do missing stuff, like Valkyrie), Mass Effect, etc.  I already had the UNSC Frigate done obviously, and the Normandy was more or less finished as well.  Took about a week to do those two, hopefully it won't take much longer to do them in 3DS Max.  I'm trying to find a way to export them out of SketchUp into a format that 3DS Max can understand so I don't have to repeat anything, but I'm not having any luck finding the right combination of SketchUp exporter and 3DS importer.

Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Hey man the ship looks great. I have a quick question, I'm new in modding, and I've made a ship and I basically want to do what you did.

I made a ship in Google sketchup. But how do I bring it so its selectable like what you did? I don't care about ship hardpoitns or whatever, I just want it for the eyecandy? How did you bring it in? Thanks

Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Hey Shodges Snice you like battlestar so much I have an almost complete mod everything except ships I have the modles I don't have time to work on it you can finish the mod if you want.Im very busy working on the futurama mod either place a post our send me a pm if your intrested.But heres the easy way to fix your problem theres a modeling program ive been using for years.Called unwrap3d I mainly use it to convert other 3d formats to 3ds you cain't really add hardpoints with it but its pretty easy to use www.unwrap3d.com and pretty cheap 50 bucks.Just convert your x files to max and and use 3ds if you have it I hope this helps.