Daystrom Class Reimagined WIP - Need help with exporting and making a full mod

[phasertech]

Hello!

This is my first experience modding Bridge Commander, and i'd really appreciate any input you people could give me, as well as some help on a problem i'm having:

I'm using Milkshape 3d to build and edit the model, and when i export the model to NIF format, it loses all but the lightmaps when i open it in NIFScope or Blender3d, also, the textures won't render in the Hardpoint Editor, and i can't figure out how to get the ship ingame without crashing it... it either never loads (enters the system in quickbattle), or crashes. help with this would be greatly appreciated, as i would love to get this ship in-game, and uploaded for the rest of the community to enjoy!

Now without further ado, the pics (rendered in both ms3d and Blender):

















And theTGA Lightmaps (previous pictures taken using BMP textures)


The Daystrom was originally a sister project alongside the intrepid; when the intrepid proved more useful, the Daystrom was shelved
until the disappearance of the USS Voyager, when work on the project resumed. Based on the Excelsior hull, the Daystrom's extensive
labs and triple-deflector array made it a science vessel with the capability to explore almost any environment. With a powerful shield system,
and a competent armament, the Daystrom is one of Starfleet's finest. The first ship to be officially commissioned, USS Discovery NCC-79274,
launched 2 years after the Scimitar incident, Commanded by Commander Ryan Sharp. After an incident in which Sharp and his crew disobeyed
orders and left Spacedock to intercept the Shalvaar world destroyer, Admiral Hawthorne gave Sharp permanent command of the vessel, and
promoted him to Captain, due to the heroic actions of him and his crew in saving several Klingon worlds from destruction at the hands of the
ruthless Shalvaar.

Thanks for any input and help!

-Phasertech

[tiqhud]

Sorry, cant Help with the graphics end of the ship, but it does look intresting, all I can do is HP the nif and set it with proper file structure, be looking forward to the finished nif.

[ACES_HIGH]

as for that last image, that is how milkshape shows textures with alpha channels, it treats them as transparency maps instead of light maps, it should render properly once you get it into the game.

[phasertech]

all I can do is HP the nif and set it with proper file structure, be looking forward to the finished nif.

i think part of my problem is that i don't know what the file structure setup is, and i don't know how to build up a hardpoint file
for a new model. i can edit hardpoints (i like to try to make sure every phaser strip is well-angled, and feels canon),  but i can't seem
to make new ones. also, one of the problems i had was that i couldn't re-place any parts of a hardpoint that i dropped down in the editor.
any idea what the problem is?

as for that last image, that is how milkshape shows textures with alpha channels, it treats them as transparency maps instead of light maps, it should render properly once you get it into the game.

I knew that ahead of time, and figured as much. however, when NIFScope and Blender failed to render them correctly, i figured something was wrong, though
I don't know what. the Hardpoint editor didn't render the textures, and the ship would never show up in game, so i don't know what's going on there.

[Darkthunder]

In later versions of Milkshape (due in part because of a request by me to the programs author), he added an "Ignore alpha" feature which will properly display the textures with Alpha channels without going semi-transparent.

[tiqhud]

any idea what the problem is?

Are you useing MPE or Notepad, with MPE check scale 0.01, and with notepad it is just so Easy to remove something you shoulddn't , thats mainly why I stick with MPE, except for verrrrry minor things.

[phasertech]

In later versions of Milkshape (due in part because of a request by me to the programs author), he added an "Ignore alpha" feature which will properly display the textures with Alpha channels without going semi-transparent.

Thanks! that helps me with texture-mapping a lot! actually showed me that i have an issue with one of my textures too. glad i caught it!

any idea what the problem is?

Are you useing MPE or Notepad, with MPE check scale 0.01, and with notepad it is just so Easy to remove something you shoulddn't , thats mainly why I stick with MPE, except for verrrrry minor things.

Using MPE, and thanks for the help! i'll try that once i finish fixing the model up. i'm gonna try to add some phaser strips, but considering that i'm working with milkshape, that'll take some time. I think my problem getting the model in-game may have been something in the file structure i was missing. could someone give me quick review? i can't seem to find a tutorial on it.

[Starforce2]

the neck is too tall and the ship is too advanced for those type of dishes, they should be built into the drive hull.

[Maxloef]

get it away get it away xD

[MarkyD]

I think certain areas of the ship lack detail, the neck for example it just a bunch of lines, and for BC that does not cut it, to me this looks like an A2 of SFC mesh..  ;)

[phasertech]

hey, thanks for the input, all! I do plan on working more with the model before a final public release, including fixing the neck detail and I am
already working on a new model with a shorter neck and pylons; although i kinda prefer the original look, i have to admit the new model is looking
a lot more like an Excelsior-based ship.

I'm still having trouble getting the current build of the model (which now also has phaser strips, pics coming soon!) to work in bridge commander,
and i don't know what i'm doing wrong. I've made a hardpoint file successfully now, and I've made the menu plugin script, mad sure i had all the textures,
that the model was in the right format, and everything, but it still won't work, the game freezes up when trying to load the model, or just refuses to
load the ship if i'm using the addship function. could anyone help me, or better yet, be willing to take a look at what i have and tell me what, if anything, i'm missing?

[MarkyD]

Look forward to seeing ur progress 

[KrrKs]

Are you missing the ships file in Scipts/ships ? (just askin'  :roll)

[phasertech]

yep.... remade the plugin and everything, too, still not working. someone want to deal with the scripting for me? it seems to hate me.

[phasertech]

okay, i just found at least one of the problems, the non-plugin script was the plugin.... :roll well that'll teach me that one....
the model now loads ingame, but it causes a massive lag issue, and only loads the texture for the phaser strips....

any ideas?

[Kirk]

Are all of the textures in these resolutions: 1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256,512,1024, or 2048. (Anything more is excessive and will not show on some computers, some computers also cannot show 2048 textures.)

[phasertech]

nope, checked that first. they're all 1280 or 800, with the exception of the phaserstrip, which is 256x64. do they need to be in one of those formats?
and i'm pretty sure my laptop can handle it, the thing's built for games/design, i got it as part of my Major program.

[Maxloef]

1280 and 800 wont work ;)

[phasertech]

haha YES!!! thank you! almost there, now my lightmaps aren't working.... but the ship is ingame, and the hardpoint is nearly done. screenshots coming soon!

anyone got any ideas why my lightmaps may not be working? i checked in milkshape and GIMP, and they're still there, but BC doesn't seem to want to show them.

[KrrKs]

Do the maps have the "_glow.tga" extension" ?