[BadWolf]

-Intro-

Hello, once again, fellow aspiring JKA modelers and skinners!
Today I will be teaching you how to create and compile your very own player model, using just 3DS Max, a few plugins and a few smaller programs.

-Tools-

~Here is a list of programs and files you will need to complete the tutorial, items labeled .zip will be hyperlinked to DL the appropriate files from my personal server~

Autodesk 3DS Max 7 32 bit (any newer and you won’t be able to use the plugins, also any other version I can’t guarantee the methods will work) – This is your main program, here you will make the model, textures and rig it to a skeleton. (As we on the forums do not condone piracy, you will have to find your own way of acquire a copy, as I cannot disclose that information here.)

Modders_Base_Folder.zip – This is a fully compiled base folder to use when making modded files or user generated content for the game, here you will find the models folder and several others you may find you need. (For more info, consult the readme.txt inside the .zip)

Plugins.zip – This contains all of the necessary plugins that you will need to compile your player model. (Consult the readme.txt for instructions on how to install the plugins)

-Setup-

All right, you have acquired your copy of 3DS Max 7, downloaded the necessary files and added your plugins. Now what? Now we make a model, it can be as simple as a stick figure, or as complex as a fully detailed suit of armor (just be sure to pace yourself, don’t start this heavy-duty project just to find out you wasted hours of your time). First off, let’s talk restrictions; due to the engine the game runs on, no single object may go over 1000 verts (dots that consist of the models structure).

-Beginning-

For actual modeling instructions, you can either figure out for yourself how the tools work, or refer to my previous guide on weapon creation here. He gone? Good, that kid is weird, now for the rest of you who actually know what you’re doing:

1. Go to: base/models/players/player_Model

a. Double-click the JK3_Skeleton.max
b. 3DS Max 7 will open and may prompt you to re-save the file do so at the exact same location where you found it.



2. Now that the skeleton is open in Max, start building your model, make sure to conform as close as possible to the skeleton itself; splay the arms and legs wide, etc…



- Not too pretty is it? This is the basic layout you want all of your player models to have. Be sure to save this file as a separate one in a folder you set up for a custom model in base>models>player>YOURMODEL.

3. Next is the fun part, the setting up of the bodies’ parts.

a. Combine your entire model into one entity, keep it selected.
b. Go to the Utilities tab (the Hammer symbol) on your right-menu bar.
c. Click the Reset XForm button, next click the Reset Selected button.



d. What Reset XForm does is it basically forces your model to 0-out, center itself, this is important because your model may accidentally have an arm or leg way over on the other side of the map once compiled. Next go back to the Modify tab on your right-menu bar (looks like a rainbow in a box) and right click the XForm modifier and choose Collapse all. Hit the Hold/Yes button to complete this step.





e. Using the below diagram, separate the body into a head, torso, hips, l_leg, r_leg, l_arm, l_hand, r_arm and r_hand.



4. Now take care of your models textures, setup the UVWs and apply a basic texture so you know what you are looking for. (refer to the weapons tut on that subject, same concept)

5. Next up is rigging; this is setting up the model to move according to the movement of the bones you started out with.

a. Select each piece of the mode and go up to the Modifiers drop-down menu and choose Skin, this will allow you to select individual bones and bind them to selected verts.





b. According to this list, add each bone to each body part:
(Note: these are the bare essentials, it does not include facial animations or finger rigging, you will have to experiment in that department if you want those things.)

i. head



ii. torso



iii. hips



iv. l_leg



v. r_leg



vi. l_arm



vii. l_hand



viii. r_arm



ix. r_hand



c. OK, your model is all set for final rigging, how does one do that? It takes quite a bit of time and effort (depending on model detail); you are telling the bones how much influence they have over selected dots. Click on the Edit Envelopes button and check the Vertices box, now select the verts closest to the bone you have selected in the list.



d. After making your selection, scroll down the modifiers settings to find the input box labeled Abs. Effect. Inside the text field, type any value between 0 and 1, 0 being no influence and 1 being full influence.



Here is the part where it is really up to you; depending on the value used, multiple bones can control a set of verts in different ways:


3 bones controlling 1 ring of verts.


As opposed to 1 bone controlling the same verts.

Depending on your settings the effected verts will actually change color, 0=blue and 1=red

e. Once all of your verts and bones are rigged, it’s time to link the hierarchy. Go to Utilities and choose MAXScript.



f. Choose Run Script and select the JK2_playermodel_auto_hierarchy_link.mse file you placed in the scripts folder earlier, it will automatically inform you when finished.
g. All right, now the last leg of this little journey!

-Compiling-

1. Deselect everything, and go to File > Export.

2. In the Save as Type drop-down, choose XSI Export and name it ROOT.xsi, save it in the base/models/players/_humanoid folder.



3. When the Export Options window comes up, uncheck Animation and leave everything else as is, hit OK. Close Max (saving work!) and go to the _humanoid folder.



4. Run Assimilate.exe and hit the New button, to assure a new project is running.



5. Go to File > Add Files and choose _humanoid.gla, then hit the B button in the program, title the file model.car.





6. Congratulations, you have just compiled your first player model! Now, copy and paste the model.glm and model_default.skin files to the path you want your model to use.



Modify the .skin file according to that file path. (Be sure the file names match according to what you set them as in Max during the rough texturing stage)



7. Next, open the .glm file in Modview, ignoring the shader warning.



Looks like it loads just fine, let’s see how it does with the animations…





Great, it is all set for the last step.
8. Run Pakscape, create the following folders:

a. Models > Players > YOUR_MODEL

9. Add all of your texture, the .glm and .skin files into the YOUR_MODEL folder and save the file as YOUR_MODEL.pk3 in your base folder.



-Conclusion-

Woo, wasn’t that fun? Have fun experimenting and trying different methods, this should be more than enough to at least get people off the ground. If you need more insight here is another tutorial:

http://psyko3d.50webs.com/tutorials/jk2_guide.htm

So go forth modelers and skinners alike!

_____________________________________________

Woo, not as long as the weapons tutorial huh? I hope this helps anypony looking to make their own player models. If you are having troubles PM me or email me at matt_hayes_gd@yahoo.com

[Falcon]

lots of pictures

Nicely done Sen, good stuff

[Clank]

Verry verry gerd

[Seeker]

That's good, maybe, I'll use it later

[Akimoto]

Excellent! I will attempt to follow this tutorial when I get my internet back up.

Thank you.

[MRC]

Some one who know how to do this contact me pls on Forum

[SVT]

So did the xsi transform into a glm if its the same thing? Didn't see anything about the .glm until nm 6.

[BadWolf]

So did the xsi transform into a glm if its the same thing? Didn't see anything about the .glm until nm 6.

That was the point of step 5, Assimilate utilizes the .xsi file in its background process to compile the resulting .glm. That is why you saved the .xsi in the _humanoid folder which also contains the .car file necessary for proper building, the .car automatically checks for the .xsi and builds it according to its coding.

[U2LN]

Does it have to be split up like that to work?

[BadWolf]

Does it have to be split up like that to work?

I'm not sure what you are talking about, could you elaborate?

[BadWolf]

Notice: every image and resource in this tutorial is no longer available and I no longer have them on my HD

[U2LN]

Does it have to be split up like that to work?

I'm not sure what you are talking about, could you elaborate?

Like legs, arms, etc. I have a model from another game and think it would be easier not to dissect it.

[U2LN]

Does it have to be split up like that to work?

I'm not sure what you are talking about, could you elaborate?

e. Using the below diagram, separate the body into a head, torso, hips, l_leg, r_leg, l_arm, l_hand, r_arm and r_hand.

[BadWolf]

Does it have to be split up like that to work?

I'm not sure what you are talking about, could you elaborate?

Like legs, arms, etc. I have a model from another game and think it would be easier not to dissect it.

Easier? Perhaps. Functionally sound? Not so much.

The purpose of separating the segments has to do mostly with Jedi Academy's capabilities, a model consisting of a single object must have a maximum number of vertex points. The safe number is 1000 verts per model object with a model being able to consist of multiple objects, otherwise the game can't render the model due to it's engine. By separating the body parts, you are making your player model more capable to run smoothly in-game.

Additionally, from my understanding of the research I did at the time, separating the individual body-parts and naming them so specifically also helped Assimilate to compile the file more smoothly. Now this may be incorrect of me to assume, since you can make completely new body parts and it still compile correctly.

Either way, you can give it a try by leaving the body whole if you wish, I don't know for sure if it really makes any difference since it has been a good number of years since I have even re-visited this topic.

[BadWolf]

Does it have to be split up like that to work?

I'm not sure what you are talking about, could you elaborate?

e. Using the below diagram, separate the body into a head, torso, hips, l_leg, r_leg, l_arm, l_hand, r_arm and r_hand.

Additionally, you have to keep in mind models ported from other games are always going to be tricky, since different games use different parameters. If it has too high a poly-count then I wouldn't recommend using it for JA

[Mandalorian]

^. This was a problem I ran into when making the ports of Ezra and Kanan, they are too high poly. I have ported very high poly models in the past, and it is definitely possible (don't let ANYONE tell you that something for jka modeling is impossible, I will hunt them down and prove them wrong). As BadWolf said, (hi senbou :3) the maximum verts per object is 1000, so if you can't find a way to decimate a model below that number, then you have to segment it.

The good thing about how jka works with models, is that they use the method of attaching parts through weighted paint. The more "coated" the paint is with the bone, the more it moves with the bone that moves for the animation, so as long as you can picture your model moving a certain way with a certain bone, you can make it happen. I actually made a little experiment with this to see just how I can abuse this, and I once made a horse pk3 that moves its front right leg at the same time as it moves its back left leg, and vice versa.

I also tried making a spider movement, where the spider's 8 (since I was working with a spider droid robot, in this case it was 4) legs would all move when walking.

Basically don't let the segmentation degrade your ideas, since the weighted paint can really make anything possible.