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FPSC Classic Models and Media / Character Editor - W.I.P

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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 13th Apr 2012 18:00 Edited at: 15th May 2012 22:23
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I hade a little spare time so I put together a small app thats been in my mind for quite some while.

Its a "Character Editor", well not really an editor in that way. But it allows you to with a few clicks change every part of the texture of the soldier character (which comes in a few different variations in the mesh)

Its very easy to use, and the results are pretty much endless. With the current texturebases its possible to have over 12 000 different combinations

So, now its time to put an end to clones and SAS to act as russian terrorists
(At least for those unfamiliar with retextures)

How it works:
A basic set of base meshes that uses the same UV are supplied with the application. As well as several parts for the texture such as pants, shoes, faces, hands etc.
These parts are rendered in the application into a finished texture for the character. Currently only Diffuse texture will be exported, but Normalmaps will be supported pretty soon.

When you are done with your character you will be able to set a few properties for the character such as health and equiped weapon before exporting the character as FPSC ready. No need to copy pasting files and editing .fpe

Current features:
- Preview on different soldiertypes (light, medium and heavy soldier)
- Change 12 different zones of the textures
- Cool zooming for a better view
- Render the result to a .dds texture
- If your monitor got a screen height resolution above 1024 pixels you will be able to render a 1024x1024 sized tetxure, else you will get a 512x512 texture.
- Adaptive "partloader" allows you to import your own custom parts to be used with the default textureparts
- Save setups as a .cef file so you can share your favorite setups with others

- Export the character with its texture into FPSC


Current zones that you can change:
Helmet
Face
Vest
Shoulder
Shirt
Hands
Pouches
Faction (for example flags and team colours)
Details
Pants
Shoes
Base

Current ammount of combinations:
10 000 000+

Will it be free?
Well, I do hope that I will be able to charge a low price for this since I want to collect money for a trip to London.
It all depends on how it turns out in the end

Video:



Images:


Soldiers:



More info will come soon

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Flatlander
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Posted: 13th Apr 2012 18:05
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This looks absolutely super. Will this be easy to use even for me, a noob modeler?

Have you started on the model pack that you were hoping to do way back before v1.19 started in beta? I'm certainly no longer holding my breath. :LOL:


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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 13th Apr 2012 18:44
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Quote: "This looks absolutely super. Will this be easy to use even for me, a noob modeler?"


Of course! Its a bit inspired by the character editor in Brink, but since I havent figured out a way to export animated DirectX files from DB Pro you will only be able to change the textures.

Quote: "Have you started on the model pack that you were hoping to do way back before v1.19 started in beta? I'm certainly no longer holding my breath. :LOL:
"


I got a few things done, Roger Wilco did also begin developing a few things, but I am not sure if it will be enough for a complete modelpack.
Maybe I will gather all small projects I have begun with. But for the moment I wont startup any larger projects due to currently having enough stress around me

Anyhow the character editor took me only a few hours, and the main reason why I do it is that I hope it to bring enough money for a trip to London with my friend.
A complete modelpack with enough variation and easy of use takes a little bit more time

BUT I will, as soon as possible, create something that hopefully will make you pleased and try to get it into FPSC as stock


I will update first post now with soem better info.


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Flatlander
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Posted: 13th Apr 2012 19:33
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I'm willing to pay for it this app.

Out of curiosity, what DirectX files do you need to export out of DBPro? I may or may not be able to help. Since this has to do with models I would expect they would be image files?

[off topic]
As far as a model pack; how about selling as individual models? I'll even be willing to buy whatever you come up with.
[/off topic]


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bruce3371
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Posted: 13th Apr 2012 19:39
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Quote: "and the main reason why I do it is that I hope it to bring enough money for a trip to London with my friend."


Who's the lucky person who won tickets to the Olympics?!!

On topic, looks good, good luck with this

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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 13th Apr 2012 20:11
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Quote: "I'm willing to pay for it this app.
"


Thanks! Good to hear

Quote: "Out of curiosity, what DirectX files do you need to export out of DBPro? I may or may not be able to help. Since this has to do with models I would expect they would be image files?
"


Currently I am able to copy an existing DirectX .x mesh into FPSC, but if I wanted to add things like a cowboyhat or anything else that adds to the model itself its not possible to export it as an animated mesh.

Everything is working in its current state, but the character editor is limited to just creating textures.
It would be cool to add another layer of customisation (and I promise, as soon as I find a way to export animated .x files from DB Pro I will put together a "weaponbuilder" )



Quote: "[off topic]
As far as a model pack; how about selling as individual models? I'll even be willing to buy whatever you come up with.
[/off topic]
"


... didnt think of that
Haha! Will see what I am able to do, I could go via the GC Store.

Quote: "Quote: "and the main reason why I do it is that I hope it to bring enough money for a trip to London with my friend."

Who's the lucky person who won tickets to the Olympics?!!"


I totally forgot about the olympics... Then I guess it will be crowded and impossible to get a room at a hotel
Well well, hopefully I could afford a tent

Quote: "On topic, looks good, good luck with this "


Thanks!


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Scene Commander
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Posted: 13th Apr 2012 21:05
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Looking good, real life willing, I'd pay for this too.
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kingofmk98
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Posted: 13th Apr 2012 21:59
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Looks neat. I would pay for it but i hope its free

http://technowarfareproductions.webs.com/
get free fpsc media at http://fpscfree.webs.com/
http://i53.tinypic.com/2cp9pbl.gif
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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 14th Apr 2012 00:16 Edited at: 14th Apr 2012 00:27
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Quote: "Looking good, real life willing, I'd pay for this too. "


Quote: "Looks neat. I would pay for it but i hope its free"



Thanks!



I have added some new textureparts, and its now possible to have over 10 million different combinations!
Its like "pay for 1 and get 10 000 000"
But I wont stop

(Not saying that you should create 10 million different characters, but you should be able to quickly whip together something that will suit YOUR game just perfect)



[edit]
Like this, this combination would probably not be the first thing someone would think of when creating a character. But I must say it looks quite cool, like a russian rebell that is supported by the british army
Took only a few minutes to find the combination.




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henry ham
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Posted: 14th Apr 2012 01:55
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looks good mate great idea

cheers henry

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Flatlander
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Posted: 14th Apr 2012 08:18
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Can't wait because I'm looking for more characters for my game.


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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 14th Apr 2012 15:56 Edited at: 14th Apr 2012 15:57
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I didnt really like how the face turned out, so I added a bit more detail

I think it looks much better now, especially the nose.




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elbow
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Posted: 15th Apr 2012 15:47
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hi Cyborg

I'm doing an ancient Roman game with a cast of thousands (joke). Will this assist me with clothing like togas, uniforms, sandals, bare legs and laurel wreaths for the various characters?

Regards

Eugene
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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 17th Apr 2012 14:59 Edited at: 17th Apr 2012 16:07
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Quote: "hi Cyborg

I'm doing an ancient Roman game with a cast of thousands (joke). Will this assist me with clothing like togas, uniforms, sandals, bare legs and laurel wreaths for the various characters?

Regards

Eugene "


I am sorry not, this will "only" let you do texturevariations of the supplied modernday soldier (with some mesh variations)
But with some modifications it should at least be possible to do texturevariations of an existing roman character. But I guess it would be easier for you to do the retextures within photoshop instead.

Now I dont mean that this app wont be easy to use


Anyhow, did some slight modifications to the mesh and I think this fellow looks better than before. What do you guys think?



I did a try with Uzi idiots shader. Support for exporting all required texturemaps will probably be included in the future as soon as I got a stable release of the application.

Now I will continue with the app and dont do any more work on the mesh itself for now.



[edit]
Recorded a video of the character ingame. But for some reason they decided to... well... flip out sometimes




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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 19th Apr 2012 10:40
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I know, double post...

But I got some updates:

Character editor updates:
-You are now able to save "character editor" files, which basicly is a textfile, that lets you freely share your favourite setups with anyone. No need to worry about releasing the texture itself

-Its now possible to type the number of the texture you want instead of having to press the arrowkeys until you find it

-By editing the setupfile you are now able to decide wether you want the application to automaticly update the texture or if you want to press the spacekey to render. Due to the method behind putting all the parts together the texture will quickly flash by on the screen, so the auto feature is off be default.

The character updates:
-Now support for ragdolls without looking like the guy exploded

-Fixed the buggy apearance of the character (which happens in the video)

-New shoulders and some finetuning of the gear

-Some slight changes to the deathanimation

And then a cool render



I am also taking request for textureparts, if you want a certain camoflage or certain patches.
Even after the release of the character editor I will supply free updates with new textureparts.
Currently there is support for 100 textures for each zone, and if all slots would be filled you would be able to create over
100 000 000 000 000 000 000+
different variations of the character


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Scene Commander
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Posted: 19th Apr 2012 10:55
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This is looking better every day. If you haven't already done so, could I suggest some police textures?

Excellent work.
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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 19th Apr 2012 12:18
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Thanks Dave!
I do have a basic "police" texture for a SWAT team, but do you mean like a standard police?
At least I will make some sets of badges and patches that could be added to any of the textures, so you can have a police with camo or red pants


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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 21st Apr 2012 00:36
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I now got shadersupport inside the editor




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Le Shorte
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Posted: 22nd Apr 2012 20:55
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Wow. That's great! My only real crit is that some of the textures could use a bit more detail. Though I don't really use FPSC anymore, I'd definitely pay upwards of $20 for this if I did.

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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 23rd Apr 2012 22:00
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Quote: "Wow. That's great! My only real crit is that some of the textures could use a bit more detail. Though I don't really use FPSC anymore, I'd definitely pay upwards of $20 for this if I did."


Thanks!

The textures are mainly to test the editor. I will put down some more work on details later.


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Meows
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Posted: 27th Apr 2012 07:09
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Very nice , keep it up. Love to see it~

Life is a short trip to another world
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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 27th Apr 2012 19:31
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Thank you!


I am currently in the process of rewriting the whole app.
When done the app will allow character developers to compile a character and all the seperate textureparts into an encrypted .zip that then gets loaded into the character editor.

So instead of just the soldier I have created, you would hopefully be able to see lots of other characters which you can swap textures on.

I will show some updates pretty soon


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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 29th Apr 2012 20:06 Edited at: 29th Apr 2012 20:08
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I am sorry for a doublepost...

But I want to share a succes of mine.

While rewriting the application I am also able to clean away some stuff.
Even if the application in its new version is much more advanced and makes it possible to read 3rd party characters, I was able to shorten something that took 400 lines of code and compressed it into 30 lines
And its does exactly the same thing, if not better.

I dont know if that shows that I am a bad coder, but I feel kind of proud of myself.


Anyhow, this is what have been added:

Develeropers app (this will not be publicly available, developers have to apply for a license):
-Now allows the developer to compile a character and all its required texturefiles into compressed and encrypted .zip to be redistributed/sold on its own

Character Editor:
-Easily loads characterfiles, just drop the character.zip into the characterfolder and it will work directly
-Adaptive ammount of texturezones, there is no set ammount of zones required. The character can have 2 zones as well as 20 different zones
-All cahracter will show up as large 256x256 thumbnails in a characterselector, for ease of use.
-The texturename is now displayed instead of a number, which will make it easier to see what texture is selected. So now it reads (police) instead of (1)



Thats it for now, but its getting better and better.

More updates to come pretty soon


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Posted: 29th Apr 2012 20:14
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Sounds great... Keep it up.
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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 30th Apr 2012 18:48 Edited at: 30th Apr 2012 18:49
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Quote: "Sounds great... Keep it up. "


Thanks!
I am getting more and more done for each day, I have been a little bit rusty with the coding so I had forgotten some things within DarkBasic Pro... But now I am upp and running on full speed



Character Editor:
-Now loads an "Author info" which displays any text supplied by the author of the loaded character.
-Its now possible to freely move around, zoom and rotate the camera with the mouse. Simple click'n'drag like in most of the 3D Modeling softwares out there, but without the need of pressing Ctrl


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Flatlander
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Posted: 1st May 2012 01:39
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Nice, and especially the tune. My favorite Irish singers they be.

I don't know if he was dancing a jig or a reel. I would say a reel.

"A programmer is just a tool which converts caffeine into code . . . reminds me….. if I had one more brain cell, I could have a synapse! woo hoo, Sparky!

~I'm the Terry of the Flatlands.
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Ross tra damus
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Posted: 1st May 2012 02:01
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If I could code an 'inch' of the 'mile' you have taken to produce this program so far, I would be a happy man.
Great stuff so far.

All the very best of luck.
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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 1st May 2012 22:04
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Quote: "Nice, and especially the tune. My favorite Irish singers they be.

I don't know if he was dancing a jig or a reel. I would say a reel."


Haha! I have come to enjoy the irish music, its so cheerfull

It was a show-reel

Quote: "If I could code an 'inch' of the 'mile' you have taken to produce this program so far, I would be a happy man.
Great stuff so far.

All the very best of luck. "


Thank you for the kind words! I apreaciate it!



Update: (for both the developers and enduser app)
-Its now possible to have up to 10 meshvariations per characterfile, so you wont have to reload a similiar character if you want to create a texture for that one as well. Just press the numberkeys

-Its possible to set different meshes for preview and export, which allows the character developer to have a previewmesh with no animations and in .x format (or any other supported by DarkBasic Pro)
and then have the exportmesh with all animations, and maybe even in a format like .fbx or unreal .psk
This will give a broader audience and wider functionality.

-Adaptive .fpe
The character developer can supply a fully customized .fpe for the character with things like effects or animations set, but still being able to have the application to add in the required info at places decided by the developer.

Either the developer allows the application to only set the texture's name and such, or its possible to have things like main script and health etc available for the end user to set when exporting the character.



Once the app gets a bit more stable with characters, then I will look into the ability to load props and weapons. I bet there wont be the same interest in such a feature since most of the time its the characters that adds most to the atmosphere. Where a russian soldier acting as an american SWAT officer could more or less ruin a game, or at least the sense of logic.


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DennisW
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Posted: 3rd May 2012 21:08
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@Cyborg ART

Anything new with your editor

Dennis

Ham and Eggs Breakfast
The Chicken was involved the Pig was Committed
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Seb_Lea
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Posted: 7th May 2012 22:25
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Looks good, do you have a texture with police written on the front like this:
http://www.eliteukforces.info/images/gallery/police/co19-shotgun.jpg
Carry on the good work.
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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 14th May 2012 19:38
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Quote: "@Cyborg ART

Anything new with your editor

Dennis"


Yes!

I decided that instead of making a "developers edition" and a "user edition", I will now merge them into a single product which allows anyone that owns the Texture swapper to create a compiled version of their own character to sell or give away.

There will probably be some kind of "lite" edition that only allows the user to open compiled characters that they got a license for (which the person who created the characterfile decided upon compiling).

So if someone wants to sell characters compiled with the Texture swapper, their customers doesnt need to own the application.



I will clean up everything, make it easier to use and then probably make a first release that got all the basic things in it. For those who are eager to start using the application.

Of course all the future updates will be free

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DennisW
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Posted: 14th May 2012 19:47
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OK Cyborg ART

It looks like I am one of those eager ones. I always like to try something new. look forward to it.

Dennis

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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 15th May 2012 22:28
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Its a shame that you cant see the cursor... but you get the idea

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Flatlander
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Posted: 16th May 2012 07:56 Edited at: 16th May 2012 07:57
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Looking forward to this as well. Just letting you know I'm still watching this thread and I really, really like that song!

"A programmer is just a tool which converts caffeine into code . . . reminds me….. if I had one more brain cell, I could have a synapse! woo hoo, Sparky!

~I'm the Terry of the Flatlands.
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DennisW
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Posted: 16th May 2012 22:56
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@ Flatlander

I liked it so much I added it to my play list

Dennis

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elbow
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Posted: 17th May 2012 02:37
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Hi Cyborg

I agree with your decision:
"instead of making a "developers edition" and a "user edition", I will now merge them into a single product"

Looking forward to the release.

regards

Eugene
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CaMeRuSh
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Posted: 28th May 2012 18:44
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Just checking to see how this is coming? This is more of my level as a newbie to character editing etc..

Would like to see update or release =D
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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 4th Jul 2012 13:32
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Quote: "Looking forward to this as well. Just letting you know I'm still watching this thread and I really, really like that song!"


Its a really great song

Quote: "Hi Cyborg

I agree with your decision:
"instead of making a "developers edition" and a "user edition", I will now merge them into a single product"

Looking forward to the release.

regards

Eugene "


Great to hear!

Quote: "Just checking to see how this is coming? This is more of my level as a newbie to character editing etc..

Would like to see update or release =D "


I have had lots of things coming in between me and the editor. But I am now in the state of cleaning everything up and make it work.
Hopefully there will be a release pretty soon.

Before releasing it I will see if TGC is interested in publishing this

A better update soon!

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Cyborg ART
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Posted: 5th Jul 2012 10:50
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Just want to mention that I have implemented a ".fpe merger" kind off.

If a developer wants to include a custom .fpe (due to custom animations or hardcoding effects etc) where you just add $CharacterName for where you want the name of the character, decided by the user when exporting, to appear.

Same for texture, scripts and effects etc.

I think its quite great!


And when exporting to FPSC you can choose two modes: basic and advanced. The export itself is similiar to the "entity form x-files" supplied by TGC, but in basic mode you only choose the name of the character, health, weapon and what team the character is on.

This will automaticly create a fully working Dark AI character.

In the advanced mode you got more options for scripts and effects .etc

The best thing is that if you leave a field blank, the app will add default values, so you can go bananas on the returnkey and still get a working character


I will see if I will add support for weapons and entities in the first release, it depends on how smooth the character exporting goes.

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