Fantasy Unit Conversions from Kohan II

[Manifold]

i use 3DS Max. its certainly not freeware but if you know how and where to look you can download the latest version for free (though its very difficult to find lol). there are a lot of good basic tutorials out there for 3DS, but there isnt much in the way of advanced tutorials. if you can get your hands on a copy its well worth it in my opinion. ive tried blender a couple of times and found it too different to 3ds and gave up lol.

that said it is definitely a lot easier to stick with blender if you have it and find tutorials to walk you through the basics. the initial learning curve in blender is apparently quite a bit easier than with 3DS (so ive been told), i just prefer 3DS because that's what i first learned to use.

i searched for 3DS Max and i am really thinking about buying 3DS Max. It costs just 5.000 coins. and the best thing the postpaid is free, because it is over the 500 coins limit
serious: is 3D Studio Max also able to this (because this is free)?

@ Valkrionn: if you fail with the installation of the KonverterFM, you could read this (starting #90) so SaibotLieh dont had to repeat.

 

[esvath]

Hi.

Would you guys mind to explain where is the breath-effect attached? I couldn't find any scene root effect in the body node AND couldn't locate it in the effect node either.

Thanks.

PS : And would Paint.NET make changing color (from red drake into blue one, for example) easy? I won't need to recolor each and every dot exist? Thanks again.

 

[Valkrionn]

Hi.

Would you guys mind to explain where is the breath-effect attached? I couldn't find any scene root effect in the body node AND couldn't locate it in the effect node either.

Thanks.

PS : And would Paint.NET make changing color (from red drake into blue one, for example) easy? I won't need to recolor each and every dot exist? Thanks again.

Hopefully these two posts should give you the info you need; First is on paint.net, second is breath effects.

If you're getting into Paint.NET reskinning then I recommend getting the following freeware plugins:

pyrochild plugins -Includes Gradient Mapping, my new favourite way to do this kind of recolouring.
Ed Harvey plugins
Tanel Plugins - I always use Hue/Saturation+ rather than the built in one which can give grainy results apparently.
Conditional Hue/Saturation Plugin

The DDS options I use are:
DXT1 for 3D Textures that don't require alpha/transparency - saves on file size and keeps the game speedy.
DXT3 for 3D Textures that do require alpha/transparency.
Other settings for textures: CompressorType:Iterative fit, ErrorMetric: Perceptual, Additional Options: Generate Mip Maps ticked.

For icons, I use A1R5G5B5 format since the reduction in quality from the DXT compression can be quite noticeable. The other settings are the same apart from Generate Mip Maps which should be unticked.

I can do a golden reskin tomorrow, but if you want to do a quick Hue/Saturation one yourself then I suggesting using the Fire Drake texture as a starting point - shifting the Hue about 33 into orangey/yellow looks quite nice. Ideally, you'd want a gloss layer too for a gold drake so that it looks metallic...

To hook up effects and sounds to a unit you need to look in the NiTextKeyExtraData node of the KF animation file in question, in this case storm_drake_strike1.kf:

Spoiler :

You have a start and end entry that mark either end of the animation. In between you have entries beginning EFFECT or SOUND.

The EFFECT entries tell the engine, for example, to trigger the Drake Poison Breath effect 0.2 seconds into the strike animation. Effect_Mouth is the node in the NIF that you want the effect to be emitted from and EFFECT_DRAKE_POISON_BREATH is the entry in CIV4EffectInfos.xml.

The SOUND entries tell the engine, for example, to play the Drake Fire sound effect 0.3 seconds into the strike animation. The string AS3D_DRAKE_FIRE corresponds to an entry in Audio3DScripts.xml.

These can be easily amended in NifSkope. If you ever need more entries you can just increase the Num Text Keys value and click the green refresh icon. It is not necessary to enter the text keys in chronological order.

You'll want to start with the storm_drake_strike1.kf file corresponding to the breath that you've recoloured. So, if your purple breath is a reskin of the poison breath, then use the storm_drake_strike1.kf from the black_drake folder as your start point. This is because the pattern of triggering is different for each effect type. For example, the lightning breath only triggers twice during the animation, whereas the fire breath triggers about nine separate 0.033 second bursts to ensure that the fire always comes out of the drakes mouth rather than somewhere behind its head.

Edit: By the way, if your creating different colours of breath it is definitely worth tuning the colours and alpha of the NiMaterialProperty for the NiParticleSystem. I've found this has a more profound effect on the final outcome than the texture file used. For example, the texture for the frost breath is just a grey cloud, but the NiMaterialProperty turns it into a nice misty white. If you have 3DS Max and SceneViewer installed you can just drag and drop effects NIFs into SceneViewer which greatly improves the tweak and re-test times. Otherwise, going back to Main Menu and starting a new game seems to reload effects so you can tweak and re-test that way.

 

[esvath]

Oooh yes! Thanks Valk! I've gone too long to catch up

 

[Deliverator]

The conversion tutorial is finally under way. It's going to be epic...

 

[Deliverator]

Well, I'm quite a way ahead of the tutorial with the Juggernaut. Here's a shot of them in game.

Spoiler :

 

[The_J]

if i could use the unit as some type of robot?
Will have to test, how it looks.

-> thanks for the work .

 

[Annex]

Nice job Having a tutorial will be great.

I already have a great use for the juggernaut in mind!

 

[Deliverator]

If you're willing to do a golden skin, I'd DEFINITELY use it.

Finally got around to doing my take on this.

Spoiler :

This is what I was talking about using a Gloss layer and Environmental Light effect to create a metallic finish. This is really simple to do in NifSkope - just add a Gloss layer to your meshes and then add the Texture Effect node. It's easiest if you copy and paste this from one instance of NifSkope with an existing metallic unit to another. You can reskin the environmental texture to do different coloured metals, Silver, etc. There are a few such textures in the vanilla Art/Shared directory with names beginning "environment_fx". The Gloss layer should be black and white - telling the engine which bits of the skin you want to be reflective or metallic looking - in this case I just greyscaled the original textures and tweaked the levels.

Spoiler :

Use the animation files and XML settings from the Fire Drake for now. I'll try and do some golden fire effect at some point.

 

[Valkrionn]

That is amazing.

Will definitely be using it... And will more than likely be using that little tutorial later on, too.

 

[esvath]

Deliverator, would you be so kind to attach current FfH dragons with these drake animations?

:hopeful:

 

[The_J]

oh man, this looks again incredible.

Another unrelated question: Deliverator, will you move to Civ5 when it is released? Just curious, because you'll might be one of the artists (maybe the only one) who will be capapble of porting Civ4 units to 5.
(just guessing that from seeing the technical knowledge in here)

 

[Deliverator]

Deliverator, would you be so kind to attach current FfH dragons with these drake animations?

It's definitely something I'd like to do. As I've said, the longer necks and arms would make it a bit more work. I've also checked out the wingless Kohan II Fire Dragons and they have some quite nice animations too:

Spoiler :

Making Dragons that go on all fours as Glaeder has said and then can switch to flying mode would be the ultimate I think. Why shouldn't dragons be able to fly across oceans etc? That would be a fun FFH2 modmod...

does that look ok Valk? initially id have liked to have 3 tail fins (as in post 133), but because the coatl has 7 it looked a bit silly, so i opted for some spikes instead. i also have a version with legs and no tail spikes if youd like. ill upload the files if you think its ok

If you post up the version of the Zombie Drake with the three fins, PL, then I can do a little tutorial on how to rig them - now that you've got Blender up and running...

Then I can make an updated Drake Pack adding the Coatl, Zombie and Gold versions. I might do my own Green version as well for a full eight variations. If we get that many variations out of all the units we convert it will be pretty amazing!

Deliverator, will you move to Civ5 when it is released? Just curious, because you'll might be one of the artists (maybe the only one) who will be capapble of porting Civ4 units to 5. (just guessing that from seeing the technical knowledge in here)

Who knows... the autumn is still a fair way away! I think if Firaxis are smart they'll have thought of this and will provide some tools for easy conversion. The units in Civ5 do look more detailed both in terms of the models and the textures, but not massively so. They are saying Civ5 will have a completely new engine. Whether than means it will still be Gamebryo or not, I don't know. It would be a shame if none of the NIF related knowhow could be used for Civ5, but I guess if they provide new tools then they could be even better. We'll have to see...

I think a more interesting question is whether Civ 4 fantasy modders will go for Civ 5 or will switch over to Elemental. It's turn-based 4X, it's planned to be highly moddable, it already has fantasy context with spells etc, and it could well be released before Civ 5. So, I am just as interested at the possibility of porting art into Elemental as Civ 5 right now...

 

[Ahwaric]

Good ideas about regarding the dragons. Good luck, I am one of people that will make sure the results will not just rest in file databese
But...

Well, I'm quite a way ahead of the tutorial with the Juggernaut. Here's a shot of them in game.

Spoiler :

Any progress with the juggernaut? I can really use this model... (well, golshan & jotun have places waiting for them in Orbis, too...)

I think a more interesting question is whether Civ 4 fantasy modders will go for Civ 5 or will switch over to Elemental. It's turn-based 4X, it's planned to be highly moddable, it already has fantasy context with spells etc, and it could well be released before Civ 5. So, I am just as interested at the possibility of porting art into Elemental as Civ 5 right now...

It is an interesting option. For now we can just speculate wildly, but I hope we will be able to make use of the great stuff prepared for civ IV - be it Civ V or Elemental. I just hate to think that it goes to waste - and art resources will have to be created from scratch with a new game. That would probably force some people (including myself) to hold on to modding civ IV for some time...

 

[esvath]

It's definitely something I'd like to do. As I've said, the longer necks and arms would make it a bit more work. I've also checked out the wingless Kohan II Fire Dragons and they have some quite nice animations too

Nice, thank you for your hard work

Making Dragons that go on all fours as Glaeder has said and then can switch to flying mode would be the ultimate I think. Why shouldn't dragons be able to fly across oceans etc? That would be a fun FFH2 modmod...



If you post up the version of the Zombie Drake with the three fins, PL, then I can do a little tutorial on how to rig them - now that you've got Blender up and running...

Then I can make an updated Drake Pack adding the Coatl, Zombie and Gold versions. I might do my own Green version as well for a full eight variations. If we get that many variations out of all the units we convert it will be pretty amazing!

If we have THAT many of drakes, just wait and see, someone will come with a Drake Civ sooner or later. Sooner, I guess

Thanks!

 

[Valkrionn]

Alright, I have a question for you Deliverator. Forgive the derail.

Basically, I'm wanting to change the color of the flame on the lightbringer unit (Duskbringer, based off the lightbringer art). I can find the flame emitter (below Engineer_Compass, node 46), and I can find a dds controlling the shape of the flame, but I'm not sure exactly what should be edited to change the color.... Any guidance would be much appreciated.

I'm also wanting to give the torch a metallic silver gloss, so we'll see how that goes.

I've attached the unit here, to make it easy; Don't have the original skins, just my new ones.

Edit: Flame will be black, btw.

 

[Manifold]

the wingless Kohan II Fire Dragon

 

[Deliverator]

Any progress with the juggernaut? I can really use this model... (well, golshan & jotun have places waiting for them in Orbis, too...)

Here's a working version of the Juggernaut to be going on with. I still need to add the Fidget animations and the Hurt animation is a bit lame at the moment. Will release to the database once these are done. I've upscaled the textures from 128x128 to 256x256 but they are still a bit rough. I'm sure someone can improve on them.

XML:

Spoiler :

<UnitArtInfo>
			<Type>ART_DEF_UNIT_JUGGERNAUT</Type>
			<Button>Art/Interface/Buttons/Units/yourbutton.dds</Button>
			<fScale>15</fScale>
			<fInterfaceScale>1.0</fInterfaceScale>
			<bActAsLand>0</bActAsLand>
			<bActAsAir>0</bActAsAir>
			<NIF>Art/Units/juggernaut/juggernaut.nif</NIF>
			<KFM>Art/Units/juggernaut/juggernaut.kfm</KFM>
			<SHADERNIF>Art/Units/juggernaut/juggernaut.nif</SHADERNIF>
			<ShadowDef>
				<ShadowNIF>Art/Units/01_UnitShadows/UnitShadow.nif</ShadowNIF>
				<ShadowAttachNode>Bip01 Pelvis</ShadowAttachNode>
				<fShadowScale>.01</fShadowScale>
			</ShadowDef>
			<fBattleDistance>0.21</fBattleDistance>
			<fRangedDeathTime>0.31</fRangedDeathTime>
			<bActAsRanged>0</bActAsRanged>
			<TrainSound>AS2D_UNIT_BUILD_UNIT</TrainSound>
			<AudioRunSounds>
				<AudioRunTypeLoop/>
				<AudioRunTypeEnd/>
			</AudioRunSounds>
		</UnitArtInfo>

 

[Deliverator]

Basically, I'm wanting to change the color of the flame on the lightbringer unit (Duskbringer, based off the lightbringer art). I can find the flame emitter (below Engineer_Compass, node 46), and I can find a dds controlling the shape of the flame, but I'm not sure exactly what should be edited to change the color.... Any guidance would be much appreciated.

Will get to this.

BTW the way if you're going to have a Duskbringer you may as well use the Nightbringer model from this post once it's been converted.

 

[Valkrionn]

Will get to this.

BTW the way if you're going to have a Duskbringer you may as well use the Nightbringer model from this post once it's been converted.

Thanks, looking forward to the post.

The Duskbringer is going to be a single unit; Upgrades down arcane/priest lines, which already have unique art. Not sure I really like the Nightbringer art, honestly; Most humanoids from Kohan are rather... Poorly done.