Halforums Academy 2 Story Commentary Thread
- Thread starter GasBandit
- Start date
GasBandit
Staff member
This would probably get done faster if I could be a little less attention deficit and not screw around with models I've already finished so much.
But on the bright side, I've almost got Wasabi done... just have 4 mouth morphs left to go (I already got 2 mouth, all the brow and all the eye morphs done).
But on the bright side, I've almost got Wasabi done... just have 4 mouth morphs left to go (I already got 2 mouth, all the brow and all the eye morphs done).
You...you do know I'm not a house elf, right? Giving me new socks. Who does that?!? Pfft.
Are they cute on me?
GasBandit
Staff member
GasBandit
Staff member
A hard to follow conversation:
I sent the guy I'd been asking for tips a question about copying facial morphs, and in the course of the conversation, I showed him what I had so far, and he expressed confusion or possibly frustration (it's hard to tell with this guy sometimes)...apparently I'm doing everything wrong? There's some way to export what I want straight out of the game's resource files using the modding tool program that hongfire uses, it seems? I'm not sure I'm following correctly, but looking around in the program (SB3Utility), It looks like I can dig around in the resource files and export individual meshes/textures/sounds etc, maybe even animations?
I'm having a few stumbling blocks here, the main one being, does this mean I have to export every single resource into an individual file, then load them up in the PMX editor and build each model mesh by mesh, texture by texture, location by location? If it's possible to load an entire model in SB3Utility, I can't find it. But also, what about things like bones? And the MMD naming conventions that makes other animations work? It's confusing, overwhelming and frustrating.
GB: Hey, this is probably a stupid question, but is there a way to copy morphs between models if the vertex numbers aren't exactly the same? All the AA2 models basically have the same face structure, but trying to copy and paste morph data between them usually has horrific results.
CL: You can't sadly
GB: Damn. Welp, back to work prodding lips I go, then. Thanks for your tips along the way, btw. I'm slowly getting better at this. halforumsacademy2.blogspot.com
CL: why do ppl rip via ninja ripper when there are golden tools for that out there nevermind though i told you already but u decided it would be better to make morphs in pmx editor which is impossible
GB: Maybe I didn't understand what you were telling me - you used some terminology I wasn't familiar with, like 3dcg, and you said I can use "the modding programs" to extract parts, but I was unable to find the program you meant. I also don't know what a "golden tool" is. I'm basically learning this from the ground up on my own, and someone else told me about ninjaripper. If you can link me to something better, I'm definitely eager to try it.
CL: ok so the program is called SB3Utility it supports all illusions games www.hongfire.com/forum/showthr
GB: Ok, thanks, I'll check it out.
CL: tell me if you succeed
CL: You can't sadly
GB: Damn. Welp, back to work prodding lips I go, then. Thanks for your tips along the way, btw. I'm slowly getting better at this. halforumsacademy2.blogspot.com
CL: why do ppl rip via ninja ripper when there are golden tools for that out there nevermind though i told you already but u decided it would be better to make morphs in pmx editor which is impossible
GB: Maybe I didn't understand what you were telling me - you used some terminology I wasn't familiar with, like 3dcg, and you said I can use "the modding programs" to extract parts, but I was unable to find the program you meant. I also don't know what a "golden tool" is. I'm basically learning this from the ground up on my own, and someone else told me about ninjaripper. If you can link me to something better, I'm definitely eager to try it.
CL: ok so the program is called SB3Utility it supports all illusions games www.hongfire.com/forum/showthr
GB: Ok, thanks, I'll check it out.
CL: tell me if you succeed
I sent the guy I'd been asking for tips a question about copying facial morphs, and in the course of the conversation, I showed him what I had so far, and he expressed confusion or possibly frustration (it's hard to tell with this guy sometimes)...apparently I'm doing everything wrong? There's some way to export what I want straight out of the game's resource files using the modding tool program that hongfire uses, it seems? I'm not sure I'm following correctly, but looking around in the program (SB3Utility), It looks like I can dig around in the resource files and export individual meshes/textures/sounds etc, maybe even animations?
I'm having a few stumbling blocks here, the main one being, does this mean I have to export every single resource into an individual file, then load them up in the PMX editor and build each model mesh by mesh, texture by texture, location by location? If it's possible to load an entire model in SB3Utility, I can't find it. But also, what about things like bones? And the MMD naming conventions that makes other animations work? It's confusing, overwhelming and frustrating.
GasBandit
Staff member
Just about all that goes over my head. There's a lot of terminology the modding community uses that I don't understand.
GasBandit
Staff member
Another conversation:
GB: Alright, I see that this will let me view and export individual resources from the AA2 pp files, so is how this works is, I'll have to export every piece and then recombine them and assign textures in the PMX editor to make a complete model? Or am I barking up the wrong tree here?
CL: yeah that's right
/headdesk
Well, I don't know if I'm relieved or discouraged to find out it's not as simple as I was led to believe, it's just... different.
It'd be a lot more useful if I were making new custom models from scratch, but as I'm trying to duplicate existing models, hunting through the resource files for the exact meshes for every lock of hair out of hundreds of possibles that are already hard to identify because the textures aren't in place... sounds even more time consuming than what I'm doing. By a LOT.
But would it be worth it to have better joints, morphs and weighted rigging already done? It might make for a higher quality of model than I've been producing thus far... But I could easily see it doubling, tripling or more my work time per model.
I dunno.
GB: Alright, I see that this will let me view and export individual resources from the AA2 pp files, so is how this works is, I'll have to export every piece and then recombine them and assign textures in the PMX editor to make a complete model? Or am I barking up the wrong tree here?
CL: yeah that's right
/headdesk
Well, I don't know if I'm relieved or discouraged to find out it's not as simple as I was led to believe, it's just... different.
It'd be a lot more useful if I were making new custom models from scratch, but as I'm trying to duplicate existing models, hunting through the resource files for the exact meshes for every lock of hair out of hundreds of possibles that are already hard to identify because the textures aren't in place... sounds even more time consuming than what I'm doing. By a LOT.
But would it be worth it to have better joints, morphs and weighted rigging already done? It might make for a higher quality of model than I've been producing thus far... But I could easily see it doubling, tripling or more my work time per model.
I dunno.
GasBandit
Staff member
Hah, that part's no trouble. Wait till you see the actual animation I'm gonna put her in.
Here's a little hint (that'll probably give everything away)
Probably will take me at least another 3 weeks to finish it, though :/
GasBandit
Staff member
I'm simultaneously continuing to convert models my "old" way while trying to wrap my head around the "new" way that CL has been trying to tell me is better.
I've improved slightly, from being completely clueless about the process to barely grasping a teensy bit of how it works while having no idea how to accomplish the final goal in this manner. But I've figured out how to export assets in FBX format from SB3util, which includes each body part's bone structure. I'm HOPING this means it also exports the weight applied to the vertices, which would already go miles toward making the models look better. I've also found assets in the AA2 files which.. I THINK... are animation/morph files. But I can't tell them apart and I haven't figured out how to preview them yet... which means I can't tell the difference between a morph slider for making a face smile or mouth a phoneme from an animation loop for thrusting during sexy time. Those would be bad to mix up, I think. Anyway, it's progress, I suppose. If I can figure out how to export morph sliders with the bones, meshes, collision bodies, AND have the vertices weighted as they are in game... the quality of the models will go up about 9000%. But I'm light years away from understanding how to accomplish that. That, and replicating an established model in this method would be deliriously time consuming - especially hunting down all the hair meshes.
Meanwhile, I think I'm still on track for the next video to be done, say, end of weekend after next, maybe.
I've improved slightly, from being completely clueless about the process to barely grasping a teensy bit of how it works while having no idea how to accomplish the final goal in this manner. But I've figured out how to export assets in FBX format from SB3util, which includes each body part's bone structure. I'm HOPING this means it also exports the weight applied to the vertices, which would already go miles toward making the models look better. I've also found assets in the AA2 files which.. I THINK... are animation/morph files. But I can't tell them apart and I haven't figured out how to preview them yet... which means I can't tell the difference between a morph slider for making a face smile or mouth a phoneme from an animation loop for thrusting during sexy time. Those would be bad to mix up, I think. Anyway, it's progress, I suppose. If I can figure out how to export morph sliders with the bones, meshes, collision bodies, AND have the vertices weighted as they are in game... the quality of the models will go up about 9000%. But I'm light years away from understanding how to accomplish that. That, and replicating an established model in this method would be deliriously time consuming - especially hunting down all the hair meshes.
Meanwhile, I think I'm still on track for the next video to be done, say, end of weekend after next, maybe.
GasBandit
Staff member
You didn't ask me about tonight, you asked me about this weekend. And I know you're busy tomorrow night with esports, I thought you said. But yeah, tonight or sunday is easily doable, and later saturday night probably too.But it's out already! We could play tonight, or tomorrow, or Sunday!
GasBandit
Staff member
I'm SUCH a doofus. Here I am doing the physics and whatnot for each skirt for every model when it only today occurs to me EVERY MODEL WILL USE THE SAME SKIRT and I could just create a separate "skirt" file, do the physics there, and then later import it and attach it on to the bare ass of each model as needed.
/facepalm
/headdesk
This will also get around the problem of "I can use the plugin for either the hair or the skirt but not both" thing.
/facepalm
/headdesk
This will also get around the problem of "I can use the plugin for either the hair or the skirt but not both" thing.
GasBandit
Staff member
Well, on the down side, a combination of being gone all saturday to see Civil War and visit friends, plus playing Overwatch all friday night, plus getting called into work on sunday has put me behind schedule. It's probably pushed back the next video by another week or so.
On the plus side, however, I've got the modular importable skirt working now, so that part should go a lot faster on future models.
On the plus side, however, I've got the modular importable skirt working now, so that part should go a lot faster on future models.
GasBandit
Staff member
Progress is being made. Here's a little preview of @Celt Z's model.
Yes, she can open her eyes just fine, I just have them like here for consistency with game canon
What really impressed me about myself (as self-absorbed as that sounds) is that I was able to do all five phonemes tonight, in one sitting, in rapid succession. I guess I'm getting better at this.
I've got some ideas which might streamline the creation of the remaining three I need for the next video. I'm thinking maybe it'll get me back on track, so that it'll be done weekend after next. Here's hoping.
Yes, she can open her eyes just fine, I just have them like here for consistency with game canon
What really impressed me about myself (as self-absorbed as that sounds) is that I was able to do all five phonemes tonight, in one sitting, in rapid succession. I guess I'm getting better at this.
I've got some ideas which might streamline the creation of the remaining three I need for the next video. I'm thinking maybe it'll get me back on track, so that it'll be done weekend after next. Here's hoping.
Ha! The best part of this is that I have a dance class this morning, and I actually use a number of those moves! (Except for the skirt clipping)Progress is being made. Here's a little preview of @Celt Z's model.
Yes, she can open her eyes just fine, I just have them like here for consistency with game canon
What really impressed me about myself (as self-absorbed as that sounds) is that I was able to do all five phonemes tonight, in one sitting, in rapid succession. I guess I'm getting better at this.
I've got some ideas which might streamline the creation of the remaining three I need for the next video. I'm thinking maybe it'll get me back on track, so that it'll be done weekend after next. Here's hoping.
I hope this means she gets used in a music video, which would be great!, but I know you're busy building the rest of the student body/bodies, so I completely understand if it doesn't happen.
GasBandit
Staff member
You, Wasabi, Ash, Fade and Film Fanatic are all going to be in the same video. That's why it's taking so long to come out - having to convert 5 models over.[DOUBLEPOST=1462979818,1462979782][/DOUBLEPOST]
Video plz
Yay, dance party!
I don't have a sailor fuku, but I'll see what I can do about the dancing. Maybe ask Mr. Z to help.
GasBandit
Staff member
I'm still rolling around in the back of my mind exactly what I'm going to do with all these models once I get them converted over. One problem is that it is extremely easy to get ideas that are too similar to things already being done... like this.
Somebody's already converted over all the Yandere Simulator models for use in MMD apparently
And of course, Yandere Sim is already WAY more mainstream than Halforums Academy. This must be what it felt like to develop games for the Atari Jaguar >_<
Somebody's already converted over all the Yandere Simulator models for use in MMD apparently
And of course, Yandere Sim is already WAY more mainstream than Halforums Academy. This must be what it felt like to develop games for the Atari Jaguar >_<
GasBandit
Staff member
Thanks to learning some shortcuts the hard way, I've now managed to catch up and even get ahead. I've finished Ash and Fade both. Just Film Fanatic left to go, and I'm hoping I can have the video up by the end of tomorrow. A week ahead of how long I thought it would take me!
I'm not sure what skirt physics are being used, but that's a strong breeze that hits poor Wasabi in the beginning. I'm surprised someone didn't offer her a Snickers. (And no, I'm not talking about clipping. I'm assuming it's the part of whatever setting the skirts have.) But you're doing a great job, Gas! These are really cute.
(In case someone doesn't understand the Snickers comment):
(In case someone doesn't understand the Snickers comment):
GasBandit
Staff member
There's a tug of war, when it comes to skirts, between clipping and physics freakouts. If I make the collision bodies small, more clipping occurs as they squeeze between each other, but there's less skirts/hair going batcrap crazy.... but if I make the collision bodies larger to fight clipping, It causes them to bump into each other more, and if the movement is violent enough (which often it is in jerky dances like the beginning) it can impart a whole lot of kinetic energy to the skirt bodies, resulting in... that.
It's a balancing act, and I have to tweak it for every single video. I think it might be a limitation of the engine, because I've never seen an MMD video where a skirt actually behaved realistically. That's why most of the "official" models wear pants or shorts, I think, or if there must be a skirt, it's a poofy, cotton-candy nebulous tutu with no physics that they just let whatever clip through.