Questorial: FLModelTool / Fl Sur Builder
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Seriously guys? You’re still recommending to resize vanilla SURs for custom models?
I’m sorry, but LS’s tool is already functional and is many steps above that. Whining that it only does convex SURs so far does not change the fact that it is much better than attempting to poorly fit vanilla SURs onto new models.
So stop right now and grab the utility there:
http://digitalbrilliance.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=3318#3318The ONLY reason you wouldn’t want to use it is if you already have near-perfect custom SURs, and even then you most likely will still have errors on them. The SUR exporter is broken in too many ways to list, most importantly because the format was never completely cracked to make it.
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FriendlyFire wrote:
Seriously guys? You’re still recommending to resize vanilla SURs for custom models?I’m sorry, but LS’s tool is already functional and is many steps above that. Whining that it only does convex SURs so far does not change the fact that it is much better than attempting to poorly fit vanilla SURs onto new models.
So stop right now and grab the utility there:
http://digitalbrilliance.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=3318#3318The ONLY reason you wouldn’t want to use it is if you already have near-perfect custom SURs, and even then you most likely will still have errors on them. The SUR exporter is broken in too many ways to list, most importantly because the format was never completely cracked to make it.
I’m glad to catch that on my way out. Thanks very much, FF!
I’ll report later
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I get an error message when I try to run the app ()
This application has failed to start because d3dx9_41.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.
Now what?! How do I fix this?
I’ll google for that .dll, but if anyone here knows what or how, please inform me!
EDIT: Cool, I found it on the web, downloaded it (had to struggle thru a forest of advertisements prompting me to install their registry managing software) and put it in my system 32 folder. Now at least the app works
So, moving on to the next problem :roll:
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You need the latest DX redistributable from Microsoft, 2009 version or higher.
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Ehh :-? I indeed managed to create a .sur file, quite amazingly because the program didn’t let me know it did anyhting and I also couldn’t see anything (had expected some visualization). So I looked in the output folder, and there it was.
Put in my mod, but I still get the same result: no collision data, and disappearing when the center goes offscreen.
So, any suggestions? Maybe I didn’t use the app properly?
Meanwhile I’ll google the forum. I guess this kind of thing must have been discussed earlier.
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LancerSolurus wrote:
You need the latest DX redistributable from Microsoft, 2009 version or higher.That. It’s not because you added a single DLL that you have everything; there may be something missing that you need to add.
Otherwise, you’ll have to play with the settings. There WILL be a visualization of the SUR when it’s setup properly.
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FriendlyFire wrote:
LancerSolurus wrote:
You need the latest DX redistributable from Microsoft, 2009 version or higher.That. It’s not because you added a single DLL that you have everything; there may be something missing that you need to add.
Otherwise, you’ll have to play with the settings. There WILL be a visualization of the SUR when it’s setup properly.
I completely missed LS’s post! I will go after it. Thanks guys!!
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Okay, I installed DirectX End-User Runtimes (February 2010) and i guess it’s adequate, coz the app seems to work.
Yet the in-game issues with the model remain: no collision, and disappearing if the center is offscreen. Ergo, no properly working .sur file.
Btw, the visualization in FL sur builder only works, when I, under Min-Max Sort, chose “Disable Sorting”
I’ve also tried with, under Secondary Sorting, “Disable Sorting” both selected and unselected. It didn’t make a difference.
The only thing I can imagine (but as you may guess, I’m not very skilled in this field) is that the .3db file itself (space_habitat_wide.3db, enlarged with FLModelTool by a factor of 25) is not very suitable to create a .sur off… On the other hand, it’s a simple octagonal cylinder-like shape, and it looks fine in-game.
Anyway, as usual, I’ll be happy with suggestions, advice etc.
Thanks!
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Only the one that created a visualization is going to be able to make a valid sur. Once it does that and animates it (unless you turned off animation). Simply click ‘Make Sur’ and copy the .sur file over the station’s sur file. Both the cmp and sur should be in the same folder. FL does have a command you can use that will allow you to put sur files into anothe folder, IE ‘sur = filepath’
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LancerSolurus wrote:
Only the one that created a visualization is going to be able to make a valid sur. Once it does that and animates it (unless you turned off animation). Simply click ‘Make Sur’ and copy the .sur file over the station’s sur file. Both the cmp and sur should be in the same folder.That’s what I have done. I only got a visual with Disable Sorting.
Maybe I should try another value for Duplicate Radius? I’ve tried 1 and 10 (because in the readme you wrote that small ships and weapons work best with 0.1). I’m gonna try it with 0 now…
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Another thing that was reported to me yesterday is the very large models were having collision misses. Since I can simply generate a cube shape sur to test (only 12 surfaces, 2 per side) I am going to do some research into that problem. May need to increase the face density over large open areas of the sur.
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I tried it with any of the 3 Min-Max sort options, and Duplicate Radius 0. Without succes - the issue persists.
@ LancerSolurus - can I send you the 3db file so you can have a look? Email it or upload it thru rapidshare? (btw No Problem if you don’t want to.)
EDIT Again I miss a post! Just read your last one. Yeah my model is quite large. Not huge, but large indeed. So I guess I’ll best await your investigations on the matter.
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FriendlyFire wrote:
Seriously guys? You’re still recommending to resize vanilla SURs for custom models?I’m sorry, but LS’s tool is already functional and is many steps above that. Whining that it only does convex SURs so far does not change the fact that it is much better than attempting to poorly fit vanilla SURs onto new models.
So stop right now and grab the utility there:
http://digitalbrilliance.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=3318#3318The ONLY reason you wouldn’t want to use it is if you already have near-perfect custom SURs, and even then you most likely will still have errors on them. The SUR exporter is broken in too many ways to list, most importantly because the format was never completely cracked to make it.
While this might be sound advice in general, note that Moonhead is merely enlarging a model already present in FL, and so using FLModelTool to enlarge it actually makes sense in this case. That, in fact, would be the route that I’d take, although I don’t understand why it’s causing issues. It does have the same name as the model, right?
MK
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@MK: Agreed for this very specific instance, but in general, that shouldn’t be the case. Since Moonhead seemed to want to apply this method to everything, I thought this was antiquated.
As with everything, different methods can serve different purposes.
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Moonhead:
If I remember correctly the model disappearing from view when its centre is off-screen is because the bounding box of the .3db/.cmp is incorrect.
I know I have fixed this in the past, just can’t remember 100% but I think you need just to open the .3db in FL Model Tool and just immediately save it again?
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I found that FLMT didn’t really handle resizing surs too well, so I wrote my own (to experiment with the Wireframes problem). I’ve attached the resulting x25 space_habitat_wide.sur for you.
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That might also be interesting for me…thanks
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@ Moonhead
I did the same as you. Resized the habitat wide model by x25. Opened up the sur builder, and made one without problems. These are the values i used,
**Duplicate radius
0.1Min-Max sort
TYPE 1 - TICKEDSecondary sort
DISABLE SORTING - TICKED**Iv’e included it here. You might need to change the name. Not tested this.
** EDIT **
Just realised, you might want to use your model for creating the sur as i used the standard habitat_wide model and made the sur using that, even though it’s x25 times bigger…
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Gibbon wrote:
@ MoonheadI did the same as you. Resized the habitat wide model by x25. Opened up the sur builder, and made one without problems. These are the values i used,
**Duplicate radius
0.1Min-Max sort
TYPE 1 - TICKEDSecondary sort
DISABLE SORTING - TICKED**Iv’e included it here. You might need to change the name. Not tested this.
Hey Gibbon, thanksalot man!! (I guess I missed your post. I’m not quite used to the forum setup I guess. Though I really like the looks
)I will try out the model asap and letya know if it works.
EDIT: I didn’t work. Both your .sur file and the one I created using your settings, did produce the familiar issue.
I guess I have to wait until LS gets the app to cover larger models.
Thanks anyway!!
