Get learning Anim8or!

[dlw6]

don't use anim8or's texture tool, its crap. use lith unwrap and make proper texture maps.

I think it depends on the complexity and purpose of the project. Anim8or is slow going compared to Blender, and version 0.95's UV tool is less capable but also less buggy than version 0.97. Also, Anim8or can render bizarre shadow artifacts when more than 3 lights are casting shadows in a complex scene. But Anim8or is easy to use, and the principles you learn can be useful if you decide to move on to a professional-grade tool like Blender. I spent months back in 2006 trying to learn Blender, and got pretty good with the meshes, including joins and welds. But the textures never worked for me; I tried to follow the tutorials and never got the advertised results, so I went back to Anim8or.

Obviously, I had a lot of help when I was starting out. Yandros and others encouraged many of us to try Anim8or starting in 2004. Targa taught me to make an object from Anim8or into a BIN file in 2005, though I don't remember how anymore. Lazarus taught me about video editing in 2006. It was fun to learn and I still apply the modeling and video skills now and then.

Some years ago, I created the outro video (drone destroyed and the aftermath) for Privateer Gemini Gold as a 1280x720x30 AVI, using a variety of tools to make the textures, Anim8or to "shoot" each scene, and Adobe Premiere for post-production editing. Each scene was 5 to 14 seconds of finished video and took all night to render, which definitely made my pace myself toward the end. But it worked, despite the"improper" texture mapping. Compared to that, the classic T1/T2 style videos I made for a couple of FMs were simple.

This past spring, I used Amin8or to model the interior of a large 2-story building that was still being built, including furniture and decorations, and then made walk-through videos, so a 3-star general and a couple of 1-star generals (including my boss' boss) could see how the place would look. That took a couple of weekends. The architects should have done it, but this was a government building so, lowest bidder and all that. The generals liked the result, so it was worth the work and a lot more fun than other work I might have been doing.

So anyway, I agree that Anim8or's UV tools aren't as efficient, but they do work. What inadequacies do they create in, say, a finished BIN file?

[R Soul]

It won't do any harm to the bin file, so the method you use is a matter of preference. I used to use Anim8or's tools, and when they weren't sufficient, I'd use LithUnwrap. That program can show the texture in the background, and can show you a 3d model preview. Some people have suggested UVMapper, but since Anim8or now has basic UVMapping (cylindrical etc), it seems futile.

A while ago I switched to Blender for two reasons:
1. I've been making objects for another games, which uses .dds textures. I started using Anim8or but it became tiresome to have to make jpg versions and then swap them after exporting.
2. UVMapping is very good, and once you get used to it, it becomes quite easy.

I first looked at Blender version 2.49, but the interface seemed broken, so I removed it. Then I tried 2.5x, which has a new interface, and after watching some video tutorials, I found it quite easy to use.

[Sluggs]

You know what I really love about Anim8or?

1 unit is the same in Anim8or as it is in Dromed which means you can make model versions of bsp brushes at the same size as they are in Dromed without worrying about scale.

Is this the same with other modeling programs?

[The Watcher]

In lightwave, 1 metre is 1 dromed unit, which makes life pretty easy.

[R Soul]

It's the same with Blender. I've been using that for a while now, mainly for things for my rFactor track, but I've made a few thief objects too. Units don't mean much to programs. Vertex coordinates are just numbers, and it's up to each program to decide how to interpret them, and there's no reason for 1.5 to be read as anything other than 1.5. In rFactor the basic unit is a metre, whereas in Thief it's a foot, but in neither case does one have to rescale an object.

Although I barely use Anim8or nowadays, I think the simplicity of the interface is a good thing. A fancy interface can make a program look hard to use, which can put people off. Of course in truth a simple object is easy to make in any decent program, but first impressions are important.

[Schwaa2]

3dsMax lets you choose unit scale. So it can get complicated using different engines. Some engines are metric, some standard, some just accept 'generic' units which is also a choice.

[Gecko]

I'm really desperate!

I want to rotate this torch "newt02.bin" and save again!



It´s from the "enhancement pack"!

Than it should looks like this:



i thought i ´ve to use this option to do that....?



But after convert back to ".bin" the torch is blinking in game (thief gold) to both sides....what did i do wrong?

I want to do that because i want to use the new torch for thief gold! And the original torch ".bin" in TG shows to the other side...

i hope you understand what i mean

[R Soul]

The torch cycles through several models. Have a look at its Tweq > Models property. Each model has a slightly different flame shape, so the cycling creates the illusion of movement.

[Gecko]

Ah, okay! Thank you R Soul.

i have no idea what i've to do. Is it difficult to fix that problem?

[LarryG]

There are 6 torch models and you must change them all.

[Gecko]

Ha! Of course ... thx!!!

[Albert]

Stupid question, but has anyone ever used Blender in FM building? Anim8or is pretty good for what it is, but I think Blender is far in a way more evolved. And it might have better texturing capability, from what I've seen.

Just saying that it's a good alternative, is all. It's only 10-15MB larger, for starters. And all other sorts of things... Plus the fact that I know how to use it better.

[R Soul]

I've been using Blender for quite a while. It can export as 3ds, but there's also a plugin to allow direct exporting: http://sourceforge.net/projects/darkexporter/

[Ottoj55]

or, like i did, you can stop the model tweak and use a single model for the torch, relying on a particle effect flame rather than that crappy model flame thing.

[Xorak]

I've been using Blender for quite a while. It can export as 3ds, but there's also a plugin to allow direct exporting: http://sourceforge.net/projects/darkexporter/

I was having trouble with Blender. I've never been able to actually export anything using Dark Exporter. I select .bin as the export type, and choose where to save it, but it never creates the .bin file in the directory. Did I forget to mount part of the add-on?

And if I export as .3ds I can't get the textures to actually show up when I use 3ds->bin. I have the Dark GFX Converter script mounted as well, but not sure what to do with it.

Is there a better readme at all for the darkexporter?

[LarryG]

I've been using Blender for quite a while. It can export as 3ds, but there's also a plugin to allow direct exporting: http://sourceforge.net/projects/darkexporter/

Someone who knows about Blender should start a "Get Learning Blender" tutorial thread. Hint, hint.

[Renzatic]

I could copy and paste the tutorial I did for the TDM guys awhile back. It'd be a good excuse for me to finish it, too.