NEW Meshes For MUA?YES Definitely!

[thetommyboy2002]

OK, heres the first screenshot of the first mesh I've managed to get into MUA.
It's exported with the old Alchemy Max exporter from the artists pack.
And YES, there are a few problems (like it being half the size it should be, and the physiquing being wonky on the hands, and the perennial RGB-BGR in the skin).
BUT!
IT!
WORKS!
It's animated in game, following the existing animations as far as I can see (he has no powers so its a bit hard to tell).
It's proof of concept.
No more searching for XML2 meshes to fit characters.
I have literally hundreds of meshes I've made for Freedom Force that I can now export (with some work, true) for MUA.
I'm SO excited.


I'll get to work fixing him, then post the results, and eventually the mesh.
This could be BIG news.

[spectre_lance151]

Awesome, great to hear.  I figured youd figure it out, im a big fan of your work with Freedom Force.

[thetommyboy2002]

Progress, as you can see.
The right size, sorted the colours,
just that pesky hand to fix.
The above montage, left to right: selection screen, jumping in game, standing in game.

I'll post more when I have it.
But to whet your appetites, think about some of the meshes I've made that you can see previews of here:
http://tommyboymeshes.freedomforceforever.com/

[BliZZ]

Holy Chocolate egg! I LOVE you. Now, just make me an Ultimate Hawkeye, and I'll have your babies...




But, seriously, great work dude. Now if Noelemahc(sp?) can straighten out the sounds, we'll have a proper Hawkeye!

(well, except for the mannequin, but let's not rain on this parade)

[thetommyboy2002]

Oh, I'll fix your mannequin, and your little dog too....
Sorry I digress.

KIDS!
Be the first on your block to download the new Hawkeye_tom_beta mesh.
http://www.momoshare.com/file.php?file=7d2e386b0b8226e2b970188b3944655a
Basically, test it out, tell me whats wrong so I can fix it.
What I already know:
The shoulders/tops of arms need fixing
The armbands need fixing.

Other meshes will follow , but for now I need sleep, I got a job interview tomorrow...

[detourne_me]

Oh no! Good luck Tommy, can't believe youre working on this and still meshing for FF too.  listen to me people,  this boy of tommy is actually a machine.

[Noelemahc]

Dude, you're now officially a hero. I now have an incentive to convert the sounds back and forth do finish it up mucho faster. *whips out grindstone*

(That doesn't mean I will stop trying to get the PSP meshes to work... or at least to get their textures out.)

[thetommyboy2002]

I'm busily working out what can be done, and how to do it.
One possible stumbling block is I dont seem to be getting any mipmaps into the meshes yet.
Now, thats a good thing from the point of view of reskinning, since you will only have to rip out, reskin and reinsert one of every map.
But it could mean performance is hit as there will be no mipmapping on zooming out.

The way I set up my Freedom Force meshes I typically have one map for the main figure, then several other maps for extras like bootcuffs, weapons, hair etc etc.
These will be included in my MUA meshes, so what we gain in losing mipmaps, we lose in gaining extra maps.

Another gain, all my meshes are mapped the same way, so you can start with a base skin and go from there, not have to start from scratch with every character.
I can also provide wiremaps for the main character and any extras.

So far I've tidied up Hawkeye a little, and made a new Mar-Vell and a Genis-Vell.

Next up, a classic 60's Mandarin, so those extra slots in the Mandarin Mod get some use.

I'll upload the marvells when I'm happy with them. ETA of a mandarin mesh, tomorrow or day after.

At some stage I'll open up the floor to mesh/skin requests, but will forewarn people that I don't much like the Xmen, Ultimates or New Avengers, so they are for me VERY low priority meshes.
Other good news, I think you may well find one or two other Freedom Force Meshers might start exporting their work for MUA.

[BliZZ]

At some stage I'll open up the floor to mesh/skin requests, but will forewarn people that I don't much like the Xmen, Ultimates or New Avengers, so they are for me VERY low priority meshes.

In regards to that, I would say that IF I was you, before I opened the floor to requests, I would finish off each of the PSP character's 4 models (which includes Ultimate versions of Hawk, Marvel, and Widow).

Having said that, I've never used Freedom Force before (shame on me, I know). However, if you can iron out all the wrinkles with this conversion (like the hand thing), I would love to help with making meshes of my own. Any insight into this would be helpful. Would I need the full game, or would the demo be sufficient? Any links to useful tutorials/programs would also be appreciated.

[thetommyboy2002]

In regards to that, I would say that IF I was you, before I opened the floor to requests, I would finish off each of the PSP character's 4 models (which includes Ultimate versions of Hawk, Marvel, and Widow).

Having said that, I've never used Freedom Force before (shame on me, I know). However, if you can iron out all the wrinkles with this conversion (like the hand thing), I would love to help with making meshes of my own. Any insight into this would be helpful. Would I need the full game, or would the demo be sufficient? Any links to useful tutorials/programs would also be appreciated.

I'm not promising to make all 16 PSP exclusive characters. To be honest, I have pretty much zero interest in the likes of Ultimate Captain Marvel, and very little interest in Ultimate Hawkeye or Ultimate Black Widow, and Zero interest in Ronin full stop. I may make them all, but they aren't who I want in the game, so they probably aren't going to be the first things I make.
But I'm pretty prolific, and pretty fast, so you probably wont have to wait too long.

As to meshing, I'll put together a "how-to" guide.
The minimum you need is:
3dstudio Max (at least V4.2, probably) and the ability to use it.
The Alchemy Artists Pack, or at least the 3dsMax exporters, though the Viewer is handy.
DDS plugins for 3dsMax
A paint prog that can cope with DDS files (ie photoshop, Paint shop pro).
An understanding of Meshing and skinning.

You don't need freedom force to mesh. The meshes I'm putting into MUA are ones I already made for use in Freedom Force, adapted by me for MUA.
You could start from scratch and make all new meshes, but for me, it's quicker and easier to convert some of the hundreds of meshes I've already made rather than reinvent the wheel.


Meanwhile, heres a sneak preview of Classic_Mandarin_tom, with his friends Captain_Mar-vell_tom, Hawkeye_tom, and Scarlet witch (an XML2 mesh, not one of mine).

[BliZZ]

As to meshing, I'll put together a "how-to" guide.
The minimum you need is:
3dstudio Max (at least V4.2, probably) and the ability to use it.
The Alchemy Artists Pack, or at least the 3dsMax exporters, though the Viewer is handy.
DDS plugins for 3dsMax
A paint prog that can cope with DDS files (ie photoshop, Paint shop pro).
An understanding of Meshing and skinning.

Would MilkShape work? Or does it not have the proper exportation tools? (Sadly, I don't have 3dsMax, although I guess it wouldn't be too hard to get )

[thetommyboy2002]

Would MilkShape work? Or does it not have the proper exportation tools? (Sadly, I don't have 3dsMax, although I guess it wouldn't be too hard to get )

I don't recall an Alchemy Exporter plugin being in the Alchemy Artists Pack, (but I wasn't looking for one), if there isn't an exporter plugin, you can't export, so that's that.

[idrinkdrpepper]

The Hawkeye skin looks really nice. It's a better alternative to a Wolverine re-paint.  I think I'm going to stay away from meshing since I know nothing about it and don't have 3d studio max.  But this is great that you can use all of your FF meshes/skins.

There used to be an XML2 modder named Tetragene who made a bunch of Dazzler skins and a Shadowcat skin.  I'm pretty sure he was also a FF mesher and he'd probably be interested in something like this.

[BliZZ]

So far I've tidied up Hawkeye a little, and made a new Mar-Vell and a Genis-Vell.

I've just thought of a way for you to kill two birds with one stone. For some reason, the PSP modellers decided that they wanted to make two Captain Marvel skins which were nearly identical. If you felt like like it, some small skin edits could turn Genis-Vell into a Genis (basically change the red to white).
Genis-Vell ->  http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v149/Lanowar/Ultimate%20Alliance/Genis.jpg
Genis ->  http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v149/Lanowar/Ultimate%20Alliance/Genis2.jpg

[decoyboy]

is it just me or does that hawkeye mesh of tommyboy's look way BETTER than some of the actual in-game skins... ;D  ::thumbs up::