Firefly cast

[Trelau]

I just finish watching the entire show again, and i'd really like to have mesh/skins of the crew of the firefly tv show. I know it's a bit ood to put them in FF, but it'e more for collecting them than playing them i guess (plus there was a Buffy mod, so why not a firefly one some day...)
I don't know if anyone ever got around skinning them, but that would be (plus photoskinning has improved very much lately, like with the last figurefan and such)

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to take the "job" (even if it's just one character)

[docdelorean88]

I second this as well. I was just watching that show again recently. And how bout a skope of the freedom flyer for serenity?

[Gremlin]

I second this as well. I was just watching that show again recently. And how bout a skope of the freedom flyer for serenity?

You'd have to make one from scratch. The Freedom Flyer might work for Inara's shuttlecraft but not the main ship.

[Trelau]

so, after tomato laid down some harsh truth about the beggers in us, i decided to give a try to meshing/skinning; so i'm gonna try to answer my own requests.

So, before i start, a few technical question:
_Is 3ds max 4 the only version that works? Can i use a more recent version and then convert my .3ds to an older version? (i mean would the converted file work for ff?)
edit: if 3ds max 4 really is the only option, can someone point me in the right direction to get it?
_Is physique the only working animation option? because i only learned skinning in school, since physique is...well, outdated, or so i was taught
_What is the absolute polygon limit for a mesh?
_What is the absolute scale limit for a mesh? (in meters if possible)
_What is the absolute size limit for a texture? (in pixel and Mo)
_What are the others tools i need (a link would be much appreciated). i already have nisfcope and ezscript.
_I searched the wiki, but can't seem to find a real "step by step" tuto about making a character from meshing to skinning and animation, with the jump from one sofware to another

I'll probably need some more advice, but with my short attention time and the fact that i only have one week of vacation...well i might never reach that point  

PS; if anyone is still interested in making any the character requested, don't let my attempt stop you; like i said i'll probably drop it as soon as i go back to work anyway...

[Vertex]

1. max 4 or 5
2. physique IS your only option
3. 3000 is the suggested limit but yes you can go over that... and watch your game performance lower
4. basically the game can only handle a character properly about double the size of male basic (can't remember it's height atm)
5. I don't skin but I think people recognize that it's what... 256?
6. you'll need the exporter and a couple scripts that are at the FF site
7. honestly all you need to know is at the ff site in the tutorials

[Trelau]

thanks for reply, i'll try to get my hands on the exporter and script, but is there an easy way to get max4/5 or do i have to search through torrents and newsgroup? (i have max 2009 and i don't see myself paying for an older version...)

about physique: if i make a ship, how do i apply that? like for the serenity there are rotating engine and such. does the physique have to be constructed in a specific way (biped-like) or can i make my links as i see fit?


edit: okaaaaaay
http://frworld.wikispaces.com/Meshes well that was helpful (btw did you know there are at least five freedom force wiki? and almost half of them are not about the video game)
i'll use your "meshing tips and tricks" as a reference and just go for it
so, i got the mod tool (character tool, ffedit and nifscope) but i can't seem to find the max exporter for FF anywhere, and freedomfan is still down (i guess that's "the FF site" you were talking about?) can anyone give me a link or send it to me?

ps: if anyone is interested in getting into meshing, 3dsmax 5 can be found "on the free market"; i'm guessing posting torrent links is against forum policy, but it's out there and easy enough to find.

(i'm gonna be "out" for at least 12 hours, so if i don't answer quickly that doesn't mean i'm not interested, really any kind of help/advice is welcome and i'll read them all)

[Vertex]

vehicles and such won't need to be physiqued. you can simply animate the parts.

[Tomato]

before I clarify one of your earlier questions for you, I just wanted to says some other stuff to you Trelau... I wasn't really trying to bash you or anyone else, and I think your reaction to my post shows exactly why... you did what I know 90% of the FR membership would be more than willing to do: You offered to step up to the plate and contribute. And that's all guys like me ask, not even that you contribute skins or meshes or skopes or mods or FX or VPs of any quality level... but that you find some way to try and give back, even if it's just including yourself in discussions. And honestly man... I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it (And BTW, I love Firefly also )

Now then... to clarify #5, there are several sizes you can skin at, but my recommendation would be to skin at 1024x1024 px and then shrink down to about 512x512 px for your main skin, 256 for extras. Most skins won't require more detail then that, if mapped correctly, and it maintains a nice balance between size of the TGAs and the quality of the work.

[Trelau]

so, 3dsmax 5 isn't as acceccible as i thought ^^ i can't find any keygen/serial/authorisation code that actually work
so i started meshing on max 2009 (i'll do an obj export to put it in max 5 later) but if someone could send me a crack via mp or here it would be much appreciated
depending on the advancement tonight, i'll maybe show some pics...(tonight means in 7-8 hours for me, so it'll probably be afternoon for you depending on were you live)

[Trelau]

So, here goes nothing

http://img17.imageshack.us/i/serenity01.jpg/

http://img518.imageshack.us/i/serenity02.jpg/

http://img35.imageshack.us/i/serenity03.jpg/

http://img511.imageshack.us/i/serenity04.jpg/

(i can't seem to get imageshack images to appear in my post...)

it's not my best work, but i'm trying to keep the number of polys as low as possible  (a little over 1000 for the moment, it might go up if i want to animate the door or other stuff)
any suggestion/comment on modeling is welcome

i still don't have the FFvsTTR exporter (freedomfan still down...) and i'm still looking for a working keygen for 3dsmax 5

[Previsionary]

You're not going to get any help in regards to the warez stuffage. Against forum rules.

[Trelau]

yeah i guess i should have known...problem solved anyway; i'm just missing the exporter now. can it be found on any other site than freedom fan? (i checked alex fortress and others but no chance so far). i'll import my mesh in max 5 and start the uvs(wiremaps) for the moment

[Trelau]

so freedom fan still down, i still only have the mod tool and character tool, but not the "art tool" with the 3dsmax exporter.
ok somehow i found that the "art tool" just doesn't seem to exist, but via the help documentation of the mod tools there was a link with the exporter for max 5.1
however, while reading the documentation i found this

Note: The Skin modifier is now supported and is available for exporting.

(source; help, Art Docs)
is this something we all missed or is it just not true?

edit: and of course i have max 5 and not max 5.1 so the plugin won't work...i really wonder why some people give up meshing even before the beginning, cruising hoplessly the internet is soooo fun. so, i'm off to find a max 5.1

edit2: and the story continue. i found the update for max 5.0 to max 5.1. it worked, and i have now max 5.1. BUT (it would be too easy otherwise) th plugin won't work anyway: "dll failed to initialize" kind of error. really starting to lose interest here

[docdelorean88]

So, here goes nothing

http://img17.imageshack.us/i/serenity01.jpg/

http://img518.imageshack.us/i/serenity02.jpg/

http://img35.imageshack.us/i/serenity03.jpg/

http://img511.imageshack.us/i/serenity04.jpg/

(i can't seem to get imageshack images to appear in my post...)

it's not my best work, but i'm trying to keep the number of polys as low as possible  (a little over 1000 for the moment, it might go up if i want to animate the door or other stuff)
any suggestion/comment on modeling is welcome

i still don't have the FFvsTTR exporter (freedomfan still down...) and i'm still looking for a working keygen for 3dsmax 5

Looking quite nice! Nice work.

[Tomato]

so freedom fan still down, i still only have the mod tool and character tool, but not the "art tool" with the 3dsmax exporter.
ok somehow i found that the "art tool" just doesn't seem to exist, but via the help documentation of the mod tools there was a link with the exporter for max 5.1
however, while reading the documentation i found this

Note: The Skin modifier is now supported and is available for exporting.

(source; help, Art Docs)
is this something we all missed or is it just not true?

edit: and of course i have max 5 and not max 5.1 so the plugin won't work...i really wonder why some people give up meshing even before the beginning, cruising hoplessly the internet is soooo fun. so, i'm off to find a max 5.1

edit2: and the story continue. i found the update for max 5.0 to max 5.1. it worked, and i have now max 5.1. BUT (it would be too easy otherwise) th plugin won't work anyway: "dll failed to initialize" kind of error. really starting to lose interest here

If it's just the FF1 exporter you need, I'll see if I can't fish it out of my plugins folder, and if not, if you're just exporting, just send it to me.

[bearded]

i will also volunteer to help in any way i can.  i have max 4.2 so if you need me to export anything it'll have to be 3ds format.
another idea is to export into the .obj or .3ds format then import it with nifskope and save it as a nif.  not entirely sure that would work but it should.

[Trelau]

tomato: i couldn't find the ff1 exporter, i got the  ffvstr exporter, maybe that why it doesn't work
bearded: didn't think of that, i'll try importing in nifscope to see if that work
and thanks both of you for proposing to export the final stuff, it's just that i really wanted to go from A to Z on ONE object so that i'd know every step of the process (plus if i want to update it in the future, being "dependant" on someone else kinda bugs me...)

and thanks for the feedback docdelorean88; but no pic today i think (i repainted my appartment ). i'm almost done with the UVs so i'll do some test for texturing later
(and then, the much feared...animating DUM-DUM-DUM. yep i kinda don't like animating ^^)


edit: i forgot to show you that:

http://img29.imageshack.us/i/newserenity01.jpg/
updated version of the ship, i mostly redid the "neck" and added the little parts that moves on the tail

http://img54.imageshack.us/i/newserenity02.jpg/

ready for take off. the 4 legs make the thing go a little high in polycount for my taste (still good but no more details...). the engine and door are not a separate objet, so rotation looks a bit "weird" for the moment. can i make a mesh with mutiple parts or do i have to skope the parts afterwards?

[Tomato]

can i make a mesh with mutiple parts or do i have to skope the parts afterwards?

As far as I know, multiple parts are fine.

[Trelau]

freedom fans is back online!
so, i took this:
http://www.freedomfans.com/ffvttr/downloads.php
i can't seem to find a FF1 version of that exporter.
so it installed normally, and i can select "FFVsTTR - Nif" in the export format. BUT for the moment it doesn't work (error in line 65 if that means anything to anyone)
I take it it's because i've not textured nor animated the mesh for the moment (right? please tell me it's gonna work  )
for the moment, i still have to finish the uvs, and i do that in max 2009 and in Edit Poly form (instead of editable mesh in max5.1...i can't do proper UVs without tools like the pelt mapping)
so i intend to have my UVS finished tomorow night (24h from here if you prefer) and getting started on a base skin (i'll probably release the wiremaps anyway so that anyone who wants to skin it while i animate it might do so).
About animation, isn't there a script or plug in i have to put so that i have all the different animation after one another instead of mutiple files?

[Tomato]

freedom fans is back online!
so, i took this:
http://www.freedomfans.com/ffvttr/downloads.php
i can't seem to find a FF1 version of that exporter.

Tis because you're looking in the FFv3R section... try http://www.freedomfans.com/ffpc/downloads.php

Edit: Tis not there... huh. Could have sworn... hold on, I'll find it via google.

[Previsionary]

You know, the help files link to all the files you'll need.

3dmax 4 plugin: Click

[Trelau]

yep tomato, i got caught myself ^^
Previsionary: will this plug in work with max 5.1 or do i have to look for 3dsmax 4 too?

[Trelau]

just a little update to let you know i haven't gave up on this. the wiremaps are in re-work phase (mostly scaling the head to get mor detail on it, and scaling down the parts that need less details). i'm a little busy irl, so i'm not working as fast as i'd like, but i wanted to let everyone who helped me know that i'm getting this thing done, however slow i may be.
so i'm gonna lower down my expection (and those of anyone waiting for the result) and say that i'll have the texturing done by the end of the week (so definitely pictures next time)

[Trelau]

ok, as promised, a little update.

http://img17.imageshack.us/i/serenitytexturetest1.jpg/

only one because, well, not much to see really. But wiremaps are done, and i started texturing about 30 minutes ago (if you're wondering, no i didn't "make" it, i took high res screen shots and just "stick it" on the ship)
so no more tonight, i'll put an updated version (and mutiple angle pics) tomorow night (24h from now)


edit: wow, i must be really tired, sorry for the spelling grammar and co. btw thanks murs, but you should definitly check firefly (it's a joss wheddon show, far west in space!)
and yeah its an answer to the message below i definitly need to go to bed

[murs47]

I have no idea what Firefly is, but great work so far

[Tomato]

I have no idea what Firefly is, but great work so far

Murs... you're not my friend any more. Go get some culture, Gawd!

[daglob]

Don't be too rought on him, I missed it the first time around too. Thne a friend loaned me his season 1 and only set and later gave me the movie for my birthday. Otherwise, I'd have no idea either.

My favorite line (paraphrased) "The Lord says thou shalt not kill; He's a little vague on kneecaps."

[docdelorean88]

Don't be too rought on him, I missed it the first time around too. Thne a friend loaned me his season 1 and only set and later gave me the movie for my birthday. Otherwise, I'd have no idea either.

My favorite line (paraphrased) "The Lord says thou shalt not kill; He's a little vague on kneecaps."

"Here lies my beloved Zoe. Not quite as pretty now that she's all corpsified and dead."

[Trelau]

great to see some firefly fans are here ^^

so, another update:

http://img9.imageshack.us/i/serenitytexturetest2.jpg/

http://img19.imageshack.us/i/serenitytexturetest3.jpg/

http://img441.imageshack.us/i/serenitytexturetest4.jpg/

so the mirrored part are pretty obious, i'll have to paint the most obious repetition. i wich i could finish this faster; but i can really have 1 hour, 1 hour and a half top to work on this for now (still moving in my new appartment). i'll try another quick update in 9 hours, but there probably won't be much progress
as always, any review/comments/advise are welcomed 

[murs47]

I have no idea what Firefly is, but great work so far

Murs... you're not my friend any more. Go get some culture, Gawd!

By culture do you mean cable television?

Looking good Tre