Getting Civ4 Units Into Civ5 Using Blender 2.72

[Ekmek]

Step 5:
In Object mode in 3D view select the template object and new object with shift RIGHT CLICK. OLD rigged mesh first then the new one second. YOUR NEW MESH MUST HAVE NO VERTEX GROUPS FOR THIS TO WORK. Select Weight Paint mode in the 3D View then press Transfer Weights in he Tools side bar.

Wolfdog, do you have more details on this step? I tried doing it exactly as you said and it only copies over one bone. I tried the painting think and got nothing. Any more details.

 

[Wolfdog]

Wolfdog, do you have more details on this step? I tried doing it exactly as you said and it only copies over one bone. I tried the painting think and got nothing. Any more details.

No that is pretty much all there is to it.
If you want post your blend file and I can have a look and see if it does the same thing on my setup.

 

[Ekmek]

I'm trying to rig the shoulder boards and collar to bismarck's suit. When ever I do it as you described - and I looked at a youtube tutorial - it only copies the weights on one bone over to my new mesh. Oddly, whatever bone I had selected before on the body.

I messed with parenting in a few iterations (not in this save) to see if that was the issue but it wasn't. Thanks!

 

[Deliverator]

Wolfdog, do you have more details on this step? I tried doing it exactly as you said and it only copies over one bone. I tried the painting think and got nothing. Any more details.

This caught me out too. When you switch into Weight Paint mode and click Transfer Weights there is a submenu that opens below titled Transfer Mesh Data which has various options for the transfer. By default the Source Layer is set to Active Layer meaning only one vertex group is copied over. If you change the Source Layer to All Layers then all vertex groups are copied over.

 

[Wolfdog]

This caught me out too. When you switch into Weight Paint mode and click Transfer Weights there is a submenu that opens below titled Transfer Mesh Data which has various options for the transfer. By default the Source Layer is set to Active Layer meaning only one vertex group is copied over. If you change the Source Layer to All Layers then all vertex groups are copied over.

Are you guys using blender 2.74 or 2.75? Because I don't get that submenu you mention and it just copies over all the layers. I am still using 2.72 and if this is the case I will update the tutorial.

 

[Deliverator]

Are you guys using blender 2.74 or 2.75? Because I don't get that submenu you mention and it just copies over all the layers. I am still using 2.72 and if this is the case I will update the tutorial.

In using 2.74. I guess they extended the feature.

 

[Vicevirtuoso]

It's me again. Aren't I bad at this?

So I'm attempting to get this unit into the game, and, well, this seems more of a general Blender question than one specifically pertaining to Civ, but here goes. This was imported from a model rip of a PSP game, and the textures are in all sorts of different files. It looks fine when using the Texture viewport shader, but in Materials, when I attempt to bake it, it turns into one nasty looking mess. How exactly would I go about changing the Texture Bake settings to make it appear exactly as it does in Texture shader mode?


Edit: Fixed it. Turns out I imported it incorrectly from the beginning.

 

[flying toaster]

I'm totally necro-ing this thread: I have a bunch of questions. I'm a total noob on this. I could get around changing parts of a mesh with another in NifScope under Civ IV. Now I feel this is a whole next level ... is it?

Step 1: When exporting from NifScope. Do I have to select the NiTriShade? The NifNode? None? All?

Step 5: I'm not sure I understand everything ... isn't Ctrl+A doing the same thing about selecting both meshes? Also, after a bit of fumbling, I discovered I need to select whatever is inside Dummy World to get the Transfer Weights to work otherwise I always get an error about skipping one or the other because there is no vertex. Which confused me, I thought it was the point, that one HAD to have NO vertex?

Step 7: ... Wh.. wut?

 

[Deliverator]

Step 1: When exporting from NifScope. Do I have to select the NiTriShade? The NifNode? None? All?

Unless you only want to export only part of the .nif to .obj you can just export the whole scene. If you need to remove unwanted elements you can do that in Blender.

Step 5: I'm not sure I understand everything ... isn't Ctrl+A doing the same thing about selecting both meshes? Also, after a bit of fumbling, I discovered I need to select whatever is inside Dummy World to get the Transfer Weights to work otherwise I always get an error about skipping one or the other because there is no vertex. Which confused me, I thought it was the point, that one HAD to have NO vertex?

Transfer Weights is not about copying vertices (vertexes) - both meshes already have vertices. Transfer Weights is about transferring the Vertex Groups with their weights from one mesh to another - this determines how the different parts of the mesh will move when animated and is sometimes called "rigging". Ctrl+A is not doing the same because the order of selection matters for Transfer Weights - you need to select the FROM mesh then the TO mesh.

Step 7: ... Wh.. wut?

The Blender Outliner window can be positioned in an Area - I normally always have the Outliner on the left of my screen to see the structure of the current model.

https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/interface/window_system/areas.html

Ctrl-P actually parents the selected Mesh object to the selected Armature (Skeleton) object - this is an important step as each Mesh needs to be bound to an Armature.

Hope this helps!

 

[flying toaster]

First thing first: thanks a lot for the help
I've managed to make units from different meshes and others with Civ4 models. Anything and everything, I'm having a blast!

One last thing is resisting, the Romain Legionnaire. Or on a larger scale: everything horse-related. When it's 2 different meshes in 1 unit.

When transferring the vertex, either mesh gets all the vertexes. So, the unit gets vertex from unit + horse. And the horse gets vertex from unit + unit. When deleting the non-related vertexes, I get error on the export.
Since it's the same problem with the Romain Legionnaire and his shovel, I get that it's that double mesh that is the problem.
If I delete the shovel to not have to deal with it, it's a problem. If I leave it, it's a problem too.

What is the special step with those kinds of models? Is it on the Ctrl+P and should be with another option than "empty groups"? Is it something else? Do I need to sacrifice a firstborn?

 

[Deliverator]

What is the special step with those kinds of models? Is it on the Ctrl+P and should be with another option than "empty groups"? Is it something else? Do I need to sacrifice a firstborn?

I would split the model that you are trying to source the vertex groups from first using "P" to seParate the two parts of the mesh in Edit mode. To do this, TAB into Edit mode in Blender using lasso select or another means to select only the horse, for example, then press "P" and separate the selection into an individual mesh. Then you can do the Weight copy step using only the horse onto an imported horse mesh or only the human body onto an imported human mesh. Make sense? No sacrifice required!

 

[flying toaster]

I've followed your counsel and found something unexpected.

Once the legionnaire is separated and I've ctrl+P it on my model, I have more vertex than what the legionnaire had. 6 more in the vertex group to be precise. Those are exactly the ones found in the fxsxml under <BoneUsage>

I've checked and they are not in the legionnaire nor is it in other models based on the legionnaire. Why?
If I delete them, I can export but the result is the same: the unit is invisible ingame.
I can keep going with the usual steps to rig and export.
The unit seems perfect in GrannyViewer.

But once ingame: it's invisible.
I fail to see where I'm mistaken since whatever I do, I can export and the unit is invisible. No way to check the behavior.

 

[Deliverator]

There is a gotcha that is tucked away on the Nexus Buddy 2 page, that might be causing your issue.

6. You need to ensure every separate mesh in your model is rigged to at least two bones. This is commonly an issue for weapons and human units. Duplicating and hiding a triangle is one solution or joining any unseen triangle from the body to the weapon mesh ensuring that it is rigged to a different bone from the weapon - a hand or foot etc. See here for more on this top tip!

But your issue might not be to do with that. It could be an issue with Materials or Textures or something. I'd need to see the files to figure out the problem most probably.

<BoneUsage> it only needed if you want to attach visual effects to bones - you can omit it completely with no ill effects otherwise.

You can test the unit using the older version of the SDK with working 3D viewer to save booting up the game BTW.

 

[flying toaster]

If you are willing to have a look, here are the files

I knew about the two bones trick. As you say, a top tip one indeed!

 

[Deliverator]

If you are willing to have a look, here are the files

I knew about the two bones trick. As you say, a top tip one indeed!

Can you upload your whole mod or at least the .fxsxml and textures etc?

The issue could be that the name of the Armature (Skeleton) has been changed - it is "World_Center_Dummy.001" rather than "World_Center_Dummy" - these need to be the same as in the original unit. If the name of the skeleton doesn't match between animation and model .gr2 files then the unit won't work. Which Civ V unit's animations are you using?

 

[coffee junkie]

Can you upload your whole mod or at least the .fxsxml and textures etc?

The issue could be that the name of the Armature (Skeleton) has been changed - it is "World_Center_Dummy.001" rather than "World_Center_Dummy" - these need to be the same as in the original unit. If the name of the skeleton doesn't match between animation and model .gr2 files then the unit won't work. Which Civ V unit's animations are you using?

First, thank you so much for helping !

Do not bother if I answer in place of Flying Toaster sometimes, because we are working together on a new Mod.

1) What is this Mod ?
We name this Mod : GoT Beyond ... It starts after the Season 8 of Game of Thrones ( gosh I hate this season 8 but well it doesn't matter ) and is half GoT and half Asoiaf. It has not to be accurate and it is not a scenario with Planethos map and starting points and so on. It can be played freely on any map and any era.

2) At first :
This mod is for people who like playing with less and bigger units. So, we use Nutty's Unit Graphics Mod, both for the size and the number of units and instead of 3 units, we play with 2 units. The size of each unit is more or less 0.3 ( a bit less for horses )

- advantage : enjoy playing with true units
- disadvantage : when attacking a city, as you do not really stack in Civ5, well, only few units are involved.

3) So ...
We are working on many units to get modified, transformed and new units as realistic as possible for GoT ( so, it is both the skin and the model of around 200 units which are involved )

We have 3 sizes of skins : 256x256 - 256x512 - 512x512 ( quite rare ) which is a good thing if people wish to use our units for Civ 6 ...

4) What's the difference between our Mod and the other GoT/Asoiaf mods ?
- real customized units related to Asoiaf universe
- size of the units
- the name of the mod ( beyond ) involves all eras of Civilization meaning units from ancient to at least atomic age.
- freely playable on any map

5) What else ?
We added asoiaf religions, asoiaf beliefs by IlMatteo, asoiaf wonders, specific music, the mods "Reforestation" and "Greatest Cities" by FramedArchitecture, new Artworks and so on.
The already Civilizations included : Braavos ( lead by Tormo Fregar ), Children of the Forest ( lead by a mind and a Weirwood), Dothraki ( lead by Khal Shorqo ), Dragons Bay ( lead by Daario Naharis ), Free Folk ( lead by Tormund Giantsbane ), House Arryn ( lead by Robyn Arryn ), House Baratheon ( lead by Gendry Baratheon ), House Greyjoy ( lead by Yara Greyjoy ), House Lannister ( lead by Tyrion Lannister ), House Martell ( lead by Trystane Martell ), House Stark ( lead by Sansa Stark ), House Tully ( lead by Edmure Tully ), House Tyrell ( lead by Bronn Blackwater ), the Night's Watch ( lead by Jon Snow ), Qarth ( lead by Xaro Xhoan Daxos )

Right now, no dragons and no "others" are involved ( yes, shocking indeed )

Other Civilizations we plan to add : Volantis, House Mormont, Naath Islands, Yi-Ti Kingdoms ( not yet implemented )

We are working on new Council Resolutions and other "little" things related but not yet implemented

Last but not least : We added new terrains 1024x1024 ( not too sharp of course ) to get much more diverse and nuanced colors for the different grounds, from desert to tundra as a DLC to be played in multiplayer. We hope getting GoT Beyond as a DLC at the end but this is another story At least, our terrains could be used with or without the mod

Flying Toaster works on the xml/sql parts and I work on artworks/units parts ... No DLL are involved and the mod is tested both on Steam/PC and CampaignEdition/Mac ... Brave New World is required ( and surely all DLC's )

Until now, everything is working quite fine except unexpected clueless not working DOM artworks. Only the Night's Watch DOM is working ... A real puzzle !

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Now you know almost everything about our mod. I could send you the whole mod but it's a bit heavy because of the artworks and the music. Otherwise, the xml/lua/sql and the units are light weighted.

I read carefully what you said about the name of the mesh which is modified by Blender itself when importing.

The animation used is The U_Roman_Legion

Going to redo a .gr2 with the blender file flying toaster sent to you and send it.

few thousands thanks for your patience and help !

 

[Deliverator]

I read carefully what you said about the name of the mesh which is modified by Blender itself when importing.

The animation used is The U_Roman_Legion

The important part is that the name of the armature/skeleton (not the mesh) is different. That needs to match the name in the original u_roman_legion if that is the base model.

Interested to see your mod once it is done!

 

[flying toaster]

It worked! For a time. But it worked! Finally got to see the bad boy

After noticing some deformation on the shield, we went back to Blender, pretty sure it was a bone assignation problem.
Assigned some vertex to the shield and to the sword ... and got an error on export. "Mesh has unweighted vertex."
It puzzled me.

 

[Deliverator]

After noticing some deformation on the shield, we went back to Blender, pretty sure it was a bone assignation problem.
Assigned some vertex to the shield and to the sword ... and got an error on export. "Mesh has unweighted vertex."
It puzzled me.

That error is telling the truth. It means that you must have at least one vertex that is not assigned to any vertex groups. You can use the highlighting in Weight Paint Mode to help identify where the offending vertex is.

 

[flying toaster]

Thank you again
Ah yes, I thought the same and assigned all vertex to vertex groups.
I also tried to add vertices to connect the shovel and the hand.

When the weapons are in the same mesh as the unit, it's perfect, I can work with that and get complete success. Whatever the units come from Civ4 or Civ5 (from spearman to rifleman) everything is fine.

The Roman Legionnaire has a second mesh, the shovel. And that seems to be the breaking point. I can't seem to work with the Roman Legionnaire and I think it's because of the shovel. I really don't understand why it's simply "not working" and I already tried many different ways with this shovel.

I follow instructions, there's always a problem in the end. Sometimes I can save, sometimes I can't. When I can, it doesn't show in-game or broken.

Ockam would say that clearly, I'm the problem, which I wholeheartedly agree
Obviously, I'm missing the obvious thing. Since most swordmen created by the community are based on the Roman Legionnaire, it can't be that hard.