Difference between revisions of "3d Modeling Programs"

Revision as of 00:26, 7 January 2007

So you've decided to start meshing. Congratulations! Here's your gigantic bottle of aspirin and your Certified Masochist badge. Seriously, though, if you want to make meshes, you're going to have to learn how to create 3d models. That may sound daunting, but getting into 3d modeling through Sims 2 is actually easier than learning through other avenues, as you can immediately apply your knowledge to something useful, even if it is just for pixel dolls. Before you can start, you'll need to choose a 3d modeling program. What program you use depends on what you're going to be making, your skill level, and your budget.

Choose Your Path

Though many of the concepts involved in making object meshes and Body Shop meshes are similar, the tools one can use for each type tend to vary somewhat.

Body Shop Meshing

The main difference between Body Shop meshing and most other types of meshing (like with objects) is that Body Shop meshes have a skeleton and bone assignments. Sims 2 bodies have an invisible skeleton with a set of joints. Each vertex in Body Shop meshes is assigned to these joints with different weights. This is what makes the sim's body, hair, and accessories move with their skeleton, and if a mesh is set up in the right way, the movement will be smooth and natural. However you edit, you must have proper bone assignments or your mesh will not function properly.

There are two main types of editing that you'll do with Body Shop meshes: small, and major.

For small edits, like changing breast/waist size, lengthening sleeves a bit, or the like, you have more options for editing than if you want to do more major edits. For small edits of that type, you can use just about any program that properly supports the .obj format along with the MTS2 Meshtool.

Programs that can be used in combination with the MTS2 Meshtool to do small edits include:

• Blender (requires a workaround script/extra work)
• Milkshape

For larger edits, like combining parts of two different meshes, adding parts, and doing major edits of mesh shapes like moving edges beyond animation joints, you will need to have a program that can handle skeletons and vertices assigned to bones in that skeleton.

Programs that can be used to do more extensive edits to Body Shop meshes include:

• 3DS Max - using the .smd format
• Milkshape - most common. Requires the Unimesh plugin to import GMDCs.
• XSI Modtool - using the .smd format. Limited to single groups so only useful for certain edits to bodies.

Object Meshing

Programs

Blender

File Types:

Used For: Object Meshing and Body Shop Meshing (limited, see below description)

Price: Free!

Site: http://www.blender.org/cms/Home.2.0.html

Recommended:

Description:

Google Sketchup

File Types: .skp

Used For: Fiddling with stuff, not real modeling.

Price: Has a free version, pay version is uhh dunno

Site:

Recommended: No!

Description: Get a real program.

Maya

File Types:

Used For:

Price:

Site:

Recommended:

Description:

Milkshape

File Types: .obj, .smd, GMDC (with the Unimesh plugin), and many, many more. One of Milkshape's main strengths is its ability to import and export all sorts of files.

Used For: Object Meshing and Body Shop Meshing

Price: $25-30 depending on how you buy.

Site: chUmbaLum sOft

Recommended: Highly! Great no matter which path you choose, well-supported, cheap, and easy to use.

Description: An incredibly versatile little low-poly 3d modeling program, Milkshape is great for beginners and is quite user-friendly. It's also widely used in Sims 2 modding so it's well supported by the community. The developer works closely with Sims 2 modders, and updates to the programs increase its functionality for game modding. It includes a built-in uv mapper, supports skeletons and joints, animations, textures, multiple groups, and much more. It is remarkably useful and powerful considering its extremely low price.

Plugins: Unimesh, msAlignNormals

Wings 3D

File Types: .wings (proprietary), .obj, .3ds, .lwo/.lxo (Lightwave), .wlr (VRML 2) and some others

Used For: static object meshes (see description below)

Price: Free

Site: Wings3D.com (look in the upper-left corner for the download options)

Recommended: Yes

Description: Wings3D uses a "full 3D" interface (unlike other programs that mainly use orthogonal planes). It's very good to model static object meshes, thanks to the numerous modeling functions it has; but it can't be used to create animated meshes (objects or clothings), because it doesn't manage joints and morphs. It's possible to create an animated object in Wings, but then you need Milkshape or the MTS2 MeshTool in order to assign the vertices to the joints. It's not advisable to use Wings3D to create clothings or other BodyShop meshes.

XSI Modtool

File Types: .smd

Used For: Body Shop Meshing (limited, see below description)

Price: Free!

Site: SOFTIMAGE

Recommended: Low - very useful if you're using it for the type of editing above and already comfortable with a 3d modeling program, but it's not for beginners, nor is it incredibly versatile.

Description: If you want to work with body meshes but you require a free tool, XSI Modtool may be the way to go. A cut-down version of a larger pay program, XSI Modtool allows you to edit body meshing using the .smd file format. It doesn't handle multiple groups, so it's really only useful for editing a specific body mesh, not hair or accessories or frankensteining multiple body meshes together, but it includes certain features that Milkshape doesn't for editing. It's not really suited to beginners, but if you're already comfortable doing body mesh edits in Milkshape and you want some more options, it may be worth trying.