I was curious how the blink out effect is archived, so I tried to remake it with another model:
It's bit hard to see in the low frame gif animation, but the skin is actualy disolving. Here is a screenshot which shows it more clearly:
It was easier then I thought. The effect can be created with the following steps:
Import BlinkOut.m3
Delete stalker model (switch to object mode, select model, delete it)
Import your model and delete all animations (except the Stand from the BlinkOut.m3)
Position Camera (e.g. press 5 (toggle to ortho), 1 (front view), 4 (rotate a bit to the side), 4
Select mesh object
Go to Edit mode
Make sure everything is selected (hotkey a)
Open an UV editor
Select an unused UV map, in most cases you need first to create one in the UV Maps panel which you can find in Data Tab (triangle icon) of the properties editor.
-> unwrap from view. Use hotkeys g, s, and r in image editor to make it fill out the lower 3/4 of the image (you can also open the Assets/Textures/BlinkAlpha1.dds image to place it exactly below the warp in line)
In the M3 Material Layers Panel set the image path of the emissive layer to "Assets/Textures/BlinkAlphaADD1.dds"
Select as "UV Source" of the Emissive layer "UV Layer 2" (if you used the second uv map, UV Layer 3 if you used the third etc.)
In the alpha mask panel set the image path to "Assets/Textures/BlinkAlpha1.dds" and the UV source to the same as the emissive layer(e.g. UV Layer 2).
For both the Emissive and Alpha Mask layer do the following:
Select in the time line the frame 0. Ensure that the Y field of the "UV Offset" is 0. Afterwards right click the Y field and select "Insert Single Keyframe".
Select in the time line the end frame. Then set the Y field to 1 and insert another key frame for it.
. Uncheck "Tex Warp. X" and "Tex Warp. Y"
Set the brightness multiplyer of the emissive layer to 5.
Isn't that what you wanted? To hide the shield permanently? You could try what happens if you make another animation which reverts the effect. Or what happens if you cancel the animation (via actor events).
The cover animation hides the shield and can run concurrent with the other animations. So have a look at the answer of the following question: "Is it possible to have 2 animations running at the same time? e.g. one animates the legs one the upper body? "
See question "Where can I change a model's texture path? " in my FAQ
Blender renders it white because you only have created a UV mapping and not a Blender material. Via the panel "M3 import" it is possible to generate Blender materials from the M3 materials(if the paths are setup correctly). Alternativly you can create Blender materials manually, but please note that Blender materials do not get exported. If your goal is to create a nice render, I suggest you search for "blender cycles materials tutorial". Cycles is the code name for the new Render Engine of Blender.
@yamirei: Go
Thanks for your bug report, I fixed it.
Select a mesh in the 3D View. Then go to the Materials Tab of the Properties Editor. It is the red sphere you can see at the top of this screenshot. There you find a "M3 Material Selections" panel. Make sure the current mesh has a m3 material assigned in the "M3 Material Selection" tab. If not click on the "+" icon in the panel to add a "Mesh Standard Material".
Then you should be able to see a list of layers in the "M3 Material Layers" panel. If you don't know that the the "Diffuse" layer is propably the layer you want to edit. Below the layer list you can specify the image path of the currently selected layer. IMPORTANT: The image path you specify here must match the name you see in the Starcraft 2 Importer. Alternatifly you can also reference textures made by blizzard like "Assets/Textures/Hellion_Diffuse.dds".
How can I make a material use the alpha channel as team color?
In a "M3 Material Layers" panel there is a property called "Color Channels". Select Diffuse in the layer list and then select RGBA as "color channels" to make the model use the alpha channel as team color. For glowign team colors, select RGBA as color channels for the Emissive layer (and set thetexture path for the emissive layer).
Is it possible to mix materials?
Yes. When you add a material you can choose "composite". You can use it to layer multiple materials over each other. I recommend not using it since only high quality campaign models seem to use that technique. I recommend using standard materials which have multiple material layers too(Diffuse, Emissive ect.).
How to assign multiple m3 materials to a mesh?
Split the mesh up and assign each part a different m3 material. To split up a mesh, select it and got to edit mode (see hotkey question above). Then select the faces you want to make a separate mesh and press [P]. In the menu select to separte by selection"
The m3 panels are empty, what is wrong?
You are propably using an incompatible blender version (e.g. 2.63). Currently (as I write this) the m3addon works with Blender 2.69.
Is it possible to have 2 animations running at the same time? e.g. one animates the legs one the upper body?
Yes. To make an animation you need to go to the "M3 Animation STCs" panel and add a STC to that animation. Important is, that the STC has the "Runs Concurrent" flag checked. Note that if you want a differnt name then "full" you need to explictly assign fcurves to it. Why someone should ever have multiple STCs for an animation is unknown till now. Some units like the archon have multiple STCs.
How do I let a model be influenced by physics?
Firstly you need to use the "M3 Rigid Bodies" to make a bone represent a rigid body. Via the "M3 Physics Shapes" panel you can determine which shape the bone should have. Afterwards check the "Use physis" checkbox in the "M3 Animation Panel" to have an animation use physics to animate the bones. It is not yet possible with the m3addon to connect multiple rigged bodies so that they stick together but can bend at certain angles. No one needed that feature so far.
How do I make something partly transparent?
Assuming that you have already created an m3 standard material and selected it: Select the "Alpha Mask" layer in the "M3 Material Layers" panel and give it a valid image path. Via the "Color Channels" property you can then determine which color channel of the image is used to determine the transparency for the final material. Please note: The values color channel values RGB and RGBA do not work for the alpha layer!
How do I make an attachment point move with an antother animated bone?
It is done similiar to like I make hit tests move with a bone in the 5th part of my coin tutorial. Click on the attachment point in the "M3 Attachment Point" panel, which can be found in the scene tab of the properties editor. The m3addon will select the correct bone for you and switch to pose mode. In pose mode it is not possible to edit the parent bone, so you need to switch to Edit Mode (e.g. via hotkey TAB). If you use the newest m3addon version then the correct bone should still be selected. In the Bone tab of the properties editor you can then change the parent bone of the attachment point. Any movement or rotation which happens to the parent will also be applied to the attachment point. Note: You can use the Outline Editor in "All Scenes" mode to view the relationship of the bones in a tree view.
For normal map conversion I added 2 menu entries in the Image menu of the image editor. For classic materials the starcraft 2 normal map format seems to work too (The ones which get created at import).
What exactly STC means I don't know yet. I can only guess. Each data structure in the m3 file format has a 3-4 letter name. For example animations are called internally SEQS which could stand for Sequences.
Basically the animation structure is like this:
An Animation (SEQS) has 1 or more STCs. STCs are used in the m3 file format as containers for the animation curves(curves whcih describe how a property of something changes over time).
For example could an animation Stand have a animation group called X which contains all the curves which describe how a certain part is animated. Another animation group called Y could contain curves whcih describe how another part of hte model is animated.
I am not sure why it has been made possible to split the curves of of multiple components into different STCs. Maybe there is a way to play not the complete animation but only one STC. e.g. to play Stand_X instead of Stand
A model which contains an aniamtion with multiple STCs is the Archon. Maybe by having a closer look at the model and it's actor we might be albe to find out what it means.
Btw. have you found my m3a tutorial about animating an marine? (I didn't know about the the auto IK option when I made that video tutorial). If you just want to add animations to a model then m3a files are a nice way to do it.
from the animations of the marine, it looks like the shield mechanic is realized with a concurrent animation called Shield.
When the Shield animation plays the shield disapears, because it gets scaled to zero. So While the shield animation loops the shield is hidden. When the animation stops the shield appears. The conncurrent asspect of an animation can be configured in the M3 Anmiation STCs tab. If you select first the aninmation "Cover" and then look at that panel then you should see two "STC"s: "Shield" and "full". For both the check box "Runs Concurrent" is checked.
The fcurves of an animation can be assigned exactly to one STC. you can use the buttons "Select FCurves" to find out which animation curves belong to an STC
The big question now is: What is the difference between the Stand and Walk/Attack animation. If we can find out why it works for one but not the other then you know how to work around it and I might be able to fix it in the m3addon.
Things to try:
If you remove all animation curves from the Walk animation, is then the bug gone for that animation? If yes which animation curves have to be removed?
If you remove all animation curves from both the Stand animation, is then the shield unexpectedly visible too? If yes which animation curves have to be added?
If none of the above show us the core of the issue: Try to create your own actor code which allows you to play and cancel animations when you press a button (e.g. when you use an ability). That way you can test if you can show and hide the shield by starting/cancling the Cover animation while other animations are playing. Maybe you can also find out, why only concurrent animations have named STCs(Usually animations only have only the STC "full").
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@Delphinium1987: Go
Cool particle effects as always :). I expecially like the chain idea.
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@DeltaCadimus: Go
Do you use Blender or 3dsmax?
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I was curious how the blink out effect is archived, so I tried to remake it with another model:
It's bit hard to see in the low frame gif animation, but the skin is actualy disolving. Here is a screenshot which shows it more clearly:
It was easier then I thought. The effect can be created with the following steps:
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@JacktheArcher: Go
Isn't that what you wanted? To hide the shield permanently? You could try what happens if you make another animation which reverts the effect. Or what happens if you cancel the animation (via actor events).
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@JacktheArcher: Go
The cover animation hides the shield and can run concurrent with the other animations. So have a look at the answer of the following question: "Is it possible to have 2 animations running at the same time? e.g. one animates the legs one the upper body? "
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@Rispetto: Go
See question "Where can I change a model's texture path? " in my FAQ
Blender renders it white because you only have created a UV mapping and not a Blender material. Via the panel "M3 import" it is possible to generate Blender materials from the M3 materials(if the paths are setup correctly). Alternativly you can create Blender materials manually, but please note that Blender materials do not get exported. If your goal is to create a nice render, I suggest you search for "blender cycles materials tutorial". Cycles is the code name for the new Render Engine of Blender.
@yamirei: Go Thanks for your bug report, I fixed it.
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I added two more questions and their answer to the list:
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Added the hotkey for inserting edge loops.
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Below a list of FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) about my m3addon. Feel free to ask questions in the comments.
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@GEditorUser: Go
For normal map conversion I added 2 menu entries in the Image menu of the image editor. For classic materials the starcraft 2 normal map format seems to work too (The ones which get created at import).
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@GEditorUser: Go
Looks amazing, I guess you didn't use Blender for the first time...
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In my Coin Tutorial I show how to use my m3addon together with the open source program Blender to make Models for Starcraft 2. If you are interested in combining model you may want to have a look at this tutorial about adding parts to existing models.
Since my tutorial does not give a good introduction into Blender, I want to list here some Blender tutorials from other persons I found usefull.
For beginners I recommend the following Tutorials:
More tutorials:
General 3d view Hotkeys:
Hotkeys for editing a mesh:
In Object Mode:
Other m3addon related tutorials:
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@fate1990: Go
The m3addon is no longer compatible with Blender 2.66. I suggest you use Blender 2.69. You can get it from http://www.blender.org/download/
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@Selshas: Go
What exactly STC means I don't know yet. I can only guess. Each data structure in the m3 file format has a 3-4 letter name. For example animations are called internally SEQS which could stand for Sequences.
Basically the animation structure is like this:
An Animation (SEQS) has 1 or more STCs. STCs are used in the m3 file format as containers for the animation curves(curves whcih describe how a property of something changes over time).
For example could an animation Stand have a animation group called X which contains all the curves which describe how a certain part is animated. Another animation group called Y could contain curves whcih describe how another part of hte model is animated.
I am not sure why it has been made possible to split the curves of of multiple components into different STCs. Maybe there is a way to play not the complete animation but only one STC. e.g. to play Stand_X instead of Stand
A model which contains an aniamtion with multiple STCs is the Archon. Maybe by having a closer look at the model and it's actor we might be albe to find out what it means.
Btw. have you found my m3a tutorial about animating an marine? (I didn't know about the the auto IK option when I made that video tutorial). If you just want to add animations to a model then m3a files are a nice way to do it.
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Hello Selshas,
from the animations of the marine, it looks like the shield mechanic is realized with a concurrent animation called Shield.
When the Shield animation plays the shield disapears, because it gets scaled to zero. So While the shield animation loops the shield is hidden. When the animation stops the shield appears. The conncurrent asspect of an animation can be configured in the M3 Anmiation STCs tab. If you select first the aninmation "Cover" and then look at that panel then you should see two "STC"s: "Shield" and "full". For both the check box "Runs Concurrent" is checked. The fcurves of an animation can be assigned exactly to one STC. you can use the buttons "Select FCurves" to find out which animation curves belong to an STC
The big question now is: What is the difference between the Stand and Walk/Attack animation. If we can find out why it works for one but not the other then you know how to work around it and I might be able to fix it in the m3addon.
Things to try: