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  • Best way to edit .mdl files?

    So, I want to attempt to replace (some) of the quake mdl files with my own. I tried using qME, but it kinda sucks. Anyone know any other methods?

  • #2
    Possibly a better place to ask ...

    Func_Msgboard: Modelling Help\Screenshots\Requests
    Quakeone.com - Being exactly one-half good and one-half evil has advantages. When a portal opens to the antimatter universe, my opposite is just me with a goatee.

    So while you guys all have to fight your anti-matter counterparts, me and my evil twin will be drinking a beer laughing at you guys ...

    Comment


    • #3
      I understand people often hate the following answer because of the learning curve, but....

      Blender with the .mdl exporter. Free, intuitive, virtually bug free and will do absolutely everything you need it to. Just have to spend a few days learning it, but you'll never look back.

      Keep qME and wally handy, though. I find its easier to texture and manage animation groups with those programs. But the actual modeling and animating is best done in blender.

      What models are you looking to replace/create?
      'Replacement Player Models' Project

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Dutch View Post
        I understand people often hate the following answer because of the learning curve, but....

        Blender with the .mdl exporter. Free, intuitive, virtually bug free and will do absolutely everything you need it to. Just have to spend a few days learning it, but you'll never look back.

        Keep qME and wally handy, though. I find its easier to texture and manage animation groups with those programs. But the actual modeling and animating is best done in blender.

        What models are you looking to replace/create?
        Pretyy much everything. I know, it sounds insane, but I am trying to replace all of quakes assets with ones that would allow me and others to play quake (I'm calling it FreeDM) without being accused of piracy. Plus, I wanted to give quake a more high contrast theme to it, so that players and items are easier to distinguish. I think I can't do it though, it is a serious project for a one man job. Theoretically, I could replace the models, textures, and sounds, and I could freely distribute quake. I may be wrong though. And please, for the love of god, tell me if I shouldn't do this.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Dutch View Post
          I understand people often hate the following answer because of the learning curve, but....

          Blender with the .mdl exporter. Free, intuitive, virtually bug free and will do absolutely everything you need it to. Just have to spend a few days learning it, but you'll never look back.

          Keep qME and wally handy, though. I find its easier to texture and manage animation groups with those programs. But the actual modeling and animating is best done in blender.

          What models are you looking to replace/create?
          Also, I'm cool with Blender. I tried installing the script, but it didn't work, oddly enough. I hope it's not because I'm on linux.

          Comment


          • #6
            Not entirely sure, but Linux may be your hang up for the exporter. I could be wrong though.

            As far as your project...it's very ambitious, but totally do-able. BUT keep in mind that it will take a long time to properly do it. It took me almost 2 months to re-make ranger (see my Quake Guy 2016 thread if you haven't already). Granted, there was a lot of learning involved, and I could probably do it again in a matter of a weeks now. Also consider that he's probably the most difficult model because of the texture...the shirt and pants colors have to match perfectly.

            But the point is, it takes awhile to properly do one animated model. Sure, you could probably knock out the static models quick enough. But there are a lot of monsters.

            Also, simply re-modeling quake does not make it 'not quake'. You will be making derivative works if your models are true re-creations and not something entirely new. The textures in the levels are also proprietary. They were not released under GPL. You would have to re-texture the whole game.

            By the time you got done with a legal free quake, it wouldn't be quake at all. They are still selling it for revenue, so there really is no way to have a free quake outside of the shareware version, which I believe will support DM games with your buddies (it includes all the assets for multiplayer).

            If you did re-make it, would you hear from a legal time? Its hard to say. But I wouldn't chance it.
            'Replacement Player Models' Project

            Comment


            • #7
              Essentially, I'm trying what warsow (look that up if you don't know, its awesome) did. It changed up everything in quake 3 to release it as a free work. Of course, I'm pretty sure they made their own code though. I'm also going for a minimalistic modern look to the models. It will be a lot easier than detailed models, but redoing things like quake-guy (ranger?) will be much more difficult.

              In the final product, there will be no code, graphics, or models relating to the monsters. Singleplayer will be replaced with a couple training maps as well. I'm basically just making quake deathmatch, and that's it, nothing else. You could argue that some multiplayer mods that use the monster assets won't be able to be used, but I say suck it up to that.

              Also keep in mind that the quakec code is gpl as well, there have been many community revisions to it, and nobody has sued over that yet. That means I can use the quakec code freely. All I have to do is not mess with the code headers that state id owns the code under gpl, and I'll be fine.

              Another thing may be my age. I am very young to get into quake. It is a fact that older people don't learn things as easily, while younger ones catch on very fast. Sorry to assume that against you, but pretty much everyone on this forum is over 20. If there are any modellers out there that know this stuff, that would be great to pass onto me.

              My final statement is this: If I can't use what's there, do it myself. I'm not at the point to do that yet, but I could just code the quakec from scratch using the original code as a quick reference to how things work.

              I honestly think I can't do this in a timely manner, but I can try. I would like to make this a community project too, but this place isn't the best for collaboration. We could still do it, but we would need some serious coordination. If anyone is really interested, then please contact me.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by MadGypsy
                @It is a fact that older people don't learn things as easily

                Speak for your own future, bro. That is an incredibly naive statement and not a fact at all.
                It's a scientifically and socially demonstrable fact that as people age they learn less.

                Around 25, curiosity begins to yield to focus on perceived relevance.

                Someone may apply what they know better, but they become less creative and less interested in potentially wasteful "other ways" of doing things.
                Quakeone.com - Being exactly one-half good and one-half evil has advantages. When a portal opens to the antimatter universe, my opposite is just me with a goatee.

                So while you guys all have to fight your anti-matter counterparts, me and my evil twin will be drinking a beer laughing at you guys ...

                Comment


                • #9
                  @what you said...

                  Well, I must be anything but a scientific or social fact cause the complete opposite of what you said is true for me and if you still know me in a decade you will realize that it never ever ends. I can't even perceive a world where I let the dust settle on my education and follow some path of complacency. I will say that my friends are just like me in that regard. My dad was 65 when he died, he was learning pure C and had no programming skills at all to fall back on. IE, it wasn't a "percieved relevance".

                  @Around 25, curiosity begins to yield

                  pbbbbt at 25 I was finally mature and knowledgeable enough to start being curious. Sure. I was hella curious before then but not to any meaningful end. 2 weeks ago I was building vortex tubes in my backyard at an attempt to create a shitty air conditioner or an amazing fan (take your pick). 2 weeks and 1 day ago I didn't know what a vortex tube is. The curiosity will never end. Shit, 25 is right about the time I decided to be a programmer. 16 years and about 20 languages later...

                  4 days ago I was building an engine on an API. Now I'm building the API (it's coming along sweet). I'm the complete opposite of your social/scientific fact. Actually, many of the things you tell me regard that you can't accept that I'm not a s/s fact. That's a very broad statement but, you know what I'm expressing.
                  Last edited by MadGypsy; 09-01-2016, 05:11 PM.
                  http://www.nextgenquake.com

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by MadGypsy View Post
                    I can't even perceive a world where I let the dust settle on my education
                    Interest in learning and the speed of learning are different things.

                    Someone at 65 may become interested in programming --- your example --- but they aren't going to go all Linus Torvalds and make Linux by doing so.
                    Quakeone.com - Being exactly one-half good and one-half evil has advantages. When a portal opens to the antimatter universe, my opposite is just me with a goatee.

                    So while you guys all have to fight your anti-matter counterparts, me and my evil twin will be drinking a beer laughing at you guys ...

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Not much point in belaboring the above, but in neuroscience they have a great deal of interest in trying to figure out how the brain works, why it begins to slow, etc.

                      BBC NEWS | Health | 'Brain decline' begins at age 27
                      Cognitive decline begins in late 20s, study suggests
                      PLOS ONE: Over the Hill at 24: Persistent Age-Related Cognitive-Motor Decline in Reaction Times in an Ecologically Valid Video Game Task Begins in Early Adulthood

                      What was disturbing back at the time -- is it was commonly thought that such a decline begins in the 50s or 60s

                      --- but research was repeatedly showing the mid-20s is when.

                      Not really what anyone wanted as the answer.
                      Quakeone.com - Being exactly one-half good and one-half evil has advantages. When a portal opens to the antimatter universe, my opposite is just me with a goatee.

                      So while you guys all have to fight your anti-matter counterparts, me and my evil twin will be drinking a beer laughing at you guys ...

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Well that's just swell. I'm in my mid 20s. Lol.

                        Back at SpecialBomb:

                        Not trying at all to discourage you. I think this project of yours is great. I'm just saying there is a fuzzy gray area between fan-based creations that are 'technically' not legal (my quake guy model comes to mind, along with some mods I have played that use sound effects straight from q2 and q3) and creations that are absolutely not legal.

                        Id software is pretty chill. This is evident by the fact that countless quake projects have been using their own proprietary content, or spin-offs of it, without them intervening. But I have a very strong feeling that a free quake replacement that looks and acts like quake would definitely get their attention.They are still making money on it, after all.

                        I'm doing some remodels for my project as well, but I'm going to make sure there's enough original content in it so that it cant run without the original quake files.

                        BTW, quake guy wasn't ranger until q3, that's why I usually stick with the old school name lol.
                        'Replacement Player Models' Project

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by SpecialBomb View Post
                          I honestly think I can't do this in a timely manner, but I can try. I would like to make this a community project too, but this place isn't the best for collaboration. We could still do it, but we would need some serious coordination. If anyone is really interested, then please contact me.
                          Here's the deal.

                          If you want to do a project like that, you need 10 friends as excited as you. You might be able to get away with just 3 friends.

                          Alone? It isn't going to happen.

                          What's funny is today I code in ways that doesn't even logically make sense, but go back to 2006 and I was useless. I could do javascript if I had docs open in a web browser.

                          And it didn't matter. I always had 15-20 friends, and usually 5 or 6 of them could code. And I was great at talking people into stuff. I talked people into projects left and right

                          Short version:
                          1) If you have no experience, have lots of friends with experience.
                          2) If you have no experience and no friends with experience ...

                          If #2 describes the situation ...



                          I'm just accurately providing perspective from a neutral third person point of view.

                          Most success projects of anything have like 5-15 people.

                          How many did people did Warsow have? I'd bet it had like at least 30 people contributing.

                          Read the Warsow credits ... see how many they had. I bet it was a lot.
                          Quakeone.com - Being exactly one-half good and one-half evil has advantages. When a portal opens to the antimatter universe, my opposite is just me with a goatee.

                          So while you guys all have to fight your anti-matter counterparts, me and my evil twin will be drinking a beer laughing at you guys ...

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            @I code in ways that doesn't even logically make sense.

                            How does that work out? Code is logic. You logic illogically? So like...

                            var a:Int;

                            do
                            {
                            a = Std.parseInt( (11).toString() ); //in case real 11 ever equaled something else that can't penetrate the parse level
                            } while ( cast (ManualConstants.NUMBER_ZERO, Bool) ); //make sure false is absolutely available.. o.0

                            if (a == Std.parseInt( (11).toString() ) ) a = 11; //just in case it already did and use real 11 to be sure...

                            ?

                            I mean, It works and all but so does,

                            a=11;

                            this is funny.

                            ..in ManualConstants

                            public static inline var NUMBER_ZERO = 1 - 1;
                            public static inline var NUMBER_ONE = 1;
                            public static inline var NUMBER_TWO = 1 + 1;
                            public static inline var NUMBER_THREE = 1 + 1 + 1;
                            ...
                            public static inline var PI = 1 + 1 + 1 + .14159265359;
                            Last edited by MadGypsy; 09-02-2016, 06:01 PM.
                            http://www.nextgenquake.com

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              typedef enum{true, false, file_not_found} illogicalboolean_t;
                              where true is false, false is true, and file_not_found is obviously not even a boolean.
                              Some Game Thing

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