Help with understanding modding/ Character creation

[Rodinius]

Hi guys im new here as you can probably guess. . I am really interested in getting into map creation and character creation but im unsure of where to go or what to get. Currently I dont own a full version of Quake one (not a good start but im working on it) I do have worldcraft and all the other required downloads installed so that when i have a copy of quake i can get things moving, but what kind of things would I need to have to start on creating my own character models??? and how can i go about modding characters like this!!!!

Please somebody help me !!!!!

[scar3crow]

For the physical appearance of characters or actors in Quake, you can alter just the skin of the model, which is done by altering the skin file (typically a pcx but some mods are engine specific and use other forms) which can be done in any paint-ish program like Photoshop or GIMP. The other aspect is the model itself, what the skin wraps around which gives it the 3d definition. For Quake you can use qME which can be found at http://www.quaketerminus.com/tools.htm There are other choices such as Blender, which is more robust as an editor but not specific for Quake so it takes a few more steps. Chillo and Error use qME, particularly Chillo, and leileilol and Preach use Blender.

For changing the character behavior, that is done through the game logic, or the QuakeC, which is what this site focuses on - there are numerous tutorials to be found on the frontpage, and any questions can be posed in the Coding section of this forum. Nearly everyone here has at least moderate qc experience to help you along (aside from me, ironically enough).

For mapping, well, you said you have Worldcraft and such, so if you want to use that editor, then go do so. Find some tutorials if you wish, and if its a normal question, you can ask here or at http://www.celephais.net/board in the appropriate help thread, though that site is more high level, and most beginning map questions could be answered here quite easily. Also some of the mappers frequent this forum (neg!ke for example) so they can be of assistance.

Now go buy Quake (if you like q2 and q3a as well the Ultimate Quake Pack or whatnot is a good deal) and make something cool for us to play!

[Rodinius]

now this is the other problem.... Why is it so hard to find quake one, im gonna get it on ebay, but i have to wait for my money to come through with paypal :(:(:( so frustrating!!

[Preach]

I did some tutorials on making models for quake, but they are intermediate level not entry level. Basically they assume that you know how to make a low polygon 3D model, and then teach how to make that model into a quake format model with skins and animation. But if you want to take a look, they start at http://qexpo.quakedev.com/booth.php?id=32&page=79

The link to gmax doesn't work any more, you need to visit http://www.turbosquid.com to get a copy.

[frag.machine]

now this is the other problem.... Why is it so hard to find quake one, im gonna get it on ebay, but i have to wait for my money to come through with paypal :(:(:( so frustrating!!

Well, it's a 10 year-old game... Not exactly the most wanted novelty in the market

[Rodinius]

I did some tutorials on making models for quake, but they are intermediate level not entry level. Basically they assume that you know how to make a low polygon 3D model, and then teach how to make that model into a quake format model with skins and animation. But if you want to take a look, they start at http://qexpo.quakedev.com/booth.php?id=32&page=79

The link to gmax doesn't work any more, you need to visit http://www.turbosquid.com to get a copy.

I can make 3d polygon models, I use maya at college. Its just a bit blagging the way you wrap the skin around the characters and to work out which ones to paint what. but in maya we are just getting to the stage of animation thats what i need help on most and also the confusion of the texture mapping (i will do some screen dumps to try and show ppl what i mean if anybody is interested to have a look for me and explain what im doing wrong.

Thanks for all the help guys hope to hear from anyone who is interested to help me by looking at my screen dumps and thankyou scar3crow i got qme. i quite like it.

[Rodinius]

but also i need a little bit of help by analysing the particular Quake in game models to look at the skeletons of the characters. If possible, could someone send me a .MDL of a wireframe, just to see how the dudes at ID made it work for them

[Urre]

Quake models don't have skeletons. If you have Quake (which I guess you don't judging from earlier posts), or models from any freely available Quake mod or models pack, you can dissect some models. They won't help you much at all though, since they contain basicly nothing but vertexes in various positions in different frames. They might have been skeletally animated before exported to the MDL format, I honestly don't know, but that doesn't matter in the end.

[Rodinius]

ok thanks

[Boss429]

You could use a skeletal animated format (like .PSK or .DPM) if you use DarkPlaces as your quake engine.