Upspring Tutorial

SpikedHelmet · Post by **SpikedHelmet** » 05 May 2006, 17:31

Are there any other tutorials on UV mapping and Upspring out there besides Maestro's? No offense to Maestro but his tutorial is more geared towards people who know anything about alpha channels, transparency channels and .png shit and crap. I know nothing about this.

Are there any really beginner tuts?

Zenka · Post by **Zenka** » 05 May 2006, 18:05

I think maestro's tut covers all the basics of Alpha channels etc.
and use .tga instead of .png.

So far as I know, there arn't any other tutorials covering Spring's way of handeling textures or upspring. for UV mapping, use google to look up some tutorials for your program.
Take a look at http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php ... king_guide, http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3511 and here: http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4715

Any questions can be asked ofcourse ^.^

SpikedHelmet · Post by **SpikedHelmet** » 05 May 2006, 18:35

Bah... the only thing he mentions on Alpha channel explanation is

"Add an alpha channel layer."

No explanation how, or what it is, or anything!

centurion-1 · Post by **centurion-1** » 05 May 2006, 21:04

An alpha channel is a separate channel in the texture, much like the red, green and blue channels that are used to convey colour. Instead, it conveys other information, in the case of spring the position of team colours. What 2d app do you use? In photoshop, under channels, chose new channel and select alpha channel. From there you can make selections (ie, which parts would be team coloured). You can also make a selection with the selection tools and save it to the alpha channel if you want to.

smoth · Post by **smoth** » 05 May 2006, 21:08

just set a layer mask then save as tga whatever.. you will find that it applies the layer mask.

Gnomre · Post by **Gnomre** » 05 May 2006, 22:32

Saving directly to DDS also works, and probably is a bit better performance wise since graphics cards use the format natively.

Another tip: Do not use RGB 0,0,0 black on the alpha layer in PS. Use 1,1,1 instead. Otherwise your model will come out entirely team colored in game (upspring won't show this behavior, however).

And in case it isn't obvious, always remember to hit the estimate buttons in the right side tab furthest to the left (I can't remember its name) so it generates a bounding sphere for the model, otherwise you'll never see it in game at all.

SpikedHelmet · Post by **SpikedHelmet** » 06 May 2006, 05:40

"just set a layer mask then save as tga whatever"

WTF are you talking about?

Please, pretend I have absolutely no experience with anything other than MS Paint.

Somene needs to write me a step-by-step walkthrough on how to do this, starting with opening up a .3do in Upspring, and step-by-step how to convert it to S3O, export and uvmap the model in Ultime Unwrap, what to do to make the uvmap "proper" in PSP, how to upload the proper uvmap into Upspring and have it on my unit...

If I can do it ONCE, I can repeat it and be perfectly fine. Thing is I have no fucking clue what any of this is, and the only thing I have going is like 5 different tutorials for each step of the process and those tutorials don't fit together... it's like trying to build a 1:72 model M1 Abrams tank using 4 different instructions, 3 of which are for models from different companies...

Das Bruce · Post by **Das Bruce** » 06 May 2006, 06:09

Export unit to obj.
Import into wings.
Combine all pieces.
Rightclick->UVmap->ForceSegment
Either
- Define all edges you want to be cut when unfolding.
- Or Segment by projection
Rightclick->Continue->Unfolding
Rightclick->CreateTexture
Export each piece with File->ExportSelected
Open the TGA that is next to the exported files with Photoshop.
Go to channels tab
Click CreateNewChannel
Set colour to very dark but not black
Fill the channel you created
Flip horizontally
Save with appropriate name in tga format
Open main piece in upspring
Setname
Object->InsertObjectFromFile
Setname
Repeat for remaining pieces
Set piece orrigins
Mapping Tab
Browse for first texture
Save as s3o.

And I think thats about it.

smoth · Post by **smoth** » 06 May 2006, 06:50

SpikedHelmet wrote:"just set a layer mask then save as tga whatever"

WTF are you talking about?

Please, pretend I have absolutely no experience with anything other than MS Paint.

Well it is kinda hard to write in letters if you have google talk I can talk you through it. Otherwise I would have to devote an entire evening to something that can be shown in 30 minutes of conversation and reading the wings manual(yes, I did ALL of the uvwmaps that i have done for spring in wings.)

Zenka · Post by **Zenka** » 06 May 2006, 12:54

I'll cover the 'tga and alpha channel' part with illustrations.
This is ofcourse for Photoshop. Since that's the best program for your choise (but the worse for your bank account).

First of, open your texture. Mine is a .psd file, but it doesn't matter what it is.
Go to File>Save as.

Pick 'Targa' form the extention menu. And save it. (mine is dutch so it says: "opslaan")

In the main screen, go to the "Channels" tab.

Click "create new channel"

Your texture turns black. Don't worry. You notice that the other channels (RGV, Red, Green, Blue) are not checked. So they arn't displayed. YOu can turn them on and see your texture is turned redish. (this indicates there is a Alpha layer).

Now save it. And you have a texture with alpha channel in .tga!

Any questions?

maestro · Post by **maestro** » 08 May 2006, 02:59

SpikedHelmet wrote:Are there any other tutorials on UV mapping and Upspring out there besides Maestro's? No offense to Maestro but his tutorial is more geared towards people who know anything about alpha channels, transparency channels and .png shit and crap. I know nothing about this.

Are there any really beginner tuts?

Alpha channel is explained in Photoshop and paintshop tutorial...
and if u googling it u will find a lot....
Such is a 'common words' for a 3d modeller....

Hmmmm....

SpikedHelmet · Post by **SpikedHelmet** » 08 May 2006, 16:04

I know it is, but those didn't help. I don't want to look at 3 different tutorials because they are not all made towards the same end.

Zenka · Post by **Zenka** » 08 May 2006, 16:36

SpikedHelmet wrote:I know it is, but those didn't help. I don't want to look at 3 different tutorials because they are not all made towards the same end.

Yes they do. they all end up with a s3o unit. (unless you pick tutorials for an 3do unit).

Anyway, one tutorial should be enough.
Most tutorials and guides are gatherd on this wiki: http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Mod_an ... #s3o_units (this being added in the official wiki later on)

Pxtl · Post by **Pxtl** » 09 May 2006, 00:40

I'm a n00b contemplating trying my hand at a few units. I've already got my hands dirty with blender, so I'd be using that. Is there a good tutorial with a workflow for making s3o models in blender? So far, my understanding is just that each part is it's own model, but they all share a skin so you have to make sure the UVs for each model don't overlap. Am I getting it so far?

Zenka · Post by **Zenka** » 09 May 2006, 09:11

Well upspring can import .obj files. you you need to have blender to export it for you. That's the only way I think. (I do the same with maya)

Argh · Post by **Argh** » 10 May 2006, 08:12

So far, my understanding is just that each part is it's own model, but they all share a skin so you have to make sure the UVs for each model don't overlap. Am I getting it so far?

More or less, yes.

And as for the general comments about not providing more tutorials... tell you what: when somebody volunteers their time for my projects, I will happily teach them.

That last walkthrough was very detailed, explained a lot of technical secrets, and anybody who knows their tools should be able to complete a working model, by combining that tutorial with Maestro's tutorial. This isn't rocket science, folks. Building working models in S3O mainly requires that you have a serious work ethic and plenty of free time.

If you don't know the general tools and techniques of 3D and/or digital painting well enough to follow it, or the other tutorials mentioned here, then you need to take the time to learn the basics, and my tutorials are not entry-level. I don't paid to make tutorials, and I have very little interest in re-creating "how to make models" or "how to paint in GIMP" manuals, when there are dozens of them available. Instead, I am teaching the specific technical concerns of making models for Spring, which assumes you already know how to make models and paint in the software of your choice. If a concept such as "what is an alpha channel" is confusing you... dude, I dunno what to tell you, except that you have a very long, rough road ahead, and you're just going to need to buck up and learn a lot've things. It's not like I just all of a sudden knew all this stuff- I've been doing this kind've thing for years...

Spring RTS Engine

Upspring Tutorial

Upspring Tutorial

Re: Upspring Tutorial

Okay...