Tutorial Finished!

[TonyG]

I might be wrong here but I don't think HW2 ship files are in .big format.....

Anyway you can find meshes for all HW2 ships in VRML format here www.silentthunder.de/SITH/units.php

Deep Exploration can handle VRML and convert to .cob easily for Metasequoia to process.

Fructose has commented that the meshes are not as easy to work with as extracted game files. I agree. But they are an easily available source but it just means getting a workable model via Meta and Pepa is a bit harder thats all.

[fructose]

Yeah, getting the models out of HW2 is much more complicated. I just get them off the web site and then extrace the textures from the gaem so I can get the colors on them. I'll make a tutorial on that, but's a bit more difficult than HW models.

EDIT: You know what, after fiddling with Meta and 3D Explorer, I give up. It's possible to import more parts into Meta using Insert in the File menu, but they aren't scaled correctly. It's a huge pain. You can open the .obj files in Meta, but I can't get the textures to stick. If you can tell me how to do that, I'll be able to make a tutorial, but for now I am not going to do it.

EDIT 2: D'oh! I figured it out. Tutorial will be coming out this week some time.

[SPEAKERtoANIMALS]

Hey Fruc, Tony,
Thanks for the help and info!
I don't have HW, Just HW2 and am learning to play and navi thru it! Fruc, Am looking forward to more tutorials! I have joined the RDN and several other HW/HW2, etc,.. sites and downloaded all kinds of prog's and files now I have to learn how to use this stuff
And I'm an old CAT learning new tricks.

I try to think, before I scream and leap like my fellow Kzinti.................

[TonyG]

Speaker

Remember on the Stats website in the link you get all (well nearly all) the HW2 ships. Also if you go to the link in the upper right hand of the main stats page you can down load a huge .rar file containing all the ships from Cataclysm. Most of the ships from HW are here.

However, as Fructose has indicated, the 3D models in the stats site are OK but they have default textures....in other words they are grey!

Now don't get me wrong, I don't mind grey ships. But you just can't compare say Ent Es Qwarr Jet or Fructose's Kushan destroyers and frigs in their full colours to a default grey.

[fructose]

Ok, here's a quick synopsis of what you need to do to get a HW2 model out. Get the Sigma Exractor to open the Homeworld2.big, and if you have the room, just extract the whole thing. Other wise, just extract the ships folder and the subsystems folder.

Now, get Spooky's HOD tool and open the .hod of the ship you want. Check Extract Objects, Extract Textures, and Reverse UV, and then click on Extract. Then go to the textures tab and check the Save Current Texture As and make sure it's a bmp. Then go through and click on all the textures, or at least all the ones ending [1] and [2].

Now, go into Deep Exploration and open your model. If your first thought is "WTF?!? All the textures are wrong!" don't worry, you just change the materials to what they should be. This usually happens on bigger ships. Just right click on the object name in Deep Explorer and go to the Object Properties and then the Materials tab. Click on the material and then browse to the right texture. You might have to go with Trial and Error, but you'll figure it out sooner or later. Onc eyou get the textures right, save the file once you finish fixing the textures. Also, there is always more than one part to a model, so fix all the textures on each.

If the textures are correct (or after you fix them), then you just need to merge all the part of the model. Click on one of the models and then go to File -> Merge file and open up the next model. Do this until you have all the parts. Then save is as a .cob in the same folder and you are at the part in my tutorial where you have to move parts around.

Changing colors is a little more difficult, so check out Ent-E's tutorial here and you'll get the down and dirty on how to do it. I'll make a nice little tutorial this week on how to do it, so stay tuned.

Oh, real quick subsystems. Do the .hod thing, and you can merge these files too, but you need to move all the objects you want to merge together into one folder. If you don't, it won't find the textures.

[Eris Sjet]

SPEAKERtoANIMALS said:

Why won't the .BIG extractor work for HW2 BIG files?
anyway to make this happen?
Please be kind I'm new at this!!!! ;D ;D

i like what tony gave you but in direct answer to your question there is a special .big extractor floating around the relic forums and it is meant to extract HW2 files.

[JimR]

Yeah got it, I'm very new at this stuff and am having one helluva time trying to figure it out!
Thanks to all for your help and input!

OH YEAH!!! THANKS NERATH for the password help!
now i gotta get rid of SPEAKER??? OR JimR???
sorry for any confusion, just wanted to legally join in instead of lurking.................

[Nerath]

Finally! *sigh* Wow, so many emails! Welcome to the fora, Jim, and have a good time; you certainly worked hard enough to get in ;D

[fructose]

Ok, started the HW2 tutorial. Get the sneak previews here.

[JimR]

Thanks Fruc, Sjet AND NERATH!!!!!

Fruc, DUDE! you rock! Can't wait to see more!

[fructose]

Thanks. I'm always glad to help. Step one to the HW2 process is posted now.

[fructose]

Step two is up. Go me! ;D

[TonyG]

Fruc what with your other..ahem!..."duties" I don't know how you find the time. But I'm glad you do!

Keep it up...

[fructose]

What can I say? I love this stuff. Step 3 for Photoshop is up. Paint Shop Pro will be up tomorrow probably.

[fructose]

Ok, step 3a is done, Paint Shop Pro. Happy coloring!