Milkshape & Plugins - Latest/Best versions and where to get them

Thaddeus wrote:
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HpEngineGlow is a strange one, EngineGlows are described in lights.ini but they dont do very much, unused effects I suppose

No HpEngineGlowxx do work, they are where you mount the EngineGlow lights - I used them in the Enterprise range in the engine nacelles, they are great.

By the way - Lancer’s Errorchecker called them out as errors.

I’ve edited the main post, let me know if anything is wrong.

what do you mean, too quick?

There was a bug in the release version caused by the VC6 optimizer (I only tested that with the importer, not the dumper). There was also a problem in generating the triangle offset for secondary parts.

What have you added in 1.3 please?

Removed orientation (always “back-to-front”) and scale (always 1). Added 3db checkbox to use the “zero” mesh. Fixed some memory leaks. Fixed tag count and bits section scale values. Provide a default file name (although it really only works if you load an .ms3d); allow one to be entered (without having to browse). Still a problem generating the hull (have a look at DATA\SOLAR\DOCKABLE\docking_ringx2_lod.cmp - it misses the bars jutting out from the middle), but that will have to wait till the rewrite (I’ll be using a different algorithm - same one as the ConVexTool).

@ ST

You’re quite right of course, HpPilot is for the pilot. What i meant to say was that if you don’t put one in, Lancers error checker throws a fit. Now it shouldn’t because some models come with pilots, only solution is to add the hardpoint and then not add the pilot in the shiparch file where a pilot is already in the model.

Regarding HpCockpit, yes i’ve found it does count the view from 0,0,0 if you don’t add the hardpoint in. Think i’ve just got lazy over the years and i can almost calculate the correct viewpoint with my eyes shut these days from 0,0,0, it’s more a matter of convenience on my part (or lazyness, take your pick).

The exporter don`t appear in export lists on ms3d 1.8.5 beta 1 and 1.8.4 in windows 7 64bit.
I saw in 32 bit win xp works good.

cata123 wrote:
The exporter don`t appear in export lists on ms3d 1.8.5 beta 1 and 1.8.4 in windows 7 64bit.
I saw in 32 bit win xp works good.

adoxa -

No, it’s not appearing in the Export list for me either, I’m running XP and MS 1.8.5 beta.

I have had this before with a test release of a cmp exporter, not sure what was done to fix it though but it was fixed, and the file size was quite a bit larger.

It also causes the Sur Exporter v1.1 (simultaneously installed) to give “unable to create D3D device” immediately, this use to only happen after several sequential exports.

I have added a note to my main post reminding people that I have listed many of the hardpoint types used in .cmp files, but some are not needed in .sur files and will be ignored by this Sur exporter (unless you changed anything here?).

Thanks for your work as always.

Ah sorry, looks like MilkShape just hides the fact it couldn’t load, so you can’t see that it’s missing an import. You probably need d3dx9_42.dll. Not sure which DirectX update has it, but a search should find the file itself (that’s how I originally got it).

Thanks adoxa, works now.

I found d3dx9_42.ll at http://www.dll-files.com

You have to peer carefully through all the sponsored downloads links though, to click the right link!

I’ve not had time to test it properly, just generated a sur from a large ship but I need to do some detailed testing before reporting back.

Can you clarify these point please:

1. Is there a limit on the number of any certain hardpoint type? I think I remember max=6 of any type (or some particular Hp types?) in the old exporter but I am not 100% sure. Anything over the limit was ignored, e.g. HpCM07 etc.

2. Although there is a Group Quantities option, Bejaymac always insisted that each sur shape must not have more than 1 part, to ensure convexity. What does this exporter actually do, does it group together all the parts of a group and then generate a single sur shape for that group, or does it make individual shapes for each part of each group and attach each one to the same group name?

If it generates separate sur shapes for each part of a group this could be a great way to make concave fly-through shapes, e.g. if you remember the Avioki rear doughnut, I split that into 4 parts and made a manual spliced sur that I could fly through.

3. Are you now able to remove the 18 group limit?

Thanks.

This was just supposed to be a quick update - I doubt I’ll be doing any more work on it (you all kept telling me how good 1.1 was, I guess those rose-colored glasses can come off now :)). After I finish FLMM (if ever!) I’ll totally rewrite the exporter. It’ll be split in two - a sur generator tool (much like ConVex tool, but with more options) and the sur file exporter (which uses the generated/imported groups, not the model, so in that regards it’ll be more like the obj->sur converter).

1. There was no such limit.

2. The latter, I think.

3. Yes (but indirectly, via the rewrite, where the groups will be formed based on the name, same as the importer).

I see it works with a d3dx9_42.dll inside ms3d folder.
Anyway i crashed once again freelancer with a sur made from a 32k poly mesh and sur size 1.7Mb .
How you guys make a sur for a high poly model for example .
Sushi how he succeded to make surs from his Freeworlds mod ?
Is it remade sur with a 3D program and export with ms3d all toghether, or maybe export one by one and splice, or export with Schmackbolzens tool and splice (this one i didnt succeded and i found out why), or lancers builder ? Really im curious .

Cata - you have to do some work to reduce the polycount first.

Make a copy of your model .ms3d to work on, make sure your original model is safe.

Select all groups and use Tools… ConvexTool (you need to have that plugin,and there are 2 versions - use the one that does not open a dialog).

Check the new groups one by one to see how they fit to the original groups, and if you are satisfied delete the original group for each one, and rename the new group to the original by removing the “_convex” suffix.

Save the new .ms3d as you go, each time you are happy with a new group is a good time.

When you are not happy with the fit you need to make changes to the original group and try again.

When you are happy with all the new groups, and you have deleted all the original groups in your work model, you will have a good low-poly model copy of the original model. Export this sur and hardpoints, and you should have a good-fitting sur.

Let us know how you get on, good luck.

adoxa wrote:
This was just supposed to be a quick update - I doubt I’ll be doing any more work on it (you all kept telling me how good 1.1 was, I guess those rose-colored glasses can come off now :)). …

adoxa - v1.1 is all we had, it generated good surs sometimes. Yes it has its limitations, and many people could not understand how to use it and got it wrong because they didn’t put in the time to learn it. And some times it produced bad surs and we could not see why.

For my part I am disappointed again, that you won’t do more development on this version 1.3, but in any case very many thanks for doing this part, it is already more useful.

If you relent (hint), for example to remove the 18 groups limit, I will be jumping for joy again, because we can get round the.cmp exporter 18-group limit by using the .cmp “grafting” process.

Well, this is a surprise.

I think I’m seeing things!

After importing my new test sur for the Brakiri Avioki, I thought I saw group names had been deciphered. Very nice!

But when I imported it again a while later, there were only hashcodes and not group names!

I retried several times but still got only hashcodes!

Luckily I had taken a screenshot of the first import or I would have doubted my sanity!

adoxa, can you explain please? I used your Sur importer for all imports.

Both screenshots are attached.

Found it - I had renamed the sur file. The .cmp file for the same ship was in the same folder, I renamed the .cmp to match the .sur and the group names came back.

I’ve not seen this nice feature of your sur exporter documented though?

It was added as part of v1.2. I snuck it into the readme:

NOTES

The NameCRC::GenerateName() function creates a mesh name based on the mesh number and CRC code. If the CRC code is not in the lookup table or related CMP file, the hex code will be used as the name - eg. S2_12345678.

Moonhead wrote:
I started this thread 9 months ago, but it’s only now I finally get into installing the program and all the plugins.

Which brings me to the question: there’s a 3db exporter, so shouldn’t we also need a 3db importer?

I believe the .cmp importers double as .3db importers.

Using Ms3d version 1.84, I have these plugins:

CMP Import 2.7
CMP Export 0.2
Edit: I have had issues w/CMP Export 0.3 which is why I use 0.2.
Mat Export 0.1
Convex Tool (whichever has the settings window for max verts and size)
Sur Importer Ver unknown
Since the objtosurconverter app came out, I have no need for the sur exporter, but I have it in one of my versions of ms3d (1.7.0 or 1.7.2, not 1.8.4)

All using XP w/SP3.

Fus

adoxa’s 1.3 SUR exporter works great! It even exports boxes around the hardpoints like Vanilla ships have (does 1.1 do that?). My only grip is that the angles of the hardpoints are sometimes off. For instance, I have a rear facing turret, but the exporter creates the turret hitbox facing forward.

Is adoxa still around? He hasn’t posted for a while now. If he is, I’m hoping he can fix that small thing. Other than that, though, it works great.