Shiver-tail's Mayan-Style Temple

[Deeza]

Hi everyone, Shivertail, who's currently trying to revive the Akavir project, very kindly sent me a temple in the mayan style of architecture after I mentioned it would fit well with our plans in Black Marsh. I'll host it later, I was just wondering if anyone knows how to convert a .obj file into a .nif?

Here is a picture of the concept for this model:

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh182...temple.jpg

[llamaranger]

pretty sure I can do it in Blender, do you know if its textured etc.? and is it actually for use in BM/does it need marsh specific textures, or are we just helping akavir get off the ground again?

x

edd

[Shiver-Tail]

Well I can get the file in several formats:
.xsi
.wrl
.obj
.fbx
.dae
.kmz
.3ds
.dwg
.dxf
Just say wich one works best. (That'd be usefull for me too xD )

[EDIT: It doesn't have textures. And it's just for your mod. Different temples wil appear in our project. If you CAN help, however, that'd be great.]

[Ibsen's Ghost]

I've looked at various pyramid designs but I do like this one. It's much more Mayan than some I've seen....most of them look more like Egyptian Giza pyramids.

To answer your question. Afaik, we're able to convert .3ds and maybe .obj but don't quote me on that. The modellers should know more than I do on the matter.

Btw, hi Shiver-Tail! I believe you had some association with BM in the past...is that right? Nice to see you return anyway.

[Shiver-Tail]

Yeah, I modeled a Naga race for you, xD but it was:
1) way too high poly (7mil)
2) lost due to a crash.
Well, I'm glad to be back... =)

[Lady Nerevar]

any major modeling software is able to convert from .obj to .nif, blender is the obvious free choice. however...

1) Obj files only support one model, instead of nif files which are made up of multiple models (niTriStrips in nifskope). splinting up models is done for ease of texturing, which brings me to...
2) is this thing UV mapped? models should be UV mapped from the beginning, as mapping a fully finished model such as this one can take days.

obj files also dont support material types properly, so those will need to be set (a basic stone is probably enough). collision also needs to be created, which is either easy and doubles the polygons (duplicate the model), or harder and more efficient. normals may need to be adjusted, depending on how you want things rendered (hard or soft - most of this looks hard, which is default in most programs). the screenshot doesnt come with much information, but it does look like this thing could potentially be extremely polygon intensive, in which case it would need optimization before it can be efficiently used in game.

in other words, i think what im trying to say here, is that there is tons of work to be done after youre finished moving the last vertex.

[llamaranger]

well thankyou very much for the gift. I don't know how the other modellers feel about it, but I know I can work with .obj so thats good for me.

and as a thankyou you can expect some modelled contribution, whether it be my own models, or helping you get yours ingame, within the next few months. in fact, just drop me a PM + files for the latter and I'll sort it (assuming UV mapping/textures have been done)

x

edd

EDIT:

any major modeling software is able to convert from .obj to .nif, blender is the obvious free choice. however...

1) Obj files only support one model, instead of nif files which are made up of multiple models (niTriStrips in nifskope). splinting up models is done for ease of texturing, which brings me to...
2) is this thing UV mapped? models should be UV mapped from the beginning, as mapping a fully finished model such as this one can take days.

obj files also dont support material types properly, so those will need to be set (a basic stone is probably enough). collision also needs to be created, which is either easy and doubles the polygons (duplicate the model), or harder and more efficient. normals may need to be adjusted, depending on how you want things rendered (hard or soft - most of this looks hard, which is default in most programs). the screenshot doesnt come with much information, but it does look like this thing could potentially be extremely polygon intensive, in which case it would need optimization before it can be efficiently used in game.

in other words, I think what I'm trying to say here, is that there is tons of work to be done after you're finished moving the last vertex.

The UV mapping is the only thing that worries me there, the rest is less than an hours work.

x

[Shiver-Tail]

Triangles: 14671
Edges: 308

Yes... UV mapping is a hell in sketchup. My smaller models have UV maps but the larger ones don't simply because it's almost impossible to do in sketchup and I'm still learning the other programs... (I know the basics.)
I'll convert them to .3ds format... hope that's easier.
I'll send 'em to Ilamaranger... (I hope that you can UV map them... I don't have enough time (exams) a.t.m.)
Is there an easy way to UV map them? What's the best program for it?

[llamaranger]

.obj is better for me as i use blender, at this stage (almost complete) the most effiecient way of uv mapping is plain old elbow grease, but it gives me another thing on my plate to switch between.

I get bored working on one thing continuously, so its good to have some distractions from learning to animate/CS work

x

edd

p.s. the easiest way to do UV maps that i know of in blender, for the sort of stuff your doing, is to UV map a plane, then build everything from duplicates of that plane, giving you perfect tiles to play with.

[Shiver-Tail]

So you actually want to do that??
Wow, thanks... when we're a bit further with I'll help BM with whatever I can!
Gonna send it now...