Noob 3D question
Author
Hi guys, long time reader, just registered today. I think what you have going on here is truly amazing for the indy development scene.
My question, not sure how to phrase it, is regarding modelling for MMORPGs. I've been trying to find tutorials, well, not even tutorials, just a basic explanation, of how to model for MMOs but I'm lacking the right terminology. What kind of a model would you call those that most MMOs use where each part of the character model (head/torso/arms/"pants" area/feet/hands/etc) can be hotswapped for another model, so as to portray what the character currently has equipped? So far I think I've discovered its some kind of mesh model, I'd just love to know what it's officially called so I can look into it more thoroughly.
Thanks for the help!!
-Morkai
I don't think it's "officially" called anything. I think it's just the same as conventional 3D modelling but you need to watch your origin and scale.
Author
I was just browsing through the visual arts forum, would i be correct in assuming "modular" modelling or something to that effect is what I'm talking about? Or how about submesh? I think I'm answering my own question as I keep looking, so forgive me if I've just gotten annoying. At any rate, any help is just that. Thanks :)
[Edited by - Morkai on July 27, 2005 12:48:36 PM]
[Edited by - Morkai on July 27, 2005 12:48:36 PM]
I have absolutely nothing to do with modeling [smile], but what u say ...
sounds very good to me. In games like Everquest were there are millions of character variations this is definetly the way to do it.
Quote:Original post by Morkai(head/torso/arms/"pants" area/feet/hands/etc) can be hotswapped for another model
sounds very good to me. In games like Everquest were there are millions of character variations this is definetly the way to do it.
It's quite simple. Any part of a character you want to be swappable, you simply model each part as a separate mesh. You can start with a basic body and the clothing, weapons, etc. are a separate mesh.
Quote:Original post by pinoy
It's quite simple. Any part of a character you want to be swappable, you simply model each part as a separate mesh. You can start with a basic body and the clothing, weapons, etc. are a separate mesh.
are we talking about this from the stand point of how to moddle these meshes, or how to write code to render the moduler models as a full person
ok if I were u I would make only the base Model (the body, no cloths) and have diffrent heads, legs, whatever, then make modles of cloths and equipment then put code in where u equip to "attach" each of these models to their respective body parts because other wise it is going to be VERY hard to manage all the combonation of stuff
for example
Head 1, Head 1 with Helmet 1, Head 1 with Helmet 2
Head 2, Head 2 with Helmet 1, Head 2 with Helmet 2
those would all be seperate models
and I will assume you are going to have have more then 2 heads and more then 2 helmet even if u were a macicist can decdided to do it this way it would take up MANY times more memory. If u were already going to do it this way great, if not, heed my warning
for example
Head 1, Head 1 with Helmet 1, Head 1 with Helmet 2
Head 2, Head 2 with Helmet 1, Head 2 with Helmet 2
those would all be seperate models
and I will assume you are going to have have more then 2 heads and more then 2 helmet even if u were a macicist can decdided to do it this way it would take up MANY times more memory. If u were already going to do it this way great, if not, heed my warning
I believe that the common way to do this is to create named "mounting points" for the models that are to be attached. These mounting points will generally be some kind of "dummy" object (exact terminology will depend on your modelling app, but I mean a transformation node containing no geometry) located at the place where the other model is to appear. When the models are loaded, your app should make them children of the appropriate dummy nodes.
For example, a sword would be modelled such that its origin is in the middle of the hilt, and the character (or his arm) would have a dummy called somthing like "weapon_right_hand" located in the palm of his hand. When the app loads the models, it should know that the sword belongs at a node called "weapon_right_hand", so it looks for that node within the character model and makes the sword a child of it.
For example, a sword would be modelled such that its origin is in the middle of the hilt, and the character (or his arm) would have a dummy called somthing like "weapon_right_hand" located in the palm of his hand. When the app loads the models, it should know that the sword belongs at a node called "weapon_right_hand", so it looks for that node within the character model and makes the sword a child of it.
For the cases where you can get away with simply replacing the textures on a mesh to "change their tunic or pants", just assign a separate material to each individually swappable part of the mesh(es) and then find and replace those at runtime. Pretty easy compared to swapping geometry.
Author
Hey guys, thanks for all the feedback. I wasn't so much trying to bother you for "how do I do this," as much as a better definition of the kind of modelling and asset-swapping I was trying to describe, but you've helped out in both cases. Thanks again!
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