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Half-Life 2 Models in TS! Yes, there is a way!
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These pages are a copy of the official truespace forums prior to their removal somewhere around 2011.
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Half-Life 2 Models in TS! Yes, there is a way! // Roundtable
Post by Methusela // Aug 29, 2006, 7:10pm
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Methusela
Total Posts: 414
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I'm not entirely sure I'm completely allowed to do this, so I'll let the good ol' gents at admin take a look at this first.
After much frustration and many dead ends, I've finally found a way to get Half-Life 2 .mdl files into Truespace! Complete with textures and all!
I will stress here that all aforementioned models are heretofore and hereinafter (and other meaningless legal words) the sole property of whatever the heck company makes the game (Valve, yes?) and are copyrighted and all that sort of thing. These are for personal use only. Lest you suffer the wrath of whoever tracks said infringements.
I'll show you how (and upload relevant programs) upon approval from Mr. Grimes or equal. Also if there's enough interest. |
Post by RichLevy // Aug 29, 2006, 9:51pm
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RichLevy
Total Posts: 1140
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You have my interest...
Rich |
Post by Vizu // Aug 30, 2006, 12:26am
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Vizu
Total Posts: 628
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my inetrest too ! |
Post by Steinie // Aug 30, 2006, 12:57am
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Steinie
Total Posts: 3667
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Descriptions and screen shots would do. What's wrong with that? |
Post by Methusela // Aug 30, 2006, 4:01am
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Methusela
Total Posts: 414
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Screenshot of the end product:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/Methusela/Half-Life2TSScreen.jpg
I have a program for viewing the .mdls and exporting them to .obj format, then I have another for converting the .vtf textures to .tga. You can import the .objs with the magnificent Luuv plugin (free) and preserve the uv mapping to boot!
Still awaiting approval. |
Post by TomG // Aug 30, 2006, 7:19am
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TomG
Total Posts: 3397
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I can't give approval, that is up to Valve, and depends on their licensing agreement :)
I would believe posting the models in an editable format would NOT be allowed. They would let the models be used in your game mod, and I would guess exporting them, editing them, and re-importing them into your game mod is also probably ok.
I suspect though that distributing the models themselves outside of a HL2 game mod is probably NOT going to be allowed. After all, then people who do not own the game get to use the models, which doesn't sound right to me (while making a mod, well anyone who plays the mod must still purchase the original game to do so).
My suggestion is simply paste a "how to do it" - that way people can then import the models from their own copy of the game into tS. If they don't own the game, well they won't have access to the models anyway as they don't have a license for their use anyway.
This looks great, do please give detailed steps if you can on the process - ie where to find the models, how to export to OBJ, what app you ran to convert the textures, and so on :)
Now if you check with Valve and they tell you its ok, well that's good :) But I really can't give permission here as they are not Caligari products and I do not know the details of their license - all info here is just my educated guess, but can't be taken as legally binding of course.
Those are nice renders btw - and as an HL2 owner I would be interested in rendering a few scenes in tS7 with the characters just to see how it looks :) So if you get time for the "tutorial" then that would be great!
HTH!
Tom |
Post by splinters // Aug 30, 2006, 8:53am
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splinters
Total Posts: 4148
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I have HL2 and would be interested. There was a tutorial for doing this from Doom 3 a while ago and, as I have that and Quake 4, it was interesting.
You never know it might open up other possibilities for tS7...;) |
Post by Methusela // Aug 30, 2006, 10:21am
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Methusela
Total Posts: 414
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Well, I'll put it on here with a bunch of disclaimers. That way nobody gets in trouble. :D
To start off with, you'll need the attatchments downloaded and unrar'd. Obviously, you'll need Winrar to do that. If you don't have Winrar, Google it and download the demo. To extract properly, select both archives at the same time, right click them, and click 'Extract to Half-Life 2 modding tools.'
H'okay, to get your Half-Life 2 models into good ol' TrueSpace (Works with all versions I'm pretty sure), simply follow these instructions:
1. Well, the first thing to do is make your own folder for your models and textures. This is so that you don't have to edit the game files directly and run the risk of messing them up.
2. Open your Half-Life 2 texture Directory. I think this is by default usually:
C:\Half_life 2\hl2\materials\models
3. Copy the entire folder of the object you want to put into TS from there to your own directory.
(For example, if you want to get the buggy model, copy the buggy folder into your new folder)
4. Now copy the entire contents of the folder 'vtf to tga converter' (not the folder itself) and paste them into the folder with all the textures in it. (For the buggy example, paste the files into the buggy folder in your own directory.)
5. Run the batch file 'vtf2tga'
6. It'll give you an option at the end of the batch file to delete the .vtfs and keep the .tgas instead, I'd go with yes, simply because TS doesn't recognize .vtfs so you're really just wasting space.
7. Now you can edit the textures in a program like Photoshop if you want.
8. Now open the Crafty Model Viewer.
9. Open the model from the directory
C:\Half_life 2\hl2\models
that corresponds to the texture directory you just copied.
(For the buggy, open the buggy model.)
10. In Crafty, go to File>Export and save the .obj to the same folder as the textures. (for simplicity's sake, you don't really have to if you don't want to.)
11. Now, import the .obj into TS with the Luuv plugin. (included in this download.)
12. Then use the TS material editor and image finder to apply the textures to your model. The UV mapping will be preserved perfectly.
13. In many cases, you'll have multiple texture maps for a single object, simply use the 'decompose into objects' tool in TS and then texture the right parts. You'll see when you're doing it right, I promise.
And now you've got some sweet models! Again though, I must stress that this is all copyrighted stuff, so it's all for personal use only. No distribution of any kind, no claiming that it's your work or anything of that nature. I willn't be held responsible for any gettings in trouble. :D
Have fun! |
Post by RichLevy // Aug 30, 2006, 2:35pm
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RichLevy
Total Posts: 1140
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Thanks! I'll give this a whirl as soon as I can (hopefully very late tonite :D)
This is too cool.
Rich |
Post by parva // Aug 30, 2006, 10:28pm
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parva
Total Posts: 822
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I have just packed *.gcf files at SteamApps but in none I can find *obj files. Textures yes but no directly obj files.
edit: ah ok I got it. Must read the whole mdl vtx vcd stuff in the object viewer and can export it to obj.
... wow Alyx has 8323 tri polygons :D
good to see how dense the mesh from the head is - speeks for the great facial expressions she has. |
Post by Matski007 // Aug 31, 2006, 2:31am
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Matski007
Total Posts: 539
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This is also available at http://ts7.mat-ski.com/viewtopic.php?t=14 as a one zip file download |
Post by SteveBe // Oct 4, 2006, 7:43pm
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SteveBe
Total Posts: 282
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Thanks Methusela! I finally got around to trying this out. I re-worked the
textures to DX Materials and took a screen capture in player. |
Post by Methusela // Oct 5, 2006, 4:37am
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Methusela
Total Posts: 414
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Hey, good to see it's going to good use!
I rigged up the combine guard in Motion Studio, but TS 7 gives me the shaft when I try to open it back up. XD
Here's a delicious piece of in-game wonderfulness that my roommate captured while having a little too much fun with the crossbow. :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/Methusela/CombineFrolic.jpg
Yes, he's nailed to the wall. :banana: |
Post by Cannikin // Oct 5, 2006, 7:48am
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Cannikin
Total Posts: 18
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Ha ha ha! Nice pic! :D |
Post by hemulin // Oct 5, 2006, 10:36am
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hemulin
Total Posts: 1058
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@SteveBe - Is it me or does Alyx' face look a bit strange? :confused: |
Post by SteveBe // Oct 5, 2006, 11:36am
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SteveBe
Total Posts: 282
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It's you!:p Could be because she's subdivided, also I have her eyes wired
in the LE so I can position them with sliders, so it may be her eyes. |
Post by Methusela // Dec 2, 2006, 10:25am
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Methusela
Total Posts: 414
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So I'm celebrating finally being able to use "Player" side, and here's my first normal map that I've successfully set up. No prizes for guessing which model is normal mapped. (Also I subdivided it once for good measure)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/Methusela/NormalMapTest.jpg |
Post by nowherebrain // Dec 2, 2006, 11:05am
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nowherebrain
Total Posts: 1062
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that's strange,maybe you should look again...the .obj format is one of the best out (opinion) and is one, if not the most usefull exporter. Across many programs..I can take a model, skin it in blender, port it to MAX, re-edit in lightwave, take it into modo, sculpt, in silo, and come back to tS..keine problem. The maps and skinning are recognized throughout. Heck, you don't even need the MDL7 exporter for 3D game studio...just use obj, or 3DS. |
Post by Methusela // Dec 2, 2006, 11:43am
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Methusela
Total Posts: 414
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Yeah I know, the original models are in a HL2 specific .mdl file. The programs I put up here convert from the .mdl to the .obj for all sorts of exciting editing options! |
Post by Methusela // Dec 9, 2006, 8:08pm
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Methusela
Total Posts: 414
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In an unfortunate and poorly Photoshopped series of events, my roommate met a grisly demise at the hands of my shotgun shortly after this portrait.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/Methusela/TarorZombie-resized.jpg |
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