Technical Input.

[Tradermagoo [GrA]]

I thought since I'm doing this side work for kyp that I would explain some of what I'm doing how i'm doing it and what I used to do it.

Westwood studios built us a game that has worn well over the years.

The used the Command and Conquer Renegade engine. Luckily for us that means we have some game tools available to modify and change a few things and even the ability to create new files animations and mission audio files.

I am not going to get into the nuts and bolts of creating animations, or 2d art because frankly I don't know how. I am doing something else and i will provide an example at the end so you can see what I'm doing.

First thing you need to know is this game uses a few file and folder formats that are proprietary to game engines and are fairly universal.

Second this game uses a mixture of mp3 and wav audio files. The art and 2d and rendering is based on the dds plugin from nvidia available here [url="http://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-texture-tools-adobe-photoshop"]http://developer.nvi...adobe-photoshop[/url]

You will also need a program that can use photoshop plugins www.adobe.com/downloads/ for a free copy of adobe photoshop is available here. Purchasing is optional. Most good 2d art programs gimp photoshop and others can use the plugin.

Irfan viewer is also handy as it'll show the dds files and play the mp3 audio files used throughout the games files. Available here [url="http://www.irfanview.com/"]http://www.irfanview.com/[/url]

You will also need some exotic game file handlers.

First is XCC tools for c&c editing. [url="http://xhp.xwis.net"]http://xhp.xwis.net/[/url] the download page here [url="http://xhp.xwis.net/utilities/"]http://xhp.xwis.net/...et/utilities/[/url] copy and paste into your browser [url="http://xhp.xwis.net/utilities/XCC_Utilities.exe"]http://xhp.xwis.net/...ities.exe[/url] is the entire tool suite you will need.

if you are doing 2d/3d art/animations you will also be dealing with .w3d files. these are the animation/model files used by e&b. available here [b]W3D to GMAX Importer [/b][url="http://cncnz.com/downloads/renegade/utilities/#2"]http://cncnz.com/dow...de/utilities/#2[/url]

I will provide 2 different w3d unpackers for you in the downloads i will provide.[url="http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax/"]http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax/[/url]

You also will need a 3d animation program to view edit create animations and models in the game Gmax [url="http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax/"]http://www.turbosqui...d.com/gmax/[/url] is free and I have 3dsmax www.autodesk.com i am using. You can try maya or others the basic procedure is the same.

Directions on opening .w3d files.
Gmax/ 3dsmax

Gmax. Install Gmax register etc it's free and only takes a few minutes. Use either the downloaded file from cncnz.com or the two I will provide later. Unpack it to your .w3d import/export file to C:\gmax\scripts\startup alternatively if you installed RenX as advised by other website [url="http://www.the3rdage.net/item-51"]http://www.the3rdage.net/item-51[/url] the path is C:\gmax\gamepacks\Westwood\RenX\scripts\startup.

Fire up gmax/renx and open customize/customize user interface/Under the category drop down at the bottom is w3d importer/click on that and the big box below it says coolfile w3d importer(the one that works on my system) click on the coolfile w3d importer in the box and assign a hotkey to it ( i used crtl K and will refer to it as we go along) click assign and close the window.

3dsmax is essentially the same, drop the import/export plugin into C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2013\plugins and follow the above procedure.

Now you will need to unpack the .mix files from the games EA Games\Earth & Beyond\Data\client\mixfiles a couple ways to do this simplest is usually the best. [b]Renegade MIX File Unpacker [/b][url="http://www.cncden.com/downloads/XCC_Mixer.zip"]http://www.cncden.co...s/XCC_Mix[/url][url="http://www.cncden.co...s/XCC_Mixer.zip"]er.zip[/url]

Unpack the mix files they will create there own folders. Move then to a different location to keep from mixing up files I just made a folder on my desktop.

Now in my directory i have Mix_Art_01 - Mix_Art_22 / Mix_Sound_ 01 - Mix_Sound_37 / mixfile_talktree_eng_01 - mixfile_talktree_eng_07.

I myself currently am only interested in the mix audio files if you want to listen to The Megan...her sound files start off as 1492_ and there is 517 of them. now you will understand why i call them The Megan Files.. ( cue the xfiles theme music) as a trivia tip The lady we hear her real name is Dorrie Barton. [url="http://www.doriebarton.com/"]http://www.doriebart...rton.com/[/url] thought you would like to know.

I used a program called Agent Ransack Located here [url="http://www.mythicsoft.com/page.aspx?type=agentransack&page=home"]http://www.mythicsof...k&page=home[/url] in windows 7 to find and move all of these audio files to a new folder and started listening to them and making a xls spread sheet of her exact audio and exactly what she says what mix folder it came from and other information needed by the sdev's to add the triggers to the server engine.

Now back to the art files since what I'm doing is straight forward and very tedious.

First open Gmax-renX or 3dsmax or your 3d tools of choice. I will use gmax since 3dsmax and gmax do the same thing.

Open gmax on your desktop when open and you are ready make sure gmax is targeted and press CRTL K to bring up the w3d importer. once you have done that and navigate to your unpacked mix art file folders and open lets say file number AS01A.W3D this is a picture of a rather large asteroid like you might find in say Saturn or Inverness or.. various other places. This is a basic game asset used to fill out sectors with things to look at to give your eye something to do. There are thousands of little files and big files and stuff all over these files.

Since we are not editing the mix files directly and just viewing files and tinkering with 3d modeling engines, were not disturbing the actual game and if you have enough computer you could do both of these at the same time. I would suggest not trying to do this with 3dsmax and games running but I digress you were warned.

From here it's straight modeling and tweaking adding colors etc to things.

The original texture files and art files are in .dds format you can browse thru the with irfanviewer, you can work at mixing and matching files. I had the V'rix cl 66 ships from roc 2 open and i was looking for the textures one day.. You can make your own textures and 2d skins for things etc.. just remember the game engine will not recognize custom files and animations can and will be broken, The dev team has a person that knows how to mess with mix files i do not and it outside the scope of this article.

I'm finding with gmax it's not able to import the .dds files from the game. You might say who cares.. the problem is these are layered files and contain animation information for the models and places they are supposed to fit. so it's not a straight forward thing to do. Just saying so you know as this is outside my general knowledgebase and if you want to explain this to others. i hope this forum post goes on a long time and people can share there knowledge with others.

If you want tutorials on how to edit and make and tweak files with gmax www.google.com is your friend.
[url="http://www.cncden.com/renegade_skin_tut.shtml"]http://www.cncden.co...tut.shtml[/url] skin tutorial for 2d guys and photoshop.

[url="http://forums.cncnz.com/forum/37-classic-cc-related-maps-modding/"]http://forums.cncnz....s-modding/ [/url] C&C editing in general all the games
[url="http://www.the3rdage.net/item-51"]http://www.the3rdage.net/item-51[/url] battle of middle earth (uses the same game engine)

Once you have the file open in gmax and you want to save your creation.( still a work in progress)

The first file I'm uploading is the mix file unpacker
second file is w3dtogmax
third is the second w3d importer exported
And finally The Megan Files the first 100 xml file. use office 2010 or a xlsx convertor

I will add to this from time to time as I tinker with 3dsmax and try and make different things and reskin the vrix and maybe build the progen sentinel ship from scratch skin it texture it and render it. If I get really ambitious i might do all 9 classes. might even take the lucky coin 2d file and imprint net-7 on it Make a decal for my guild (A new one)

If you guys already know how to do this kinda stuff maybe you can do some easy tutorials for others and get a few people interested in 3d.

Edit note fixed links and corrected spelling 8/28/2012 please let me know if you have problems with the links. Edited August 29, 2012 by Tradermagoo

[Ryle [N7R]]

Thats kinda cool, so the idea is kinda an expansion on previous threads about updating the look or changing appearances? Possibly game mods?

Id like that. Having 3 hull styles or 3 clothing choices doesnt make for much diversity. Maybe someone with some serious art talents could go nuts with this and expand on it.

[Tradermagoo [GrA]]

If you want to learn to make 2d mesh and skins to change the appearance of the ingame models, the tools i provided and a little research on google and 3d graphics sites will get you a bit of the way there.

I have about 75gb of video and tutorials and books on nothing but 3d games and game editing and model building.

I originally started out making maps for tfc way back in the day and i picked the interest back up all these years later.

Thing is learning to use gmax/3dsmax is a hands on learning experience, and right now i am researching how to add a picture a friend provided of his wifes family crest to 3dsmax and build a 3d asset out of it so he can use it in second life. It's been quite a challenge learning how to use a high end 3d program.

[Terrell [BT]]

[quote name='Ryle' timestamp='1340247000' post='59293']
Thats kinda cool, so the idea is kinda an expansion on previous threads about updating the look or changing appearances? Possibly game mods?

Id like that. Having 3 hull styles or 3 clothing choices doesnt make for much diversity. Maybe someone with some serious art talents could go nuts with this and expand on it.
[/quote]

If that can be done, that would be nice. Would be nice to see some Progen women, in skirts.

[Ryle [N7R]]

Yeh I wish I had the technical skills/artistic talent to do something like that.

Im lucky to be able to photoshop an icon or avatar. I could never do 3d modeling, id lose myself.

[Algaron [BTL]]

Progen women in skirts. Always seems to reminds me of a line in a John Lee Hooker song:

"Big legs, tight skirt, bout to drive me outta my mind"

Just so long as the hemline isn't above the knee..

[Terrell [BT]]

[quote name='Algaron' timestamp='1340344834' post='59395']
Progen women in skirts. Always seems to reminds me of a line in a John Lee Hooker song:

"Big legs, tight skirt, bout to drive me outta my mind"

Just so long as the hemline isn't above the knee..
[/quote]

Check out the picture of Legatus Amah on the install screen. She's got a skirt on that's mid thigh length and she looks good. I don't necessarily think that their skirts should be that short considering the conservative nature of the dress in EnB, but just above the knee give or take would be nice. Now Jenquai women, already have what looks like ankle length almost skirts, wonder if something similar could be done, but closed in the front so they don't have to wear pants with their skirts.

[Tradermagoo [GrA]]

[quote name='Terrell' timestamp='1340248000' post='59295']
If that can be done, that would be nice. Would be nice to see some Progen women, in skirts.
[/quote]

You can the programs called Poser or Daz3d and if you can import the models and build clothing....... >

[DarkkHero]

Great post Magoo.

Here's a tutorial on how to create 3D Models with 3DSMax.
[url="http://www.3dm3.com/tutorials/normandy/index.php"]http://www.3dm3.com/...mandy/index.php[/url]

Zackman created a tutorial for editing the mix files as well.
Perhaps if you ask nicely he'll post that.
Not to mention CooKoo and Shaddex who do this for a living.