Create units with OpenFX

[Mr. Will]

What kind of shape looks most realistic for a muzzleflash? All of mine look sort of odd.
Also, could you re-explain recoil joints again? I seem to be doing that wrong also as my gun begins going up, too.

 

[Dease]

@mr. will - not positive about your questions so i'll let someone who uses that technique to answer

@Everyone - does anyone know how to use nurbs? there's no help in the help file and no tutorials on the ofx site, anyone know?

 

[muffins]

What kind of shape looks most realistic for a muzzleflash? All of mine look sort of odd.
Also, could you re-explain recoil joints again? I seem to be doing that wrong also as my gun begins going up, too.

If you look at the shadow from the muzzel flash pic I posted you'll see that the shapes I use are hand-drawn spikey things. They're flat as a pancake but I duplicate them and rotate through 90 degrees to give a 3D shape.

It usually looks better if you render at a higher resolution and then resize back down to civ-sized. I think that's because it's a post-production thingy

Recoil - Start with a joint that acts as the rotation point for the gun. The next joint is used to elevate/move the gun and you attach the gun-base to that one. Next comes two recoil joints. After the recoil joints you have another joint that you attach the gun barrel to.

You position the two recoil joints so that they work like a spring (look at the skeleton pic I posted a while ago), or like a 'thigh-master' exercise thingy. You should be able to move the first recoil joint back, and then use the second recoil joint to correct the gun angle

... like below

 

[The Great Apple]

My designer has started crashing every few miniutes . I've reinstalled, and restarted but it keeps getting a memery error. I can use it for about 5 mins before it crashes again... could it be a corrupt save of the model? I don't want to do it again!

Any suggestions?

 

[Neomega]

My designer has started crashing every few miniutes . I've reinstalled, and restarted but it keeps getting a memery error. I can use it for about 5 mins before it crashes again... could it be a corrupt save of the model? I don't want to do it again!

Any suggestions?

I had a problem when I imported a model.
It was just a ring I had premade, no more than 60 faces, and then put it in with one of my buildings I was designing, and it caused some problems.

 

[muffins]

My designer has started crashing every few miniutes . I've reinstalled, and restarted but it keeps getting a memery error. I can use it for about 5 mins before it crashes again... could it be a corrupt save of the model? I don't want to do it again!

Any suggestions?

I get problems when OpenFX crashes and then brings down WinManagment with it. Whack Ctrl-Atl-Delete and see if it's listed. Close it if it is.

It could be a texture instead. Both Dease and I had problems when using the same texture on two seperate models in Animator.

If that doesn't solve your computer problems then I can only suggest the "Windows Solution" (ie - picking it up and throwing it out of the nearest one )

 

[The Great Apple]

Turns out I had a disk space shortage. I haven't tried dabbling into textures yet - they seem quite complicated, and I can't tell at a glance what they will look like. Also all the ones I've seen available to download don't seem to suit my unit. I've just started on skeletons and after a few teething problems (trying to work out how they work) they seem to work quite well. I might save textures till next time.

If that doesn't solve your computer problems then I can only suggest the "Windows Solution" (ie - picking it up and throwing it out of the nearest one )

LOL, good olde windows

 

[The Great Apple]

I have a small problem with skeletons - it seems that if I edit a skeleton after starting to animate the newly attached joints disappear from all previously done things. Is this just a fact of life, or is there a workaround?

EDIT: Nevermind; worked it out

 

[Dease]

My designer has started crashing every few miniutes . I've reinstalled, and restarted but it keeps getting a memery error. I can use it for about 5 mins before it crashes again... could it be a corrupt save of the model? I don't want to do it again!

Any suggestions?

That happens to me all the time if I get above 15k faces, use the simplify action to reduce the #, I REALLY need a new computer so that's probably the problem

 

[Mr. Will]

@muffins (and anyone else who wants to help)-
My skeletons only have circles and huge 3D squares, and look nothing like yours. Also, when I move things in my skeletons, they end up in odd places, whereas with your skeleton (on your Leman Russ model, thanks for posting it!) they seem to make sense when I move them (I can move skeletons at least, just can's make them.) I think that I need to figure out the basics of making a skeleton. Can you explain (for the fourth time, I think ) how to make even simple skeletons, taking in the fact that I have no idea AT ALL how to do them, as in I can't even make a hinge joint? (Kinda like a Skeletons for Dummies Tutorial.) I'm really sorry for being so annoying, but I've played with skeletons for most of my time in OpenFX haven't learned a thing. (The help file is useless.) If I'm coming across as rude, I am sincerely sorry, but I just can't make skeletons to save my life. HELP!

Thank everyone here for putting up with me!

 

[muffins]

That happens to me all the time if I get above 15k faces, use the simplify action to reduce the #, I REALLY need a new computer so that's probably the problem

Blimmy! I'm up to 20,000 polygons and my computer hardly slows at all

sorry didn't mean to make fun

@Mr. Will - gimmie a day or two and I'll post a step-by-step skeleton turtorial for you

 

[Mr. Will]

Thank you very much muffins! I don't know what I'd do without you!
(Picture a curly-haired teen using sledgehammer on computer...)
THANK YOU!

 

[BeBro]

Sorry, I haven't read the whole thread, but can someone answer me some questions about OpenFX?

1. What formats of 3d objects can be used, and saved? For example can I read and write 3ds and 3ds MAX models?

2. How big is a full installation?

 

[Mr. Will]

@BeBro
1. I'm not quite sure... It can open 3ds models I know, but I'm not sure about what others.

2.It's about 93.1 mb on my computer.

 

[BeBro]

Thanks a lot

 

[Dease]

1. It can save and open .mfx .dfx and .3ds I think the animator can only open/save .ofx formats

2. from openfx.org the largest installation is 40mb although a newer version (I think) can be found here It's 45mb, if you have a slow internet connection a 10mb file can be found at openfx.org

 

[Neomega]

Sorry, I haven't read the whole thread, but can someone answer me some questions about OpenFX?

1. What formats of 3d objects can be used, and saved? For example can I read and write 3ds and 3ds MAX models?

2. How big is a full installation?

I have not found a way to write any file but .mfx, OpenFX's own file system.

It can open four types of files .dxf, .mfx, .3ds and .stl.

I opened a 3ds file last night and it did ok, even applying the textures the model came with.

 

[BeBro]

Thx for the info, I would be most interested in something that can open 3ds MAX models, since there are some very good free MAX models on the web, but my Cinema4D cannot open them (only normal 3ds)

 

[Mr. Will]

That's strange, why is my install so big...
Oh well, at least it works.

 

[muffins]

I have not found a way to write any file but .mfx, OpenFX's own file system.

Just click File > Export Model and you have a choice of four formats (DFX, 3DS, STL and VRML)