The "Model/Skin" Pimpage/WIP Thread V7

[azgag]

[QUOTE=Lt_C;42462417]DMX. It's a non-issue vs .smd for 99% of stuff, but there's some things you can't do without it. Off the top of my head, the valve tools are the only workflow that allow for the baking of wrinklemaps when exporting the (dmx equivalent) of the now deprecated .vta, as well as using corrective shapes to their full potential. Honestly, you know how valve is, they document like the tip of the iceberg, but there are SFM guys that have been digging deep into what makes this new format better. Most of what I've heard is that it's the go-to if you're into the newest faceposing features the engine offers, real high level stuff that I haven't really had a chance to play with.

Switching to the valve supported workflow is more speculative at this point, but like I said before, I'm guessing that the next valve engine is going to have deeper connections to maya then max. For someone starting out and picking a tool suite and interest in source, I'd say that's the best option looking forward.

I love me some max, but let's face it, we're working off of tools that were made by a third party more then a half decade ago and updated rarely. Wallworm does some neat stuff, but the core plugins are ancient. They work, and they aren't broken yet, but who knows what a new engine will bring.[/QUOTE]

I hope in the next engine you'll be able to import an fbx or some other [more mainstream] formats right into the engine, kinda like UDK has. Having to rely on plugins that might work for a while is just a pain in the ass.

[Haxxer]

Brief was to use Zbrush for the highpoly and make a low poly for it. 500 poly one is coming up soon.

[img]http://horobox.reager.org/u/Haxxer_1381306585.jpg[/img]

2K poly limit, Going to animate it soonish.

[Stiffy360]

[QUOTE=Haxxer;42463557]Brief was to use Zbrush for the highpoly and make a low poly for it. 500 poly one is coming up soon.

[img]http://horobox.reager.org/u/Haxxer_1381306585.jpg[/img]

2K poly limit, Going to animate it soonish.[/QUOTE]

you have a few smoothing errors all throughout the gun particularly on the edges

[Fewes]

[QUOTE=Sam Za Nemesis;42466956]This is so useful, I've been having this weird idea of having a sword in my project where you can find a sword in a rock a-là Master Sword or King Arthur and this looks great

[t]http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2013/41/1381338726-untitled.png[/t]
[t]http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2013/41/1381338627-testbed0006.jpg[/t]

800 polys total[/QUOTE]

Yeah what's nice about it is your textures will line up perfectly with the displaced geometry. Biggest issue are the blatant seams really.

[notexactly]

So I finally picked modelling back up after nearly a year away, I never actually got an item in-game first time round, so this is an attempt at that - an incredibly simple gold bar model. 44 tris, dif, nor and spec slapped together at 1024^2 for convenience. I can probably get that down to 128x256 or something considering the size this thing'll be in-game. So I guess what I'm posting for is advice - would it be worth bevelling the edges more, considering the size of the prop? Would 128x256 be sufficient for the text to be fairly readable? This is rendered in Marmoset so the specular doesn't look too awful, but I imagine in Source it'll probably look dreadful, any tips for how to push the gold look? Just looking for general c&c, really.

[img]http://25.media.tumblr.com/8ea245f30b611f829e1830833ca8ee55/tumblr_muf75j11RC1skjlk8o1_1280.png[/img]

Oh, and also, it's modelled in Blender, I've got as far as exporting as an .smd, how on earth do I actually get it in-game?

[Juniez]

[QUOTE=Stiffy360;42467772]you have a few smoothing errors all throughout the gun particularly on the edges[/QUOTE]

looks like its just an issue with the imprecise nature of sculpting apps for hardsurface things

[Fewes]

[QUOTE=NotExactly;42469640]So I finally picked modelling back up after nearly a year away, I never actually got an item in-game first time round, so this is an attempt at that - an incredibly simple gold bar model. 44 tris, dif, nor and spec slapped together at 1024^2 for convenience. I can probably get that down to 128x256 or something considering the size this thing'll be in-game. So I guess what I'm posting for is advice - would it be worth bevelling the edges more, considering the size of the prop? Would 128x256 be sufficient for the text to be fairly readable? This is rendered in Marmoset so the specular doesn't look too awful, but I imagine in Source it'll probably look dreadful, any tips for how to push the gold look? Just looking for general c&c, really.

[img]http://25.media.tumblr.com/8ea245f30b611f829e1830833ca8ee55/tumblr_muf75j11RC1skjlk8o1_1280.png[/img]

Oh, and also, it's modelled in Blender, I've got as far as exporting as an .smd, how on earth do I actually get it in-game?[/QUOTE]

To get it to look like gold in source use a dark diffuse and boost the env reflections and give it a golden tone.

[Tayley]

jesus christ modeling a car is fucking hard
[t]http://puu.sh/4Meve.png[/t]

car is a holden kingswood
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_Kingswood[/url]

[Biaxailemperor]

[QUOTE=MrBunneh;42473760]jesus christ modeling a car is fucking hard
[t]http://puu.sh/4Meve.png[/t][/QUOTE]

Yes, yes it is. What kind are you making, anyway? So Far that looks pretty good.

[editline]9th October 2013[/editline]

Woah. Right as I ask you edit in the name! Ha!

[Haxxer]

[QUOTE=Juniez;42470022]looks like its just an issue with the imprecise nature of sculpting apps for hardsurface things[/QUOTE]

nah, my highpoly is (admittedly somewhat) fine:
[img]http://horobox.reager.org/u/Haxxer_1381458372.jpg[/img]
the issue lies with my low poly, as I am not experienced enough with modeling weapons as of now...

[azgag]

[QUOTE=Haxxer;42474038]nah, my highpoly is (admittedly somewhat) fine:
[img]http://horobox.reager.org/u/Haxxer_1381458372.jpg[/img]
the issue lies with my low poly, as I am not experienced enough with modeling weapons as of now...[/QUOTE]

Why use a 3D sculting software to make a hard surface model? was it some sort of school project?
Right now it looks like it's made in a soft material like butter, most of your edges are too soft.

[Haxxer]

[QUOTE=azgag;42474133]Why use a 3D sculting software to make a hard surface model? was it some sort of school project?
Right now it looks like it's made in a soft material like butter, most of your edges are too soft.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, it was just to learn ZBrush and how it can easily get the shapes down when it comes to hard surface, but I think our tutor expected us to retopologize it and get it into ZBrush again, but the time constraints were too harsh.

[Tayley]

[t]http://puu.sh/4Mjfh.png[/t]
got most of the front end done, that was a pain. I'm really liking how it's looking though!
edit: upd8 (god I am not looking forward to the doors/windows)
[t]http://puu.sh/4MluS.png[/t]

[notexactly]

[QUOTE=fewes;42472042]give it a golden tone.[/QUOTE]

With $envtint? Since as far as I know Source can't have coloured speculars, can it? Also would someone be kind enough tell me in layman's terms what phong is, I've only ever done textures with specular maps before.

[voltlight]

Out of interest, why has 'student email' been mentioned for 3DS Max? I have a student copy using my normal (hotmail) email.

[Fewes]

[QUOTE=NotExactly;42475358]With $envtint? Since as far as I know Source can't have coloured speculars, can it? Also would someone be kind enough tell me in layman's terms what phong is, I've only ever done textures with specular maps before.[/QUOTE]

You can't have colored specular maps, but you can have colored speculars (by tinting the env and phong reflections in the VMT):

$phongtint [1 0.88 0.6]
$envmaptint [1 0.88 0.6]

Now granted I haven't tried making gold so I don't really know how effective it would be.

To uses phong (specularity based on lights in the game world as opposed to just a cubemap), here is a base vmt you can use:

"VertexLitGeneric"
{
	"$baseTexture" "..."
	"$bumpmap" "..."
	
	"$phong" "1"				//Turns phong on. Essential for some other vmt stuff
	"$phongexponent" "3"			//Controls the size of the highlight (same thing as a gloss map but global) Will override gloss map (red channel in PhongExponentTexture) if you have it on.
	"$phongboost"	"0.75"			//Phong specular multiplier
	"$phongfresnelranges" "[2 4 6]"		//Fresnel ranges for the reflection. Tricky to explain but these values work well so if nothing else just keep them like this.
	"$phongtint" "[0.85 0.9 1]"		//Tints the reflection. I like to use a slightly blued tone.
				
	"$envmap" "env_cubemap"			//Turns on cubemap reflections
	"$normalmapalphaenvmapmask" "1"		//Masks cubemap reflections with the normal map alpha. (phong reflections will automatically be masked by the same mask regardless)
	"$envmaptint" "[.25 .25 .25]"		//Tints the cubemap reflections (if you keep the three values the same (eg. a monochrome value) you are basically just scaling the reflections, hence the .25 values to keep it a bit subtle)
}

You need to define a diffuse map and a normal map with a specular map in its alpha.

Other features of interest:

[B][U]$PhongExponentTexture[/U][/B]
From Valve Developer Community:

Red channel: Exponent (size of highlight, higher is larger eg. gloss map)
Green channel: Albedo tint (if $phongalbedotint 1, higher is more tint)
Blue channel: Nothing
Alpha channel: $rimlight mask

[B][U]$Rimlight[/U][/B]
Some good base code if you want to use rimlighting:

"$rimlight" "1"		//Turns rimlighting on. Only works if $phong is also on
"$rimlightexponent" "1"	//Sort of like a contrast multiplier. Controls the "width" of the rim
"$rimlightboost" "1"	//Effect multiplier
"$rimmask" "1"		//Masks the effect if you are using $PhongExponentTexture and that texture has an alpha channel

[Juniez]

[img]http://puu.sh/4MUcn.png[/img]
doing some extra stuff while animators are doing their own stuff

[Com Truise]

Im keen.

[Oskutin]

ATM
[img]http://files.1337upload.net/automaatti.png[/img]

[Surfur]

Guuuuys. I want to hang out!

[azgag]

[url]https://plus.google.com/hangouts/_/43950317c701c8d20059bdfe3d344abe9d0485ce?hl=en[/url]

[Deunan]

[QUOTE=fewes;42476054]You can't have colored specular maps, but you can have colored speculars (by tinting the env and phong reflections in the VMT):

$phongtint [1 0.88 0.6]
$envmaptint [1 0.88 0.6]

Now granted I haven't tried making gold so I don't really know how effective it would be.

To uses phong (specularity based on lights in the game world as opposed to just a cubemap), here is a base vmt you can use:

"VertexLitGeneric"
{
	"$baseTexture" "..."
	"$bumpmap" "..."
	
	"$phong" "1"				//Turns phong on. Essential for some other vmt stuff
	"$phongexponent" "3"			//Controls the size of the highlight (same thing as a gloss map but global) Will override gloss map (red channel in PhongExponentTexture) if you have it on.
	"$phongboost"	"0.75"			//Phong specular multiplier
	"$phongfresnelranges" "[2 4 6]"		//Fresnel ranges for the reflection. Tricky to explain but these values work well so if nothing else just keep them like this.
	"$phongtint" "[0.85 0.9 1]"		//Tints the reflection. I like to use a slightly blued tone.
				
	"$envmap" "env_cubemap"			//Turns on cubemap reflections
	"$normalmapalphaenvmapmask" "1"		//Masks cubemap reflections with the normal map alpha. (phong reflections will automatically be masked by the same mask regardless)
	"$envmaptint" "[.25 .25 .25]"		//Tints the cubemap reflections (if you keep the three values the same (eg. a monochrome value) you are basically just scaling the reflections, hence the .25 values to keep it a bit subtle)
}

You need to define a diffuse map and a normal map with a specular map in its alpha.

Other features of interest:

[B][U]$PhongExponentTexture[/U][/B]
From Valve Developer Community:

Red channel: Exponent (size of highlight, higher is larger eg. gloss map)
Green channel: Albedo tint (if $phongalbedotint 1, higher is more tint)
Blue channel: Nothing
Alpha channel: $rimlight mask

[B][U]$Rimlight[/U][/B]
Some good base code if you want to use rimlighting:

"$rimlight" "1"		//Turns rimlighting on. Only works if $phong is also on
"$rimlightexponent" "1"	//Sort of like a contrast multiplier. Controls the "width" of the rim
"$rimlightboost" "1"	//Effect multiplier
"$rimmask" "1"		//Masks the effect if you are using $PhongExponentTexture and that texture has an alpha channel

[/QUOTE]

$phongalbedotint does actually allow you to tint your phong based on the diffuse map. That said, if I were making gold, I would either do it via a gold coloured phongwarptexture or a custom envmap

[Milkyway M16]

Does anyone know how to fix this error with my custom Eli model?

[thumb]http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/2716/8j7o.png[/thumb]

The mouth doesn't open correctly. It seems as thought the verts on the inside parts of the lips are locked in place. His eyes don't blink either.

I've never done a character before so this is my first time dealing with flexes n' shit.

[Theuaredead]

[QUOTE=Milkyway M16;42494336]Does anyone know how to fix this error with my custom Eli model?

[thumb]http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/2716/8j7o.png[/thumb]

The mouth doesn't open correctly. It seems as thought the verts on the inside parts of the lips are locked in place. His eyes don't blink either.

I've never done a character before so this is my first time dealing with flexes n' shit.[/QUOTE]

Did you move and or edit the head in anyway?

[Milkyway M16]

[QUOTE=uaredead2020;42494432]Did you move and or edit the head in anyway?[/QUOTE]

Nope, besides adding smoothing groups

[Theuaredead]

[QUOTE=Milkyway M16;42494560]Nope, besides adding smoothing groups[/QUOTE]

are you using the .VTA that decompiled with Eli?

[Lt_C]

[QUOTE=Milkyway M16;42494560]Nope, besides adding smoothing groups[/QUOTE]

The vertices around the lips have moved far enough out of place to no longer be effected by the .vta, or the tightly packed vertices around the lips were welded together during the import process. You'll need to isolate which ones they are, see if the lips are actually welded there, and if so, break them and recombine them into separate top/bottom lip verts. If there are two vertices, you need to move them up/down fractionally, recompile, and just test to see what brakes and what gets fixed.

Generally, when verts like that get welded, they're the convergence point of between 5 and 30 triangles depending on the polycount, so what I'd do (once you select and split) is select from the pile, move it way up and down, figure out if it's part of the top or bottom lip, move it a fraction if a unit up or down, select the next, rinse, repeat. Once you have them in two groups, select one of the two gaggles, weld it, do the same for the other, and bam, you now have a separated lip. Repeat until all vertices are complete. You'll need to move them close again, or they might not get caught by the flex in the .vta.

Also this more of a question for the ports and hacks thread, since that is a model hack.

[Milkyway M16]

[QUOTE=Lt_C;42494782]The vertices around the lips have moved far enough out of place to no longer be effected by the .vta, or the tightly packed vertices around the lips were welded together during the import process. You'll need to isolate which ones they are, see if the lips are actually welded there, and if so, break them and recombine them into separate top/bottom lip verts. If there are two vertices, you need to move them up/down fractionally, recompile, and just test to see what brakes and what gets fixed.

Generally, when verts like that get welded, they're the convergence point of between 5 and 30 triangles depending on the polycount, so what I'd do (once you select and split) is select from the pile, move it way up and down, figure out if it's part of the top or bottom lip, move it a fraction if a unit up or down, select the next, rinse, repeat. Once you have them in two groups, select one of the two gaggles, weld it, do the same for the other, and bam, you now have a separated lip. Repeat until all vertices are complete. You'll need to move them close again, or they might not get caught by the flex in the .vta.

Also this more of a question for the ports and hacks thread, since that is a model hack.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the awesome response. Yea the ports and hacks thread completely slipped my mind for some reason. I visited it just today and yet I didn't think to post this in there instead. It does kinda fit here too though since it is a new body model.

Unfortunately what you described sounds way too involved for me, I'll probably just ditch the whole thing or try to hack on the head again.

[QUOTE=uaredead2020;42494775]are you using the .VTA that decompiled with Eli?[/QUOTE]

Yes

[Haxxer]

[QUOTE=Milkyway M16;42495023]It does kinda fit here too though since it is a new body model[/QUOTE]

Did you create the new body model? If you didn't, then it's probably better with the other thread.

[Milkyway M16]

[QUOTE=Haxxer;42495130]Did you create the new body model? If you didn't, then it's probably better with the other thread.[/QUOTE]

It really doesn't matter, it probably should have been posted in the hacks thread, but yes the body is created from scratch.