HOWTO: Make A New Nexuiz Playermodel.

[Aldius]

First install the nexuiz-compatible SMD export script into blender. Just copy nex_smd_mesh_export.py and import_static_smd.py into your blender/scripts directory.

Thank you so much for yur whole explanation and yur .zip file, I almost a model.....
But I'm stuck
Sorry but I just [size=0][size=18]can't find blender/scrip[/size]ts folder[/size] for the life of me.
I have blender 2.47 i think and I have Mac OS X tiger, and am trying to character model.

I have read every thread on blender exporting/importing for nexuiz and they all really just talk about some old lost broken script or something for the .smd file and nothing has an actual link before I found your post.
It took me forever to get this far but I have no clue what to try now.
I think there might be a need for a clearer path for getting blender into Nexuiz.

[divVerent]

There will never be one if modelers don't help us making one.

http://emptyset.endoftheinternet.org/~r ... _export.py

is my version of the HL2 SMD export script, and it should work for Nexuiz. However, you need zmodel installed in your PATH (on OS X, you have to compile zmodel and put it in /usr/local/bin).

1. Download and install Xcode (somewhere on the Apple site)
2. Get zmodel.c and makefile from http://svn.icculus.org/twilight/trunk/zmodel/, and run "make" in that directory (using Terminal.app).
3. Do "sudo mv zmodel /usr/local/bin/"
4. (enter password)

Then move hl2_smd_mesh_export.py to whereever OS X Blender expects its scripts in.

For using that script, you have to know:

- The script exports a SINGLE mesh with an attached armature. If you have multiple meshes, JOIN (J key) them first. You can't have multiple armatures.
- The script creates the .zym file and a directory named like your model with SMD files. The .zym file can be used as Nexuiz player model. In case you need to edit something in the control file, the .txt file is included too, and you can run zmodel on it (from Terminal.app, again).
- The actions for the model animations have to be named like follows (without the stuff in the parentheses):
0-die1-20n (0.5 seconds)
1-die2-20n (0.5 seconds)
2-draw-20n (0.35 seconds)
3-duck-20n (any duration, but should be instant)
4-duckwalk-20 (any duration)
5-duckjump-20 (any duration, but should be instant)
6-duckidle-20 (any duration)
7-idle-20 (any duration)
8-jump-20n (any duration, but should be instant)
9-pain1-20n (2 seconds)
10-pain2-20n (2 seconds)
11-shoot-20n (0.2 second recommended, but cut off when shooting anim is over)
12-taunt-20n (unused by the code, 1 second allocated)
13-run-20 (any duration)
14-runbackwards-20 (any duration)
15-strafeleft-20 (any duration)
16-straferight-20 (any duration)
17-dead1-20 (must be identical to the last frame of die1)
18-dead2-20 (must be identical to the last frame of die2)
19-forwardright-20 (any duration)
20-forwardleft-20 (any duration)
21-backright-20 (any duration)
22-backleft-20 (any duration)

That is because the export script sorts them by the number in front, and the number at the end is the frame rate (you may change that to your preferred frame rate). Currently, the frame rate set globally in blender is ignored (because I have no idea how to get that in the export script API). The "n" means "not looped".

[MirceaKitsune]

Hello, I have a question regarding something about this and Blender if I may ask; I opened the default pyria model in Blender and want to edit it, but whenever I attempt to enter Edit Mode to edit the vertexes only the character changes position and I want to edit it over the default T-pose. How do I fix that? I do know a few basics about the modeling and since that tutorial mentioned in the first post is big I don't know where in it to go for this info or if I find the answer in it so I thought to ask here instead. This is a screenshot of my problem;



The first shot to the left is in Object Mode. The character is in the pose I want... the "T pose". But I want to enter Edit Mode to edit the verticles, the character switches to the walking pos and I want it to keep the T pose in Edit Mode as well. Any way to fix that in Blender? Thanks and sorry if that was a newbish question

[ihsan]

in the modifier stak there is an "apply modifier in editmode" button (it looks like the editmode screen). Make sure it is on for the armature ant you can pose and edit without any confusion.

[MirceaKitsune]

Thank you, ihsan. I got further with my model today but I still need help with one more thing; It seems that I managed to bust a hole in my model by mistake, and now my character model is missing a surface between 3 vertexes and can be seen into that way. How do you select 3 or move vertexes and fill a surface between them in case something happened and a surface between vertexes got deleted? Also will the texture map correctly on that face again once it's redone?

[ihsan]

To answer your question just select 3 or more vertices and press the f key. You will need to assign UV coordinates for texturing and may have to flip the normal.

in general pressing the space bar brings up context menus with most of the stuff you'd need to do. You should try that before posting.

[shaggy]

So what's happened to all these models? I've seen many people post pics of a model they're working on - but I haven't seen a finished product. Nexuiz really needs some new models/modellers, so please continue to work on these...

[Alien]

The same thing which has happened with all previous models (players or weapons). Supposedly lying somewhere unfinished or unreleased.

[glennxserge]

So I have been lurking on the Nexuiz scene for only a couple of weeks now, but I have been noodling around with the idea of adding playermodels, but I need some clarification on the SMD export step. Particularly, bones seem to be troublesome. I am using Maya 7.0 and the Valve SMD plugin (trying Prall too). I have a working playermodel in nexuiz, but right now it is just moving around in all it's t-pose glory since I can't get bones to export properly. So I guess my questions are as follows.

Given the two Maya exporters, Prall or Valve, which would be better to use? I haven't had luck with either regarding bones/weighting.

Does Nexuiz use a standardized bone naming convention or do I have some room there?

Should I use Rigid binding on my skeleton or Smooth Bind with Max influences set to 1 (essentially 100% weighting per vertex)? I have tried both with no luck.

I noticed that when I am exporting my mesh the weighting isn't getting caught. My geometry is all assigned as a child to the mesh and not the bones. So all the triangles in the geometry block of the SMD are assigned the handle of the mesh instead of their corresponding bones.

I tried importing some SMDs from the actual playermodel's and haven't been able to reproduce the proper skinning out of Maya, even with the exact model and mesh.

This probably doesn't completely capture the essence of my problem, but if anyone has had more success (or even failures as well) I would be grateful for some input on exporting for SMD.

[ihsan]

Yes to Max influences set to 1

As you probably know it's zmodel which combines the SMD mesh files with a standardised list of SMD animation files to make the nexuiz ZYM file. If your character is constantly in the T pose it probably means that the bones in the animation SMDs and mesh SMD don't match (so all polys are joined to the first bone). The good thing about SMD files is they are text so you can pop it into notepad, gedit or vi and see what is going on.

I use blender myself so i can't give you maya-specific help.