This is very good info, many thanks for the clarifications Bejaymac.
One comment:-
This is what this gun looks like in UTF Edit, notice the last 2 nodes, yep that’s the 2 components for this gun, a “base” & a “barrel”. Although there is no actual mesh data in these nodes, they do hold the “rigging” info that FL needs to make the gun work.
My game was freezing and crashing and I spent days thinking you meant that there was no weapon mesh data after exporting the model.
Nope, it is complete at this stage. The sur file I had made was the cause of my problems. The weapon model itself was fine after export in 2 groups, even when I made a test model with many component parts for each group.
Warnings:-
One!
When you export anything, the scale is always 1/92 until you click on SAVE Settings or LOAD Settings. Even when you move the slider to 1! So save yourself a lot of frustration - set your scale to 1, set Orientation “back-to-front”, and CLICK SAVE Settings, save them as weapons.ces and you should be in business, just LOAD settings next time and set your name and groups and groups quantities.
Two!
If you want a gun with several barrels, ensure there is only one part named xxxx_barrel. List any barrel-bits under it. Then for your second barrel call it something like “barrel2” and call its bits “barrel2bit1” etc. Like this…
xxxx_base
basepivot
basepin
basespigot
xxxx_barrel
barrel1bit1
barrel1bit2
barrel1bit3
barrel2
barrel2bit1
barrel2bit2
barrel2bit3
barrel3
barrel3bit1
barrel3bit2
barrel3bit3
Then export it as 2 groups (only 2 groups always!) and list the total number of components in each group in the Group Quantities windows. In this example that is
Group 1: 4
Group 2: 12
Three!
Your weapon HpConnect hardpoint must be attached to your xxxx_base (which becomes the root), and HpFire01 to your barrel.
If you make your hardpoints in MilkShape and export them with the model, then they may be attached to the wrong bits! Mine were all attached to xxxx_base for some models, and when a couple of HpConnect hardpoints were attached to the xxxx_barrel the game couldn’t attach them to the ship and of course spewed out lots of red lines in the console window.
In addition, the exporter can’t work out how to orient hardpoints and most of them end up tilted or turned or squashed, and you need to re-orient them using HardCMP anyway…
So it’s better to not waste your time, just export the weapon model without hardpoints, and add them in HardCMP later. Only HpConnect and HpFire01 are obligatory, but for conformity as Bejaymac says, do please add the HpMount too.
Four!
When you do add the hardpoints in HardCMP, my version will not allow me to enter new hardpoint names. So I opened my HardCMP exe with a hex editor and changed a couple of existing hardpoint names that I won’t use to HpConnect and HpFire and that works. Just be careful to replace existing hardpoint names that are longer than these, or you will displace the exe and it won’t work!
Five!
Do NOT waste too much time creating custom sur files for your weapons. Even a simple long tapered box identical to several standard weapon surs was incorrectly exported by that blessed sur exporter plugin. If your game crashes or freezes, suspect any weapon surs that you made right away, and rename them to check. Unlike ship surs, where weird ships needed and justified the hours and days of hairpulling, it’s best to use an existing sur file from plain FL for weapons, (there are many) and just resize them to your weapon using FL Model Tool. Note that there are several weapon surs in plain FL that are upside down! Don’t use those, you can’t turn them right-way-up.
Out.
;D
