Rigging ships for a video game, what is the best meathod?

[starfox1701]

Hi guys as you may or may not know I have the most experience moding for Armada 2 and while I can tinker with a ship Hardpoint file for BC I don't have the first clue how to actually rig the hardpoints to the model. I assume the it is not done in the traditional way placing named helpers in the meshes as a final part of the modeling process. So I have 3 questions

1) In detail how is the hardpointing done in BC an I would assume by extension Excalibur?

2) If this better and easier then the other method used in games like Armada and Empire at War?

3) Are their any other methods for doing hardpointing used in these types of games?

[Nighthawk]

you need the Model Property Editor, which comes with the SDK.
http://bridgecommander.filefront.com/file/Installable_SDK;46701

can't speak for Armada, but there is a certain set of rules for the hardpointing... as for easier or harder, it all depends on the complexity of the hardpoint and the detail of the ship.
some hardpoints may only include a hull and a ship property, while others can have multiple systems and backups (like the Borg cube)

it all involves a bit of modelling and scripting knowledge, so if you're a good designer, you will still have to know your way around the code if any bugs appear, and if you're a good scripter, you need to know the structure of the .nif file if you want to make a quick edit, like shifting a misaligned mesh.

[JimmyB76]

Excal's HP system is a bit different from BC's...
these are a few vids showing some of how the Excal HP Editor and HP System is...

[starfox1701]

I think I definitely like the Excalibur method. Is the game also using direct X files for the ships?