New 3D unit in 3D Studio Max (Counter Mod) - Please Help

[maitrebongo]

Hi,

I'm currently working on doing a board game's style counter mod for Order of Battle.

What i want to do is something like this (this is just an exemple) :



For that, i begin to create a 3D model (with 3D Studio Max software) like describ in the "Creating new 3D models" post from the "Design & Modding Guides"
Here : http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtop ... 74&t=70345

- I downloaded the "exporter script",
- Loaded the FBX exemple,
- made my new 3D file from the exemple,
- saved it as an MBT file
- and then, tryed to replace an MDB file from the "Battle of Britain" addon to test this modification.

But,

When i load the modificated unit in the game editor, nothing is visible except the number under it.

Could someone please help me to describe step by step, how to create a 3D model compatible with this game (a simple one, it's just a square) and how to import it correctly in the game.

OR (more simply for what i want to do)

Could the developers say if there is a way to attribute a 2D picture (PNG) as a model for units display on the map.

Thanks

Bongo

[adherbal]

I've added an example in the attachment: FBX file as example + MDB and TGA texture. Results in the game will look a bit odd since it wasn't really made for this, but it technically it works.

We have a unit counter display mode in development, but so far haven't had the time to complete it.

[maitrebongo]

Thank you very much for your reply

I download your exemple and everything is fine with these files.

Now, i can begin to work on graphics... You made my day

One thing is that the perspective seem to be a little too much and the counter appears a little bit distorded in some positions, but maybe this behaviour is hardcoded in the software.

In any case, Thank you very, very much for your reactivity.

Bongo

[Erik2]

I think the perspective changes a bit dependent on the zoom level when you're playing.
Just my observation, but then I see twice as many stars as the rest of you without my glasses

[maitrebongo]

Yes, you're right.

By the way, i see nothing without my glasses too

[maitrebongo]

Ok, works fine... Keep on working on a Batlle of britain Counter unit mod... Soon finished all the planes

Some screenshots (work in progress...)

MODS SCREEN



SPLASH SCREEN



SOME PLANE'S COUNTER

[maitrebongo]

Hi,

I need some more help to finish my counter mod

I try to make every effort of the work by myself, but I am blocked by problems in which I do not manage to find solutions.

1 - Although I was able to create counters for quite the air units of the game, I do not manage by the same method for the ground or naval units.
Although I created a .mbt (model) and a .tag (texture) files which I place in the UNITS folder of my mod (like i do for the other fonctional new models), it doesn't work for the following units :

- Supply_Ship
- Transport_Ship
- Invasion_Barge
- dd_e-class
- 20mm_Flak_38
- QF_40mm_Bofors_MkI_AA
- British_Truck
- Cross_Channel_Gun
- Train
- Hangar
- Radar
- City_Center

In brief, all the ground and naval units...

Is there something particular to with these kinds of units ? I use nevertheless the same name as the one who is in the column "models " of the UNITS.CSV file in the DATA directory.
This method works fine for the Huricanne (for example) which is not set of the pre-moded models.

2 - My second problem is that i didn't manage to create a new two times bigger counter.mdt for longer units (like ships) and Three time longer for biggest ones (like CVs).

- In 3D Studio Max I modify the y axis of the model (.FBX) file to double its dimension (200%)
- then, export it with the exporter script provided
- Copy my .mdt file with the correct name (for trying, i used the Hurricane one) in the right place
- The program correctly rename it to .mdb
- When i try this unit, the size is always the same as before and the counter remain a square one...
Is there something harcoded here ? Or maybe i didn't do something correctly ?

I really need your help for creating these 2 files. It will be nice if you could adress me the .mbt and .tag files for them (like you do for the first one).

It will be very helpfull too if you could explain me how to manage with my first problem.

Thanks

[adherbal]

1. Not sure. I just replaced the Supply_Ship in units.csv

Supply_Ship;13;12;all;naval;transport_naval;Counter, ;SupplyShip;;;shiptransportmove;rotshipstransport;;;;deep_draft;;;;0;0;;3;1;1;;100;;2;;;;;;;;;;;;small;small;;;;;;;;;;8;;5;8;5;noRepair;

As far as I can tell this is working fine?

EDIT: Looking at your screenshot, the City Center is succesfully replaced with the counter model?

2. Setting a different scale in 3DSmax won't work because the engine changes scales to hardcoded values depending on various conditions. If you want to make something bigger, select all vertices and scale that instead - so that the scale value of the whole model still remains at 100 for all axes.

[maitrebongo]

Wahoo...

One more time you amazed me.

Thank you very very much for your reply.

I think i understand my mystake.
I would like to name the counter file with the exactly name which is in the original UNITS.CSV while i shall have to rename this entyry in the UNITS.CSV file.

And, thanks to you, i know how to upscale the counter file. It doesn't matter if it is too high because when clicking on the counter (during the game) it will only select the area in the hexagon. If i have understand right, all i have to do is to make a .TGA file for texture which has transparent strips on the side of it, so that the counter becomes visually rectangular even if it is, in reality, a square one.

Nice news... I put me back to the work.

[adherbal]

You can make a rectangular easily, just widen it by moving the vertices. Just keep the object scale values at 100.

[maitrebongo]

Ok, i'm on progress

I have softened a little bit the counters with the aim of looking like more those cardboard



But i still not manage to create a rectangle counter one (look at the top left corner of the screenshot )

... Keep on trying...

[Erik2]

Interesting project. Maybe you'll get it finished before the official NATO counters arrive...
Keep up the good work.

[maitrebongo]

Thanks,

I finished today the Battle Of Britain Counter mod.
Thanks to the advice of Adherbal I was finally able to create a rectangular counter and a correct texture.

I'll post it when I shall have ended about some minor graphic improvements. (Today evening, i hope)

I have already begun the 500 counters of the original game and I have already not bad moved forward (Almost all the japanese planes are ready).

It is not a project to compete the official NATO counters but rather a complementary project.
In what I was able to see, the official NATO counters project seems more symbolic in the representation of the units ; fewer details.
And, as it was postponed in an uncertain date... I think that some fans of the old voucher boardgames will appreciate to have that one while waiting for.

By the way, Erik, i love the work you make on your scenarios (thanks for that).

[maitrebongo]

Some users seem to encounter problems with effects using my counter models and it seems coming from the effects.txt and effectSequences.txt as you can see in this post on the Matrix forum :

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.as ... =&#4036417

At the moment I managed to decrease these nuisances by deactivating some effects, but to pursue them one by one is a little bit difficult...
If somebody has an idea, I would be happy to know it.

thanks

[adherbal]

The combat effects require "weapon point" dummy objects to be part of the models in order to function, which this counter doesn't have. The best thing you can do is make now effect sequences which just play a sound effect or something and apply that to every unit's weapon effect.

[maitrebongo]

I did not well understand what I have to do.

Let us take as example the QF_40mm_Bofors_MkI_AA which causes a devilish loop when it fires :

- Do I have to delete the weaponEffect entry of the unit (flaksingle_40mm, 0) in the file UNITS.CSV ?

- Do I have to remove the entirely effect entry in the effectSequences.txt

[FlakSingle_40mm]
0.0 40mmAA_01
0.0 MG_Flashes 0
1.0 Flak
1.4 Flak
1.8 Flak
2.2 Flak
2.6 Flak
1.0 damage

- Do i have to remove one by one the effects corresponding to the effect sequence in the effects.txt

[40mmAA_01]
sfx = 40mmAA_01 1.0

Then

[MG_Flashes]
attached = MGFlash 0.2

Then

[Flak]
independent = Flak 1.0
sfx = Flak_[4] 1.0

... And so on...

I don't know what to do for now

[adherbal]

You don't really need to remove the effect(Sequences), just don't use them.

In effectSequences.txt, add something like:

[Counter_Attack]
0.0 Counter_Attack_Sound

In effects.txt:

[Counter_Attack_Sound]
audio = 40mmAA_01 1.0

Then in the whole weaponEffect column of ALL units in units.txt, replace the existing entry with "Counter_Attack" (without quotation marks)

This should stop the combat related errors. You can of course improve this by adding different sounds for air, aa, ... units or experimenting with other effects such as AT_Shell to create an explosion on the target unit.

[maitrebongo]

As usual, thank you for your help and your precious advices.

Yesterday night I thought of solving this problem and finally an idea came to me :

Because my mod includes only 3 different models (square counter, rectangular counter and rectangular lengthened counter),
why don't create these "weapon point" dummy objects in my own 3D models ?

That's what i did and that works fine ; No more devilish loops...

The only inconvenience is that some shooting effects seem bigger than before.
Why ? I know nothing about it.
But in any case that works rather well.

[adherbal]

Some of the weapon effect sizes are based on the scale values of the weapon point objects.

[maitrebongo]

Certainly,
but I finally prefer to keep differentiated sounds (which are very immersive) rather than have a unique sound for all the fights.

The magnification of few effects is not so annoying as that.

(I see that you lived in Belgium. Maybe you speak French ? I don't know if it is authorized on this forum, but seen the poor quality of my English, our conversations could be better in French...)