I've been working on my game but I'm having trouble exporting my textures correctly without some error or loss of quality. Its really stressful ! I need a good application for making 3D maps, that can generate lightmaps, add external 3D objects, free or atleast cheap, etc.
Formats:
.x (Direct X)
.b3d (Blitz 3D Format)

This is ESSENTIAL to continue the game. I'm working on the tutorial missions, after which, I will make a public demonstration and contact all the ones who I said I will, and get this thing rolling seriously. Unfortunately, the game starts in a tunnel, atleast the Human Race does, and you must make your way to the surface and escape. More details later. So... help? I can also show what I'am aiming for if you want.

Which engine are you using?

The tool you want doesn't exist. I suggest you write one.

Realm Crafter engine. I essentially need a good 3D modelling application that can export to .X or .b3d with textures. I'm looking for something similiar to JED, since that is the greatest mapping tool I have EVER tested.

Lightmaps are not a very pressing matter really, since Realm Crafter comes with a tool that can generate them for you, but I don't like it since it is still VERY primitive (it looks like a clone of Jedi Knight's light system).

I know I posted a similiar topic back, and I had found a temporary solution, but now I have found that the solution was not good ewnough to devlop a commercial game.

Text edit scripts, and an engine anyone can crack open and exploit for $100 aren't viable for commercial game solutions either.

Neither is a game with crappy content.

Blender 3D.

If you REALLY want to use JED. Craft your level in JED, delete all of the adjoined surfaces, and export the whole thing as a .obj (there's a plugin at the HUB, I think).

Then open in Blender 3D. In Blender all of the normals will be incorrectly pointing outward. Luckily, blender has a command that allows you to automatically invert all of the normals so that they are all correctly pointing inwards.

Then modify and export as needed. If you need extra functionality, learn Python.

No you don't understand. Blender 3D is good, but I'm having trouble texturing. I don't know my way well enough around the blender 3D texturing options to texture it properly. There are many irregularites in my first tunnel map regarding textures, and I don't know how to fix them. I'm looking for a good application where I can texture my 3D levels like you textured in JED (or something simple) where you double clicked a surface, assigned a texture, and scaled it while making it tileable.

"Text edit scripts, and an engine anyone can crack open and exploit for $100 aren't viable for commercial game solutions either."

Scripts are server side. The engine can use thing such as "Game Guard" to stop hackers, and I can remake ALL of the security stuff when I get the source code, so your claims are foundationless.

Sounds like you need a nice cold chocolate Milkshape.

-All I can really suggest.

Sounds like you just need to learn how to work Blender better?

Blender 3D is one of those programs like JED was. When you first start out with it you think it sucks to hell in back. Once you get used to it, you wish every program was designed that way. Seriously, learn Blender 3D. It's not really that difficult and the UI has become more user friendly. I don't think you have many options...

I've been using blender for a long time, I have no real problems with it, until it comes to texturing. Its always problematic. ALWAYS.

Buy (>.>) 3DSMax. Srsly.

Well if I had the money to buy 3DSMax I wouldn't be making a game would I? I wouldn't be using Blender would I?

You are making this game...to get money?

Maybe you should have skipped meals to buy something useful, rather than that pile of messcrap they call an engine.

The plugin I mentioned supposedly has the option to export UV cords. Personally, I haven't tested it to see if it carried over to blender. Wouldn't hurt to try...

Regardless, Blender's texturing is very close to that of Force Remaps. I'm sure there's a more percise way to adjust textures on objects in Blender similar to that in JED by manipulating the UV cord values themselves, but I haven't gotten around to figuring that out yet. Personally, I'm comfortable with using the mouse and manipulating the texture verticies...

BTW, you are using the latest version of Blender, arn't you?

I've tried the plugin (archimap or something + texture baker) and it works, but that is still not the problem. The real problem is that I don't KNOW how to texture my 3D model accurately. I wish it was surface to surface instead of assigning a texture to an entire mesh.

EDIT: Yes I'am using the latest version.



Yes to be able to support myself and make Resurrections. Haven't you read my posts?

We try to avoid it.

Hay, I have a novel idea: instead of trying to support yourself by creating a game you don't know how to make because you don't goddamn listen to me or any of the other 5.9 billion people who are smarter than you are, how about - just bear with me - how about you get a job? Sneak into California and work at a McDonalds. You can make $800 a month. To make that much in a month with your MMO, 80 people would need to play it. 80 people won't. 8 people won't. 0.8 people won't. And you are never ever going to make a Matrix-based game and be legally allowed to sell it, ever. This MMO project will fail, your Matrix project will fail, and every single project you ever attempt to make that is infinitely beyond your level of skill will fail. Someone who has never played a Piano before cannot start with Bach, someone who has never flown a plane before cannot start with a space shuttle, and you can't make a damn MMORPG. But nobody ever listens to me anyway, so I'm going to sit here and I'm going to watch you fail. Again. And then I'm going to laugh. I'm going to laugh because I know exactly what it takes to make an MMORPG and I know you don't have it. You don't even know how to make Tetris. Why in the world would you ever think you'd be able to create this game? Or any other? And then you post on here asking for tools to make your game because you can't figure out how to use the tools you are given? Well no **** you can't figure it out. The tools suck and the engine you bought was a waste of money. And no, SF_GoldG_01, you are not "working on" the tutorial part, because you can't even figure out how to get started. I bet you don't even have a damn design document or concept art or ANYTHING. You don't even have any models and frankly I'd be surprised if you've even figured out how to get a debug instance of that engine running. And how the hell do you think you're going to make the engine do anything without at least the bare minimum prerequisite programming skills?

Tetris -> Pong -> Breakout -> Pac Man -> Super Mario Bros. -> Legend of Zelda -> Doom -> Quake -> CS degree and a CCNA -> 4 years industry experience or 6 years application development experience -> Assemble team of 50 people and several million dollars -> World of Warcraft.

GOD.

Epic

I don't think you know what ">.>" means.

Ah! I get ya!

How dare yee!


EDIT: Jon'C I'm not making a Matrix game for commercial purpose. I'm making a totally new and original game in no way shape or form related to Matrix or any other commercial idea. Trust me, I know what I'am doing on this one.


EDIT: No more BS, help my real problem which I posted above.

Actually, I was referring to the JED .obj export plugin. Try it and then open the model in Blender and reassign the texture files (in other words, replace the .mat files with the .bmp/.jpg/.png/.tga/.material or whatever).

As far as surface texturing goes, switch to material mode, and then change one of the windows to UV mode and the other to UV surface edit mode. press A to desellect All, and then left-click the individual surfaces. Also, you can hold Shift+Left-Click and multi-select several surfaces to texture at once. You do know that you need to have at least two window workspaces right? Anyways, you can also link groups of surfaces together to easily select all of those surfaces again (I think the command is Ctrl+L).

Maybe you should look over a character texturing tutorial. It should cover things such as how to link surfaces and also how to map them to textures.

Keep in mind that you're playing on a whole new level of game development then you were with JK. JED will only take you so far. You are going to have to sit down and learn an advanced development solution like Blender 3D, Maya, 3D Studio Max, etc. It also wouldn't hurt to learn some other advanced modeling programs such as Rhino3D, Wings3D, Cal3D, and yes, even Milkshape I'd rank up there. For terrain, you are going to want to use something like Terragen or some of the other similar creation tools (there's one out there that even autogenerates a material map and base texture map along with the required heightmap). GIMP is a good free texturing solution and Crazy Eddie's GUI is a good GUI creation solution (though with a somewhat steap learning curve).

Good luck.

PS, ignore Jon'C. At least trying is better then quiting...

Or you know.

Listen to Jon`C.

And atleast tackle the most basic of games before attempting to make an "mmo."

I'm pretty sure you missed Jon'C's point.. you're getting in over your head.

Yes I know, but I've seen other people start this way, and they do fine now a days. I follow examples that I know have worked.

...but a lot MORE people have failed from either frustration, getting burned out, or a combination of the two and eventually just give up.

Jon'C was speaking from experience.

I know this very well, thats why I work on this thing like 1-3 times a week.

Fixed.

But It STILL worked for them.

That's like saying dropping out of high school is okay just because some very rich people did it. Your logic is flawed.

No its not, since I am not loosing anything.

except time

...and the money you spent buying the engine,

It was a small inversion, that I could always make back with the engine itself.

SF_Gold, making a MMORPG usually requires a team of full-time developers spending at least a year on that one project. Doing it all by yourself is going to be quite a trick.

after 5 weeks, some things just dont change.

massassi is like those things.

<3

I'm just doing the tutorial zones by myself, then I will get a team, hand picked by me, some of them even from these very boards.

...and they will produce work and give support so you can get money.

The'l never join you![markhamil]