[BruceJKDLee]

I've been trying to add a tank to the China Tank general, and just get some general info on how to add the different units. Later I'm looking to add a new faction, but I gotta start with basics. I've added a plane to the AFG, which worked good, but tanks seem to be a little different. Here's my question...

I'm adding the tank "Type98 Main battle tank". I've basically copied pasted the battlemaster "object" but changed the name to "Object Tank_ChinaType98MBT". I added:

";9 = Tank_Command_ConstructChinaType98MBT" under the commandset.

However every time I load up the game, I get a crash concerning the commandset. I have a large hunch that it has something to do with my model I tried exporting. I've never exported a tank before and it's different then a plane.

Could somebody tell me how to properly export a tank? After I get the model in the game with no crashes, I should be able to carry on with no problems changing what I want. Thanks for the advice.

[sc4freak]

A crash concerning the commandset means that you did something wrong in the commandset - and a model is rarely the source of crashes (though the code for the model can be).

Did you add that under the "CommandSet = " in the tank object, or commandset.ini? If you added it into the tank's object code, you need to a) uncomment it, b) remove the "9 = " and finally c) make sure it's a commandset and not a commandbutton.

If you added that as a commandbutton under the warfactory's commandset, uncomment it and make sure that the commandbutton exists and is valid.

[BruceJKDLee]

Cheers.

My problem was not changing enough things. The CommandSet was showing up wrong because there were errors in the Object, and in the CommandButton, so it couldn't read it properly. It's in the game now, and now it's just a matter of finding a skin, and tweaking damage, adding effects etc.

Thanks again.

[BruceJKDLee]

Nevermind my last post because it doesn't work correctly. Let me explain.

There are no more errors when loading the game

Everything looked ok because I forgot to change the Model under TankGeneral. I did that, and now I get the muzzle FX constantly at the tip of my barrel. IE, theres this little black square with fire on it at the end of the barrel. It also does not display the texture I put on it (despite it being in the texture folder)

Here's my problem with exporting. When you import the NVBtMstrNG, it comes with the bones and the "Housecolor" I believe it's called (the red squares on the model).. When I import my model, it always asks which skeleton to import, and the Housecolours are not red they are grey.I just imported the Battlemaster, deleted everything but the SKL, then exported that to the correct folder. I then got my main model again and exported that using the option "export using existing skeleton". Loaded up my model again, and it still asks for the SKL.

I'm not changing any animations or anything. I just want the Battlemaster to appear in the game under different name, tooltips, (which work fine), textures etc.

Any help would be great.

[Rene]

For the muzzle flash you must set the blend mode of the material to 'Add'.

The housecolor are simply the parts of the model that get blended with the color the player chooses ingame.

You shouldn't export the battlemaster with external skeleton but just as hierarchal model. This will export the skeleton and the geometry into the same file.

Edit:
The reason the housecolor shows up red in the w3d viewer is because the material was given an ambient and diffuse color of #FF0000.

[BruceJKDLee]

Originally Posted by Rene";p=&quot

For the muzzle flash you must set the blend mode of the material to 'Add'.

The housecolor are simply the parts of the model that get blended with the color the player chooses ingame.

You shouldn't export the battlemaster with external skeleton but just as hierarchal model. This will export the skeleton and the geometry into the same file.

Edit:
The reason the housecolor shows up red in the w3d viewer is because the material was given an ambient and diffuse color of #FF0000.

What do you mean set the blend mode of the material to "add"? I don't think I've ever done that lol.

I exported just the model, and now it shows up in game with my texture, and the black block is gone.....except when it fires now. When the tank fires, I get no explosion, just that same black block with the fire on it. I'm gonna try and fix it, but some advice would help.

Thanks for the tips. Cheers.

[Rene]

I take it you used an import script to get the tankl to renx. Well the w3d plugin does not support max script so it is not possible to set the materials (nor anythng else) during import. So you have to do it youself.

Open the material editor and from there open the material that is used for the muzzle flash. Go to pass 1 and then to shader. There is a pulldown there to set the blend mode.

[BruceJKDLee]

Found what you were talking about. Thanks.

But now there's a white flash instead of a black one? Still no flash, just a quick white block. Also, sometimes when it's attacking, the sound comes out, the white flash happens but no damage occurs to what I'm attacking.

Still trying to figure that one out lol.

[Dibelius]

did u really use the "Add" shader in the materials? it should work.

Additional info: when u play on night maps you may ask yourself why the lights and so on are brighter than the rest. To have this effect choose a bright color in the material editor (vertex material) for "Emessive" (e.g. white). For MuzzleFlashs it can also be used so that you can see it better at night.

[BruceJKDLee]

^ I did. I've never done it before, but I thnk it worked. Here's what I'll do. Here's a list of the problems I'm having with my tank. Mabye there's something in there you guys can see that I can't. I haven't been able to get past this problem.

Problems:

When I open up NVBtMstr (the origional battlemaster model) in RENX, it comes with the bones and everything. When I open up my model (ChinaType98MBT) It has NO bones . Thus, when I play the game the bullets/tank shells fire from what looks like the centre of the tank. Here is the code of the object.... (just copy pasted the battlemaster code)

Draw = W3DTankDraw ModuleTag_01
OkToChangeModelColor = Yes
DefaultConditionState
Model = ChinaType98MBT
Turret = Turret01
WeaponFireFXBone = PRIMARY Muzzle
WeaponRecoilBone = PRIMARY Barrel
WeaponMuzzleFlash = PRIMARY MuzzleFX
WeaponLaunchBone = PRIMARY Muzzle
End

This does not work with my model. It fires, but not from the barrel. Now, when the tank gets really damaged.....

ConditionState = REALLYDAMAGED
Model = NVBtMstr_D
" "
Everything looks normal, and works properly. This is because NVBtMstr_D is the origional model with bones etc. (my best guess). How do I get the bones to appear? I tried exporting the bones seperately, then exported my model using the "export using existing skeleton" option. That didn't do anything.

Problem:
I used to have the muzzleFX appear constantly as a black block with fire on it. So what I did was....

Import the origional Battlemaster model. Go to the material navagator, drag and drop my textures onto the model(chasis,turret,barrel). Save as GMAX file.

Then find the muzzleFX in the navagator (f {Standard} {MUZZLEFX01}). Clicked that (which looked like it did nothing). Then I go to Pass1, and click the "shaders" tab. Under the blend mode pulldown, I select "Add"
(Do I do something from here?) Closed the program and save the GMAX file again. Export the file (W3D),as a Hierarchial model with Smoothe Vertex Normals and Optomize Collision Detection. Click ok. Run the game, and I get a black or white block instead of a muzzle effect. What am I missing lol.

P.S - I'm a noob at this, so the material editor is still pretty foreign to me.

I hope you guys can help. Cheers.