This is a temporary tutorial till Deliverator has the time to make a proper one. I have tried to put together all his tutorial's into one and take out all the stuff that is no longer relevant thanks to his NexusBuddy 2.0. By doing this I hope to get more people converting units over. Thankyou Deleiverator for all the hard work you have done to make converting possible.
What you'll need...
This zip file with the files used in the tutorial as well as a Civ 5 mod containing the completed conversion.
1. Blender 2.49, PyFFI, Blender Nif Scripts and Nifskope - follow the order of installation in the instructions. Civ5 3DModel Edit Toolpacks Part 1-6
2. A paint package that supports DDS texture file import/export such as Paint.NET.
3. Latest NexusBuddy 2.0 and Blender scripts.
4. Latest civ 5 template. Download Delivertor’s templates or make your own with this tutorial.
You may also need PakBuild to unpack any Civ 4 art you might want to convert (a lot of big mods pack their art too):
Stage 1 - Blender - Making a single mesh with a single material and texture
First up...
Blender User Interface Basics and Hotkeys:
To get a unit from Civ 4 into Civ 5 we need to convert it from the NIF file format via the BR2 file format to the GR2 file format.
The high level approach is this:
A) Import the NIF without animations.
B) Join weapons, etc to body. In the case of the Zulu I used the club and shield are already in the right positions relative to the body and skeleton. This means when I Join them (Ctrl-J) to the body they are in the correct position for animation already. NO LONGER NEEDED - MAKE A MULTIMESH UNIT INSTEAD
C) Make your single texture using the Bake Texture method. NO LONGER NEEDED - MAKE A MULTIMESH UNIT INSTEAD
D) Assign weapons, etc to bone Vertex Groups. This is what is meant by "rigging". NO LONGER NEEDED - MAKE A MULTIMESH UNIT INSTEAD
E) Rename vertex groups to be the same as your Civ 5 template.
Note for step B, If you're weapons aren't in the correct position you can use G to Move and R to Rotate them in the 3D View - I find it easier to do this in Edit Mode (TAB).
Note steps B - D are only needed if your unit is not one single mesh and needs to be.
A) Import the NIF without animations
In the attached ZIP file there is a subfolder nifskope_clean that contains the Zulu Ibutho unit from Total Realism all ready for Stage 1, so you can play along at home!
First, split your Blender window into two with the left hand side showing the 3D View and the right showing the Scripts view. There should be guides around on how to do this if you're stuck. Optional - I also like a third window on the left showing the Outliner view.
In the Scripts window go to Scripts > Import > Netimmerse / Gamebryo to import the file ibutho_nifskope_clean.nif from the attached ZIP.
Import using these specified options with the exception of Import Extra Nodes which it is better to leave on.
Note: no animation and I don't use Use the Force!
The unit loaded up into Blender:
With focus over the 3D View, press Numeric Keypad 1 to get Front View. Now switch to Texture View as shown.
Slight problem, our texture appears to be black in parts. This is easily fixed. Right click to select the body of the unit. Remove the vertex color by using the X in the location shown here:
You should see the texture appear. Repeat this for the feathers on top of the head - the texture is black anyway so it's hard to see the difference.
B) Join meshes into a single mesh - NO LONGER NEEDED - MAKE A MULTIMESH UNIT INSTEAD - I HAVE LEFT HER FOR REFERENCE INCASE IT MAY BE NEEDED
C) Make your single texture using the Bake Texture method - NO LONGER NEEDED - MAKE A MULTIMESH UNIT INSTEAD - I HAVE LEFT HER FOR REFERENCE INCASE IT MAY BE NEEDED
D) Assign weapons, etc to bone Vertex Groups (This is what is meant by "rigging") - NO LONGER NEEDED - MAKE A MULTIMESH UNIT INSTEAD - I HAVE LEFT HER FOR REFERENCE INCASE IT MAY BE NEEDED
E) Rename vertex groups to be the same as your Civ 5 template.
Open up the Outliner view and check the structure of the unit. Press TAB to enter Edit Mode and make sure no vertices are selected then follow instructions on picture. The Civ 4 Vertex Group names will most likely start with BIP but will need to have their names changed to be exactly the same as their equivalent Civ 5 names in your template. Most are easy to tell what name matches with what name but if you get stuck compare individual Vertex Groups in Edit mode to see which one is the closest selection.
Deselect all and Repeat steps 2 – 5 for every Vertex Group. If you have more than one mesh they will need to be assigned to vertex groups as well (you don't need to assign vertexes to every group but need a minimum of 2 assigned).
Stage 2 – Apply mesh to Civ 5 template
1) Start up two separate instances of Blender. In the first, open your civ5 template .blend file. In the second, your civ4 unit .blend file from Stage 1 (if it’s not already open).
2) In the blender instance that has your imported NIF, right click on the mesh in the 3D window so that only it is selected and not the skeleton. Now we are going to use the Copy and Paste script to copy the mesh into the other Blender instance.
For the Copy and Paste script to work you need to save your file as a .blend first - so press Ctrl-S or use the File menu to save it. Once you've done that in Scripts window go to Scripts -> Objects -> Copy and Paste Objects then select Copy object(s) to buffer. (If the option to Copy and Paste Objects isn't there then either you have installed the attached scripts or you need to restart Blender)
3) Now in the other Blender instance where we loaded civ5_minuteman_template.blend, in the Scripts window go to Scripts -> Objects -> Copy and Paste Objects then select Paste object(s) from buffer. A small copy of your Civ 4 unit should appear.
Now before you do anything else, join the newly pasted mesh with the larger mesh - you may have to use Shift-click to multi-selected in the Outliner window. Ctrl-J will join the two meshes together. This is to fix the paste mesh in place in terms of position and rotate - if you try and do anything to it without doing this the rotation and position usually jumps. You can then go into Edit Mode use the Material selector to select only the parts of the mesh you pasted in and press P to separate them again. Now you have two separate objects again which is easier to work with for the next step.
4) Now we need to match our pasted mesh to the position of the one that came with the template. First, to scale the model to the correct proportion it is useful do the following, (i) Snap the Cursor to the origin using Shift-S and Snap Cursor to Grid. (ii) Switch the Pivot to 3D Cursor as shown below. Now you can use S to scale and the model with scale from the floor up rather than from its centre point.
(In the screenshots I didn't split the mesh into two again as described in Step 4 - I thought of that idea later)
Now it is a question of trying to match the mesh accurately to the pose of the template. Some tips for doing this.
i) Use Numpad 1, 3 and 7 keys to check things from all angles. Often the alignment will look fine from one angle but needs fixing in another. Remember you can use G,X or G,Y or G,Z to move all or parts of a mesh along a particular axis.
ii) You can use 3D Cursor pivot to rotate parts of the mesh around a specific point - this is useful to rotate of arms around shoulder sockets, legs around hips or to fix the rotation of ankles as shown:
iii) Positioning hands really accurately is important if there are going to be holding weapons or something else:
5) Once you've matched the position of the mesh, you can delete the templete mesh leaving just you new one. Ctrl-J join the mesh back with weapons if needs be. Then go through the Vertex Group names and make sure there are no names that refer to Civ 4 bones. If merging your new mesh has added to this list then just delete the surplus nodes. If you don't then your BR2 export will probably be scrambled.
6) If you are happy with your new unit press ‘CRTL+A’ and select ‘Scale and Rotation to ObData’ then save. Go to your scripts and export to BR2.
7) Make a copy of the .gr2 file you are using the skeleton from - giving it a new name e.g. warrior_target.gr2.
8) Open the copied file in Nexus Buddy 2 and select Overwrite Meshes from BR2. Select the .br2 files you exported from Blender. This will keep the skeleton in the .gr2 completely unchanged but will completely replace the meshes with the data from the .br2 file. It doesn't matter if the .br2 file has more meshes than the original .gr2 had - it will still add them into the file. Following this, you will have a .gr2 with the original units skeleton but with your meshes from Blender.
9) Use Nexus Buddy 2 to fix up your materials and textures - you'll probably need to remove the existing materials first before creating new ones.
What you'll need...
This zip file with the files used in the tutorial as well as a Civ 5 mod containing the completed conversion.
1. Blender 2.49, PyFFI, Blender Nif Scripts and Nifskope - follow the order of installation in the instructions. Civ5 3DModel Edit Toolpacks Part 1-6
2. A paint package that supports DDS texture file import/export such as Paint.NET.
3. Latest NexusBuddy 2.0 and Blender scripts.
4. Latest civ 5 template. Download Delivertor’s templates or make your own with this tutorial.
You may also need PakBuild to unpack any Civ 4 art you might want to convert (a lot of big mods pack their art too):
Stage 1 - Blender - Making a single mesh with a single material and texture
First up...
Blender User Interface Basics and Hotkeys:
Spoiler :
To get a unit from Civ 4 into Civ 5 we need to convert it from the NIF file format via the BR2 file format to the GR2 file format.
The high level approach is this:
A) Import the NIF without animations.
B) Join weapons, etc to body. In the case of the Zulu I used the club and shield are already in the right positions relative to the body and skeleton. This means when I Join them (Ctrl-J) to the body they are in the correct position for animation already. NO LONGER NEEDED - MAKE A MULTIMESH UNIT INSTEAD
C) Make your single texture using the Bake Texture method. NO LONGER NEEDED - MAKE A MULTIMESH UNIT INSTEAD
D) Assign weapons, etc to bone Vertex Groups. This is what is meant by "rigging". NO LONGER NEEDED - MAKE A MULTIMESH UNIT INSTEAD
E) Rename vertex groups to be the same as your Civ 5 template.
Note for step B, If you're weapons aren't in the correct position you can use G to Move and R to Rotate them in the 3D View - I find it easier to do this in Edit Mode (TAB).
Note steps B - D are only needed if your unit is not one single mesh and needs to be.
A) Import the NIF without animations
In the attached ZIP file there is a subfolder nifskope_clean that contains the Zulu Ibutho unit from Total Realism all ready for Stage 1, so you can play along at home!
First, split your Blender window into two with the left hand side showing the 3D View and the right showing the Scripts view. There should be guides around on how to do this if you're stuck. Optional - I also like a third window on the left showing the Outliner view.
In the Scripts window go to Scripts > Import > Netimmerse / Gamebryo to import the file ibutho_nifskope_clean.nif from the attached ZIP.
Import using these specified options with the exception of Import Extra Nodes which it is better to leave on.
Note: no animation and I don't use Use the Force!
The unit loaded up into Blender:
With focus over the 3D View, press Numeric Keypad 1 to get Front View. Now switch to Texture View as shown.
Slight problem, our texture appears to be black in parts. This is easily fixed. Right click to select the body of the unit. Remove the vertex color by using the X in the location shown here:
You should see the texture appear. Repeat this for the feathers on top of the head - the texture is black anyway so it's hard to see the difference.
Now, at present the unit is using four texture files scout_128.dds, zulu_impi.dds, morningstar.dds and modernmerchant_128.dds. We need to combine these into one so that we can have a single mesh with a single texture.
B) Join meshes into a single mesh - NO LONGER NEEDED - MAKE A MULTIMESH UNIT INSTEAD - I HAVE LEFT HER FOR REFERENCE INCASE IT MAY BE NEEDED
Spoiler :
C) Make your single texture using the Bake Texture method - NO LONGER NEEDED - MAKE A MULTIMESH UNIT INSTEAD - I HAVE LEFT HER FOR REFERENCE INCASE IT MAY BE NEEDED
Spoiler :
D) Assign weapons, etc to bone Vertex Groups (This is what is meant by "rigging") - NO LONGER NEEDED - MAKE A MULTIMESH UNIT INSTEAD - I HAVE LEFT HER FOR REFERENCE INCASE IT MAY BE NEEDED
Spoiler :
E) Rename vertex groups to be the same as your Civ 5 template.
Open up the Outliner view and check the structure of the unit. Press TAB to enter Edit Mode and make sure no vertices are selected then follow instructions on picture. The Civ 4 Vertex Group names will most likely start with BIP but will need to have their names changed to be exactly the same as their equivalent Civ 5 names in your template. Most are easy to tell what name matches with what name but if you get stuck compare individual Vertex Groups in Edit mode to see which one is the closest selection.
If the unit has no Vertex Groups you will need to create and assign them (long painful process). Bernie14 has a good tutorial on how to do this.
Deselect all and Repeat steps 2 – 5 for every Vertex Group. If you have more than one mesh they will need to be assigned to vertex groups as well (you don't need to assign vertexes to every group but need a minimum of 2 assigned).
Stage 2 – Apply mesh to Civ 5 template
1) Start up two separate instances of Blender. In the first, open your civ5 template .blend file. In the second, your civ4 unit .blend file from Stage 1 (if it’s not already open).
2) In the blender instance that has your imported NIF, right click on the mesh in the 3D window so that only it is selected and not the skeleton. Now we are going to use the Copy and Paste script to copy the mesh into the other Blender instance.
For the Copy and Paste script to work you need to save your file as a .blend first - so press Ctrl-S or use the File menu to save it. Once you've done that in Scripts window go to Scripts -> Objects -> Copy and Paste Objects then select Copy object(s) to buffer. (If the option to Copy and Paste Objects isn't there then either you have installed the attached scripts or you need to restart Blender)
3) Now in the other Blender instance where we loaded civ5_minuteman_template.blend, in the Scripts window go to Scripts -> Objects -> Copy and Paste Objects then select Paste object(s) from buffer. A small copy of your Civ 4 unit should appear.
Now before you do anything else, join the newly pasted mesh with the larger mesh - you may have to use Shift-click to multi-selected in the Outliner window. Ctrl-J will join the two meshes together. This is to fix the paste mesh in place in terms of position and rotate - if you try and do anything to it without doing this the rotation and position usually jumps. You can then go into Edit Mode use the Material selector to select only the parts of the mesh you pasted in and press P to separate them again. Now you have two separate objects again which is easier to work with for the next step.
4) Now we need to match our pasted mesh to the position of the one that came with the template. First, to scale the model to the correct proportion it is useful do the following, (i) Snap the Cursor to the origin using Shift-S and Snap Cursor to Grid. (ii) Switch the Pivot to 3D Cursor as shown below. Now you can use S to scale and the model with scale from the floor up rather than from its centre point.
(In the screenshots I didn't split the mesh into two again as described in Step 4 - I thought of that idea later)
Now it is a question of trying to match the mesh accurately to the pose of the template. Some tips for doing this.
i) Use Numpad 1, 3 and 7 keys to check things from all angles. Often the alignment will look fine from one angle but needs fixing in another. Remember you can use G,X or G,Y or G,Z to move all or parts of a mesh along a particular axis.
ii) You can use 3D Cursor pivot to rotate parts of the mesh around a specific point - this is useful to rotate of arms around shoulder sockets, legs around hips or to fix the rotation of ankles as shown:
iii) Positioning hands really accurately is important if there are going to be holding weapons or something else:
5) Once you've matched the position of the mesh, you can delete the templete mesh leaving just you new one. Ctrl-J join the mesh back with weapons if needs be. Then go through the Vertex Group names and make sure there are no names that refer to Civ 4 bones. If merging your new mesh has added to this list then just delete the surplus nodes. If you don't then your BR2 export will probably be scrambled.
6) If you are happy with your new unit press ‘CRTL+A’ and select ‘Scale and Rotation to ObData’ then save. Go to your scripts and export to BR2.
7) Make a copy of the .gr2 file you are using the skeleton from - giving it a new name e.g. warrior_target.gr2.
8) Open the copied file in Nexus Buddy 2 and select Overwrite Meshes from BR2. Select the .br2 files you exported from Blender. This will keep the skeleton in the .gr2 completely unchanged but will completely replace the meshes with the data from the .br2 file. It doesn't matter if the .br2 file has more meshes than the original .gr2 had - it will still add them into the file. Following this, you will have a .gr2 with the original units skeleton but with your meshes from Blender.
9) Use Nexus Buddy 2 to fix up your materials and textures - you'll probably need to remove the existing materials first before creating new ones.
