Modelling/Blender

Blender is a free open source 3D content creation suite, available for all major operating systems under the GNU General Public License. You can download it for free with no limitations.

General

MD2 Scripts

An import/export script for Blender 2.63+ is available at the blender-tools in our repository:

src/tools/blender
- io_mesh_md2.py

Note: These seem to work fine on Blender 2.7x (--DarkRain (talk) 05:28, 12 December 2014 (CET))

MD2-TAG Script

A Blender 2.63+ import/export script for tag files as used by our MD2 models is available at the blender-tools in our repository:

src/tools/blender
- io_scene_tag.py

Export MD2 from Blender

There are some things you need to consider when exporting a model to MD2 from blender:

In Blender to export the model you need to

The model must be unwrapped.
- Please also add at least one image texture (and create an (blender) image for it — even a dummy one with no actual image) to your model before exporting all md2 need at least one skin.
If the center of your object (small violet circle) isn't located exactly in the absolute center (coord-grid center) you need to re-place it into the absolute center (unless you know what you are doing)
Then you should be able to export it with the md2-export menu entry.

Scaling

If you use one a scale where one blender unit equals one unit in the battlescape you need to scale up the model x16 before export.

See the bloodspider (1x1) and the hovernet (2x2) models for reference. They also include blender-scaled reference boxes (1x1x2.45 blender units) that equals the cursor in geoscape.

You should configure Blender to use a grid setting of 6.4 (or multiples of this) - this will ensure, that the model will be aligned to the UFORadiant grid settings.

Create Animations

TODO: WRITEME

Rough basics: No matter how you animate the model. As long as you export it as a MD2 file you are limited by the specification of the model-type. Mainly the so-called key-framed animations of the MD2 format are of interest to us. Basically the format stores a list of vertices (with UV-data) and a list of animation frames. Each frame can have other positions of the vertices.

If you create a bone-based (or shape-key) animation of your model, export it to MD2 and import that in Blender again you'll loose all original information about bones and similar stuff .. they are transformed to key-frames on export. There still are animations there, but they are not as easily modified. This is also true for other modelling programs.

So never ever loose your original file if you don't want to re-create a lot of animation-work.

Placement of weapons, floor, heads, etc. ... for MD2 files (which do not have this integrated into the format) is handled via the tag files. Tags are implemented in Blender via Empty objects which are animated along with the mesh, and are later exported to tag files, the same limitations regarding MD2 animation are applicable to tags, namely that they are also exported as key-framed animations.

Note: Some already animated MD2 files (nearly every file created by Herby of the original dev-team) do not have existing source files (max files) any more ... it would be great if s/b would re-animate them in Blender so we can modify them more easily.

Create screenshots of models with UFOAI frame

To make creation of screenshots from 3d models with the green UFO:AI background&frame easier (see the Screenshots section) a template for Blender with this background pre-set is available.

Just open up the presentation.blend file located in models/presentation.blend and import/load [1] the wanted file. Make sure the model(s) is (are) nicely rotated and that the texture shows up in blender [2], press F12 to render and F3 to save the file.

[1] Either File->Import an MD2 or File->Append from a .blend file.

[2] There is a readme text inside the .blend file.

Links