Azeroth Total War

[Vladyvid]

Is there any guide to creating and importing models ?
I would like to try my luck.

Yes jim501, there are tutorials that could help you to learn to do that.

I dont know what skills you already have, but I assume you must have some experience with textures at least? There are different graphics softwares which you could use to work on the textures, one of the most popular being GIMP 2. It allows you not only to rework or create new "diff" textures but also (with an addon) to work on the "normal" textures - the ones used for shading/glints/reflections. Many people also use Photo Shop, and I personally use Paint Shop Pro and Gimp 2 (this one only for 'normal' textures and converting .tga files to .dds files).

Here you can find many useful tutorials, but I woudnt say all of them are very easy to follow and sometimes easy things are overly complicated in some of them, at least that was my impression, probably depends on what you already know etc.

This tutorial by Ishan I found very useful to learn how to import models into the game. It tells you how to change weapons from one vanilla unit to another, and although it doesnt say everything about what you should do if you want to add a new model to the game, still the basic steps are the same and I could probably explain it to you when you get the general grasp of how to do stuff like that.

For 3d modelling people often use Milkshape or Blender or 3dsmax, or a combination of them. I use Milkshape for now and plan to learn Blender but not yet there so cant really tell you much. You should really browse that section of the workshop I showed you in the first link and you will most likely find a tutorial for both Milkshape and Blender.

Also, its probably best idea to first learn how to make weapons models because they are quite simple. Having learned that, you could make more complicated models like eventually complete units models. Making the models is one thing, however, and making them playable is yet another thing to learn, but I could help you with that because I actually just recently learned how to do this myself.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I know that all this probably looks confusing and maybe overwhelming at first, but you just have to take one thing at a time. For both texturing and modelling the thing that will simplify and speed up your work over time is that you build up your own library of templates and patterns. For example making one simple helmet model that is lets say 'generic' is a good starting point for making more elaborate helmets later on without having to start from scratch each time. Similarly with the textures.

Learn how to work with textures if you dont know that yet. Afterwards learn to do some 3d work. Id say many things are quite easy but the tutorials sometimes make them appear more complicated than they really are.

For what it's worth I can offer you some tips or advice if you would be needing any, so you can ask me here or via PM if you like. Ofcourse it often might be a much better idea to ask the experts in the workshop who know pretty much everything there is to know about these things.

[Darrowmere]

In-form druids should be left to later releases and may not even be needed saving the trouble of skeletons. The original Rome total war had war dogs but i'm unsure if you can bring the skeleton across. If not and they're needed can see if any mods have dogs/wolves/bears and ask permission to use their skeletons.

[jim501]

snip

I dont have any experience or knowledge with modding, thats why I am asking so I can learn.
It was only a few months ago that I had the idea of making a warcraft mod that I got interested in it.
Then I found this one so I thought it was the perfet opportunity to learn so I can help.
It is nice to hear weapon models are easy. These are what I would mostly like to create, since I have a fascination with medieval and fantasy weaponry.

Of course at the moment I am occupied with other work so it will have to wait.
Thanks for your willingness to help me though.

[Darrowmere]

Hey everyone so i've been tidying the regions on the map arranging everything and the one thing that's been bugging me for ages was Blackrock Mountain. With the Spire connected to Searing Gorge and the depths connected to the Burning Steppes this gives the illusion of bottom and top of the mountain. The downside of this is that each sides (Dark Horde and Dark Iron) capital is cut off from the rest of their settlements. I'm hoping it provides a intresting game experience for playing as either faction and if not playing as either then one computer faction needs to take the whole mountain before they can truly expand. This fits in with the lore of the mountain being constantly fought over. Anyway let me know what you think and yes i will work/learn about ground types and reterrain the land as burning/ashy.

Blackrock Mountain

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Also for models i'm thinking the gates into Blackrock Mountain for Shadowforge and a mountain model for Hordemar (Very much like the moria one from TATW)

[Vladyvid]

I wouldnt really worry about regions on this stage of map development. What I believe you should first do is all of the heights, climates, rivers and terrains types. I would only play around with regions when all the geography is ready, or mostly ready. Dont know what to tell your about this mountain idea you have here. I would be interested to see how would a siege work, if it would work at all. It doesnt look too impressive but most likely because that there is nothing in there only one "mountain" and flat lands all around, so there is no point of reference with other mountains or anything really.

Heights, terrain types, climates, I would suggest to focus on them first to flesh out the topography. I could probably even help with that, cause I've been doing that before and developed ways to get some things done quicker, but then how could I really try to take something as cool as map making from you - this mod's creator, woudnt be fair at all.

Still, I could give some advice how to make the heights quicker or something like that. To be honest Im actually surprised you dont have even some basic version of heights ready yet. Its been a few months that this mod is in development and getting a basic heights map doesnt take more than, dunno a couple of hours...

[Molochwalker]

What faction placeholders are you using for the 13 factions? I am currently experimenting with sounds and music, as I'm on call with work and nobody's calling, so I might aswell do something worthwhile.

[Molochwalker]

Okay, I have some music ready over here.

If you want to listen to it:
1. got to [...]/Medieval 2 Total War/data/sounds
2. Backup music.idx, music.dat, event.idx, events.dat in a seperate folder
3. Extract the zip to [...]/Medieval 2 Total War/data/sounds and overwrite
4. Run the game and listen

It works perfectly for me, but I haven't tested it on another computer, so I can't promise anything.

Northern European factions = Alliance music
Mediterranean factions = Nelf music
Eastern European factions = Undead music
Arabic factions = Horde music
Mesoamerican factions = Troll (uncomplete and unplayable)

All cultures have 20+ minutes of unique strat map music, and unique tunes for battle mobility, battle win and battle loss. Battle tension and battle engagement remains the same for all factions at this moment. Furthermore, some tunes are a bit too loud (especially the WC3 files) and I probably have to adjust them a little bit, but for now I want to see if anyone else can use these files.

Download here and let me know what you think:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8stbi8uh5r...music.zip?dl=0

[jim501]

snip

As a complete newbie to modding (nothing at all), a guide that would explain even the most basic stuff would be useful honestly if you know something like that.
I found that one for now but dunno how accurate it is. https://www.reddit.com/r/totalwar/co...ding_for_m2tw/

[Vladyvid]

You could probably find a lot of useful tutorials and tips in the workshop section here on twc, especially in Tools, Tutorials and Resources:

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forum...I-Mod-Workshop

[Molochwalker]

My suggestion would be to mine as much content as we can from Warcraft games and other mods. Tatw is a good place to start - many factions would only need a recolor/retexture from other mods models. At least for v. 1.0.

- Elves from TATW have female faces in the texture files. Recolor these and make the gilded armour black and you will have your nightelves.
- Harad have great "savage" looking weapons for kalimdor factions.
- Rhûns models are off limits. The creator does not give permission to use them.
- Troll men of Harad can make a great Orc model for the first version. They are slightly bulkier than the standard human model, and would only need a retexture/recolor.
- Wolf mounts can be found in Rage of Dark Gods.
- Minotaur from RoDG can be used as a Tauren template model.
- Kodo beasts can be extracted from WoW.
- RoDG has a multitude of undead units that can be used for the Scourge. For the Forsaken I suggest just recoloring/retexturing human models.
- TATW has very good Dwarven models that can be used with and without their current textures.
- TATW has a spider model that can be used for Nerubian units aswell as some Quraji units (in later versions)
- RoDG has bear mounts (for the later Amani faction), but I don't know if they have battle animations, so they might not work for in-form druid units.
-TATW can supply an ent model that can work for an Ancient Protector unit.

It doesn't have to be perfect for the first version. If we borrow content from other mods we can get a functional 1.0 up faster, and possibly attract the attention of some good modelers for later releases.

Also, there are sites that host free 3D models for non-commercial use. Tf3dm.com, for example. Beware of the maximum poly count of the engine though, it shouldn't exceed 800-1000 for the mod to run smoothly.

Also, still working on sounds. I'll soon host some stratmap voice files, so you guys can check them out.

[IAmNotShazam]

To my knowledge, TATW assets are off limits unless it's for a submod.

[Molochwalker]

As far as I have read, most of them are accessible on request, a few are free to use, and Rhûn is completely off limits.

[Blastoise Groudon]

If you guys need any help with anything let me know!

[Molochwalker]

Could another option be to just rip all models off of WoW? I mean, I think you can export models, textures and animations straight from WoW model viewer.

[jim501]

Could another option be to just rip all models off of WoW? I mean, I think you can export models, textures and animations straight from WoW model viewer.

I think some models would require to be custom made for diversity.
Also WoW's models are very cartoony and some very low-rez compared to the aesthetics of Medieval 2.

[Molochwalker]

I think some models would require to be custom made for diversity.
Also WoW's models are very cartoony and some very low-rez compared to the aesthetics of Medieval 2.

I agree, but honestly, the amount of work required to custom make all models and textures is daunting at best. Even if you'd have a pro team of modelers it would take years to bring the mod completion. Call of Warhammer and Elder Scrolls Total War uses models and textures from the games they derive from, even if they don't directly fit the aesthetics of the game, because when you work with a fantasy universe as diverse as Warcraft, the original human model of the original M2TW just doesn't cut it. You'll need seperate models, skeletons and animations for each of the races.

Ones you have your orcs, you need your taurens, your elves, the million varieties of undead, nerubians, quaraiji, dwarves, centaurs, quillboars, murlocs, perhaps draenei and so forth. Not all of these are planned to go into the mod, but how can you have a Warcraft game without murlocs?

I honestly would advice us to at least consider this. Warcraft IS cartoony, why not just embrace it?

[jim501]

I agree, but honestly, the amount of work required to custom make all models and textures is daunting at best. Even if you'd have a pro team of modelers it would take years to bring the mod completion. Call of Warhammer and Elder Scrolls Total War uses models and textures from the games they derive from, even if they don't directly fit the aesthetics of the game, because when you work with a fantasy universe as diverse as Warcraft, the original human model of the original M2TW just doesn't cut it. You'll need seperate models, skeletons and animations for each of the races.

Ones you have your orcs, you need your taurens, your elves, the million varieties of undead, nerubians, quaraiji, dwarves, centaurs, quillboars, murlocs, perhaps draenei and so forth. Not all of these are planned to go into the mod, but how can you have a Warcraft game without murlocs?

I honestly would advice us to at least consider this. Warcraft IS cartoony, why not just embrace it?

Warcraft is cartoony but that is mostly done so that the MMO wont have problems running on multiple systems and in order for the art style not to get old quickly.
I think it clashes a lot with the medieval 2 aesthetics and believe a more realistic approach would be a brath of fresh air hoenstly.

For example compare the Stormwind's soldiers' armor in-game and the artwork that could potentially be worked itno a custom model :

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The mods for Warhammer and Lotr which went to a more "realistic" aesthetic were pretty good.
Also Third Age as far as I know had custom models didnt it ?
Modders could always ask permission form other mods like the aforementioned 2 to use their models as base to save time

Anyway, this is only my preference, it is up to the modder to decide the aesthetic he wants.

[Molochwalker]

Warcraft is cartoony but that is mostly done so that the MMO wont have problems running on multiple systems and in order for the art style not to get old quickly.
I think it clashes a lot with the medieval 2 aesthetics and believe a more realistic approach would be a brath of fresh air hoenstly.

For example compare the Stormwind's soldiers' armor in-game and the artwork that could potentially be worked itno a custom model.


The mods for Warhammer and Lotr which went to a more "realistic" aesthetic were pretty good.
Also Third Age as far as I know had custom models didnt it ?
Modders could always ask permission form other mods like the aforementioned 2 to use their models as base to save time

Anyway, this is only my preference, it is up to the modder to decide the aesthetic he wants.

I think custom models would be great too, but as of now we have no one working on it, and no planning going on, only a few who have expressed the desire to maybe learn it for the express purpose of working on this mod. Learning how to create, map and animate 3D models is a hugely complicated endeavour, and is a type of skill you'll be progressing on your entire life, not something you'll learn in a few months and then just know how to do. It's more like painting or composing, rather than riding a bike - the quality of the work increases with time and effort. Even if some of us could learn how to make functional models, making great models or just models that work good enough to not break immersion is years in the future.

If we want custom models, we need modelers with experience now, or else I guarantee everyone will tire or forget about this project long before we even have a working model. If we want this game out this decade, I say forget about custom models. I could be dead wrong and it's most definitley not up to me to decide, though.

TATW has some custom models, the spiders, the trolls and the Ents for instance, and some static and unanimated objects such as weapons and shields. The rest is mostly just retexturing of the original soldier, some with slight modifications, which aren't too hard to do. The custom models are far from perfect, though - they are often glitchy and behave strangely to their surroundings. But it's also worth taking note to the fact that TATW had a large team of experienced modelers, something we don't have.

I was under the impression that Call of Warhammer uses models from some Warhammer game, but I could be wrong about that. If that's all custom then I'm thoroughly impressed, because that's one hell of a piece of work.

[jim501]

I think custom models would be great too, but as of now we have no one working on it, and no planning going on, only a few who have expressed the desire to maybe learn it for the express purpose of working on this mod. Learning how to create, map and animate 3D models is a hugely complicated endeavour, and is a type of skill you'll be progressing on your entire life, not something you'll learn in a few months and then just know how to do. It's more like painting or composing, rather than riding a bike - the quality of the work increases with time and effort. Even if some of us could learn how to make functional models, making great models or just models that work good enough to not break immersion is years in the future.

If we want custom models, we need modelers with experience now, or else I guarantee everyone will tire or forget about this project long before we even have a working model. If we want this game out this decade, I say forget about custom models. I could be dead wrong and it's most definitley not up to me to decide, though.

TATW has some custom models, the spiders, the trolls and the Ents for instance, and some static and unanimated objects such as weapons and shields. The rest is mostly just retexturing of the original soldier, some with slight modifications, which aren't too hard to do. The custom models are far from perfect, though - they are often glitchy and behave strangely to their surroundings. But it's also worth taking note to the fact that TATW had a large team of experienced modelers, something we don't have.

I was under the impression that Call of Warhammer uses models from some Warhammer game, but I could be wrong about that. If that's all custom then I'm thoroughly impressed, because that's one hell of a piece of work.

Yes Call of Warhammer uses models from Mark of Chaos and Battle March I think.

Anyway, it seems I made a small mistake.
When I said "custom models" I meant it in the sense of changing the units appearance to look more like the iconic knights,grunts,sentinels etc not create new models for everything.
I was essentially referring to retexturing not modeling

If you meant units that require completely new models, I agree it would be time-saving.

[Darrowmere]

Hey guys sorry i haven't been on here in a while working on the map will hopefully show my progress in a couple days.

What faction placeholders are you using for the 13 factions? I am currently experimenting with sounds and music, as I'm on call with work and nobody's calling, so I might aswell do something worthwhile.

The Kingdom of Stormwind (England)
The Kingdom of Khaz Modan (Scotland)
Night Elves (Hungary)
The Nation of Durotar (Egypt)
The United Tauren Tribes (Moors)
Forsaken (Saxons)
The Scarlet Crusade (Poland)
The Dark Iron Empire (Holy Roman Empire)
The Dark Horde (Turks)
The Scourge (Byzantine Empire)
Dalaran (Milan)
Drakkari Tribe (Aztec)
Neutral Hostile (Slave)

If you guys need any help with anything let me know!

Thanks for the offer what are your skills?