jay pettitt

Those of us using Blender to produce models for export to Doom3 Radiant will at some point need to install the Python programming language for the various plugin scripts that enable Blender to export to the file formats supported by Radiant. The process is not as streight forward as it could be, so here I am detailing the procedure for Windows users. Updating Blender Make sure you are running Blender 2.35 or later. Downloading and installing Python Download Python and run the setup program. Ensure that the destination directory for the install is the default: C:/Python23 Setting a System Variable for Python in Windows XP, 2000, NT For Python to work correctly with other software (such as blender) a system variable must be set. Open the Control Panel (in classic rather than catagory view for XP users) and open the System properties dialogue box. Select the Adavanced tab and press the Environment Variables button. Scroll through the list for System Variables and look for one called PYTHONPATH. If on does not exist you will need to create a new System Variable, otherwise you can edit the existing variable, by pressing the appropriate button. In the System Variable dialogue box enter: PYTHONPATH in the Variable Name text field and C:\Python23\lib;C:\Python23\;C:\Python23\DLLs;C:\Python23\tcl;C:\Python23\libs\ in the Variable Value text field. Setting a System Variable for Python in Windows 9x In notepad load the text file C:/autoexec.bat Add the following line: SET PYTHONPATH=C:\Python23\lib;C:\Python23\;C:\Python23\DLLs;C:\Python23\tcl;C:\Python23\libs\ (thats all one line by the way, without any line breaks that might appear in your browser) Save, reboot and off you go

Sadly IrfanView is windows only. Shame that, because it rocks. It seems to work OK with WINE at a push. Of course The GIMP can resize images. You'll be wanting to bolt on a batch processing extension to save you from having to go through all the images by hand.

I've got a load of wood vaneers knocking about from various attempts at marquetry. Thought I'd scan them in. You can download my veneers pack, load some examples into windows paint or whatever your favourite image editor is and cut and paste to your hearts content (Get a grown up to help with the scissors, lol). Heres one I did earlier in about 94 seconds. enjoy

Thats looking sweet Renz. Deffinately capturing the right kind of atmosphere. Its a bit dark to show off the textures though

I used to have a nose. But nowadays I have to use this bannana. Otherwise that is looking a bit like a head. A head with very low ears. But yeah, its really good work. I'd quite like an ever so slightly pointier chin, and slightly fleshier cheeks just under the eyes there. Am I high maintanence? And not having a neck will help him hide in the shadows. I'm sorry. Apart from those things its fantastic

More likely missing a thigh I'm afraid. *jay goes looking for a bit of paper to scribble on* Anatomy and Phisiology 101 Confusion arises because Human Beens are a bit odd. Our tarsus (we have a few so its tarsals) are in our feet. And we also walk on our feet, which is just daft. Just about everything else that isn't a monkey walks on their toes, not their feet. What looks like it might be a a back to front knee is actually the ankle. Like so. Oh and the bulging muscle on the Belcher's tarsus is back to front. You had it right in mini diagram where you compare scale to a human. So is the Belchers inflatable Belch sack going to be coloured (like a frogs) as if to attract a mate. Look everyone. Its a kitten. Notice the really long foot, the knee and thigh?

I get to look outside. Ooh. Thiefiness. *jay looks smug*

lookin good.

looking good. edit - know what you mean NH. lol, I had a go at drawing the other day too. A bit out of practice

I imagine it was a solution to the practical problem of the player clipping a wall while picking if the locks were to one side.

The already mentioned blender is free, fully featured and can export to the appropriate formats required for D3 models and animation. There is a blender sub community over at Doom 3 world. I've been playing around with it for a few days. Once you get over the 'huh!?!' hurdle where you can't get it to do anything, its actually pretty good. I'd be happy to help get you started if you want to give it a try.

T2's block thing is supposed to look like a gem mounted in a ring.

I like the new noise maker. At least, I think it is heading in a much better direction. Having a 'reed' like a penny whistle is a much more convincing reason for a whistling noise than lots of holes. I like convincing. I'm in the porcelain please camp too.

i suppose the advantage of the light gem representing a real world (well kinda real world) object is to maintain the suspension of belief. The wierd compass/light gem device in T3 was quite practical, but it felt dissjointed to me.,

not by way of a cucumber whose flower opens in light and closes in the dark? Does it always point north?

umm, that would be a bit back to front goldfish guy. A change of perspective would allow the player to see the direction they are headed aswell as where they have been. I'd still be interested to hearr what people think about dropping the gem for a mechanical measuring device. Nothing wrong with a gem. but it would be different, cool and thiefy not to.

I think the spinning crystal is too far the other way. Too minimalist. Just a pocket compass of suitable vintage would do. Nothing fancy. I do like pakmannens gem. That kind of proportion and perspective might fit very nicely. (surely how much screen real estate a round gem takes up depends on how big it is?)

its cool, but its wierd and self endulgent too. I think G (oops) would sell it. I'd use that design for a cool item of loot though, or perhaps something larger like a clock face. How about something a little less flashy?

Which would, of course, be largely pointless. Not much point blinding a guard half a block away. The thing about smoke arrows/flash bombs is that they are limited in number rather than particularly challenging to use. You've got me on the steampunk issue though I'd certainly still recommend implementing a 'flash' or smoke arrow during the early stages of development so the functionality is there without needing specific modelling and animation (although I suppose the DOOM3 grenade throw might suffice?). Regarding the shattering noise arrow. I quite like the idea. Breaking glass would certainly attract attention. Although in the first two games the noise arrows were few but reuseable. I hate to be a kill joy, but do we need a noise arrow at all? Could the thief not just fire a broadhead at something noisy or throw a pot? Less work is good in my book.

smoke arrow (a bit like a smoke grenade) instead of a flashbomb = less work to implement maybe? glowing colours sounds like a fine way of differentiating between between the arrows.

I found these piccies of moonstone on the web: I think the whole translucent light & dark vibe would work really well. In the first two games (similar to the example BlackThief posted) I was under the impression that the light gem was mounted in a ring, which I thought was quite a nice concept. Would it be cool if the compass was a selectable object held in G's hands instead of a HUD element or do people prefer if the compass in permenantly on? I also thought if perhaps some kind of elaborate machined brass device could provide a light meter. Something with cogs and workings like the inside of a pocket watch with a display similar to a moonphase? If we plump for a combined compass/light gem I have to say I didn't like how it looked in T3. Something a little less wierd would suit. How's this for fun:

examples. You want examples. This evening I make the low poly chair so you got to let me in. on principle. woot. Ok, so its not as good as the other guy's, but its my first go with blender, which as anyone will tell you is a wierd arse program. And its low poly, ready to export to md5 or whatever the file format is and ready to use in an untextured kind of way. so there you go. Subdivided gargoyle is next...

I'd guess that any textures, noises, models and what-not created by these guys would be available to FM authors for T:DS also... Its an interesting prospect. T:DS obviously has quite a head start on the Doomed project. Sensible people might jump ship and focus resources there instead. Here's hoping that Eidos and Ion Storm make some kind of decision one way or the other soonish. Currently a level editor is supplied with Doom 3. Some simple mods are possible by hacking texture, model and other files. I could be wrong, but I think that the format for 3d models is the .md5 file type - which has been used by John Carmack and team for years and is well supported with utilities and file converters. ID have promissed to release the full software development kit shortly - which should allow for some pretty serious modding - similar in scope to the situation with Half Life and the Unreal games.

Don't apologise Phil Are you refering to the post you made about mods and Quake 3 being released under the GPL? If not, I have probably missed something and you can ignore the bit below ID have re-released the source code for Quake 3 and some of its other games (including the previous incarnations of Doom) as open source under the GPL - but only years after the games were originally released (Quake 3 was only GPLed a few weeks ago, after the release of Doom 3). While the titles are considered commercially viable they are distributed with a closed source license. It will be years before ID even consider releasing Doom 3 under the GPL. ID normally ask that fan made material is distributed freely and non commercially. Don't get me wrong. I'd encourage anyone to be as open with licensing and copyright as possible. I'm a linux user, a fan of the GPL and am contributing to open source projects. But the GPL is not the appropriate license for a Doom 3 mod, they are incompatible in a legal licensy kind of way.

Yikes. I wouldn't let people in, out of priciple, either. I really don't have much much to show for my previous efforts - a couple of hard drive deaths and a habit for giving away paintings to friends and the like, have made sure of that. I've got some illustrations I did for Local government and some of the Wildlife Trusts (a UK charity) knocking about. I could scan something in. Better than that, I'll produce some generic Thiefy content over the next few evenings - That way you can assess my work and get something usefull done at the same time