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Anyone else still need a SUR generator?

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  • F Offline
    F Offline
    FriendlyFire
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #15

    It’s the Visual C++ runtime package?..

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  • L Offline
    L Offline
    LancerSolurus
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #16

    MS updates the DLLs for Visual Studio on a regular basis. I made up a new DLL pack just like the old one. The old one I had made was 3 years old. You olny have to run it one time though, it will istall them in the proper folders.

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  • B Offline
    B Offline
    BBalazs
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #17

    I’ve had some fun with the sur builder. Now, it seems that the multi-part option builds surs based on milkshape meshes (“groups”).

    I’ve attached my favourite testing cmp, the 127 milkshape groups terrain and the sur file generated by the sur builder.
    When I load the cmp into sur builder, I see it generate the sur meshes for all the groups one-by-one. In the script folder I see the details of the sur mesh - all neatly there.

    My problem is that if I task sur builder to make the sur, it will succeed in it, however, when I load the model into HardCMP, only one sur part will show - the very first one (or perhaps the last one?) ever created. This is probably because the cmp is actually exported as a single-component cmp, whereas the sur is actually multi-component, with all the components sharing the same name.
    Sidenote, that in-game, I can’t see the solar mesh, even if I increase the sur file’s radius.

    It is just so nice to see those so many sur groups being built. I really feel that there is only some minor thing going wrong. Perhaps if the CMP could be remapped to those 127 parts? Or is it just something in joining up the various parts of the sur?

    Nevertheless, nice job LS! Congratulations - your utility is the only way for me to produce 100% working surs, and I actually trust these files for being clean - much better than any splicing method.

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  • S Offline
    S Offline
    StarTrader Historic Supporter
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #18

    With the terrain disappearing - did you try opening the cmp in FLModel Tool and saving it immediately with no other changes (this adjusts the size of the bounding box).

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  • T Offline
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    TheDvDMan
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #19

    StarTrader wrote:
    With the terrain disappearing - did you try opening the cmp in FLModel Tool and saving it immediately with no other changes (this adjusts the size of the bounding box).

    Is that what we do for a better LOD?

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  • S Offline
    S Offline
    StarTrader Historic Supporter
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #20

    Nothing to do with LOD (Level of Detail).

    But because the bounding box is often incorrectly sized, a new large ship model sometimes disappears from view when you are not looking towards its centre, even though it is next to you.

    This fixes that problem sometimes.

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  • B Offline
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    BBalazs
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #21

    Well, after resizing (the radius didn’t change that significantly, some 25% different), the terrain was still not there.
    I’d assume that flying close to the only part that shows in HardCMP would render it visible, though. Still, when talking about such a large model, this is not as easy as it seems, so I couldn’t verify this.

    Still, the Sur Builder -can- and -will- build proper surs, even for me 🙂
    It’s just getting something with more than 18 sur parts to work, that’s hard.

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  • F Offline
    F Offline
    Freestalker.fr Historic Supporter
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #22

    I want to say the sur builder take in charge vertexes, not edges. LS, I purpose that you can add an edge option to make more realistic hitboxes.

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  • B Offline
    B Offline
    BBalazs
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #23

    The hitboxes you get are absolutely realistic. I’d say they are 99% perfect convex decompositions of your model’s parts.

    If you feel the hitbox is not realistic, try braking up the CMP into more parts, or if that’s not the case, I find that a smaller duplicate radius (like 0.1, but try 0 as well, which disables the feature) often helps in improving precision.

    Edit: The CMP Remapper (which seems to be disabled in 0.004) worked perfectly for me in the case of most common models. In the case of those that are built of many groups, the remapper also seems to do everything correctly, its only mistake is that it fails to add data04.bin - which makes sense, because as I’ve checked, data04 does not exist (is not created). Do you know what data04 contains, or is there a way to add it manually?

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  • F Offline
    F Offline
    Freestalker.fr Historic Supporter
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #24

    Can you explain your edit BBlazs because I don’t under stand you. Wher can I get or find data 04.bin please?

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  • L Offline
    L Offline
    LancerSolurus
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #25

    His terrain.cmp contains an invalid node which will have to be removed with one of the UTF editors. Also, a multipart SUR requires a multipart CMP, the terrain.cmp is a single part CMP which won’t work.

    @ BBalazs - I can re-enable that feature, it didnt work properly is why I disabled it

    BTW, you can now combine SURs using the sur builder. If it misses one, switch to the second script folder and keep creating until you get the missing surs. Add them to the first script folder. When you have all of them switch back to the first folder and pick ‘Build SUR’ This will build a SUR file from all of the files stored in the first folder.

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  • L Offline
    L Offline
    LancerSolurus
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #26

    Hehe, since I sidetracked this thread, here is something to get it back on course….

    QHull - this is what FL uses thru Havok physics
    Do a binary search in the Freelancer.exe if you dont believe me

    Explaination of a convex hull

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  • B Offline
    B Offline
    BBalazs
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #27

    LS, the feature has always worked for me. In those cases when it didn’t, I always got this same single error message, and it was always data04.bin.
    I wonder if I can do anything that can help with this. You say that the file contains an invalid node - can you help me out with some specifics, to see if I can do something about it?

    Edit: Thanks for the hint. The problem was caused by an empty ‘Hardpoints’ node, which was generated by the CMP Exporter. If I add a HpMount hardpoint, Sur Builder seems to be able to perfectly remap the thing into multi-part. Considering the vast amount of milkshape groups, this is stunning.

    Freestalker: that thing about data04 happens when I try to remap a single-part CMP to a multi-part one using sur builder. It is caused by a faulty hardpoints node.

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  • N Offline
    N Offline
    Nova
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #28

    If somebody can make a sur for me pm please… i cant 😢
    http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/1284/screen150p.png
    Please please please! I can’t work with my mod without this surs…
    I tried to make them by tutorial but failed…
    Please!

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  • F Offline
    F Offline
    Freestalker.fr Historic Supporter
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #29

    You too you have issues with sur builder? in conclusion it’s an unusefull program for one reason and one only, this software can’t interpret edges, sadly thing for ultracomplex models.

    If you aren’t an expert in UTF Edit you can’t creat very high detailled hitboxes.

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  • N Offline
    N Offline
    Nova
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #30

    I followed this tutorial, but stopped at 5th stage… this is real hell

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  • M Offline
    M Offline
    Mini_Me
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #31

    Is there perhaps a feature included for having multiple SUR parts with the same name? Recall that’s how most of their complex Vanilla base SURs are constructed -giving the functionality of concave parts in the model.

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  • F Offline
    F Offline
    Freestalker.fr Historic Supporter
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #32

    At Nova : Yep…! increadibly horrible… why guys prefer to do things simply when they can doing clomplexes things (ironic).

    Why people can’t creat simple softwares who can creat high detailled hitboxes!

    Their is for 7 years microsoft release FL and now we haven’t a good hitbox creator… it’s very unbelievable.

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  • T Offline
    T Offline
    TheDvDMan
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #33

    Freestalker.fr wrote:
    Why people can’t creat simple softwares who can creat high detailled hitboxes!

    Alredy done by LS, but the hitbox is not detailed at all. Its great for ships but horrible for stations… If you want it 1:1 to the model, do it by yourself…

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  • B Offline
    B Offline
    BBalazs
    wrote on global:last_edited_by,
    #34

    Exactly how do you use SUR Builder? If you design your CMP well, it creates a form-fitting SUR. I’ve just built a station sur (it used some 15 convex parts) and it’s as form-fitting as it can get.

    The only drawback is that you are stuck with 18 convex parts. Or some 42 if you decide to go the hard way (I’ve been pushing SUR Builder a bit, using 0.003 to remap the cmp into a 127 parts multi-part cmp, then used 0.004 to build the hitbox for that model - all 127 parts are built, but after part #42 the tool does not add them into the sur file for some reason. I’ve even tried editing scriptlist.txt manually to include the extra meshes, but no luck).

    Nevertheless, if 18 convex elements are enough, you can construct them manually, export as CMP (with proper names that match your actual CMP) and use SUR Builder on that. That is, SUR Builder can be used as a capable SUR Exporter, for 18 parts max.

    There is nothing wrong with edges in my opinion, it has to do with the way you exported your cmp. It’s simple: 1 convex sur part for 1 cmp part. Unfortunately with CMP Exporter’s 18 parts limit, this puts you at serious limits. You can use trickery with SUR Builder 0.003’s remap cmp option - it has worked for me. The only setback is that if this results in more than 42 parts, only the first 42 are added to the final sur file (even though all the parts have been built), at least according to my tests.

    @MiniMe: That’s what I’ve been trying to do in the first place, fooling around with a single-part cmp and having a multi-part sur built (based on milkshape groups). In the end I’ve settled with the cmp remap function; it might just even work - consider my notes in this post - if I could get sur builder to add those other meshes to the final sur file.

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