Putting Blender models into the game tutorial

[jtucker40]

@Prensa

 

Thanks! All those pretty much fixed the problems but I have just a few more issues now.

 

The 1st being that the scope seems to not have any texture paths after I export if from Blender. After exporting it to a .nif file, this is what it looks like.

 

http://i.imgur.com/rSOBmc5.png

 

The other issue is that some of the textures in game are super reflective sometimes. The bolt especially, and also the magazine.

 

http://i.imgur.com/F68uRtR.jpg

 

Lastly, is there any way for me to make a custom scope reticle? And possibly with custom colors?

 

Hopefully these should be the last batch of issues, thank you so much for your help!

[prensa]

jtucker40 - Hello!

"Thanks! All those pretty much fixed the problems"

Great! Glad to have helped. :)

"The 1st being that the scope seems to not have any texture paths after I export if from Blender. After exporting it to a .nif file, this is what it looks like."

The scope is missing it's BSShaderPPLightingProperty, where the shaders are set & which is parent to the BSShaderTextureSet where the textures are set. That needs to come from Blender.

How are you exporting from Blender?

Are you using NifScripts to export as a .nif from Blender 2.49?

If so have you selected "Fallout" on the option screen after selecting "Export", it's listed with other game titles.

"The other issue is that some of the textures in game are super reflective sometimes. The bolt especially, and also the magazine."

That could be caused by a few things.

Check the shiny part's BSShaderPPLightingProperty, in the Block Details of that find "Shader Flags".

In Shader flags you should have something like:
SF_Specular
SF_Remappable_Textures
SF_ZBuffer_Test

Possibly

SF_Alpha_Texture

If you've got:

SF_Environment_Mapping

Then make sure you've got an Environment Mask texture set in BSShaderTextureSet, it will be the bottom texture set & will usually end in _em.

If you've not got an Environment texture then untick SF_Environment_Mapping shader on the shiny part & see if that fixes it.

Check the shiny parts NiMaterialProperty, there's a setting there called "Glossiness" which determines how shiny it is.

Glass would have a very high number for example. Compare the Glossiness to other parts on your weapon to get an idea.

Check the shiny parts BSShaderTextureSet & make sure that a Normal map texture has been set, it will be the second texture & normally ends in _n.

Shininess is controlled by the Alpha that's built into the Normal map which controls surface detail. So a missing Normal will make an object both flat looking & affect it's shine.

If a Normal Map is set then your Normal map texture might be missing an Alpha layer (a black & white image where darker colours mean less shine & whiter colours mean more) but if the other parts are using the same texture without too much shine then it's not likely that.

Check to see if the shiny part has an NiAlphaProperty, this can control the transparency of an object but also can be used for shininess. When exported from Blender it's often changed.

Compare the shiny parts to parts that are working normally to try & help spot the problem.

"Lastly, is there any way for me to make a custom scope reticle? And possibly with custom colors?"

Yes, custom reticles are fairly easy & they can be any colour or even shape you like.

I made a custom reticle that was almost triangular based on the one seen in the film Oblivion for the Tet Rifle in my Jack Harper mod.

Some reticles are made as meshes but you can also make the reticle from a texture, which is what I do as I was making mine before I knew how to use Blender.

For a vanilla example look at Scope01.nif inside the Fallout - Meshes.bsa.

For an example of one using a texture for the cross hair part, which is a little easier to replace with your own, check out the one in my Jack Harper mod.

If you look in that mod under:

Data\Textures\Point Lookout Expansion\Weapons

The texture OblivionScopemMask.dds determines the shape of the black mask around the reticle, normally circular but here an angled square/triangle.

OblivionScope.dds is the cross hairs, here a HUD based on the movie's but you can use any style you like.

 

By changing those to textures in a art program you can quickly make a custom reticle.

Now mine's meant to be a screen so there's no lenses, you can see them in the vanilla Scope01.nif model I mention & you may want to combine the texture recticle with the vanilla lenses for the effect you want. Just remove the crosshair from the vanilla & use your texture crosshair in it's place.

It sounds far more complicated than it actually is, play around with these & you can soon get a custom reticle which adds a bit of character to your weapon.

Prensa

[jtucker40]

@Prensa

 

Thanks for the help again!

 

So I think I have been exporting the scope with the right settings, but for some reason every time I try it I end up with the same results. Here are the settings I have been exporting it with:

 

http://i.imgur.com/nJ6vLwf.png

 

As for the glossiness of the gun, it must have been a problem with my normal maps so I went in and redid the normal maps and now all the textures look great.

 

The Nexus mods website is down I think so I haven't been able to download your mod yet,

Edited July 12, 2014 by jtucker40

[prensa]

jtucker40 - Hello!

 

"So I think I have been exporting the scope with the right settings, but for some reason every time I try it I end up with the same results. Here are the settings I have been exporting it with"

 

Yes, everything looks correct there.

 

Got me stumped.

 

There must be something different about the scope than the other parts if it's the only part not exporting with it's textures.

 

In Blender call up your model & highlight the scope.

 

Go to Shading by clicking the sphere symbol (F5), find the "Map Input" tab & make sure it's set to "UV". If it wasn't, try exporting again.

 

out of curiosity does the scope export with textures if you export the whole model as a solid piece?

 

If so do that then import back into Blender & try cutting it up again & see if the scope exports properly.

 

If none of that works, try comparing the scope to another part that's exporting properly & look for a difference.

 

"As for the glossiness of the gun, it must have been a problem with my normal maps so I went in and redid the normal maps and now all the textures look great."

 

Cool! just need to figure out this scope problem. :)

 

Prensa

[jtucker40]

@Prensa

 

Nice catch, I went into Shading, then in the texture tab I saw that it didn't have anything selected. After I looked at the other object I set if to Diffuse.001 like the other objects, and now it works like a charm!

 

Thanks so much for your help, I'm going to package this up into a mod as soon as I can and see how other people like it. I'm having troubles with the custom scope retical but I found one that looks exactly like what I was looking to make so I might just use that.

 

Thanks again!

 

I have one last question though, I was messing with the GECK and I unchecked the Automatic box in the gun menu to see if I could go semi-auto in game. When I tried to shoot in-game, nothing happened. Is there another thing I have to check to make it semi-auto? EDIT: Never mind, fixed it.

 

Also, in-game the M249 is super over-powered but I only have the damage set to 12. Is the damage related to the rate of fire?

 

Thanks for all the help! I really appreciate it.

 

EDIT: In-game screen to show it works.

 

http://i.imgur.com/D39pgoV.jpg

Edited July 13, 2014 by jtucker40

[prensa]

jtucker40 - Hello!

"Nice catch, I went into Shading, then in the texture tab I saw that it didn't have anything selected. After I looked at the other object I set if to Diffuse.001 like the other objects, and now it works like a charm!"

Great! I'll have to remember that one in case I see it come up again. :)

"Thanks so much for your help"

You're most welcome!

" I'm going to package this up into a mod as soon as I can and see how other people like it."

It looks really cool in the picture, the model's got a lot of detail, seems like you got the scale right too which is often tricky.

"Also, in-game the M249 is super over-powered but I only have the damage set to 12. Is the damage related to the rate of fire?"

I'm not sure. I know that multiple projectile weapons like shotguns can often have outrageously high damage stats that aren't actually what the weapon does.

Also the players level & associated perks make a big difference on what damage a weapon can do.

There's discussion of Damage Per Second & Weapon Damage Formula here:

http://geck.bethsoft.com/index.php?title=Weapons

http://geck.bethsoft.com/index.php?title=Weapon_Damage_Formula

I'm pleased it all worked out, good luck with your mod release. :)

Prensa

[neomonkeus]

One minor suggestion is to convert your NiTriStrip -> NiTriShapes.