Questorial: FLModelTool / Fl Sur Builder
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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!!
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I tried adoxa’s sur and it works very well.
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mknote wrote:
Did you try adoxa’s SUR that he posted?MK
I keep missing posts here! I’m prolly too busy with too many things. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, prolly would have missed it entirely.
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adoxa wrote:
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.Adoxa, you did it again
Thanks dude!! It’s finally working now.Is your app available? I might like to enlarge some other archetypes too.
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Moonhead, if you’re using the “Unread” feature make sure to go back up a bit as the link always points to the very last post in the topic without regard for whether you haven’t read posts above it. The Latest Posts list on the right does not have this issue (the Unread feature is built-in with Xoops while I built the Latest Posts, so I could at least fix that part).
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adoxa wrote:
I found that FLMT didn’t really handle resizing surs too well, so I wrote my own (to experiment with the Wireframes problem).Which version of sur_dump has this, please?
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adoxa wrote:
No version of SurDump, it’s a separate utility. Wasn’t sure if it would still be needed, but it seems so. I’ll pretty it up a bit, first (ie. do it as a GUI, since command line apps don’t seem to be appreciated :)).That would be fabulous :jump: (Yeah command line utilities kinda scare me.)
So, it would be able to calculate the .sur for a given .3db, .3ds, or .cmp file?
This is gonna be cool. I already figured out how to use the ModelClone tool, so I can re-texture the larger space_habitats. Oh, and if I’m not mistaken, I even got some home-made satellites from the time my Milkshape still worked - actually stuff that I broke off existing stations, like the space_habitat tower with a roof on it. If I can dig this up, I’ll enlarge it too. So I can finally build the Samarkand station I thought up years ago (and crappily built with stacking prisons, policestations etc.)
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FriendlyFire wrote:
Moonhead, if you’re using the “Unread” feature make sure to go back up a bit as the link always points to the very last post in the topic without regard for whether you haven’t read posts above it. The Latest Posts list on the right does not have this issue (the Unread feature is built-in with Xoops while I built the Latest Posts, so I could at least fix that part).Thanks! I should keep better track on the threads I’m active in. This forum is quite active (more than I thought it was when I subscribed) - which is a very good thing of course.
Kinda weird, that we all seem to stick to this old game… Objectively judging, it’s not even that dynamic (little variation in missions, static economy, always the same silly conversations at the bars) - but nonetheless it remains cool. I even put the soundtrack on my “sleeping playlist” (a 14 hours collection I softly put on when I go to sleep; helps me to ‘space out’).
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adoxa wrote:
Moonhead wrote:
So, it would be able to calculate the .sur for a given .3db, .3ds, or .cmp file?
No, no, it will only resize an existing .sur. I’ve since come across FLModelTool’s source, so if I can get it to compile, I can update that, instead.
Both options would be very welcome
(Although I think the ‘custom’ habitats I broke off of existing stations, use existing .surs that are only an approximation of their actual form. LancerSolurus’s tool would come in handy for those - especially when he improves how it works with larger things. But - maybe a combi of LS’s tool and your SurResizer is adequate.)
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For some reason my version FLModelTool seems to have lost its practical functionality :crazy: It didn’t make the correct .sur, but tat least it did enlarge the .3db file… But now it stopped doing that also (although the new data show up after saving the file, quitting and restaring the app and loading the file again).
Could this be because I installed DirectX 10 yesterday?
I managed to enlarge the x25 .sur by 2, (to have a space_habitat_wide 50 times as large) but I couldn’t enlarge either the original space_habitat_wide.3db by 50 or the space_habitat_wide_x25 by 2 …
Anyway, Adoxa, I’m looking forward to any relevant tool that you might come up with. (Preferably one that does both .cmp’s (and .3db’s) and .sur’s
- a properly working version of FLModelTool would be magnificent)
