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Topic Starter Topic: Need help for my new project
JenkinsDC
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PostPosted: 12-04-2015 02:27 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


First of all I'm very glad I found this very active Quake 3 (modding) community! It's nice to see that this game is still alive these days.

For my new project I'm looking for some help especially for modeling, animation and about engine limitations.

Back in the days I've mapped for Half-Life, Quake 3 Arena, Doom 3 and Quake IV. Added some stuff like (bump mapped) textures, sound effects, shaders and some scripts. Therefore a basic understanding is present.

But now I need to go deeper for this mod. My questions are:

How can I change or insert new models (weapons, player and map objects)?

What programm is good and user friendly for modeling (beginn with)? I only tried Milkshape so far. A bit difficult for my taste.

What software should I use to create animations?

Where do I find settings like the running speed, fire rate etc. to get a more realistic feeling to the weapons/game?


These are my questions so far. More will come for sure...
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obsidian
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PostPosted: 12-04-2015 07:51 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


These are all individually very large topics, so the answers to these will be beyond the scope of a single thread. That said, we can point you in the right direction:

Q3 files are compressed into .pk3 files, these are just .zip compressed files with a renamed extension. You can open them with any number of compression software and take a look inside to see the structure of model files and scripts. Adding new models will involve creating them along with all other required scripts, textures, and other files, compressing them into a new .pk3 file and sticking it in your game directory.

Milkshape is actually relatively easy to use in comparison to most modelling applications. id Software used 3ds Max to model and animate all the game characters and weapons, it's quite expensive to purchase. Alternatively, you can use Blender 3D, which is free. Once modeled and animated, you have to export them into Q3's proprietary .md3 format. Most applications do not support .md3 format. id Software converted 3ds Max's .3ds format to .md3 using an in-house tool, Q3Data.exe (this is included with the level editor GtkRadiant).

Documentation from id Software is here.

Running speed, fire rate are hard coded. To change these, you'll need to edit the source code. You can get the source code off GitHub. You can ask programming questions in Programming Discussions.

In summary, what you are asking is a huge topic and no doubt a huge amount of work. You need to be prepared for this, so make sure you have the patience to absorb a huge amount of knowledge and skill to do what you want. Good luck.



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JenkinsDC
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PostPosted: 12-05-2015 09:03 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Thank you obsidian for your quick and detailed answer and for the links. I'm aware of the amount of work, patience and time. A good map for example with realistic looking tileable textures needs a lot of fine-tuning. This could take ages and a lot of effort. But before I look deeper into the matter the following sentance doomed the project from beginning (at first):

obsidian wrote:
Running speed, fire rate are hard coded. To change these, you'll need to edit the source code. You can get the source code off [...]


As far as I can judge the whole engine and all cfg files are stored in "Q3_USA.BIN". The PVR textures, sound files and models are simply packed in ZIP files in the corresponding folders. Very easy to replace and add new maps. But without the source code from Raster and the official SDK from SEGA this will be a dead end... A few years ago a friend of mine successfully converted his own map to Dreamcast and we played it online. This was the initinal impulse for this mod.


However I found an active open source project by accident. PH3NOM from dcemulation.org ports the Quake 3 engine to Dreamcast. This could be an alternative. We choose Quake 3 because of the fully functional online and 4 player support. Half-Life can be easily modified too (Opposing Force, Gunman, Paranoid, They Hunger etc. are already ported) but it got the same problem - the core files are all closed and no multiplayer support.


Enough offtopic... I'll fire up Milkshape again. The last time I modeled with milkshape this well known piece of metal came out (textures lost after coping the folders...):

Warhammer 40K Bolter
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AndyW
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PostPosted: 12-10-2015 05:27 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Okay now i get the Point, you want to Mod the Dreamcast Q3A Version.
I think the Maps in the DC Version were made with the same tools as the PC Maps. ( Hidden Fortress was a DC Map )
Try to extract your *.BIN, its an DISC-IMAGE -and check if the files are compatible to Radiant (or PC)! (If newest GTK wont work try Q3Radiant 202)
But you should try to find some Guys over on DCS or DCE, maybe its possible...
I own a DC and i know that you can do alot of crazy stuff with this lovely underrated piece of Gaming History! <3
Good luck! :up:



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JenkinsDC
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PostPosted: 12-16-2015 01:18 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Thank you so far AndyW. I contacted PH3NOM last week but haven't heard from him since. I guess his port will be my online real chance to bring my dream to life. Four or at least two player coop online on the Dreamcast... that would be awesome...

Back to topic:
Every texture, icon, bsp, md3, sound file is accessible without any problems. It's stored in the "BASEQ3" folder. Simple ZIP files. The "INTRO" folder contains all SFD and logos. The 1st_read.bin starts the game. The GIN*.* files (~255 KB) are only relevant for the Dreamcast. The "0GDTEX.PVR" is the digital disc label (for the DC music player). "warning.da" is not relevant...

After the intro sequence is done the console loads the "Q3_USA.BIN" (~1.3 MB). It's the only unknown (at least for me) but suitable file. Every other file can be converted or viewed without problems. So this must be quake3 executable / engine. The common programms like 7-Zip or Winrar failed. I was able to read some typical hardcoded error messages and stuff like "expected integer, found %s", "sound/weapons/grenade/hgrenb1a.adp" or "CL_SetCGameTime: !clptr->snap.valid" by open it with hex and text editors. Even the complete SEGA.net subscribe form and text is stored in this file.

Image
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AndyW
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PostPosted: 12-30-2015 08:54 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


"Q3_USA.BIN" seems to be the Bootloader.



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