Milkshape. In the end hopefully you will find it useful. If there is anything wrong or
a better process, be sure to let me know. I have only figured this out from trial.
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MODELING FOR TORQUE V1.0
Using fragMOTION, Milkshape, and UU3D
Exporting/Importing Process
MODELING FOR TORQUE
Exporting/Importing Process
Lethal Games Corporation P.O. Box 1057 • Kalkaska, MI 49646 www.lethalgamescorporation.com Created by Leathel Grody www.foundationsofhope.com
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Introduction
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fter many countless hours of trying to figure out how to use the set of tools I use for modeling to model for Torque, I have come up with a process that seems to work well for exporting to the .dts format that Torque uses. Possibly someday I will create an actual how to use the program tutorial, but for now, this first installment is the process I have been using to export/import my models between fragMOTION, Ultimate Unwrap3D, and Milkshape. In the end hopefully you will find it useful. If there is anything wrong or a better process, be sure to let me know. I have only figured this out from trial and error. I currently am using the Torque MoM Kit, based on the Minions of Mirth MMORPG from Praire Games. So many of my examples will be MoM centric.
fragMOTION (http://www.fragmosoft.com/) I do all my modeling and animation within fragMOTION so I will start in the beginning of my process.
Ultimate Unwrap3D(http://www.unwrap3d.com/) For texturing my models I use Ultimate Unwrap3D.
Milkshape(http://www.milkshape3d.com/ Although Milkshape can do many functions as fragMOTION, I am more familiar and prefer fragMOTION for doing my modeling and animation. Milkshape however has a great .dts and .dsq exporter that the other programs do not have, so I use it for the last steps of getting my models into the .dts format. The process I will be using follows this path: fragMOTION=>UU3D=>fragMOTION=>Milkshape=>.dts
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Exporting from fragMOTION Exporting from fragMOTION to UU3D.
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s stated previously, I am writing this documentation for those that know how to use the tools. It will only cover the process of exporting/importing. So with that, I will start off as if you have your model and animated within fragMOTION.
I personally have found it best to animate my models before texturing them. I find many times that there are faces that are not proper for animation and need to be recreated to make the animation flow better. If you have already UVwrapped your model, you have to go back and add these new faces.
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Exporting as .x Why .x? I have found out of all the formats to export as, the .x format keeps the weighted vertice assignments intact. Although I wished the Milkshape export would work, UU3D does not recognize the weighted vertice assignments with the Milkshape format. However, there are multiple problems with the .x format within UU3D which I will explain later. These are easy to fix compared to rebinding a character.
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Step 1) Simply export from fragMOTION to .x using the default check boxes.
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Importing/Exporting with Ultimate Unwrap3D Exporting/Importing between UU3D and fragMOTION.
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s I previously hinted, there are some issues using the .x format with Ultimate Unwrap3D. Although I will show the workarounds, it is better to deal with the slight issues, than fixing lost vertice weight assignments.
Importing .x into UU3D The main option to uncheck while importing .x into UU3D is the Merge similar materials option. Although this does not effect your initial model since it does not have any materials, if you needed to export/import between fragMOTION and UU3D, you do not want to lose the data you have created. For example, if you have UVwrapped your model into six different parts, export to fragMOTION, import back to UU3D(mainly this is done to fix a modeling problem), those six materials could be combined into one material. Not helpful.
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Step 1) Open the .x file and unselect the Merge Similar Materials option. Click OK.
Texture your model From here you are on your own. You will need to texture your model to the appropriate standard you are using. For the Torque MoM kit, I split my playable characters into six different textures(head, body, feet, hands, legs, arms). So for many of my examples, I will be showing how I get my models to be used by the MoM kit. Note1: When creating my Materials and Groups within UU3D, I only use a simple naming scheme(body, head, etc..) One problem with the .x format is that it does not keep the material and group names. You will fix this in Milkshape.
Note2: This is where the most major .x problem comes into play. For some reason when using .x in UU3D between either Milkshape or fragMOTION, the model is flipped horizontally with UU3D. What this means, is that if you have any textures
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that must be seen in a particular way(letters, images, etc) they must be textured backwards(mirrored, flipped horizontally) with UU3D. That way when you export back to fragMOTION the texture will look appropriate. For many models, monsters, animals, etc. this will not cause a problem. fragMOTION is going to implement a new flip model feature on its export function. Hopefully this will resolve the problem. Or if UU3D ever implements weighted vertices with its Milkshape importer, this may also be another option instead of using the .x format.
Exporting .x from UU3D Step 1) Save file as a .x. Check the “Export multiple uvsets” options. Click OK.
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Importing back into fragMOTION Importing .x into fragMOTION then exporting to Milkshape
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ou might be able to skip this process and go directly to Milkshape, but I find the process easier to do within fragMOTION. Plus if you are doing anything with animation, you may want to use fragMOTION still.
Importing in fragMOTION There is nothing special about opening the .x into fragMOTION. It should open up without any options. I usually set fragMOTION to view “textured” so I can see how the texture from UU3D looks in another program. If you had to do the ‘backward’ texturing, this is a quick way to see if you did it properly. Step 1) Open the .x file into fragMOTION. Nothing special.
Fix bones One of those .x format problems with UU3D is that extra bones are added when exporting from UU3D in the .x format. If you look at the screenshot below, you will see a SceneRoot and Body bones have been added. If you are using precreated .dsq files for animations, this will throw things off and the files will not work.
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Step 1) Drag the Bip01_Pelvis and Unlink bones onto the Skeleton level in order to get them from under the SceneRoot Bones
Step 2) Delete the SceneRoot bone which will also delete the Body bone.
Step 3) You should now be back to the proper hierarchy. I have come across times when certain things like the Bip01 L Clavicle and Bip01 R Clavicle are not in the proper order within fragMOTION. If you are using precreated .dsq files this will also mess up the animations. Just drag the bones back to their proper order and this should fix things.
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Step 4) The next problem with the UU3D .x format is that it does not like spaces between bones name. For example the top Humanoid bones should be Bip01 Pelvis, where as from UU3D it is Bip01_Pelvis. All the bones now have the “_” where a space used to be. This once again will mess with your precreated .dsq animations. So you will need to go through and rename so they have a space instead of the “_” if necessary. If you are using your own animations, this may not be necessary. But if you are using supplied bones from Torque or MoM, and want to use the .dsq files, this will be necessary.
Note1: If you will be doing any model modifications between fragMOTION then exporting back to UU3D you will need to fix the bone locations again. This happens every time you export/import between UU3D and fragMOTION.
If you will be making any modifications within fragMOTION to your model you will need to first go to Vertex=>Weld All. The .x format seems to separate the vertices. This is a process that I normally will show in Milkshape, but if I am making modifications in fragMOTION, it will be something that needs to be done sooner. Note2:
Animations(Optional) The UU3D .x format seems to only allow one animation. So if your model’s animations are composed of just one Animation folder and they the animations are separated by frames, then this is not a problem. I personally have each of my animations as separate Animation folders within fragMOTION. I save all my animations individually as .m3d files. So when I am back in fragMOTION from UU3D, I then use the File=>Merge Animation option to merge each of my
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animations back into place. You have to do this after you rename the bones. Because the bones of the animation are the same as the model you are working on, the animation merges perfectly and nothing is lost. With the animations merged, I can then modify my animations are create new ones on the textured model. If you are using Torque or MoM animation files this process will not be needed. But since I have to make modification to my animation files and then export them out of Milkshape as .dsq files, this process is needed for me.
Exporting to Milkshape I usually save my textured, bone-renamed file as a .ugh so that if I need to go back and make modifications or make new animations it is already to go. Once you are done, it is time to get the file to Milkshape for some of the final steps. Step 1) Export file to Milkshape format. Use default values and click OK.
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Importing/Exporting with Milkshape Final steps using Milkshape
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lmost there, but still a lot to do. Time to fix the final problems that the .x format causes before we can export to the .dts format.
Weld Together The .x format separates the vertices and you need to reweld everything. So whether you did this in fragMOTION or not, I suggest you use the Weld Together option. Do not have any vertice selected when you do this. The dts exporter will also fail if you do not do this.
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Rename Materials Since I am using the MoM technology, the Material naming is very important. MoM using a material system and the segmented model sections must be named appropriately. Step 1) Click on Materials tab and rename each of the materials appropriately. For MoM you can see them below. You first highlight the material, type in the name, then click the “Rename” button.
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Modify Groups Next you will need to go through and rename the group names. The .dts exporter is rather picky on these. Whether the naming is proper or not, I just know it works for me. Step 1) Click on Groups tab and rename each of the groups. Each Group MUST be name something different. As you can see, I go simple and just use letters.
Export to DTS There are two different Milkshape Torque DTS exporters. The one you will want to use is the Torque DTS Plus version which now comes standard also with the newer Milkshape versions. This version allows you to change the scale of the model, export DSQ sequences, and LOD. Step 1) Go to File=>Export=>Torque DTS Plus
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Step 2) In most cases you will need to change scale from 0.1 to 1. This is particularly true if you have been using reference model bones that are already associated with dsq files. Step 3) I also uncheck everything except the Copy textures option. Click the Export DTS button and hopefully your file will be exported out to a dts file.
Final Words I am still very new to this. I have not gotten to the point of creating LOD for my characters. I am not sure how the LOD and Milkshape Export works. If you look at the Torque DTS Exporter image, it shows the Groups as LOD meshes. I do not understand why it is doing this. But again, maybe this is part of the LOD process and I just have not gotten to that point.
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