Learning to Rig Units

[tantanmen]

Hello fellow hobbyists! Picking up from our most recent exploits (thanks again SaibotLieh), I would like to attempt to rig a unit. I've been staring at guides until my eyes glazed over, so I figured why not just plunge into it?

Using the civ5 warrior, my goal is to create a new Unit Class: The Clubman. Here's some concept art:

Spoiler Clubman Info :

This clubman will be a late prehistoric non-metal unit, its analogue being the Quechua or a predynastic Egyptian wielding a mace with a stone head. Stronger than a warrior, but less specialized than a spearman. An ancient grunt. He'll get a fancy smiting mace (not a bamm-bamm club) and a wicker or hide shield.

I'd like to equip this Clubman with an ancient mace & shield and use the Quechua fidget where he pounds his weapon against his shield (I'll change the sound effect too - no metallic clanging, more of a thumping sound). Ideally I'd like to include a secondary fidget because the Quechua fidget occurs way too frequently imo. Buuuut, afaik Quechua anims are not directly compatible with other anims (although I believe warrior / swordsman / maceman are close)... So I might need to combine anims? Am I setting the bar too high for my first rigging attempt?

I chose the Swordsman because he's already lined up with a shield, I like his attacking anims (they're good for bashing too), and I might use (part of) his stretching fidget.

Special thanks to @topsecret for giving me the tools & confidence to get me started in unit modding. I hope I can do you proud

Any tips, advice, guidance, or wholehearted encouragement will be most appreciated

 

[topsecret]

Hope everything goes well! If you figure out anything useful, document here. I probably won't have time to do anything for, eh, weeks, maybe? I might but it isn't at the top of the free time list right now.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

Alright than, here is some advice from a veteran unit maker.
1. Check out the Varias Delectat mod. It has a huge swath of units some of which are assembled out of bits and pieces copy pasted into models. Looking at them will teach you the basics.

2. Copy pasting whole units into one another only works with CIV4 units being pasted onto CIV4 units. And even than it's hit and miss.
To create a wholly new model for a humanoid you will have to make your model and than manually skin it onto the skeleton of the unit whose animations you want to use. To do this, import the unit you want to use into your 3D software of choice using NIF editing plugins, rig your skeleton and than export.

3. If you just want to change the weapon though that is far simpler. As weapons are a mesh that is just linked to the hand bone you can just make your weapon model, export it into a separate nif and than copy paste it into the same node in the nif as the original weapon. Than delete the original. Just make sure to rename your weapon to have the same name as the original and give it a copy of the originals material and alpha properties. Otherwise some animations won't look right.

 

[tantanmen]

To create a wholly new model for a humanoid you will have to make your model and than manually skin it onto the skeleton of the unit whose animations you want to use. To do this, import the unit you want to use into your 3D software of choice using NIF editing plugins, rig your skeleton and than export.

Thank you, this is where I'm going to need the most help. I've never tried rigging before. I'm not software savvy and for most of my modding career I've been in the practice of failing repeatedly, often in as many different ways as possible - until I get it right.

Just make sure to rename your weapon to have the same name as the original and give it a copy of the originals material and alpha properties. Otherwise some animations won't look right.

Thanks again for the help. I wasn't aware of this.

I switched over to MightyToad's tutorial.

edit: I've managed to rig a unit. I'll update the thread soon.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

I do not know how to work with blender. So I can't help you with any of that. I use 3D studio max and in there it's literally a matter of just adding the skin modifier, attaching all the bones that the original model has attached and than selecting each individual pixel and giving it weights between 0 and 100% for each bone.

 

[tantanmen]

3D studio max

Alright, I'm looking into it.

I had another quick go. Still making a mess of it. But I'm experimenting & learning, so that's good.

Spoiler :

Nifskope:

(1) I tried to change the civ5 Warrior to a NiTriShape format, but failed to get the option for Make Skin Partition.

(2) For the vanilla Swordsman, I went to the NiNode called "MD NonAccum", and performed a "right-click -> block -> remove branch" and removed the NiNode called "BIP".

(3) I failed to change the civ5 Warrior to a NiTriShape, but I still went to its NiNode "BIP" and performed a "right-click -> block -> copy branch". Then I performed a "right-click -> block -> paste branch" on the "MD NonAccum" NiNode in the vanilla Swordsman NIF. In-game the mesh was rigid and didn't move

Update: Thanks to @LPlate2's pellucid guide I was able to rig a unit. I'll post a new message in the coming days.

Blender 2.49 Tutorial (By a Beginner)

Hi, I'm not an expert at Blender. I've only made a few models and I have to refer back to video tutorials everytime I do. The tutorials I found most helpful in getting going with Blender were Ira Krakow's tutorials for Blender 2.49. This tutorial is as much an aide memoire for me, so I can...

forums.civfanatics.com

 

[PPQ_Purple]

Alright, I'm looking into it.

You probably shouldn't All 3D software works mostly the same and most people here us Blender so they will be able to help you. Just not my self in particular.
Also, like all adobe software it costs an arm, a leg and half of your firstborn child. Well it did anyway. I am not sure you can even buy the ancient version that you'd need to run the old NIF plugins any more.