2 Q's - 1 About UvMapperPro and 1 Milkshape

[vdini]

Hi!

Can anyone point me to tutorials on Milkshape other than the one start to finish tutorial here on MTS2?

Also - Can you map and texture in Milkshape (I thought I read that, but I was not successful at it)? That is one reason I went ahead and paid for it, but if not oh well - still good to have ;)

About UV Mapper Pro - is there a point in paying for this? Does it make the mapping easier? I played in there forever and finally just made a map, then opened it in classic to finish it - and paintshoppro. I couldn't find any tutorials specific for the pro on how to use it. Like I thought you would be able to apply 2 different textures by grouping - but everytime I would select a group or assign texture to group it would recolor the whole darn thing in the texture I opened. I love the viewing and seeing immediately, but need to find something to help know how to work it. I looked at the official tutorials but didn't help.

Thanks for any input and help. I do have someone willing to sit down and help me out it is just a matter of finding time we are both online! So I figure the better grasp I get and more I learn until then, the smoother things will go :) :)

[IgnorantBliss]

If you do a Google search for "Milkshape tutorial", you will find several. They are not specifically Sims 2 related tutorials, and don't need to be, just any tutorial that'll teach you about the different techniques you can use in Milkshape will be useful.

As for UVMapper Pro, I can't really say how much of a difference it makes. The Classic version has been enough for my needs.

[Inge Jones]

Vdini, what I usually do is keep the parts of the mesh in separate groups in Milkshape. Then you can select each part more easily in UVmapper (I do have Pro). After mapping, take them back into Milkshape and put them into their final groupings.

[cokenasmile]

Also - Can you map and texture in Milkshape (I thought I read that, but I was not successful at it)? That is one reason I went ahead and paid for it, but if not oh well - still good to have ;)


I think I am in the minority here, and perhaps for good reason, but I do all my texturing in Milkshape and don't even bother with uvMapper. Like Inge said, I use as many groups as I think will help me to map my item.

To uv map in Milkshape, go to Edit, Select All. Then in the Materials Tab, click New, then <none> and browse to your texture file. Then click Assign. Then go to Window, Texture Coordinate Editor. You should see your texture and several buttons with two drop down menus, the one with each group and the one that says from which angle you want to use. You'd use the "top" view for a table's surface and "front" view for the legs, for example. Click the Region box, then click and drag a little box on your texture, then hit remap and the selected group will be mapped to that part of the texture... repeat with each group. Keep in mind that when you map, you should select a part of the texture that is the right grain or size... use a big long box for a rectangular table top, and smaller boxes for the legs to be mapped to, though depending upon the groups and shapes, you may need to Rotate or Scale in the texture coordinate editor. You can preview what you have mapped by clicking onto one of the model views and alter the mapping as you go. I save a "pregrouped" version, then regroup as needed before I save again under a different name and export. That way you can always go back and tweak your uv map if needed while it is still in many groups.

If you need more information on how to do this, let me know. :)

[NanetteTredoux]

Please Cokenasmile, I am struggling with the very same thing, a tutorial on how to do this in Milkshape would be so appreciated.
Thank you for this post though. I am going right back in there armed with this information to see if I can get better results than with UVmapper. As you said, it is the grain, orientation and scale of the texture that is presenting the problem.

[cokenasmile]

There are many tutorials already out there. Take a look at this one in particular:
http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=60686

And take a look at this article by Tiggerypum for more tutorials: http://www.modthesims2.com/article.php?p=1109515

Thanks Tig :)

[WesHowe]

People often don't realize that MilkShape is used by a lot of modders for a lot of games other than Sims2 (although that is a healthy part of the user base). So there are quite a few tutorials (some in languages other than english) linked to or hosted on the MilkShape web site itself. Many of these cover topics that are basic to 3D editing, such as UV Mapping, no matter what game or purpose you're working on 3D for.

The tutorials section of the site is at:
http://chumbalum.swissquake.ch/ms3d/tutorials.html

<* Wes *>

[NanetteTredoux]

Thank you very much for the links to the tutorials!