I want to model and code for weapons and vehics

[n3m35i5]

here's the deal: I want to learn to model and code. specifically weapons, and then vehicles. I tried out Blender, and I even made a nice looking man in a hat, but it failed to hold my intrest. I know there are many many skinners, modelers, and coders out there who would love to help me out, and I've even found some tutorials out there on my own. but I need a lot of help, starting with what program to use.

[3DTexturizer]

I might, and stress MIGHT, be able to help you out with the modelling/skinning. After doing the UP Weapons, I got to where I felt pretty proficient at the process.

But this time I would have more control over the initial concepts and design?

I have wanted to do animated weapons as well, and 2K4 would do that.

So I guess I can help ya out.

You and Xeppitz would have to talk as well, seeing as his progress/knowlege base would help you mucho.

As far as programs go, its either Maya or 3DS Max. I guess Blender works as well as pretty much all of the programs tho, there arent as many tutes out there on weapons development.

Figure out your pipeline early on. What file formats will transfer from the modeler/skinner>animator>scripter/miracle worker...

Documentation. I think that the amount of files I generated working on the UP mod, was 40 megs or so, in texture files, renders, etc... Keep it all straight and organized!

Patience. If you start a mod, it must partially obsess you. If I hadnt had Xepp in my PMs every so often, I might still be on the 5th gun. It takes a long time to get these things done. The UP mod has had 15000 views and 1150 or so posts. So it has been a labor of love/hate. And I still have to wait till it gets ported over to 2K4. Remember: Patience

Cheers

[Cody Lavery]

Yo n3m35i5, first off thanks for the info on angel mappers site. and then to your situation... dude i love 3ds max, its a great program for making simple models and animating them just perfect for weapons and vehicles. I've played with maya abit, which i feel is great for organic modeling (characters) but the price is out there. Lightwave is cheap and works with unreal, but it sucks. so if your a student of any kind... (literally if your going to any college or institute of anywhere) you can visit www.studica.com and www.journeyED.com to buy a one year education license of 3ds max for $150. scan your ID or school schedule and your set! i just figured out how to use other guns codes for mine and then swap out the meshes... otherwise im still learning. i got two vehicles so far, and all i got to say is... do one of the vehicles without wheels. if you make a mesh to replace the raptor, or the manta its as easy as 1,2 5! exactly! you dont know HOW it works but it does. Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V are the greatest tools ever.

Yo 3dTexurizer dude how many polys do you aim at for a weapon, i've hit 800 and 1100 and im thinkin its toomany, even though it runs fine i just want to know what you think of as a limit. plus when making textures is it better to have one 1024X1024 or do you go higher or lower. plus i have another question, have you ever had an issue where the muzzle flashes are duplicated, are oriented by the level not by the player, and the projectiles seem to spawn from the center of the screen rather than the 'Tip'. and for some damn reason the the animations are played funky unless im using an exact duplicate of another 'stock' fire class.

[n3m35i5]

thanks, guys. one thing about 3dsmax: I looked it up once, and it's waaaaaaaaaay expensive. I think 3DSmax 7 went for upwards of 5000 US big ones. I simply don't have that kind of money. and even spending 150 is hefty for me. if it's free, I want to hear about it.

skinning: can it be done in 3dsmax? or maya? or is that some completely diffrent program?

difficulty: I realize that it's very naive of me to think I could hop on and make a weapon model. in my defense I was expecting to at least put out a stick with a scope, nothing fancy, and I could barely play around with a damn cube in blender. how hard are maya and 3dsmax exactly? how intuitive are they? if I wanted to make a woodshed, say, which is mostly a cube but with a textured roof and doors, how long would that take me from install to finish?

[JoystickMonkey]

maya PLE comes with UT2k4 (in the last disk, or in the last folder on the install dvd) along with a maya export tool. You can also d/l maya PLE online from their website, and it's free. The exporter works with it as well, even the free version.

[n3m35i5]

I'll look into it.

[Cody Lavery]

EDIT: No warez discussion please- grazi.

but when it comes to making weapons, or sheds, or pretty much anything mechanical looking i would go with 3ds max(by the way you wouldn't need to 'skin' a gun, its just of animating the pieces{such as the barrel} sliding about) if you get 3ds max you can easily find a place to download actorX plugin, this will help in exporting animated... stuff! the only time you would need to 'skin' something is if its an organically shaped and animated object (such as characters) if you want to do that kind of stuff than you should get MAYA. oh their is also the gMax program. its actually a free game modding software by autodesk/discreet (makers of 3dsMax, hence the name) gMax kind of sucks though, but it will give you an idea of what 3ds max is like, if you bought the editors choice edition (DVD) of Unreal Tournament 2004 you should have access to Maya personal learning edition (basically mayas equivalent to the gMax). i recommend playing around with both to find what you like.

but i love 3ds max... its so cool, intuitive and all those other fancy words that i cant spell corectly.... hahahaha!

[JoystickMonkey]

hort saves the day!

[n3m35i5]

tell me about it, I don't even know what he saved me from ;) . I'll try 3dsmax or gmax, whatever I can get for free. I just wish I didn't have to shell out thousands of dollars for the full version, but sacrifices must be made. next question: anyone know a good tutorial?

EDIT: Autodesk no longer offers gmax as a "standalone product." I don't know what this means, but bottom line, I can't get it for free. I'm checking out the 30day trial for 3dsmax8.

EDIT2: Error Processing Autodesk Download Request

We have encountered an error in processing your request for the download.

This download is only available by filling out the download form on the Autodesk website and following the instructions sent to you in the resulting email.

If you reached this page after following those instructions, then some unexpected condition is preventing you from receiving the download.

Please note:

1. If you are using personal firewall software, you may need to temporarily disable the firewall and then re-enable it after the download.
2. You may need to temporarily disable any download manager or download accelerator software in order to access the software download.
3. Left-click on the downloads normally, rather than using any of the right-click options in your browser.
4. Make sure you are using a standard internet browser.
5. If the link that was emailed to you worked before and it does not work now, please fill out the download form on the Autodesk website and follow the instructions.


okay, now I'm pissed. any help?

[sandorski]

Maya 7 PLE or XSI Modtool! Both those are free and have UEd plugins. If purchasing a Full version of a 3D Modelling App is your goal, you might want to checkoput XSI's Modtool as XSI's cheapest program is approx $600US, still pricey, but not when compared to Max or Maya.

[n3m35i5]

well, with a 200gb external hard drive and a tweaked connection, there's no reason why I couldn't try all three. I turned off my firewall and got 3dsmax 30day trial to work. Random question: where do .ukx files go in your UT2004 folder? I assume animations or something.

[XepptizZ]

If this is just a fad, a quick hobby than Maya PLE is your prog of choice. If you are looking for a lasting hobby, future job in the gaming area than Max is your man.
Autodesk has taken over Alias and announced Max will be game orientated and Maya movie orientated, But KM knows all the ins and outs about taht.

Before I can assist in detail I really need to know what you are shooting for, what are your goals and what are you trying to achieve. Yes, they all mean the same :P.

@3D, Kuddo's to all the work you have done and I'll be on the look-out for UT distributing points.
Also, after that remark about 40 megs I figured I'd give it a look myselfe. We currently have about 160 megs of pure custom content, i.e sounds, meshes, psd's, animationfiles, ut readable versions. And that's without your collection of psd's :P. in total we must've made about 200 megs of content already.

[n3m35i5]

thanks for the input xepp. Maya wants to send me a software key, but even with antispam turned off it wont come. Max (30 day trial) is installed on my external hard drive, but when I click on the application to start it it gives me an error, something about "procedure entry point_CIsqrt could not be located in (some .dll file.)" there's nothing in the support database, so reinstalling is my only other way out. *checks installation: oh joy, my download has frozen. I think it's time for a break :weird: .

my aims and goals, at this point, are to make a round tube that shoots a bright yellow laser beam. alt fire will do more damage, but take more ammo. then I hope to put it into a mutator(UT2004), where it will probably replace the shock rifle. once I do that I'll pretty much know how to start coding and how to start modeling, and I'll figure out what I want to do from there.

[n3m35i5]

man, you guys are gonna love this one. Maya PLE wants me to register, then they'll give me a serial code through email. I download the program, type in the serial code, and viola: maya ple. so far no email whatsoever. perfect file download, but no email. I've asked them to send it too me 5 times, and still nothing.

3dsmax gives me some zipped files. I install them, go to run the program, and it says its missing something from libmmd.dll. I download it a second time, to a diffrent location, and run that. the second one is missing d3dx9_26.dll. I find libmmd.dll in the second installation, move it to the first installation, and run it. NOW it's missing d3dx9_26.dll as well. I checked the files, nothing. it isn't in either installation, so I'm giving up on both for now. someone mentioned a third program, with a free trial and a $600 full version, so I'm banking on that.