What programs or process do you, personally, use to render ships? I've been using Milkshape, but the quality seems a bit lower then many of the images I've seen used in signatures here (Makc and Ano, and I'm looking at you.). It may simply be that I'm inexperienced with adding aftereffects in other programs, or it might be a result of how I'm doing things. I've hunted around for tutorials, but they just about all require spending some serious cash on modelling programs, which I don't really have lying about at the moment and (short of standing by the high way and shouting 'twomilordai' at passerbys) I can't see myself running into in the near future.
Hi.
I use milkshape to import renders, change textures and export into .3ds file. After that I use Bryce3d to render the model, but you can use render any other 3d rendering program. Milkshape has a low quality render capabilities.
Also, after I get the render, i usually work with it in Photoshop. I can make Milkshape render look more or less ok. Look at this signature:
Both ships were rendered in Milkshape.
- make 3 or 4 copies of the same render.
- 1 render goes on top, little blur and play with they layer settings. Overlay, soft light, just see what looks ok, also opacity and fill.
- one goes behind, with Gaussian blur
- main render - do select all, then decrease selection by 1 px and do blur,2-3 times to get rid of the sharp computer generated edges.
- Play with levels of the main render, it can add or take away the details.
I hope it helps.
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Sorry to pick your collective brains again, but I've managed to get myself lost on what I imagine is quite a simple thing.
I've managed to import the model into DAZ 3D (which I believe is more or less similar to Bryce. Correct me if I'm wrong on that one), and it's sitting there staring at me, like so:
Unfortunately, it seems to be naked. So, how exactly would I go about applying textures to the thing? I understand I'd be using the surface tool, but the surfaces it selects don't necessarily correspond to the areas I need to apply textures to.
That, and I haven't got the faintest idea where I can find the Discovery textures in a usable form. I've got a file full of .png versions of the textures, but I'm still missing most that Milkshape indicates are used on the ship (in this case, the Bret Liner).
Thanks for the help earlier, by the way. With any luck, I'll get this figured out shortly.
You need to load the .MAT file along with the .CMP model for assorted textures.
For some ships you might need to load up more than one .mat file though, which is not how the game uses the files, but how you'd need to dig up all the textures for a ship. Odin for example, uses textures from both Asgard line as well as Rheinland line, so you'd need to load both in Milkshape before exporting to .3ds for rendering.
Loading the textures in Milkshape doesn't seem to a problem, perhaps it's the importer I'm using, but all of that loads more or less automatically, and I end up with the image shown below:
The catch seems to be importing the thing. For whatever reason, DAZ can't import .3ds files, so I'm having to use .obj to get the ship to show up, which doesn't seem to bring the textures along. Is there any other format I could use to convince the textures to stick with the ship, or am I better off ditching DAZ for some other rendering program?
Bryce3d. In my experience it loads everything just fine. I have never worked with the studio software. I am not even sure on the interface and the option, that you get in the Studio. It must be similar, but if you say that it doesn't take 3ds files, perhaps you need to step down a notch and try the Bryce3d.
Here is the little run down.
- Make a special folder, lets say: c:/program files/freeltextures
- In Milkshape: When you click on the import Freelancer CMP importer, you will have another window pop up. There , click on Materials and set the path to: c:/program files/freeltextures
- Do not check Autoload, sometimes it crashes the program
- The Milkshape will load up the mode and open the .mat files. In mist of the cases, .mat files opens up as .dds texture files. Sometimes if you are lucky you will get a jpeg or tga.
- Now, open the DDS Converter program and convert the .dds files into...lets say .tga. ( i use tga, so for the tutorial's purpose use that format)
- Now, this is very important !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go into Milkshape and switch the materials (textures) from .dds to .tga. Sometimes the file names will be too large, so you will have to rename the files and make then unique.
Example: yellowluxuryport.dds-->will become yellowlusyrtport.tga, but it is too long for bryce. Make it: yluxp.tga. (I hope you understand what I mean)
- Substitute all the model's materials from .dds to .tga and EXPORT: as Autodesk .3ds. This way, your .3ds file will have tga textures in it already.
- Open up Bryce, import 3ds file, that you just created, and it should load up nicely.
Keep us posted on your progress.
p.s. I have this ship already premade. Perhaps for the testing purposes of DazStudio, you can try loading my .3ds file. If you want to try, pm me your e-mail and i will send you the ship's folder.
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but what ive had to do is convert all the material files to png and put them in 1 folder, ill explain.
i use milkshape to import the model from fl folders
i then export that as a "wavefront" obj
which creates 2 files, the object and the material details in a txt file like this
i use vue d'esprit to render as i dont know others, but it has a problem sometimes importing some models and it doesnt know what a .dds file is, hence the changeing the mat txt file
![[Image: vankduotest.png]](http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/9209/vankduotest.png)
![[Image: vnFV6QG.png]](https://i.imgur.com/vnFV6QG.png)
![[Image: indyminer2.png]](http://imageshack.us/a/img834/8827/indyminer2.png)
![[Image: WellImlost_zps899303fd.jpg]](http://s1230.photobucket.com/user/Commissar1/media/WellImlost_zps899303fd.jpg.html)
![[Image: Milkshape_zpsf4233c70.png]](http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee482/Commissar1/Milkshape_zpsf4233c70.png)