i finally managed to figure out how to add new player classes to SP.....but i am clueless as to how to create icons that are accurate representations of what you will actually be getting.....and i have yet to find anyone else with SP mods that have been able to do this either.....does anyone know how to create icons that are are an actual accurate visual portrayal of the torso/legs/head.....as they are in the existing player classes/races.....?
How exactly did u manage to add classes to SP customization menus? I looked at the reborn link u posted a while back, but after altering the Strings folder files, it wouldn't work :(
As far as making icons, I would get Mod View from Jk2files; it is included in the following link. It will allow u to view the model, and then u can take screenshots of it, then u can edit it with a programs like paint shop pro or photoshop. Paint shop pro has a trial version u can download. The only prerequisite u need for the icons is to make sure your icon jpgs are of the same size as those used by the game.
Link for ModView :
http://www.jk2files.com/file.info?ID=2433)
Also, I think to use ModView you need to have Jedi Outcast on your computer too :(
there are actually two ways to get the game to recognize the new player class once you have created all the necessary files....as for the one created for you in my earlier link to the reborn race, all you have to do to get the new category to show up is to add that pk3 file to the directory where all your other pk3 files are stored.....the category will show up that way, but will remain unnamed.....on the other hand, i have created a SP class based on Rosh's model and clothing, then added the new folder to the assets1.pk3 in the models/players/whatever you want to name it......in this case i chose jedi_rpm.....i then created a reference for the class in the assets0.pk3/strings/English/MENUS.str file.....as far as editing the string and having problems afterwards, i edit mine in wordpad, but you have to remember that when you save, it may try to automatically save it as a text document unless you type the correct extension yourself.....i have three pk3's at the moment, one with the reborn twin, one with the reborn new, and one with rosh.....adding these files into the dir where your other pk3's are stored will cause the categories to show up, BUT unnamed.....but the folders can be copied into the places where they belong in the existing pk3's and with a few references added in the MENUS.str file and you can name the categories.....
they all have crummy icons though, as i have yet to figure that one out.... :)
and i have photoshop 7.....no big deal there.....but what i can't figure out is how the icons in the game work....they are .png images......and when you open them all they are is a basic outline or trim of the or on the actual model itself with a transparent background, how does this cue the game to load the rest of the image in the character menu, as alot more than trim shows up there.....? anyone with any ideas or knowledge on this topic please speak up, as it is about the last thing i have yet to figure out.....and it's driving me crazy
Come On. Surely someone has to know the solution, or at least the mechanics, of this issue.....?!!
so, i'm still waiting for someone to help me with this.....surely someone knows something about solving this problem....?
Ok, I know I have posted the whole info to make a fully functional SP extra class (or race) as soon as I find where I posted it I'll edit and post a link, its really easy BTW after you have all the skin files make one icon for each .skin file with the same name.
That's what you where looking for or I'm a bit lost?
if that's the info you need just name them icon_head_a1.jpg/tga to go with head_a1.skin
the rest can be seen here
http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?threadid=108667&perpage=40&pagenumber=8)
On the first post you say "accurate" here's where I'm lost.
icon_head_a1 should have a head on it? cannot be that... if you mean icons that change with the color you choose set the values to playerchoice.txt then take a screenshot of the model piece, make it transparent in all the places you want the color change. the rest will follow its own.
Hope this help, if not a bit more of specifications or screenshots will help me know what's the problem ([the funny note]my english is bery vad :P[/the funny note])
that helps in a way.....how first of all, do they get such high resolution icons of the individual model parts.....i took a screenshot of the model i was working on in modview, but to zoom in on the head in photoshop gives a very low res image.....and yes by accurate icons i was referring to how to get the transaprent color change icons that are in the existing pk3 files......i was wondering how it is that the icons manage to show up correctly when the only image data in the png images is the part of the skin that changes color and the rest is transparent......so how does the game know to load the rest of the data in the character menu.....and if you can find the thread with the how to you mentioned ealier that would be great.....i did manage to create the class, get it into the menu as a named species, and all the skins load correctly, but i just used the same default icon(as in one that would accompany a MP character) over and over again, as i did not know how to create ones like the game uses....and i also have yet to figure out how to get the color selector to show up correctly.....i just get a white block.....so i figured the main parts out on my own.....but the extras and details would be nice to have, just to feel like i fully accomplished the task, and not just half@$$ threw something together.....
okay i figured out how to get the color choice to show up in the SP menu.....i just copied the playerchoice.txt file from the jedi_hm folder into the new folder i had created in the models/players/"folder_name_here".....i had added this folder to the existing asstes1.pk3, as this was the only way i found to have my class show up named in the species selection after editing the menus.str file from the assets0.pk3......now if anyone can help cover this icon issue.....it is easy to tell the head icons are screenshots.....though i do not know what they used to take them, as my screenshots from modview was of the whole model and by the time i zoomed in on the head in photoshop the image was very low res.....but the bigger question is the .png icons that are trim on a transparent background.....does anyone know how these are created or how they work, as alot more than the trim in the image show up in the menu? any help is appreciated.....
okay.....this is only a theory now, as i have not had the opportunity to test it, nor will i have the opportunity until the weekend when i actually have free time(sigh, work and all the other daily obligations)......but it seems that all the icons that are .png images are references to skins that are .png images.....the trim that shows up in the icons is transparent in it's relating skin and vice versa(the area where the trim should be on the skin is transparent).....so i imagine these two items are interacting somehow......but what eludes me still is how.....and not only that but the trim in the icon files, is appearing as though wrapped around a model, so i guess it would have to come from a screenshot.....but once again, i do not know how these two files are interacting with one another, nor do i know how to get modview to zoom in on one area of a model or show only one area of a model, while turning all other areas off......so if anyone knows anything about any of this, please speak up, as the lack of anyone saying anything is really starting to get annoying.....especially as this is a modeling forum, and yet most posts seem to be requests for people to make them things.....i thought this was a forum where people who had been doing these things for some time, helped those who were fairly new at it.....but maybe i was wrong......
well i have still yet to get the icon theory to work in practice.....any help would be great here people.... :)
secondly......what animation is used in the character menu....would help being able to get screenshots in the correct animation sequence.....
otherwise i'm stuck until someone who knows how these things work mangaes to post a reply with helpful info.....
You can move the player model around in Modview - I forget which keys, use the mouse buttons and SHIFT or ALT, if i recall. You can move the model 'closer' so you'll get more detail.
If you want to see only one part of the skin, make custom skins and CLEAR or NODRAW the other surfs, and load it in modview - that should work, the CLEAR / NODRAW surfs shouldn't appear, so you'll only see the 'torso' or what have you.
yeah, i finally figured out the zooming capabilities last night.....the turning certain areas off is not that big of a deal, as they can be masked out in photoshop anyway......but i still have yet to figure out the transparent color select icons issue.....so anyone who has played around with those at all and has any advice feel free to share......like i said, i know how it works in theory.....but not in implementation
and if anyone knows the animation sequence used in the character slect menu that would help as well.....the sequences are listed in modview, but from my experience they seem to be mostly in-game animations.....
Tranparency has to be supported by your paint app - Photoshop and Paintshop Pro should work.
I use Photoshop for that :)
The GIMP should work, as PNG is sort of a Linux Lover's image format.
well i attempted it last night but could not get it to work....made corresponding images, just as in the other folders......and yes i knew the image programs needed to support transparency.....that is not my issue.....i just do not know how the two images relate to one another etc.....can't seem to get it to work.....i understand how it should work.....but can't duplicate the results
okay.....here is a big question to anyone who has extensive knowledge as to the modeling system in JA.....and this is also a brief update into this idea of a tutorial.....i just realized, that even though i had pulled out the necessary files to create skins that could be used to point the program in the right direction for a torso in a new SP class, and so and so forth for the legs and head, that i was definitely not including alot of the information in the torso skins included with the game.....now i have tested this new SP class, and it has worked, even without good icons, and the game play fine with it......so i will put up atutorial as how to do what i have done so far.....but if anyone out there is ahead of me i need some explanations as to certain instructions in the skins for the SP classes.....let me give a brief example.....here is what my current torso skin file looks like, that is being recognized by the game.....
torso,models/players/jedi_rpm/torso.tga
r_arm,models/players/jedi_rpm/arms.tga
r_hand,models/players/jedi_rpm/hands.tga
r_hand_cap_r_arm_off,models/players/stormtrooper/caps.tga
r_arm_cap_r_hand_off,models/players/stormtrooper/caps.tga
r_arm_cap_torso_off,models/players/stormtrooper/caps.tga
l_arm,models/players/jedi_rpm/arms.tga
l_hand,models/players/jedi_rpm/hands.tga
l_hand_cap_l_arm_off,models/players/stormtrooper/caps.tga
l_arm_cap_l_hand_off,models/players/stormtrooper/caps.tga
l_arm_cap_torso_off,models/players/stormtrooper/caps.tga
torso_llower,models/players/jedi_rpm/flaps.tga
torso_rlower,models/players/jedi_rpm/flaps.tga
here however is what the hm torso.skin file looks like:
torso_cap_hips_off,models/players/stormtrooper/caps.tga
torso_cap_head_off,models/players/stormtrooper/caps.tga
torsoa,*off
l_arma,*off
l_arma_cap_l_hand_off,*off
l_arma_cap_torso_off,*off
r_arma,*off
r_arma_cap_r_hand_off,*off
r_arma_cap_torso_off,*off
torsoa_cap_l_arm_off,*off
torsoa_cap_r_arm_off,*off
torsob,*off
r_armb,*off
r_armb_skin,*off
r_armb_cap_r_hand_off,*off
r_armb_cap_torso_off,*off
l_armb,*off
l_armb_skin,*off
l_armb_cap_l_hand_off,*off
l_armb_cap_torso_off,*off
torsob_cap_l_arm_off,*off
torsob_cap_r_arm_off,*off
torsoc,*off
r_armc,*off
r_armc_skin,*off
r_armc_cap_r_hand_off,*off
r_armc_cap_torso_off,*off
l_armc,*off
l_armc_skin,*off
l_armc_cap_l_hand_off,*off
l_armc_cap_torso_off,*off
torsoc_cap_l_arm_off,*off
torsoc_cap_r_arm_off,*off
torsod,models/players/jedi_hm/robes01.tga
r_armd,models/players/jedi_hm/robes01_arms.tga
r_armd_cap_r_hand_off,models/players/stormtrooper/caps.tga
r_armd_cap_torso_off,models/players/stormtrooper/caps.tga
torsod_lower,models/players/jedi_hm/robes01_lower.tga
l_armd,models/players/jedi_hm/robes01_arms.tga
l_armd_cap_l_hand_off,models/players/stormtrooper/caps.tga
l_armd_cap_torso_off,models/players/stormtrooper/caps.tga
torsod_cap_l_arm_off,models/players/stormtrooper/caps.tga
torsod_cap_r_arm_off,models/players/stormtrooper/caps.tga
torsoe,*off
r_arme,*off
r_arme_cap_r_hand_off,*off
r_arme_cap_torso_off,*off
l_arme,*off
l_arme_cap_l_hand_off,*off
l_arme_cap_torso_off,*off
torsoe_cap_l_arm_off,*off
torsoe_cap_r_arm_off,*off
torsoe_lower,*off
torsof,*off
r_armf,*off
r_armf_cap_r_hand_off,*off
r_armf_cap_torso_off,*off
l_armf,*off
l_armf_cap_l_hand_off,*off
l_armf_cap_torso_off,*off
torsof_cap_l_arm_off,*off
torsof_cap_r_arm_off,*off
torsog,*off
torsog_collar,*off
torsog_cap_r_arm_off,*off
torsog_cap_l_arm_off,*off
l_armg,*off
l_armg_cap_l_hand_off,*off
l_armg_cap_torso_off,*off
l_armg_cuff,*off
r_armg,*off
r_armg_cap_r_hand_off,*off
r_armg_cap_torso_off,*off
r_armg_cuff,*off
r_handg,*off
r_handg_cap_r_arm_off,*off
l_handg,*off
l_handg_cap_l_arm_off,*off
so it is quite obvious i am giving the game the bare minimum instructions.....just enough to load a visible skin.....what i would like to know is what all the off instructions are for, how are they useful.....what is their function.....and how can i incorporate these instructions knowingly into skins for currently existing models....skinning has always been the area i primarily worked in, but to do skinning in SP for this game requires alot more knowledge than SP in previous games.....so anyone who knows the significance of these instructions please let me know.....as i am not creating new models as of right now, and am merely taking apart the default skins for existing JA models and assembling them into torso/head/lower skins, i imagine i would need to be able to know the components of the model i am using to be able to give such instructions......any help is greatly appreciated......(this probably also has a great deal to do with why my icons are showing up incorrectly)
okay, i think i have figured out some of the significance of these instructions on my own.....the model had to be made taking into account every possible outfit(skin).....so some skins had say a collar for a jacket.....so when you are loading the robes skin, you need an instruction to turn the collar off, as the robes do not have a collar.....
but anything else anyone can add to this topic would be great.....because i am coming to a SLOW understanding by myself.....and i would like to know if these instructions do anything more than what i just discussed.....
actually i figured this out long ago. i just never updated the post, as i have been sidetracked with knights of the old republic. :)
the issue was merely photoshop not handling the .png format corectly and so areas with alpa transparencies were showing up as fully transparent and i didn't know why. now i do. but thanks for the gesture.
Originally posted by Higginson
To make icons, just follow this very easy tutorial (
http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=116943) by razorace, this is how i created all my icons. its easy to understand, and is a good way to get started.
Thanks, I appreciate the positive feedback. :)