Retrovirus > General Discussions > Emneoplysninger
Ozamataz Buckshank 28. maj 2013 kl. 10:45am
Retrovirus Mod Tools Video Series!
In honor of our tools being released soon here is a video series that Erik Saulietis created in order to help get the basics of working in the Retrovirus Editor.

We will be releasing a new video everyday this week, so subscribe to our Youtube page for instant updates or keep an eye out on this space!
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Pepe_DeJefe 12. jun 2013 kl. 1:22am 

Is there a way to create a spline sheet (dunno if that's the right term)? I mean like the spline supercell demonstrated, but with manipulation nodes in two axis instead of one (a grid instead of a line).
ColdEquation  [udvikler] 12. jun 2013 kl. 1:09pm 
We only have the one spline axis, but you can also take direct manual control over the placement of any grid node, arranging the tiles however you'd like as an offset of where they would naturally fall.
Pepe_DeJefe 12. jun 2013 kl. 3:54pm 
Thanks for the reply. I'd figured out how to do that, but I was looking/hoping for a way to do a topography with rolling curves instead of stepped elevations.

There's instructions on the wiki for importing meshes from other modeling programs (though just FYI the vast majoraty your demographic are going to be using something like Blender, Wings, or Sketchup, not Maya*). Would there be a way to import or convert an imported mesh as a tilable surface?

* EDIT: This is totally unfair of me in this case, as the wiki is brand new and Maya is likely simply what the game assets were built with, and thus the only thing the dev who wrote the turorial actually knows the specifics of. But it is something of an endemic problem that tutorials written by professional devs/artists for hobbiests/modders often assume that their audience will be using pro-level software like 3DSMax, ZBrush, Maya, etc. Some will be using those tools, but they're going to be the odd outlier cases, not the mainstream majority.
Sidst redigeret af Pepe_DeJefe; 12. jun 2013 kl. 6:01pm
ColdEquation  [udvikler] 14. jun 2013 kl. 12:38am 
Indeed, most of the wiki was written from the perspective of using Maya and the FBX format, but the engine also supports Collada DAE models, which should be an available export format from any modeling software.
Pepe_DeJefe 15. jun 2013 kl. 7:05pm 
Collada DAE is Sketchup's native/default format, so that's super cool.

Is there a way to import a mesh or convert an imported mesh as a tileable surface?
Sidst redigeret af Pepe_DeJefe; 15. jun 2013 kl. 7:05pm
CadenzaDev01  [udvikler] 15. jun 2013 kl. 10:02pm 
It is possible to import a new mesh and use it as a tileable prop that can be painted on a surface. Let me know if you need help importing a mesh. This should get you going.

Wiki Prop Editor []
Pepe_DeJefe 15. jun 2013 kl. 10:39pm 
Thanks, but I was actually asking if there's a way to convert an imported mesh into a surface to which tiles can be applied. You know: as an alternative to that spline grid thing I was after, since there isn't one in the editor.
ColdEquation  [udvikler] 16. jun 2013 kl. 2:25am 
We considered that feature, but never ran into a direct need in the game. The tiles are 2m by 2m, so the tiled surface is pretty course and most of the detail comes from the models themselves. I recommend approximating the rough architecture with the carving tools, as they can take you pretty far. It's also entirely possible that you have something in mind that goes beyond what was used in Retrovirus, in which case we'd like to hear about it to see if simple changes to the editor could better support the community's imagination.
Pepe_DeJefe 16. jun 2013 kl. 4:25am 
Thank you. The ideas I had..hmm, trying to think of how I could describe it well enough in text.

You say the tiles are 2m square. Imagine a hemisphere 300m in diameter, with another hemisphere nested inside so there is a space of about 6m between the inside wall of the outer hemisphere and the outside wall of the inner hemisphere. That space would be the play area.

Now imagine that's not a hemisphere, but a more complex topography of rolling hills and hill-sized sculpted shapes. I'd be making custom tiles to compliment the topography.

This is the closest thing I can think of that I might point to as a "kinda like this" off the top of my head: (hope this link works properly) . That's not it exactly but hopefuly it gets some of the general gist across. If not I'll see if i can think of/find some other reference images to clarify it better.

Originally I was hoping I'd only need to make the tiles, provided there was a spline grid sort of tool to sculpt the base topography in-engine. Failing that, I was hoping there was a way to import a pre-sculpted plane mesh to be used as a tile-bearing surface.

I could just make it as a single big unified prop mesh, but given the scale and how up close to the surface it would be seen from the POV of the Agent avatar, it'd probably cost too much resource-wise to make it look any good (texture maps would have to be huge, at the very least*). As custom instanced tiles over a sculpted topography though, it shouldn't be any more resource intensive than an ordinary level area of similar size.

*Actually, I know creative UV mapping could bring texture size back down while providing more flexibilty than square tiles, but a) that wouldn't help raise the potential surface mesh detail the way instanced tiles would, b) I don't know if my modeling kung-fu is strong enough yet for the kind of UV/texture coordination needed, and c) having an in-engine tool would allow other modders to explore similar ideas (and potentially open even more doors for different ideas) without requiring knowledge/skills outside of the Retrovirus editor.

I hope that made sense. And I apologise if I tripped myself with any technical misconceptions along the way.
Sidst redigeret af Pepe_DeJefe; 16. jun 2013 kl. 4:49am
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