[Blender Tutorial]Import custom model in Civ4

C.Roland

FFH Art team member
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English is not my first language so this tutorial is probably full of syntax errors. I’m sorry.
It’s the reason why it contains more picture than text ;)


Blender is a 3d modeling program. Why should I use blender and not an other program? Because Blender is free. For more information on how to download it check this thread http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=155014

This tutorial show how to export 3d model from blender to civ4, it doesn’t show how to make model in blender.

If you need help in blender to know how it works you can check the help menu in the program.

So you need to already have a model, I took a simple cube for the tutorial.

1- You need to have you model already done with the Seam for the UV. If you don’t really know what is this, or if you need help with this, check here : http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro/UV_Map_Basics
2- Go to the UV Face select mode
3- Press “u” on your keyboard and then click on LSMC (Fore the lastest version of Blender, it's not LSMC but Unwrap that you have to click on)
4- Go to the UV/Image editor
5- You can modify yon unwrap (if you don’t know how maybe I’ll write an other tutorial on this); this will be your texture. Press the UV’s menu and then save your UV
6- Go to the script window(For the lastest version of Blender, this step is not necessary)
7- The size must be 64, 128 or 256, over this, your texture will be too big and it will be too slow in civ4. Normally, Civ4 textures are 64 for weapon, 128 for units and 256 for vehicles. Select Wrap, AllFaces and OB, and choose the right path. Than, click on export.
8- Edit you texture with a 2d graphic program like Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop, etc… Your program must have the possibility to open .tga files, if not you will have to find a way to convert it (DDS Converter can be fine).
9- Click on Image/Open and then select your new skin.
10- Return in your 3d window and select the object mode
11- Select the option textured than you should see what your model look with his texture. If you don’t like it go back to step8, if you like it convert your tga in dds.
12- In your lower menu, go to the buttons window.

It continue on the next post...
 
13- 1. Click on the material button (button with a ball(see screenshot)) and than click add new 2. In texture click add new 3.click on map input 4.Select UV 5. Click on the texture button (with leopard skin (see screenshot)) 6. Select Image (see screenshot) 7. Click on load Image and choose your dds
14- Go back in your 3d view and select your model. (Be sure to not select the camera or the lamp ). When an object is selected, it will have pink edge.

You need to config your exporter script. Don't worry it's really simple. You only have to go in your script window (the snake icon) and then gon in the script menu (script/system/Scripts Config Editor). In export choose the gamebryo nif exporter and than in the nif version write 4.2.2.0

15- File\Export\Netlmmerse/Gamebryo (.nif & .kf) and it’s done



Voilà ! You should have a nif that work in civ 4 and in the scene viewer.


Sorry again for my bad english
 
Awesome writeup!
 
You are the man Roland. Thank you so much. :clap:

I hope to put this into good use now.
 
I realize that I need a little UV work, but your tutorial is excellent and easy to follow. Thanks again.
 
woodelf said:
I realize that I need a little UV work, but your tutorial is excellent and easy to follow. Thanks again.

I forgot a little thing about the script exporter, i will uptate it tomorow.
 
Grrr. I've read this, the book, and two other tutorials and I can't get my cube to unwrap! :sad:

What am I doing wrong?

edit - My UV/Image editor screen is basically blank...
 
I forgot I could actually d/l vids now that I have DSL. I'm watching one now...
 
I could edit a prior post, but I'll keep these in order so maybe someone else can learn from my mistakes. I didn't make a seam with every vertices selected. Now my unwraped cube looks correct.
 
Again, thanks Roland. This tutorial is essential for me to get stuff ready for Civ4. So far, so good on my basic modeling.
 
I'm having a tough time getting my textures to appear on my models in game. Right now everything is pink, but the shapes are correct. :(

I think I'm missing something very easy...
 
woodelf said:
I'm having a tough time getting my textures to appear on my models in game. Right now everything is pink, but the shapes are correct. :(

I think I'm missing something very easy...

Do you config your script to the right version (Between Step 14 and 15),

If yes send my your model (nif, and blend), I'll check,
 
C.Roland said:
Do you config your script to the right version (Between Step 14 and 15),

If yes send my your model (nif, and blend), I'll check,

I thought so. PM me your email and I'll send you what I have.
 
Great tutorial. Just managed to get a morrowindhelm into civ myself.:D But they have rather a large filesize for the textures. Is there an easy shortcut to reduce the size of the uvmaps without going thru the whole process. I now created a new uvmap then took the original from morrowind, downscaled the texture with gimp and pasted it in the new with the dxtbmp cause gimp is unreliable with this and it worked but it's hell to have to do this for every single part of a model. A simple morrowind helmet has already so many bones:sad:
Can I just import the original morrowindtexture and reduce the filesize right away? Understand that I'm very noob with blender.
Think I never have to bother you again with doing bits, so forget about my last post for the elvenrider but still would send you the whitewolfmod if your interested, really awesome parts there! :)
 
Ploeperpengel said:
Great tutorial. Just managed to get a morrowindhelm into civ myself.:D But they have rather a large filesize for the textures. Is there an easy shortcut to reduce the size of the uvmaps without going thru the whole process. I now created a new uvmap then took the original from morrowind, downscaled the texture with gimp and pasted it in the new with the dxtbmp cause gimp is unreliable with this and it worked but it's hell to have to do this for every single part of a model. A simple morrowind helmet has already so many bones:sad:
Can I just import the original morrowindtexture and reduce the filesize right away? Understand that I'm very noob with blender.
Think I never have to bother you again with doing bits, so forget about my last post for the elvenrider but still would send you the whitewolfmod if your interested, really awesome parts there! :)

I think you don't have to open blender for this. I think you can only reduce the size of morrowind texture with GIMP and then convert it in dds and it should work.

For the head, i never try but it should work (But it will be a lot of poly i think)

For the whitewolf mod, yes if you tell me where to donwload it, it can be usefull, do you know if the creator are fine with the fact taht we used their stuff in civ (I don't know why they would not if we mention it when we post a model that this helm is from this mod)
 
Just gimp? that's a relief if it's that simple! will try it.
Edit: worked, thx a lot!
The links of the readme seem to be expired so there is no easy contact, I just planned to credit the moddingteam if I use some stuff from them. The heads actually don't have more poly than the helmets. So having an elven rider with an elven head shouldn't be a problem anymore;)
Pm me your mail for the whitewolfmod. It's just round about 10megs and 7Zpackedfile. Really don't remember where I got that from. You'll need the bloodmoon expansion to play it though.
 
Oh boy found so much stuff on morrowind fansites I'd need two weeks just to look at it in blender importing every single file.:( Do you know of a nifviewer that's able to open older nifversions?
Not all heads are small enough a file to be useful I admit but many of the fansite meshes are still fine, otherwise the morrowindvanilla ones seem to be all small enough just took me some time to find them cause I didn't realize I need an unpacker for these too:mischief:
 
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