#not an explanation on how to repack them into the game.
Alright so im no pro on this matter and don't want to stir up anything however i have noticed a few of you guys are confused with formats, conversion and repacking.
However i am going to share what i am learning currently and what i already know if i am wrong then please feel free to correct me but i would like constructive criticism that i can actually learn from not "Derpys gonna derp" because that doesn't help.
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So in order to model majority will need to find some programs. you can use many different programs which will all save in different formats.
Blender - This is a good program with an easy to use interface, however depending on how far you wish to delve into the modelling this program can get rather tricky to use. (just my personal opinion) Blender saves in a .Blend file-type, this can be converted to other file-types using scripts within the program or an external program.
3D Studio - This is personally my favorite program its easy to use and has A LOT of features. similar to blend (as well as most other modelling software) this software is updated quiet a lot with lots of additional scripts and addons. however this program can come with a hefty price tag. Saves in a .3DS file-type however does offer other formats.
there are quiet a lot of other programs such as Autodesk and Collada however i don't have the time to go into them all and like i said i am no pro ^_^
Anyhow once you have got your software and familiar in creating models (which isn't as simple as you think) you can begin thinking on how to incorporate them into the game.
You will also need a 3D model viewer (These can be gotten free easily from google 'free 3d model viewer'"
Editing armors that are already in the game is quiet simple, you simply find the armor container (.obj) extract the contents into a folder (.x - model template , .tga - animation raster image , .jpg/png - texture files)
If you simply want to 'paint' an armor edit the .jpg/png with your favorite painting software be it photoshop, paintshop or even MSPaint, do what you like to it, then repack the .obj
For example the armor files are packed and on majority of servers check-summed (which means your un-able to change them unless you edit a few things)
Also just because you have your .3ds or whatever file format does not mean this will simply work. even if you output a .X file (which is only a directX file , more like a template than a file format)
You need more than just the models, you will need animations which can be anything from a simple .tga file (a raster graphic file format)
anyway what im trying to say here is that, Ive been looking around and trying to fiddle around with the armors and such for about a month now. i can create models and such however i don't know how to repack/etc this is a lot harder than a simple tutorial can explain and especially when some of you guys don't seem to know what are file formats, what are containers and what is simply an output template.
like i said at the beginning and quite a lot of times throughout i am far from a pro, im probably about as intellectual as a young child on this matter however i am just willing to share my views and what i know so far.
Thanks for reading, i didn't really have a long time to write this or read through had dinner and other things to do, hope this helps.
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Valkrye