I've been doing a little bit of experimenting with the "glow" effect but I have a problem, I have a green model, the key colour for glow is set to that green. however only the top half "glows" when I render, I'm assuming this is bcause the green on the botom half is darker green (caused by lights) but how do I fix it??? :confused:

I've been doing a little bit of experimenting with the "glow" effect but I have a problem, I have a green model, the key colour for glow is set to that green. however only the top half "glows" when I render, I'm assuming this is bcause the green on the botom half is darker green (caused by lights) but how do I fix it??? :confused:
I think the only way to do it is to add another glow postpro for the darker green colour. It would be nice if you could set whether the glow colour had to be an exact match, or not. On trying this I found it doesn't actually work. I'm having similar problems...

I think the only way to do it is to add another glow postpro for the darker green colour. It would be nice if you could set whether the glow colour had to be an exact match, or not. On trying this I found it doesn't actually work. I'm having similar problems...
Oh well, IMO the fireball effect is more realistic for a muzzle flash. that and I dont have enough patience to make ~20 shades of green glow :rolleyes:

Ok... it's come to the time where I really need a flamethorwer, but I'm not quite sure of the best way to do it. I could do it the long way with a load of fireball postpros, or I could do it with a flame shaped object with an animated texture. Unfortunetly I can't find a decent animated flame texture. Is there any other way anybody can think of doing it?

I'm tempted to export the model into blender, and see if I can get that to do what I want, but I find the user interface so stupid, so that'll probably take even longer than doing the fireball postpros...

Ok... it's come to the time where I really need a flamethorwer, but I'm not quite sure of the best way to do it. I could do it the long way with a load of fireball postpros, or I could do it with a flame shaped object with an animated texture. Unfortunetly I can't find a decent animated flame texture. Is there any other way anybody can think of doing it?

I'm tempted to export the model into blender, and see if I can get that to do what I want, but I find the user interface so stupid, so that'll probably take even longer than doing the fireball postpros...
I just spent all today experimenting with postpro effects, I'd say your best bet would be to go with a trail of fireballs, with the right settings they can really do anything :D

Ideally you also want to set it's refractive index, which is about 1.5 for normal glass
Where is this "refractive index" :confused:

Where is this "refractive index" :confused:
Attributes-->Refractive index


[offtopic]
Refractive index is, for people who don't do physics, a constant for each material relating to how light would bend if traveling through the object. It's not really noticeable at such a small scale, but it's the reason things in water appear distorted etc. Also really high refractive indicies (like diamond - about 2.5) cause bits of the object to reflect the light (diamonds are cut specially so this is maximised to increase sparkle), due to total internal reflection (which is how fibre optics work BTW).

Here is a referance list for loads of transparent things, and thier refractive indicies:
http://www.robinwood.com/Catalog/Technical/Gen3DTuts/Gen3DPages/RefractionIndexList.html

The glow effect is easy to use, and gives much better explosions (for space machines at least) than the fireball post pro.

I'll post an example in a bit, but heres the details;
#1 you can use any key colour you want, green is good if you are not using it anywhere else in the model, but if you are, choose something else, make sure its the brightest colour you can get.

#2 give the green (or other colour object) the luminous texture setting, this sets it so that it has no shadows or shading, and is all the colour you want.

#3 turn off all anti aliasing for the animation, if the edge of the glow object is blured it wont glow on that area.

and thats it. :) Using a morph and the explode polygons action to create several frames of explosion can give a good effect. I tend to use little "bombs" of glow colour that explode out from the center of the model, meaning you don't have to remove the texture from the main model.

looks very good.... have you figured out a way to make it orthgonal yet? It still scares me from even trying anymore for now.....

(It would be fine for just gun flashes etc... but with beam weapons or even missile trails, it seem to complicate things greatly.)

Thanks for the tip SM :D
I tried to use the glow effect for my previous unit but couldn't get the object to have no shadoweffect(different shades of green) and therefore had to use fireball effect which is very pink ingame unless you don't decrease the density :(

@ neomega - really, I haven't ever noticed any problem without "orthagonal" view, and I've done a beam attack to experiment awhile back which worked fine :confused:

Thanks for the tip SM :D
I tried to use the glow effect for my previous unit but couldn't get the object to have no shadoweffect(different shades of green) and therefore had to use fireball effect which is very pink ingame unless you don't decrease the density :(

@ neomega - really, I haven't ever noticed any problem without "orthagonal" view, and I've done a beam attack to experiment awhile back which worked fine :confused:

if your beams sweep, or come from the center of the model, it may not be noticable. Also, in game, if it is firing at a larger unit, it will not be noticable. Only when it fires at a smaller unit like infantry is it noticed that the beam is missing.

Plus, realistically, units in civ III are created with orthoganal, not perspective.

Only when it fires at a smaller unit like infantry is it noticed that the beam is missing.

Could it be that your target location is off?
I've noticed with my units and have also been told about other startrek ships which miss the target for smaller ground type units. This is something that must be lived with.
WHY?
In standard Civ III units there are no weapons which leave a visible trail. Which means that a unit can move forward or backward a little when attacking/defending. Pay attention to the ground unit which you are trying to hit with a visibly moving weapon. If the ground unit moves from center to the edge in order to attack/defend (like spearmen and pikemen do) then your beam weapon will appear to overshoot.
Since we're using beam weapons and/or torpedos both of which are visible attacks, they need to have a target to shoot at when creating them. Unfortunatly, not all units are the same size or remain in the same position during all animation sequences. Therefore, whether the perspective is orthoganal or not, this will continue to be a problem.

That is not to say that someone somewhere could come up with a good solution. OH, I know, make all units the same size in the same postion and never moving in defense/attack... HOW BORING IS THAT! :D

So please, don't give up because of this...

I tend to avoid the laser post pro unless I have to. Its a bit weak and can produce odd results, especialy if the beam goes off screen. :(

A better idea is to use models like the phaser model. Eather glow or transparency masks can make it look prety good.

Admitedly, I've not tested many of my units in came so its possible that they're off target.

I had been using the post pro lasers for my first round of units, but found it tedious to fix the colors after they pass onto the magenta background. A black background is great for the post pro's but not so good when your unit is comprised of shades of grey and black. I've started using models for the phasors and torpedos. They are harder to position, but once they are in place, they move just like the post pros.

Don't know how to use glow or transparency in OpenFX. Is that something only visible in a final render or can it be seen in a f12 quick render?

Could it be that your target location is off?


No. The laser model is a straight cylinder. For other projectiles I use the location keyframe, meaning they are only moved along one axis.

The cameras are alos set up at ideal angles.

The bad effect is magnified when the unit is facing south or north, for reasons of the difference between orthoganal and perspective.

I haven't given up, I just have about 30 other things I gotta polish first before I release my mod.

I had been using the post pro lasers for my first round of units, but found it tedious to fix the colors after they pass onto the magenta background. A black background is great for the post pro's but not so good when your unit is comprised of shades of grey and black. I've started using models for the phasors and torpedos. They are harder to position, but once they are in place, they move just like the post pros.

Don't know how to use glow or transparency in OpenFX. Is that something only visible in a final render or can it be seen in a f12 quick render?

You can see glow in the F12 view. When you are modeling, select what will be glowing, and go to attributes->materials->texture and give it the internal texture "luminous". Then go to the normal color assignment menue (attributes->materials) and give it a "key-color" (just pick a color not used anywhere else on the model). When you're in the animator, insert the glow post pro effect, and choose your settings. Hot produces a white object, glowing yellow; warm makes it orange and red; and cool makes it white with a blue glow. Fade cotrols intensity (higher percent for more glow), and radiation % controls how "radioactive" it will be if you set it to radiate. Radiate make every model in the scene glow orange, and have an orange tint (depending on how high the radiation % is)... That's about it.

How would you go about making a Run animation for a unit that flys? I was think him flying up and then landing, but then (when strung together) it'd look like he was hopping everywhere. If I don't, he'll just appear in the air and then back on the groud (the default isn't flying, it's just standing). Thanks in advance.

How would you go about making a Run animation for a unit that flys? I was think him flying up and then landing, but then (when strung together) it'd look like he was hopping everywhere. If I don't, he'll just appear in the air and then back on the groud (the default isn't flying, it's just standing). Thanks in advance.
I've been contemplating a similar thing. I was tempted to have constant flying, then landing for the fortify - but I think I'll go for hopping. I don't think there is any other way to do it, apart from having large gaps between the animation (like the tactical nuke, I think...) oh and I'm not sure this is the right thread ;)

Oh, sorry :p... I did mine, it looks ok. Sorry for the OTin', by the way...

A tip for expoting to 3DS and DFX
When I export models to 3ds or dfx, I've noticed that sometimes random verticies dissapear or are misplaced :mad:
But, I've found a solution :D
Instead of directly exporting to dfx or 3ds, export to .stl first. then, open the .stl and export that to either 3ds or dfx then you won't be loosing verticies.

hope this info is useful to someone ;)

Thanks, that may be userful sometime to me.

To add a second fireball post-pro that occurs at a different time than another, do I just changing the costume length of the dummy light associated with it?

Thanks, that may be userful sometime to me.

To add a second fireball post-pro that occurs at a different time than another, do I just changing the costume length of the dummy light associated with it?

Well, not just the costume length but all of the keyframes for the dummy light assigned to the second fireball postpro. Keep in mind that all fireball post pro effects start at the beginning of the animation. But will only be visible when the dummy light assigned to them is active. In essence if you want all your fireballs to look like balls of fire, cut an paste several animation sequences together. If you want all your fireballs to look like smoke and haze then place them nearer the end of your animation and use a longer animation length.
This is why the fireball postpro is good for space ship explosions. You can start with a nice fire or plasma explosion and it slowly (depending on length of animation) turn into a smoke/debris cloud (and of course finally nothing)...
But if you want to use the fireball postpro for weapons damage, it can be tedious and a challenge if your wanting firey hits.

Also, you can tell the fireball postpro to be assigned to all dummy lights (if you aren't using any for any other purpose) That would eliminate have to setup a postpro for each dummy light. Unless of course you need to have specific settings for each light....

Surely, I've answered the question and then some. I think I'll stop rambling now.... :lol:

:p... Was that an answer or a fireball tutorial :D. Thanks for the info, but just to get it straight, to have a fireball explosion start half way through the animation, I'd have to make two, and paste one into the other half way, right?

Oh, and a second question (if it's not too much trouble), for gun smoke, would you just use a model that has a high transparency, and add some modulation or wave effects to it in the animator? Sorry for all the questions, just curious.

:p... Was that an answer or a fireball tutorial :D. Thanks for the info, but just to get it straight, to have a fireball explosion start half way through the animation, I'd have to make two, and paste one into the other half way, right?
Nope. If you scroll down in the keyframer - you can't select it any other way (apart from clicking at 0,0,0 and hoping), you can find the postpro's row, then move the start/end point to where you want it.
Oh, and a second question (if it's not too much trouble), for gun smoke, would you just use a model that has a high transparency, and add some modulation or wave effects to it in the animator? Sorry for all the questions, just curious. You could do it like that, or you could just use a fireball postpro, and change the colours to smokish colours - I think both work.

:p... Was that an answer or a fireball tutorial :D.Not intentionally. Just wanted to share my experiences with fireball postpros. I use them quite heavily in my borg ships for attack and death.Thanks for the info, but just to get it straight, to have a fireball explosion start half way through the animation, I'd have to make two, and paste one into the other half way, right?

Well, I don't know anything about telling when to have the postpro start. But I do know that if the light that the postpro is assigned to does not exist until halfway through your animation then your postpro will not be in effect until then. When I was saying cut and paste I meant outside of openfx in a paint program. To see an example check out my Borg Tacticle cube (link in my sig)
In the attack animation. I made one animation with phasers and fireball weapons damage. I made a second animation with a torpedo and fireball weapons damage. Then I commbined the two storyboards (after using sbb). The resulting flc actually contains two possibly three (don't remember anymore) openfx animations.

So to actually answer the question.
To have a fireball postpro start halfway through the animation.
1. Put a dummy attenuated light where you want your fireball. You know the xyz stuff...
2. Tell your dummy light when to be active. I just move all the keyframes to the same frame.
3. Insert a fireball postpro and assign it the newly created dummy light.
4. Adjust any settings to your fireball postpro.

You can play with the fireball postpro colors to try and get what you want. But the later in the animation you go the less combination of colors you get and the more magenta you get showing through. I feel that it may be best to break the animation up into two animations. One with everything prior to the fireball. And one with the fireball on.

TO The Great Apple: Duh, why didn't I think of that. Thanks, you may have saved me a lot of trouble.

TO Tzar Sasha: I see... Thanks for all the help with fireballs, and when I said the tutorial thing, I wasn't complaining (just to make sure there wasn't any confusion on that).

some random fireball tips

for smoke, obviously use the greyscale colours, BUT also make sure the density is reduced to ~4 this makes sure that ALL the smoke effect is caught by the shadow row, and won't mix with other greys in your unit

For explosions, use a high density, if you don't your explosion will look way TOO pink ingame since it is tinted from the magenta on low densities

EXPLOSIONS start small, become full size after 1/3 of all the keyframes. if you want to have the explosion show only when it's full size and after, drag the fireball costume line to where you want it to go, make sure 1/3 of it is BEFORE you actually want it to show, then have the dummy costume only exist on the frames you want it to appear

FLAMES are a constant size, very good for one-frame muzzle flashes, and can look like real flames if you have a high vertical stretch

I got a compalaint and a praise:

Complaint, I made some flying jump infantry, and once again perspective got in the way, this time making them get larger as they jumped. So for run, instead f flying as i had intended, they run.

Praise:

Anybody play with the "terrain from bitmap"? Command? It makes gif images become contour based 3d terrains. :crazyeye:

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads8/Seattle1.gif
http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads8/Seattle2.gif

Here are two real quick first time attemtps at a city block.

I used the first tecture to make the terrain, and then I overlaid the texture over the generated terrain.

I think simpler drwings may actually create some great cityscapes easily.

I don't see why the units would get bigger if it's jumping up since your cameras are to the sides, and it shouldn't be jumping towards the camera :confused:
a viking yeti's jumping unit seemed to work very well. ;)
maybe an exapmle?

Has anyone figured out if water effects are possible in OpenFX?

I don't see why the units would get bigger if it's jumping up since your cameras are to the sides, and it shouldn't be jumping towards the camera :confused:
a viking yeti's jumping unit seemed to work very well. ;)
maybe an exapmle?


which example was that?

which example was that?
maybe just post an example of the perspective problem when jumping ;)

here is a look at the problem:


due to motion, it is okay for a fidget, but I can't use it for run, because it appears to have grown about 50% in size, so it would almost look like a mecha flying around.

And here is the set-up file:

I suppose you could fiddle with the size keyframe untill it looked OK. It wouldn't remove the problem, but it probably would reduce it so far as it barely being noticable.

I suppose you could fiddle with the size keyframe untill it looked OK. It wouldn't remove the problem, but it probably would reduce it so far as it barely being noticable.

Aye, that may not be too difficult. reduce it in size 33% over the course of the entire animation. I actually didn't think of that. Next time, I am doen with this unit. ;)

Has anyone figured out if water effects are possible in OpenFX?
^ten characters^

Has anyone figured out if water effects are possible in OpenFX?
You could try a high transparency object, and maybe use the "wobble" effects on it.

Alternatively you could do manual wobbling with a skeleton, or morphing, though I'm not sure if that would work very well.

I got a compalaint and a praise:

Complaint, I made some flying jump infantry, and once again perspective got in the way, this time making them get larger as they jumped. So for run, instead f flying as i had intended, they run.

The cure for that is to have all you cameras [I]way[I] out (and I do mean WAY out ;) ) and to set the zoom to something stupidly high (like 250mm plus)

The cure for that is to have all you cameras [I]way[I] out (and I do mean WAY out ;) ) and to set the zoom to something stupidly high (like 250mm plus)


Next unit, I'll re-set up my camera configuration.

@ neomega - how'd you get your shadow slightly blurred around the egdes?

@ neomega - how'd you get your shadow slightly blurred around the egdes?


proabbly turning on anti-aliasing to full strength, also my spotlight's hardiness I pronbalby turned down, but made the cone large, and far, very far, from the unit.

Actually, if it's not antialiasng set to high, then it is something in my set up, which is attatched as a zip a few posts up.

hmm, looked at your setup and I can't see how you have shadows at all, there's no ground :confused:
Also, I've never had a spotlight make a shadow, :hmm:

hmm, looked at your setup and I can't see how you have shadows at all, there's no ground :confused:
Also, I've never had a spotlight make a shadow, :hmm:

Sorry, the ground I import as a separate model, or as part of the model, but not connected to the skeleton.

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads8/HAIL_SW.gif

OK, so I solved the problem of getting close to my camera by using the scaling keyframe. It was very tricky, but using lots of motion will hide the wavyness of growth and shrikage. This animation was shrunk and grown 20%.

For future reference, I would suggest if anyone plans on doing any "Jump" type animations, and do not wish to readjust their entire camera and light set up (shadows also grow if you aren't careful... see some of my older animations... :p ) to get their model close to intended scale before modelling, as open FX can only scale in the accuracy of the second digit place. So if you original model is giagantic, and you scale it down to 10% to fit in your platform, you will be forced to work in scaling increments of 10% (0.10 to scale originally, then +/- .01 for dscale adjustment due to camera appraoch)

I still have no idea how you made your shadows soft at the edges... If you could explain it, that'd be great... That is, if it's not too much trouble :D.

I still have no idea how you made your shadows soft at the edges... If you could explain it, that'd be great... That is, if it's not too much trouble :D.


I attatched my set-up.

In your render panel, under options, "anti-alias ground reflection".

under control: anti-aliasing best, and use accelerated anti-aliasing is turned off.

I am not sure which of these three do the trick.... it also may be the spotlight, if that's the case, it's in the set-up.

K, I'll mess with it a bit... Try and find out which of the three (possibly four) accomplish the softness. Thanks :D.

Ok.... could somebody clever perhaps help me with surface textures. I want a map which will stick to the unit, during animations, but which I can size and position like a normal map.

Basically I want to be able to create a texture map for a certain part of a model, with details, which will move with the model during animation.

I am yet to find a way of doing it.... help?

Ok.... could somebody clever perhaps help me with surface textures. I want a map which will stick to the unit, during animations, but which I can size and position like a normal map.

Basically I want to be able to create a texture map for a certain part of a model, with details, which will move with the model during animation.

I am yet to find a way of doing it.... help?

1. Get the texture map "primer" from the Blender apple texturing tutorial. He doesn't want remote linking, so I will respect that. But it is an awesome set-up with colors, numbers and letters, so you can do pin-point texturing.

2. Select the parts you want textured.

3. Set up the map. Turn decals off, until you understand the difference between the two. ;)

4. Use planar... I can't get cylindrical to work for fixed maps.

5. After setting up your map, and it looks good, go to attributes--> fixed to mapping-->Convert normal map to fixed to map

6. THEN go back into Attributes-->maps-->edit map, and change it from planar to fixed.

@ neo - I'm trying out your setup to get the soft edged shadows, however, I can't even get a shadow :mad:
I don't think spotlights create shadows, I have a ground (an imported model as you said) and no shadow comes up :confused: any ideas???

Even though this is way off what you have been talking about...
Can someone please explain to me how to make human models??
I have tried and they come out....blocky....
Anyone help would be nice.
-Spart

@ neo - I'm trying out your setup to get the soft edged shadows, however, I can't even get a shadow :mad:
I don't think spotlights create shadows, I have a ground (an imported model as you said) and no shadow comes up :confused: any ideas???

Under raytrace, have you checked "trace shadows".

I just tested it out, and it worked fine.

Also, I think that under ettings, Ambient lighting% looks good at 45, and shadow density % is good at 66.

Even though this is way off what you have been talking about...
Can someone please explain to me how to make human models??
I have tried and they come out....blocky....
Anyone help would be nice.
-Spart

One trick is to turn the smoothing angle down... I have mine at 30 I think, so even a pretty sharp angle will be shaded to appear rounded.

If you are textruing, choose shaded texture.

edit... ahh, it appears I have it at 75..... strange.

[dance]
I figured out the shadow thing finally :D
it turns out my eight side lights were overpowering the spotlight so I adjusted a bunch of settings and it now works!
thanks for the help neo :goodjob:

Neo, if you want fixed cylindrical maps, you have to set the tile setting in the "selected attributes" tag to multi tiled, after you have done all the normal steps of setting up a fixed map.
If you don't the texture will not be displayed.

I look forward to your palette tutorial. Could you post the screen shots you took of the static Blended flic? Its somthing I was thinking of doing myself and you could save me the time. (I already have to correct the pallettes on most of my space units). :(

How about some in game screenshots?

These are numbered with the main alpha blend row being numbered 1-16.

Does anyone have any tips to help me make a human model?? Such as do I use clinders to make limbs?

Does anyone have any tips to help me make a human model?? Such as do I use clinders to make limbs? I used stepped cylindars for my orks, almost entirely. I used a lat sphere (they are much better than geo spheres), for the head, then did vertex pushing to get it all fitting together. I found the proportions were quite hard to get right (though I wasn't strictly doing humans). It'll take you a few goes to get it all looking right, especially as civ proportions are weird as it is.

Light clothing doesn't really work, nor long hair. The animator needs a dangle feature or something.

Oh, and make the best use possable of phong smoothing. Don't let any angle get too large.

@ neo - those are some VERY useful screenshots, THANKS!!! :goodjob:

@TGA - Phong smoothing :confused: please explain :rolleyes:

@spart - I'm going to attach a pic of my human model that I've made from scratch, I labeled all the body parts with what shape I used to make it :)

I did NOT make this all at once, I made the bodyparts as I needed them, I went from almost totally covered units, to nearly naked units making the parts as needed :).

Ask any questions about the model you like.

@TGA - Phong smoothing :confused: please explain :rolleyes:
Ummm. It's the smoothing option on the materials tab if I'm not mistaken - then you set the angle in the render settings. It basically smooths over edges, making everything nice and smooooooth, rahter than each individual edge visable.

oh ;)
much simpler to just say "smoothing" :p

Well, I kinda figured out the whole human thing...I think...I have made several models and I'm just waiting for Mr.Will to animate. Expect previews of about 1-5 units tonite.
-Spart

initialy, animation is quite difficult to get right, the biggest problem being just where to put the skeleton points. I advise including extra skeleton points for the feet. Makes it look better.

I'm having a spot of bother with the glow postpro....

Firstly - anti-aliasing seems to do irriatating things to it, as the colour is slightly mixed with those ajecent to it, and so is one or two bits off the key colour.

Also, ray tracing often puts the thing that needed to be glowing, in shadow, darkening it's colour.

Has anybody come up with any clever way of dealing with these two problems?

EDIT: And does anybody know quite what radiation glow does?

I'm having a spot of bother with the glow postpro....

Firstly - anti-aliasing seems to do irriatating things to it, as the colour is slightly mixed with those ajecent to it, and so is one or two bits off the key colour.

Also, ray tracing often puts the thing that needed to be glowing, in shadow, darkening it's colour.

Has anybody come up with any clever way of dealing with these two problems?

EDIT: And does anybody know quite what radiation glow does?


You gotta play around with it, radiation glow as well.... up it a bit to get a stronger glow... I think radiation... *might*.... cast off light to other parts of the model.

Also, raytracing should not affect luminous textures at all... as long as they have no transparency or reflectivity.

As far as the leftover pixels.... in your palette have a few (I recommend at least 6) shades of your key color... ( I use { 0, 255, 0 } green ). Then when finished moving to your PCX storyboard, change the green palette entries to the desired color... usually an off white with orange or red tint.

Glow makes the whole model glow, one level sets how yellow it looks and the other sets how big its halo is. can be good for force fields or shields.

Muffins, on your latest unit how did you make the ammo chain like thing? And did you save a shell as a different model?, so during animation you made it drop shells.

Muffins, on your latest unit how did you make the ammo chain like thing? And did you save a shell as a different model?, so during animation you made it drop shells.
The ammo-feed belt is just a bunch of boxes that comes out of the bottom of the gun. It has a skeleton joint at each box and is attached to the gun's joint.

The spent shell is a seperate model

I'm having a spot of bother with the glow postpro....

Firstly - anti-aliasing seems to do irriatating things to it, as the colour is slightly mixed with those ajecent to it, and so is one or two bits off the key colour.
I've always rendered my attack animations to big bitmaps with an aspect ratio of 1.0 and then resize them back down to civ-size with a bulk resize ultility. That way the post-pro process can work and all the little off-colour pixels are lost in the resize :)

EDIT - You get a better looking effect that way too. Have a look below.

I've always rendered my attack animations to big bitmaps with an aspect ratio of 1.0 and then resize them back down to civ-size with a bulk resize ultility. That way the post-pro process can work and all the little off-colour pixels are lost in the resize :)

EDIT - You get a better looking effect that way too. Have a look below.
My post pros tend to go into blob form when I render them at a high resolution, I'll have a few more tries...

Do you have to use a bulk resize utility (and where can I get one)? Can SBB not handle larger than 240*240?

I think I worked out what it was that made the explode model postpro not work. I'm pretty sure it was smoothing that made it go pear shaped. In fact, I've found often smoothing can cause a few problems in the render. Just a heads up that it can be dangerous, and if you're having troubles, try switching it off for your model.

I've always rendered my attack animations to big bitmaps with an aspect ratio of 1.0 and then resize them back down to civ-size with a bulk resize ultility. That way the post-pro process can work and all the little off-colour pixels are lost in the resize :)

EDIT - You get a better looking effect that way too. Have a look below.

I don't know what you use for your ground..... but I (in this case) would use a disk whose circumference reaches to the end of the barrel of the gun, and no more. That way your flashes will not have a shadow.

I made my new computer... so see y'all later... ;)

Do you have to use a bulk resize utility (and where can I get one)? Can SBB not handle larger than 240*240?
I use Mihov Image Resizer which you can get from www.freewarehome.com (http://www.freewarehome.com/) . It's under Graphics>Graphic Manipulation>Image Resizing :)

SBB can handle any size pic ... but the quality of the resized pics it makes is really very poor. Try and resize the same pic through SBB and a graphics prog and you will see a HUGE difference in quality.

@SM - I always tell myself that I'll edit the shadow out in PSP but I'm always too lazy :)

@Muffins - can't you just resize the storeyboard using a graphics program then?

Also, I've seen a few people commenting on rendering times. You can speed it up a tad if you like (and aren't going to be doing anything else on your computer) by editing the priorety in the task managed (right-click on render.exe under processes). I've found shoving on above average can speed the process up quite a bit, though it slows all the rest of your apps.

taken from muffins thread :) -
In the model above I've used 7 different textures;
oriented front to rear;
>Main face including mouth and eyes
>Horns
>Chest plate
>main body
>kneck ring (which also covers any other low texture pipes and details on the main body).

oriented from top to bottom;
>shoulderpad (doubled by duplication)

oriented from left to right;
>helmet including ear pads and side pipes

And also although you cant see it from here there is;
>backpack main
>backpack details

This means it takes a while to render, but has a realy cool result with no stretched or shifty textures. :)

and here is how I fit my textures by rendering, the grid is cut out and stretched on to the original grid bitmap and then just coloured in, using the details of the object (in this case a leg) to guide you;
http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads8/legtexture.gif

could you explain this technique a bit more? I'm not sure I understand the whole grid thing or how you get a deformed outline...or much of anything really
:crazyeye:

@Muffins - can't you just resize the storeyboard using a graphics program then?

Also, I've seen a few people commenting on rendering times. You can speed it up a tad if you like (and aren't going to be doing anything else on your computer) by editing the priorety in the task managed (right-click on render.exe under processes). I've found shoving on above average can speed the process up quite a bit, though it slows all the rest of your apps.
I've never thought about resizing the storyboard. I guess that's an example of "once you find what works, you stick to it" :) I'll have to try it out. I'll bet that you have to count the extra pixels in the frame borders in the resize for it to work ... plus I'll bet that the borders will get blurred and will have to be removed. I think that FLICster has an option over borders anyway.

As for rendering times - I don't understand why people are having long renders :confused: Even on my old PC the rendering for each direction rarely took more than a single minute.

What size renders do people do? And to what format?

taken from muffins thread :) -

could you explain this technique a bit more? I'm not sure I understand the whole grid thing or how you get a deformed outline...or much of anything really
:crazyeye:

Its fairly easy, first off you need a grid, I would suggest this one for unit animations, I use a bigger one but it gives much longer render times;

Then you need to create a single flat physical plane going right through the middle of your model, this should match the proposed orrientation of the texture map;

Next you need to project the map on to the model and plane, later you will delete the flate plane leaving only the textured model.

Now render the image flat, with the camera set at 90 degrees to the flat plane, from the resulting render cut out the grid and paste it on to the original texture grid so its the smae size and all the points corespond to the original grid;

Now save this texture (you can paint it up with any details you like, but its good to have a copy of the original to revert to, I often end up with up to about six different versions of each texture as I try out different variations), you can now apply this map to the texture that you originaly projected on to the model and it should match up perfectly.

Remeber you can hide different parts of the model (such as helmet or armour) to make it better fitting.

As for rendering times - I don't understand why people are having long renders :confused: Even on my old PC the rendering for each direction rarely took more than a single minute.

What size renders do people do? And to what format?
200*150 high anti-aliasing (best gets rid of some pointy bits). Raytracing on full with single spotlight. I have quite a high spotlight buffer though (500), and also anti-aliasing ground reflection.

Takes about 3 seconds a frame for a 12000 poly single texture model. For 8 directoins and 134 frames it adds up. About 5 minutes a direction.

Thanks for the explanation SM! :thanx:

I use a similar method right now, instead of going through all the rendering processes, I simply take a screenshot of the mesh and paste it into PSP, using the magic wand selectthe mesh and, then just paint over it or put a texture over it :)

I can´t figure out how to shape something in this program. Do I have to get shapes from elsewhere and only animate things here? Moreover, I tries to animate a human caracter, but it is still as a statue, not like I have it in Poser.

I can´t figure out how to shape something in this program. Do I have to get shapes from elsewhere and only animate things here? Moreover, I tries to animate a human caracter, but it is still as a statue, not like I have it in Poser.
you model (shape) objects in the designer, then import it into the animator to animate :)
As for animating, you need a skeleton, look in this forum for muffins skeleton tutorial :)
Good to see some new people starting with OFX now :D

What Dease said.

About gunflashes - how do you guys do the lighting for them. I know all about the glow postpro etc... but how about the lighting of the modal corresponding? I've tried a no-shadow light, but for some reason it also lights up the back of the model, which is a bit odd... any thoughts on how to avoid this, or is it just something that has to be lived with?

About gunflashes - how do you guys do the lighting for them. I know all about the glow postpro etc... but how about the lighting of the modal corresponding? I've tried a no-shadow light, but for some reason it also lights up the back of the model, which is a bit odd... any thoughts on how to avoid this, or is it just something that has to be lived with?
place the no-shadow light right where the gunflash is ;)
then no light will reach the back ;)

place the no-shadow light right where the gunflash is ;)
then no light will reach the back ;)
That's what I thought - I tried it though and it didn't work. I probably did something insanely stupid, as is my way - I'll do it again.

maybe you increased the intensity of the overhead light instead of the gunflash light? :crazyeye:
Also, have the costume on only when the flash is...but you knew that :)

Set the light as an Attenuate light and then scale it to the size you want. The size it shows is the 50% fade limit thingy.

I am new to open fx. Is there only top, rear and side views? Isn't there
supposed to be 6 views? How can you make a model of a car if there
is only a rear, top and side. what about the front, etc. My second question
is : can you paste a picture in the background of the 2 d views so you can create a model? The manual mentions something about building from a plan
but I'm not clear on it.

creator

I am new to open fx. Is there only top, rear and side views? Isn't there
supposed to be 6 views? How can you make a model of a car if there
is only a rear, top and side. what about the front, etc. My second question
is : can you paste a picture in the background of the 2 d views so you can create a model? The manual mentions something about building from a plan
but I'm not clear on it.

creator

About this I can only tell you that there´re only those 4 views, top, rear, side and Preview I think it was. 3D Studio Max has 4 views also.

I am new to open fx. Is there only top, rear and side views? Isn't there
supposed to be 6 views? How can you make a model of a car if there
is only a rear, top and side. what about the front, etc. My second question
is : can you paste a picture in the background of the 2 d views so you can create a model? The manual mentions something about building from a plan
but I'm not clear on it.

creator
99% of all 3D progs work on a rear/side/top view. They don't need front/other-side/bottom views because all the verticies are shown, making more viewpoints pointless. Turn on the OpenGL (right-click the preview window) for a 3D view.

Building from a plan involves drawing three 2D shapes, one for each axis, and having OpenFX build a 3D shape from it (think of it like three cookie cutters - one each for the top, side and rear). You need to read the help files to use this one properly.

You can trace a picture if it's in gif format with the 'Trace from bitmap' option in Designer (I think it's under the 'Build' menu)

Muf, I'm not sure i understand all the vertices being shown, so i will ask
again How can I build the front of a model if I have the rear view to
look at? I'm sure it is a stupid question but hopefully you can explain
a bit more. Remeber I have never used a modeling program before.
P.S. there is a program called Zmodeler that has six views. Unfortunately
the program seems to be in conflict with my graphics driver so I can't
use it competely.

The whole model is transparent, only the joins and the lines conecting them are shown, so you can see all the way through.

P.S. I just learned a trick to make gun flashes not cast a shadow.
Rather than use Neomegas trick of using a small floor circle, just apply a texture map that is just a blank square in the glow key colour, set the texture to flat shading in the material attributes window (the box between the tile and decal boxes on the last page). Now set the material attribute to 100% transparent, this will have no effect on the texture map but will make it cast no shadow.

Because the texture map is flat shaded and luminous it will be all the glow key colour.

Here is a flame thrower unit, I made the flame model transparent using the above technique. :)

I have another question, I hope i ask it correctly. Will open fx keep the
same vertex order? If I load a generic, let's say a shark, then stretch
the vertices until it is a mako shark, will the list be in the same order
even though the vertices are now in wildly different locations? I know some
programs re-arrange everything based on polygon efficiency.

@Smoking Mirror - You're a fountian of wisdom :goodjob: I'll be doing that in future :D

@creator - I'm not sure what you mean about a 'list', but OpenFX only ever does what you tell it to. It's not like 'Windows' or 'Word' which tries to 'help' you by doing things to your work that you didn't ask it to do (grrrrr ... evil Microsoft ... grrrr :mad: )

Maybe I didn't word i correctly, but it isn't that important. I have
a few other questions though. When making a model of a car I used
the Trace bitmap image. Then I add it to the rear view, the vertices
appear in all 2d views. So on the side view the vertices appear in a straight
line. I need to put the image there so i can move the vertices to make
the side of the car. How do I do that?

Select all the vertices you've just imported. Select Actions>Extrude ( or just hit Ctrl-E ). Now move the new, extruded vertices in the direction you wish. Once your happy, select all the verticies from one side of your car and select Actions>Fill Outline ( IF they're all in a flat plane) or Actions>Fill to Cursor ( IF they're not in a flat plane ).

That is the problem, "moving the vertices in the direction I wish. I won't
know where to move them without a blueprint or picture to guide me.
I did the front of the vehicle but the sides are in a straight line. So to move
them I need the image on the background, right? How else will i know where
to move the vertices.

That is the problem, "moving the vertices in the direction I wish. I won't
know where to move them without a blueprint or picture to guide me.
I did the front of the vehicle but the sides are in a straight line. So to move
them I need the image on the background, right? How else will i know where
to move the vertices.

Its always going to be a problem that can only be solved with practice. The best thing to do is just to get a shape made. Once the general shape is present its easy to resize and stretch certain parts. Try keeping your number of verticies to a minimum. just for practice it does't matter how detailed it is, so just make a blocky shape, that is at least the right dimentions and shape as what you want to make.

99% of all 3D progs work on a rear/side/top view. They don't need front/other-side/bottom views because all the verticies are shown, making more viewpoints pointless. Turn on the OpenGL (right-click the preview window) for a 3D view.

Actually There are 6 views in open fx when you click on swap viewpoint the
side becomes the opposite side and the rear becomes front. Counting the 3d view there are six views.

Creator

Actually There are 6 views in open fx when you click on swap viewpoint the
side becomes the opposite side and the rear becomes front. Counting the 3d view there are six views.

Creator
hey, I never realised that, thanks :goodjob:... although I don't think I'll have much use for it since I'm very accustomed to just the 3 views and it would confuse me when I name joints etc...oh well ;)

Anyone know how to create smoke or bubble column (like in a fish tank) in
open fx?

Creator

Smoke can be done with the fireball postpro in the animator, or with a semi transparent shape.

Bubble column: I don't really know - you'll have to experiment. I'd guess that you would have to fiddle around with the refractive indices.

Thanks for your quick reply. I was wondering if you or anyone knows
of a tutorial on the subject. I want it to look as real as possible.

Creator

has anyone experienced the attached error? I've been getting it since I started with ofx but now it's really starting to tick me off :mad: any ideas on how to avoid it?

I think used to get it, but I don't get it any more since I updated my computer. It used to happen all the time when adding parts to a model, but never did find a fix. I think it has something to do with the renderer in the corner.

I think used to get it, but I don't get it any more since I updated my computer. It used to happen all the time when adding parts to a model, but never did find a fix. I think it has something to do with the renderer in the corner.

I think sometimes it is to do with running out of operating memory, I get things similar all the time cos I've got alomst no memory left on my disk drive. The only thing is to save often and as soon as possible (nothing worse than when you've broken the back of a project, having found a good soloution to a problem you hadand suddenly "CRASH!" it dumps you out). :mad:

Has anyone else noticed that textures act very odd alot of the time? I just put another shape on top and texture that. Also muffins how do you do "cut outs" like on the russ tanks?

What do you mean by cut-outs??

Like on the Russ tanks you have part of the side kinda well cut out. Or how do you make the non-square shape?

Also I noticed the tread is on the side...

I drew those basic shapes by hand and then extruded, moved and resized them (kinda making a funny-shaped tube). I then used the fill command to fill in one side of this 'tube'.

If you have the grid visable you can press ctrl-G (I think) to 'draw to grid' which is easier than doing it freehand.

80% of the objects I use in my models are drawn by hand and then extruded/resized/moved/filled.

The whole model is transparent, only the joins and the lines conecting them are shown, so you can see all the way through.

P.S. I just learned a trick to make gun flashes not cast a shadow.
Rather than use Neomegas trick of using a small floor circle, just apply a texture map that is just a blank square in the glow key colour, set the texture to flat shading in the material attributes window (the box between the tile and decal boxes on the last page). Now set the material attribute to 100% transparent, this will have no effect on the texture map but will make it cast no shadow.

I'm having a bit of trouble with this. All my transparencies cast a shadow as if they blocked out light like a normal object. I think, perhaps, that this method doesn't work with spotlights.... which is a bit of a pain!

Also, I have a question!

Has anybody encountered the message, while saving in the designer; "File open failed". I've found that sometimes having smoothing on some objects can cause this, but at the moment there seems no explaination for why it won't save properly. Any ideas?

Has anybody encountered the message, while saving in the designer; "File open failed". I've found that sometimes having smoothing on some objects can cause this, but at the moment there seems no explaination for why it won't save properly. Any ideas?
I used to get that all the time with my old computer after a few hours of modelling for some reason, but I've never had so much as a hicup on my new computer. The only thing that I can think of is that it might be an issue with low memory :confused:

Smoking Mirror's gunflash method works fine for me, but then I don't use spotlights.

Firstly let me say I worked out the solution to this problem shortly after posting (always the way...), so I require no help.

I was busy texuring along, doing fixed maps on a shape which roughly resebles a cuboid. I'd decided that flattening it out, then bending it back into shape was beyond me, so I decided to do a map for each face.

At first it worked, and all was going fine, but as I continued the textures started doing weird things, blurring vertically, and other odd things which just look silly. Now it seems that turning the map into a fixed to map is the source of this problem, as planar maps work just fine, and I'm pretty sure that specifically, it objects to a vertex having 2 (or 3) maps fixed to it.

Does anybody have any clever solutions/workarounds, or am I going to have to bend it all up into one plane, and use one fixed to texture?

EDIT: I'm going to try extruding each face out a tiny itty bit, and applying the texture to that. I *think* that should work.

EDIT 2: Ok, it worked, consider this cry for help redundant

I've been experimenting with making a static wall unit for the past few days with OFX, the model is done but now I've run into a serious problem with OFX :(
I'm pretty sure this has to with what neomega was referring to about OFX's lack of orthographic projection.
Basically, my problem is that the walls will never connect seamlessly since the wall segment gets smaller as it is farther from the camera. I've attached an enlarged pic of what I'm talking about, using a perfect cube (perfect in the designer that is :rolleyes:)
So I'm wondering, is there any sort of work-around to this problem? I'm not too keen on the idea of scaling the whole thing in the designer though :(

There's a way to make it less obvious if it helps. Move your cameras way out and set their zoom way up.

There's a way to make it less obvious if it helps. Move your cameras way out and set their zoom way up.
Thanks for the tip muffins!, That method works perfectly, though now i have a 18500mm lens :D

I know that this isn't directly related to OpenFX ... but I think that it can be very useful to us unit-makers anyway

I was getting fed up with dark patches of alpha-shading appearing in-game in unexpected areas of my units so I decided to investigate that region of the palette

I created a single-frame unit that contained only blocks of alpha-shading in the exact order that they apear in the palette. In FLICster they appear as below ...

However, in-game it appears as below. The smoke/haze region is not in any way a gradient at all, regardless of how it appears in FLICster.

I guess that if you want good alpha-shading coming off your Glow effect (or semi-transparent object) then you have to cherry-pick your palette entires

Aha! Thats just what I was looking for. Thanks muffins, Aluminium posted a text version showing the exact RGB values for each alpha pallette entry, but this shows it better.

Yes, you'll have to pick the colours first. Hope this doesn't mess up any of my old units. :(

First of all...thanks for some great tips for creating units. I still have some problems with my Palette, but I think it's just a matter of practice.
Then...I don't know if this problem has been solved yet (don't have enough time for reading this whole thread...even though I read a lot of it), but there seemed to be a problem with shattering Models so you can use the explode effect properly. All you have to do is load your model in the designer and choose Actions->Seperate Polygons. After that, save it, preferably in a new file....now you can blast up your model.
Only problem is, that rounded objects aren't smooth after you have seperated the polygons...but I guess that's not a problem, if you leave out the one frame where the model is still in one piece and just go to the first exploded frame.

I used that effect myself in with my terminator (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=2646054&postcount=5) unit. It's quite a fun little feature :D

If you need help with palettes you only have to ask :goodjob:

Well, before I ask I should get my animations coherent. Stupid idea to scale one up and not doing the same for the other anims...d'oh!

:worship: Oh Masters of OpenFX, a question I humbly submit to thee :worship:

What are the best settings to set the laser postpro effects to achieve laser bolts? Here is the unit I've been working on, a Star Wars: Clone Wars V-19 Torrent Fighter (my first):

http://forums.civfanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=89958&stc=1

I have kind of gotten stuck at this point, so any help, or just posting the page of this tutorial where it might be located. I saw how to do laser beams earlier, bot not the laser bolts.

Thanks in advance!

Olorin

I've always found the laser PostPro pretty weak in OpenFX. The Glow PostPro works better but you need to make a laser-bolt model with a colour not used elsewhere on the model (like green etc) and given the internal texture 'Luminous'. You then just have to choose that exact colour in the Glow pop-up window.

hmmm....I gotta try this....animate in OpenFX and then import it into Swift3D and export it as workable flash material....


Any ways muffins you rock at this :goodjob: thanks for takin time to explain this

Thanks for your help muffins!

Here's a preview. What can I do to make it better, in your expert opinions ;) ?

P.S. It's faster in-game.

Thanks for your help muffins!

Here's a preview. What can I do to make it better, in your expert opinions ;) ?

P.S. It's faster in-game.
Looking sweet! :goodjob:

Make sure that the laser-beam things have 'tween' selected in all their movement keyframes so that they move at a constant speed. 'Spline tween' will have them move as if they're accellerating from a stand-still.

Insert a gunflash light! That always looks cool. Just select 'attenute' and scale it's size so it only lightens part of the model.

Muffins,

I set it to tween and inserted some gunflashes. However, when I render it, the background does some funky things. What should I do now? I would just fill the background color in my image editor (Ulead PhotoImpact), but when I have done that, it messes up with the gunflashes, which are semi-transparent and show either the dark purple/magenta colors through it.

That's easy to solve. Right-click on your gunflash light and select "Light Settings" and make sure the "no shadow" option is chosen.

D'oh! Didn't think about that...obviously.

Okay...My turn for a question...I have made the Storyboard with SSB, and have chosen a random civ unit. I can get the pallettes and everything to work, but If I make the pcx storyboard with borders, the image is all screwed up. If I do it without borders, the Image 'slides' to the right, in every animation of every direction in flicster.
What is going wrong?

You might want to post a picture of the problem so that we can understand better. Making a pcx with or without borders makes no difference - it shouldn't effect anything. If the colours are screwed then make sure that when you load the palette for the pcx that you chose "maintain indexes" or "maintain palette order" (depends on what graphics program you use). Only then copy the SBB storyboard into the pcx storyboard.

If your animation slides in any direction whatsoever in FLICster then you're probably either using a SBB storyboard and a pcx storyboard with different frame sizes or in copy-and-pasting into the pcx it was a few pixels off. If it's the first then check the frame sizes. If it's the second then zoom into a corner after pasting and use the "mover" tool of your graphics program to place the floating selection exactly right (both pcx and SBB storyboards should have the same frame sizes and numbers so should be exactly the same size)

Okay, I am going to check to make sure they are lined up correctly...
This is what is how it is messing up with the borders on:

Nevermind, I figured it out. The SSb storyboard was bigger than the Flicster Storyboard.

Okay, with one problem solved, another arises:

The civ-color wraps around the entire outside of the unit when I view the flic:

Any Ideas on how to fix this?

That can be one of two things. Most likely you've got the unpatched version of FLICster.

In FLICster click Help>About. It should say "Build 18". If it says "Build 17" then you need the patch http://forums.civfanatics.com/attac...64601_Small.zip

If it does say "Build 18" then it's probably the case that the graphics editor you're using can't properly handle pcx files. I'm told that a graphics program called GIMP ( http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html ) can handle them and is a 100% free program. I've never tried it myself (I use paint Shop Pro 7) but it's supposed to be quite good.

EDIT - ignore the above. You solved the problem before I replied :)

Yes, I use GIMP.
Okay, but what is with the screwed up civ colors?
Why are they showing up like that?

Okay, with one problem solved, another arises:

The civ-color wraps around the entire outside of the unit when I view the flic:

Any Ideas on how to fix this?
Are you sure that that's civ-colour? It looks like alpha-shading. If it's alpha-shading then it's not usually a problem (it'll look invisible in-game - try the alpha-shading option in FLICster to see).

Perhaps you could post a pic of your palette? It should look something like below. The top row is civ-colour. The next three rows need to be filled with a colour that is not used anywhere on your unit. The very bottom row is for shadows (very dark to very light from left to right) and the row above that is for smoke effects but unit creators put colours that surround their unit (ie - off-magenta colours caused by anti-ailsing during the render) in that row. From left to right in that row it goes from almost 100% invisible to almost 100% visible.

Okay, here is my pallette. I havent changed the values for anything yet, so here is the unaltered one. What do you suggest?

Firstly, use PEdit to put the 'blur' colours that are around your unit into the second-from-bottom row (mostly on the leftish side) and put the shadow colour in the bottom row (on the right side somewhere or it will be too dark). Put the colours that are in your unit that will be civ-colours in the first row. Save your palette then in gimp load it into a random picture so that you can edit the palette so that the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rows are filled with a colour that isn't used anywhere else in your unit.

Lastly, the colour in the very bottom-right of the palette must be the background colour and must not be repeated anywhere else in the palette. The colour to the left of it must not be used anywhere else in the unit too.

I solved my problem when I recoloured the unit. Civ3FlcEdit works better for me than FLICster does.
Here is the new run:

I really don't get the attack animation stuff. Anyone?

Hey good job. Looks Good! Do you know if OpenFX Anims will work with Civ IV? I don't want to invest time that will be wasted entirely in 4 months. Thx in advance!!!

I don't think the anims. themselves can, but I think the models are. I THINK. The won't be wasted, they just won't have a place in Civ4

If Civ4 gets shipped with Gmax (a free, cut-down version of 3dmax designed exactly for adding fan-created models to games) then it won't be a problem.

If Civ4 gets shipped with Gmax (a free, cut-down version of 3dmax designed exactly for adding fan-created models to games) then it won't be a problem.

Thank you so much for telling me this. If Gmax doesn't come, can you buy it cheap?

Thank you so much for telling me this. If Gmax doesn't come, can you buy it cheap?
Gmax is a free download which I think you can get at discreet's website, however that doesn't mean that it will work with Civ4. The game has to be designed/set up for it to work (like Dawn of War). If Civ4 isn't set up to make use of Gmax then hopefully they'll do something like Bohemia Interactive did with their Operation Flashpoint and release their own model/animation suite of tools (Oxygen lite) for the fan community to use :)

I don't think the anims. themselves can, but I think the models are. I THINK. The won't be wasted, they just won't have a place in Civ4

Sorry I worded the ? wrong, but
What I meant was:

Do you think that with only OpenFX and whatever other programs you use, a person with CIV IV and those could start making units? I mean without buying photoshop, or poser, or paying their arm, leg, chin, house, dog, firstborn child, and tax for some other program.

(Exaggeration, I do realize, but $3500 for a computer program?!?!?!?!? COME ON!!!)
(3D Software MAX)

Ohh...Okay. Yes, I do. Also, my answer wasn't what I thought it was earlier. Yes, I do think yo can use the anims. in civ IV, just not the way we use them to make units now

I was wondering, muffins, would you be so kind as to explain to me how you model the tank treads you've used? Is it just a number of rectangles, textured, each with their own bone? And how do yuo make them move around the main portion of the model? Do you connect the individual bones I spoke of to one other bone, and use that one to rotate the lot of 'em, or am I way off? Thanks in advance...

Oh, and one other thing: how do you (or anyone else using OFX, for that matter) make cloth (i.e. capes and other such flowing garments)? I assumed it was a flat surface, with each part -i.e. vertex or vertecies- of the, lets say, cape, attached to a bone of it's own (rhymed, :p), but mine never turned out very well. So I was wondering if there was any particular technique, or if I just need more practice (haven't had much anyway)...

For tank tracks I just draw the outline shape by hand, extrude it to the required thickness, then use the "fill outline" command to fill in the top/bottom. As for animating tracks ... I don't. Mine are fixed to the model. However I'm experimenting with using 4 different models (each with the track links positioned slightly further along than the last model) which will be used in the costume keyframes in the Animator.

As for cloth, OpenFX isn't that good. You can create cloth by drawing a wobbly line and just extruding it but if you want good cloth modelling and animation then Poser is the program to use.

Thanks, for both... Seems simple enough (the tank treads, that is), I'll probably give it a shot. Unfortunately, Poser (so far as I know) is commercial/proprietary software, so... I probably won't be animating much with cloth, :p.

hey muffins, you probably answered this question somewhere else but i am too lazy to look for it. WHen i render my unit. I get very hazy purplish pink colors that appear on the top of the screen. I added some extra light to fix this. It seemed to work but then my unit became too bright. How do i fix this?

Also if possible can you post your template for animating. (where you position everthing before adding your model in OFX format)

TheMorpheus, I'm impressed, been using OpenFX for a while but never thought about creating units for games using it!!

On a more general note, if anyone does like the software and wants to show off their models, or even just needs help, there's a new forum open now:

http://www.openfxforum.org/

It's still pretty new, but feel free to drop by and check it out!

Please don't bump dead threads like that....

This is very helpful. I did it and I got this.

are there othe programs you can use to create units

are there othe programs you can use to create units

Nope. All the other tutorials here are just to fill up space so this one would not look so lonely.

Nope. All the other tutorials here are just to fill up space so this one would not look so lonely.
Wow now that has to be the quote of the month.

Hey, do you know where I can get that program?

Hey, do you know where I can get that program?
There is a link on the very first page of this thread (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=1750492&postcount=1) for the website where you can find the OpenFX program. Is that the program you are refering to?

I'd like the program too, the link's dead.

I'd like the program too, the link's dead.I tried it the other day and it worked. Anywho, I did a search and found this site. I haven't checked if the downloads work but its about OpenFX and has some download links.
http://www.ee.qub.ac.uk/graphics/openfx/index.htm