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Weapon creation tutorials and resources

braindead

Grizzled Veteran
Aug 22, 2009
916
346
Merry Ol' England
There is now a growing interest in the modding forums for new weapons and many of you are planning on making them, so I am creating a series of steps, using online resources and tutorials, that I have found invaluable in previous mods, to help you with the basics in starting your own projects

For the sake of these tutorials, most information will be directed towards 3DS Max and Photoshop, as I have no experience in any other software, however some information is based on the Full free download of the Softimage XSI Mod Tool, as this is compatible with Unreal and looks just like Max in it's modelling fundamentals.

I have resreved a number of posts to break down the creation process into their relative chapters, i.e. modelling, texturing and coding etc


Software Downloads:



Umodel exporter for Unreal

http://www.gildor.org/news



3DS Max 2011 30 day trial




 
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Importing and basic setup requirements

Importing and basic setup requirements

Part 1 - Setting up the Scene

Download : http://www.gamefront.com/files/20282749/Tut+Part+1.rar

YouTube - Weapon Tutorial - Setting up the Scene

(Best watched in 720p HD mode)

The first video from part of a tutorial on how to animate and import a weapon from 3DS Max into UnrealEd, for use in the game Killing Floor.

Part 1

Setting up the scene includes the following lessons:


  • -rescaling and moving the weapon to match the hands
  • -disassembling the weapon into separate components
  • -linking each component ready for animation
  • -linking the hands and tip bone to the weapon
  • -texture set up
  • -other important information regarding the set up

Part 2 - Exporting and Testing


Exporting the mesh through to in-game testing:


  • Export Mesh from 3DS MAX using ActorX
  • Importing into Unreal Editor
  • Creating Hip Idle animation
  • Creating Iron Sight Idle animation
  • Exporting anims using ActorX
  • Basic file creation and UCC Compiling
  • Testing weapon in game

These are all of the files used in both of the videos. I will upload an updated version with the next vid.

IMPORTANT:

Do not use these files for any game other than Killing Floor as they are the property of Tripwire Interactive.
 
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thats alot of reserved slots lol. I wish to add that by telling autodesk you r a student (whether u r or not) u get their student trial, which lasts for over a year.

EDIT: also, where can i find a good breakdown of how the animations are all linked and "boned" and whatnot. I need to be able to watch it set up/broken down so i can understand everything thats going on...
 
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thats alot of reserved slots lol. I wish to add that by telling autodesk you r a student (whether u r or not) u get their student trial, which lasts for over a year.

EDIT: also, where can i find a good breakdown of how the animations are all linked and "boned" and whatnot. I need to be able to watch it set up/broken down so i can understand everything thats going on...

Hey Halb

Thanks for the autodesk info, will add that in, when I find a link.

Been spanning the net for some tuts on animation breakdowns but haven't found a decent one yet, so I am going to record one myself.
It won't be for some time yet but I am sure you will be kept busy with just the modelling and texturing of your gun until then :)


A big thank you to J.D as well, who has given me some great info on helpful software/plugins that will aid you all in your projects.
 
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Been spanning the net for some tuts on animation breakdowns but haven't found a decent one yet, so I am going to record one myself.

U, my man, are awesome. You know a good gaming/nodding community when u see senior members working hard to help junior members like myself. Even if it takes a while, thaks in advance :D
 
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Learning max is easy - once you make a box, right click and hit - convert to - editable poly. play with vertices. fun fun.

http://www.maxbasics.com/modeling-tutorials

this site has some simple projects that will intro techniques. Personally, i just picked random stuff and modeled it until i liked it - i wanted to create my own method, i work better that way. Max tutorials are usually easy to find tho.
 
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Learning max is easy - once you make a box, right click and hit - convert to - editable poly. play with vertices. fun fun.

[url]http://www.maxbasics.com/modeling-tutorials[/URL]

this site has some simple projects that will intro techniques. Personally, i just picked random stuff and modeled it until i liked it - i wanted to create my own method, i work better that way. Max tutorials are usually easy to find tho.

YouSirAreAwesome.JPG
 
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You are welcome and I hope it does help.

Just started setting everything up to make some videos ;), I will also do some tutorials when I am finished lol

What issues are you having with Umodel Halb?

The main thing is to -export the exact name as in the editor, ie.

Umodel -export -all KF_Soldier_Trip

It is case sensitive!

and as far as I know, there is another way, using Milkshape but it is very time consuming and the results are not as good as Umodel.
Import the psk file into Milkshape and export it as a source file SMD, which you can then import into Max. hmmmm I may add this to the list of tuts, thinking about it now.
 
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1. Create a shortcut to 'Command Prompt' in your Killing Floor directory and extract the Umodel program to the same location (fig1)

Fig1
umodellocation.jpg


2. Open the editor and find the name of the package you want to export (fig2)

Fig2
packagename.jpg


3. Open your command prompt and enter the following, remember it is case sensitive when it comes to the package name (Fig3)

Fig3
umodel_command.jpg



The relevant files will then be extracted to ..\Killing Floor\HuntingRifleA\
 
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