.HOD Tool v1.5.1 Now Available

[Spooky]

OK, it is still pretty rough around the edges but does the job most of the time so here it is:

Now Updated to v1.5.1
HOD Tool (http://www.b5mods.com/tools/homeworld2/HODTool.zip)

http://www.b5mods.com/spooky/hodtool150.jpg

A small explanation of the working is required.....

1) Only use it on .hod files from the ship and subsystem folders.
2) Do not check the extract object and texture options at first. Just open the mesh and check it opens OK. Then check the boxes and open the file again.
3) The LoD option allows you to extract each LoD in turn. There are LoDs 0,1, & 2 in the .hod file - although all may not be present.
4) Sometimes the texture index of the mesh does not start with 0. In these cases the program will either crash on extracting or map the textures wrongly when viewing the mesh in Deep Exploration. If this happens try setting the Start With value to 1 and extract again.
5) The extracted files are saved as .obj files. One file is created for each object in the mesh. To reassemble the mesh with the subobjects placed correctly you will need to look at the hierarchy info in the debug window and save the object with the offset values listed. Rinse and repeat as required...
6) Extracted textures are .DDS files that use DXT5 compression except for a very few cases. To have these textures appear properly on the .obj file you will need to flip them on the vertical axis and save them as .bmp files. Deep Exploration does this nicely.

Phew - sorry about that but the files are not quite as straightforward as the HW1 .peo/.lif. Post any problems here (and maybe a few pics of rendered ships? :)) and I will continue to improve the app...

Have fun

[Mnementh]

hmm, debug window just gives:

xÚì½ Length=190600135
Ö7<Ù= 537956489

on all the files Ive tried it on so far.

[Mnementh]

nevermind, re-extracted all the files and its fine now.

Weird.

[omnigon]

/offers spooky the fatted calf

you rock man.

[omnigon]

strange, when I try to execute the app I get:

Component 'TABCTL32.OCX' or one of its dependencies not correctly registered: a file is missing or invalid

this is the error messege I get when trying to launch this. what am I missing?

I was able to get this app to work on my work computer but now that i'm home I can't seem to get it to work.

* I still can't get this thing to run.... it's weird. any suggestions? BTW, great job P.

[Pesmontis]

Rendered result:

http://www.thegamingunion.co.uk/users/forumusers/hgn_assaultcorvette2.jpg

My guess is we've got to move to PEO format, in order to use position / orientation info directly & automatically on the output.

Nice work Spooky, especially the coupling of mesh & texture!

(by the way: I think there are 4 LODs, if you count the one with the goblins as LOD0).

[Supernova]

xÚ”½ Length=259806037
š7~¸= 760068117

Don't think thats suppose to happen :D

I'm trying to figure out what the problem is, i've re-extracted the files 5 times, going to keep messing around and see if i can get it to work, if all else fails, its only a few more days till the rdn release

[Spooky]

omnigon - you are missing the VB6 SP5 runtime files from your PC. You can download from here:

http://www.tucows.com/preview/194333.html

The odd debug text you are getting means that the .hod files have not been extracted from the .big file properly...

:)

[omnigon]

*edit *

well I downloaded and installed the VB files and I'm still getting the same error messege.

well, I did an install/reboot with those files, and i'm still not getting it. strange.

**edit**

That worked great, SajuukCor. woot, on to extracting..

***edit***

yeah, now i'm getting debug jibberish like:

xÚí} Length=123475143
ûþ!= -554301760

now. I used the .HODviewer on the demo files earlier so I tried that again tonight, but i'm just getting that stuff up there.

[SajuukCor]

Hmmm... I'm getting the same error for TABCTL32.OCX. I wanna view some ships damnit!

[edit] Yay got it to work! Go here (http://www.ascentive.com/support/new/support_dll.phtml?dllname=TABCTL32.OCX) to download the files needed.

[Valkrie]

Apparently the .big extractor will only work with the demo files for HomeWorld2.

As long as you are working with the demo version; all is well. :)

If your still having problems extracting the demo files here's an older thread that will walk you through the process.

http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15203

Try it. It works!

Cheers!

[Langy]

Valkrie, Delphy's extractor works fine on the full version's .big file as well. I don't know about that .sga extractor, as I haven't used it at all, but the .big extractor in the docked thread at the top of this forum works great.

[omnigon]

well. I can get Delpy's tool to extract the demo and full versions of the .big file. However, I can only get the .HODviewer to extract the files from the demo correctly. For some reason the files extracted from the full version of the .big file don't read well in the .hodviewer. Possibly a change in the compiled file structure that changed something from the demo to the full. No idea.

If you're able to extract the full .big AND use Spooky's tool to extract the files, I'd love to hear about it.

***edit***

Can we get this thread Docked up with the other thread about the .big extractor please?

[Valkrie]

Delphy's Extractor works great, but getting Spooky's HODViewer to read the HOD files is the problem.

Spooky's HODViewer works great for the Demo HOD files. I used the SGAExtractor for the .big extraction.
If you know of a way to get the full version to work the same I would like to hear it.

Here's a link (http://empires.heavengames.com/cgi-bin/forums/display.cgi?action=ct&f=2,160,0,10) to a DDS to TGA converter that someone wrote for Empires Heaven game. I don't know much about the other game but this little tool will get the DDS files from HomeWorld2 into PhotoShop. :bandit:

Mad props to Delphy and Spooky. Awesome.

[Pesmontis]

There's another DDS convertor & useful tool at Martin Wrights website (http://www.mnwright.btinternet.co.uk/index.htm) . It's called DXTbmp and was meant for CFS2/CFS3.

[Spooky]

The tool definately works on ships from the full game. Here are some kindly provided example .hod files from the full homeworld2.big:

http://www.b5mods.com/spooky/meg_bentus01.jpg
http://www.b5mods.com/spooky/meg_dreadnaughtberth01.jpg
http://www.b5mods.com/spooky/kpr_sajuuk01.jpg

I just have to wait until Friday to see the damn things in the game... :(

Note to Stuart and co..: Can someone dock this thread please? :)

[SvK]

Mod powers to the rescue!

[Spooky]

Cheers :)

[Supernova]

Hmm still not working, I unistalled sga viewer, removed the relic extracter thingy by delphy, reinstalled everything, extracted everything, twice and i still get this when i try to open ne files:

xÚì½ Length=190600135
Ö7<Ù= 537956489

I've only tried on the full version, I may try to the demo files to see if ne thing different happens, though i doubt it very much consdering the renders at the top of the page....

The program runs, it just won't open the .hod's that i try to.

[omnigon]

I can extract the demo fine. The full versions I can't view with the .HODviewer when I extract them. I'm not sure what's going on, I've tried a ton of different situations and possible work arounds... on an lighter note, the demo files are awesome, and I should have some renders for the Spook later this evening :)

Okay, so, I can import the .obj in Maya and I can get the texture images extracted. anyone know how I can get Maya to recognize the UV coords and place the textures correctly? What program are all of you using btw?

[Gank]

I also got gibberish when trying to open the files, it seems relic archive extractor v2.2 doesnt extract the hod files correctly. Using the older version or this method
http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15203
extracts them correctly

[Supernova]

hmm still no go, I extracted all the files with the sga viewer, and i still get giberish...arg...

I'm going to try the demo files to see if they work.

[Supernova]

Hmmmm. nope demo files don't work either.....

I'm at a loss i know its the way they're being converted however i've tried everyway known to the comunity, or alteast till friday lol, to extract the files and they still won't open with the hod viewer... arg..:boohoo:

[Valkrie]

I got it!

http://www.angelfire.com/scifi2/hwmods0/bentusi_mesh.jpg

I used the SGAExtractor along with the RelicArchiveExtractor to create the directories and sub directories.

Never doubted you Spook! So how did you map the textures?

These are the steps I took.

1. Using Delphy's RelicArchiveExtractor.exe, make sure you have a directory to extract the .big file. For me it was: C:\Program Files\Sierra\Homeworld2\Data\HWExtract. Whatever folder you don't have you will have to create.

2. Go to Actions->Set Extract Location. Make sure you type in the correct directory (Same as above for me). Using the browse button gave me problems because it kept wanting to add a DATA folder to the directory I already made. Typing the directory in solved that problem. When done click apply.

3. Now extract the .big file and it should create all the correct directories and sub-directories that you need. You are now done with the RelicArchiveExtractor.exe.

4. There should now be a folder called Homeworld2.big in your directory that you created. For me it was in C:\Program Files\Sierra\Homeworld2\Data\HWExtract\Homeworld2.big.

5. Make a copy of the .big file and rename it to Homeworld2.sga.
Place it in the Homeworld2.big folder.

6. Open SGAViewer.exe. Make sure the directory is correct using Actions->Set Extract Location in the menu. Add the path to the Homeworld2.big folder by typing it in. Don't use the browse button. So if your like me your directory should be C:\Program Files\Sierra\Homeworld2\Data\HWExtract\Homeworld2.big. Click apply.

7. Now open the newly named homeworld2.sga file and extract! After its done extracting you should now be able to use the HODViewer.

[Spooky]

To see the textures mapped you have to follow the steps outlined in the initial post. As extracted the graphics are in .DDS format. They need to be converted to .BMP files before trying to view them (remember to flip them on the vertical axis). :)

And yes - I forgot to mention that I used the SGA Extractor to extract the .HOD files from the .BIG. There are problems with the latter versions it seems, oops...

[Valkrie]

http://www.angelfire.com/scifi2/hwmods0/hgn_probe_perspShape_tmp.jpg
http://www.angelfire.com/scifi2/hwmods0/meg_bentus_perspShape_tmp50.jpg

Thanks Spooky. Works great. I think my nose texture is off...I'll finish the Bentusi tomorrow. ;) Thanks to Omnigon for his tenacious memory. :lol:

*edit*

And now the Bentusi.

[DABhand]

Nice work Spooky, RDN should give ya a job :P

[omnigon]

Okay after arduous amounts of work and milking Valkrie for information i was able to extract the full version. and here's a render of the Vagyr Battlecruiser i put together. some of the texutres aren't quite aligned and the ship is soo big that the render actually uses depth of field and fades the focus as the ship recedes from view!

http://www.angelfire.com/scifi2/hwmods0/vgr_Battlecruiser.jpg

Thanks goes out to Delphy, Spooky and Valkrie. Thanks for the Great tools and help guys!

[Ghent]

good job so far, albeit complicated. :)

Suggestion: Why not have your HOD extractor convert the .dds textures files to .tga format automatically? That way we can actually have layers to work with when working on textures. BMP files may give a nice render in 3dex, but have no layers.

[Supernova]

Originally posted by Valkrie
I got it!

http://www.angelfire.com/scifi2/hwmods0/bentusi_mesh.jpg

I used the SGAExtractor along with the RelicArchiveExtractor to create the directories and sub directories.

Never doubted you Spook! So how did you map the textures?

These are the steps I took.

1. Using Delphy's RelicArchiveExtractor.exe, make sure you have a directory to extract the .big file. For me it was: C:\Program Files\Sierra\Homeworld2\Data\HWExtract. Whatever folder you don't have you will have to create.

2. Go to Actions->Set Extract Location. Make sure you type in the correct directory (Same as above for me). Using the browse button gave me problems because it kept wanting to add a DATA folder to the directory I already made. Typing the directory in solved that problem. When done click apply.

3. Now extract the .big file and it should create all the correct directories and sub-directories that you need. You are now done with the RelicArchiveExtractor.exe.

4. There should now be a folder called Homeworld2.big in your directory that you created. For me it was in C:\Program Files\Sierra\Homeworld2\Data\HWExtract\Homeworld2.big.

5. Make a copy of the .big file and rename it to Homeworld2.sga.
Place it in the Homeworld2.big folder.

6. Open SGAViewer.exe. Make sure the directory is correct using Actions->Set Extract Location in the menu. Add the path to the Homeworld2.big folder by typing it in. Don't use the browse button. So if your like me your directory should be C:\Program Files\Sierra\Homeworld2\Data\HWExtract\Homeworld2.big. Click apply.

7. Now open the newly named homeworld2.sga file and extract! After its done extracting you should now be able to use the HODViewer.

Sadly i tried this and it still doesn't work :-(

[omnigon]

it appears that HW2 is using .TGA and not .BMP files for the final textures. You guys with the tools would know better than I because you can see in there better. But from what I can tell, the .TGA has alpha and RGB information that is being utilized by the render engine that .BMP file formats can't.

An example of this would be the "blue and green" .DDS files that come with the other textures. My guess is that these textures are used for Luminance or Incandescense maps. Particularly if the render engine is calling the Green layer of the RGB to act as a alpha for the incandescense attribute of the texture. This is evident in the first mission when you see the tanis shipyard saturated with the level's blue light, yet the small lights still retain their incandesence while the rest of the ship is dark and blue, having been effected more by the level lighting.

I'm interested to find out how the HW2 render engine is utilizing this particular file, and how/where we need to map it so that it can read it properly.

Am I wrong here?

[Gank]

HW2 is not using Tga or Bmp texures, it uses DDS files. DDS is a direct X texture format which supports alphas and mipmaps among other things at a smaller filesize than tga or bmp. At a guess I'd say the original texs were done in photoshop and converted directly to dds from there, I doubt tga or bmp formats were used at any stage.

The green and blue parts of the texture represent illumination and specular information respectively. Mapping them should be relatively straightforward, nothing really complex about it.

[omnigon]

yeah, sorry Gank, I knew they used .DDS, what I was meaning to say was that they were using .TGA to make the DDS initially and not .BMP. other games like NWN and UT use .TGA and compress to .DDS. I just brainfarted and didn't mention that part.

as far as the green and blue parts I wonder how the game is calling those channels. it's hard to express what i'm trying to say with text based communication hehehe.

[Mnementh]

Nvidias cgSuite has .dds plugins for lots of the major gfx tools (maya, ps, 3ds max, etc)

[Supernova]

http://www.tgu.org.uk/users/farscape/pics/sajuuk_drd_busht.jpg

FINALLY!

lol don't you love computers? one day they don't work, so you unistall try again, and hey it works!

Yay! lol

My 2 favorite models of the whole game ^

[Langy]

Holy shit those textures are detailed. Those renderings make them look like plastic! Very cool.

[Starfisher]

When can we expect a downloadable of your excellent application sir Spooky?

Just rechecked the front page. Silly me.

[Naquaii]

I don't know what I doing wrong but the obj files I get out seem strange somehow. I can't view them in deep exploration and if I somehow manage to import them into 3dsmax or other programs the textures won't show. Anyone got any ideas to what the problem might be?

[Langy]

Probably because the textures aren't supported by those programs. I'd suggest getting that nVidia plugin or whatever that was mentioned earlier on in the thread.

[omnigon]

yes, you'll have to convert the .DDS texture files to .TGA or .BMP to be used in most 3d applications. And you'll most likely have to update the directory the files are located in so the application knows to use the newly extracted textures.

[DarkReaper]

When I extract the files deep exploration only shows me a long 2d line of vertex. Doesnt seem to extract all the coordiates correctly.

[Naquaii]

Exactly my problem DarkReaper.
I did know that I had to convert the textures to bmp.

[Spooky]

Now that I have the full game I have been extracting a large number of the .hod files for both ship and subsystem and have only encountered two problem files: The Hiigaran BC (a fixed version of the app will be released shortly) and the Vagyr Planet Killer (I do not know yet why this one does not work...).

Can people please tell me what mesh they are having the trouble with and what options they used when extracting and I will try to replicate/advise accordingly. :)

Here for example is the Vagyr station from level 5 of the SP campaign:

http://www.b5mods.com/sppoky/vgr_commstation01.jpg

[Naquaii]

I had the problem with several ships, like the hgn battlecruiser, attackcorvette, attackbomber etc.
I just opened them with the extract object and texture boxes marked. I didn't touch any other settings.

I can send you the extracted obj files if you want.

[Spooky]

OK - I have released a new version of the app (v1.0.3) which can be obtained from the link at the start of this thread.

Only thing changed is that I have added another check box that enables/disables the display of the hierarchy info. To properly extract the Hiigaran Battlecruiser you need to leave this unchecked. The crash for this ship is caused by two objects in the hierarchy having the same name.

I have also looked at the Hiigaran Assault Corvette. Whilst the basic mesh extracts OK the UV mapping of the textures is screwed up because of the wrong texture maps being used. I have managed to fix this manually by editing the .obj and .mtl files however. I will work on creating a more robust solution to this...

Keep the comments coming please. :)

[Azeral]

is it possiable to extract the planet killer?

[Spooky]

Not yet I'm afraid....

I am working on it though. :)

[Azeral]

:'( *cries* i can imagine its alot more complex then the other models, because it has its big unfolding animation and stuff :p

[Naquaii]

I'm sorry to say that this fix didn't solve anything either.
I've tried extracting the ships which you showed in your pictures, but all I get when I open them in deep exploration is a line o vertices. Any clues?

[TyrealMathias]

gaaaaaargh! i get jibberish as well.. been trying for a day now to get the damn .hods to work and no go :-/ i used the SGA extract medthod AND the RAE... RRRRRGH!!!!

[TyrealMathias]

n/m.. me gots it now.. hehe... had to get the 2.3 version of the RAE.. which Delphy never actually SAID that he uploaded... *pokes Delphy* :-p

[lardmaster]

any chance some sourceage could be released for this, i mean im no vb guru but id love to see if i could amke something that goes the other way around..... :banana: HEY THE BANNANA WORKS< THX j00 SWEET MONKEY JEEBUS!!! :monkey:

[Delphy]

Source code is already up.

Have fun trying to work out the TOCs! :p

[EH_AceTFL]

mmmmmmm what program you guys use to open files? Deep Exploration returns error :/

[TyrealMathias]

im using Deep.. no errors..
tho i can easily say its getting tedious to have to manually flip each and every freaking texture.... arrrrrrrgh... any way you can fix the need to do this? and perhaps eliminate the need to manually convert the textures?

[Naquaii]

Here's an example of my problem with the obj-files:
http://195.66.31.174:81/bc.zip

This example is the hgn bc. I can import it to some programs and not to the others (like deep exp). And when I manage to import it the textures don't map right.

So if you have the time you might look at the file. I to would like to extract these beauties. :)

[TyrealMathias]

flip all textures vertically

[Naquaii]

I know that, That's not my problem.

[EH_AceTFL]

nahhhh i need instruction... I export file by using SGA, open it in deep exploration.. and i see white screen with NO geometry.

Someone know WHY?

[Sp3ctre]

when i try to view with DeepExploration the .obj files extracted with HODViewer i get no geometry.. except for a slight line and big visualization glitches

:hmm:

HELP!!

[Naquaii]

Seems like I'm not the only one with this problem...

[Venix]

Definitely not, as I have the same problem.

[Enterprise-E]

I have the same problem too. I see no textures, and a straight line, or some weird gray shapes, and that's all...

[Spooky]

Originally posted by Naquaii
Here's an example of my problem with the obj-files:
http://195.66.31.174:81/bc.zip

This example is the hgn bc. I can import it to some programs and not to the others (like deep exp). And when I manage to import it the textures don't map right.

So if you have the time you might look at the file. I to would like to extract these beauties. :)

OK - I have looked at this file and have immediately spotted the problem everyone seems to be having. :)

Here is the first part of the file:
g group1
usemtl Hgn_BattleCruiser_Main_EXPORT
v -202,0956 24,89073 -184,2471
vn -1,702616E-02 1,72124E-07 -0,999855
vt -0,1220501 0,9631295

Note the presence of the commas, e.g. -202,0956. This is supposed to be a DECIMAL number, i.e. -202.0956. I think the most likely problem is that the regional settings on your computers have a comma as the decimal symbol. Change this to a decimal place and all should be well...

[Enterprise-E]

Thanks, Spooky it does work!

...and now what to do with the DDS textures? what program can open them, or convert them to BMP?

[TyrealMathias]

Deep and PS

[Naquaii]

Niiice! It works! Maybe you could include a fix for this in your next release?

[Spooky]

Phew. :) As for fixing it I'm not quite sure what I could do as I AM writing the numbers using a decimal place symbol (.), it's just being changed by Windows on an individual's PC to a comma...

[DarkJackal]

I'm just wondering, having never used this Deep program before, how to do the offsets for individual components (as opposed to the painful method of doing them point by point...).

[Spooky]

You can save an object with an offset which will shift all vertices by the distance/angle entered...

[DarkJackal]

ok...thanks...works fine now...

[Naquaii]

Ok... Guess I'll have to change my decimal configuration in windows then... sob sob.. =)

[Sp3ctre]

Originally posted by Spooky

[...]
Note the presence of the commas, e.g. -202,0956. This is supposed to be a DECIMAL number, i.e. -202.0956. I think the most likely problem is that the regional settings on your computers have a comma as the decimal symbol. Change this to a decimal place and all should be well...

:thumb: It works!

After about 1 hour of UV map redefining.. i came out with this first render. I applied also the textures as bump maps

I found also this texture:
http://net.supereva.it/liquidm/bentus_lights_export[2].jpg

I supposed it's a kind of Luminosity map, so i applied it as follows:


http://net.supereva.it/liquidm/bentusrender.jpg


Sublime. :loco:


Great work Spooky !!


Note: I use Lightwave. Lightwave Rulez :nyah:

[FalseHope]

Just wanted to give a big thx to Delphy and Spooky for these great tools. I've finally got the models and their maps to work correctly in Maya. From what I can see, these are the only tools I'll need to continue my little project!

Thx again for all this great work and to everyone else that gave their input along the way!

[malcom2073]

Anyone have an estimate on when a HOD compiler will be released? If anyone is even working on one?

[Delphy]

malcolm, no and yes.

:)

[Spooky]

Once all the fields are fully understood then we can work on a HOD creation tool. Patience... :)

[Venix]

Hey Sp3ctre, how did you get the UV's to work in Lightwave ?

I cant seem to get it working.... But then again, I know little about UV's.

[malcom2073]

I cant help it, I want to be able to put my models in it, and I dont have the programming skill to make a HOD compiler :-P.

[Sp3ctre]

Originally posted by Venix
Hey Sp3ctre, how did you get the UV's to work in Lightwave ?

I cant seem to get it working.... But then again, I know little about UV's.

PM

[TKD]

I need help. How do I change the , to . in windows XP?

Could somebody please maby help me?

Thanks!

[nickersonm]

Control Panel > Regional and Language Options > Customize

[TKD]

oK GOT it!! weee these looking good!!

[Delphy]

Spooky can you send me the last code so I can turn it into a plugin for hwse2? :)

[TractionControl]

so i was messing around with the .hods and i decided to import it to my jewelry 3d design program.

turrets - amethyst
body - blue topaz
goblins - garnet

http://www.philipsdiamondshop.com/alan/frigate.jpg
i like it.

[NightRaven]

Oooh, neato.

[TractionControl]

Ion cannon!

http://www.philipsdiamondshop.com/alan/ion_frigate.jpg

main body - blue topaz
goblins - platinum

the cool thing is i could have this milled(the models) and then make a metal casting of them, which would totally own.

like a gold destroyer!

a platinum battlecruiser!

oh the possibilites.

[Bonnet]

/me wants those in game, omg serious resource draw but still can you imagine your shiny silver and platnium ion cannon frigates shotting at the gian gold BC's

[TractionControl]

i think that'd be more than a "serious" resource draw.

like. no resources at all.

[TractionControl]

one more just for good luck!

this is in comparison to some of my jewelry that i've made for some customers.

i just think it'd be awesome if you could make some metal models out of these, would be totally rad.

http://www.philipsdiamondshop.com/alan/dread.jpg

[nickersonm]

Very nice! What program is that?

- nickersonm

[CommodoreOtto]

Heh...you could make some fun "sci-fi jewelry" out of that by doing it in glass. "Yes, my earrings are representations of the Hiigaran Ion Cannon Frigate, while my brooch is based on the Vaygr Battlecruiser..."

Do you have a stereolithography tank?

[TractionControl]

Its a plugin for Rhino3d called Matrix.

I could do some of that, it'll be a bit.

Waiting for MATRIX 3.5 with heightfield from bitmap technology.

and no, I don't have a stereolithography tank, although our jewelry store is getting a new mill.

www.gemvision.com for all that cool stuff.

[Krelian]

Well, to avoid the tedious flipping, create a simple script with Photoshop and then just use Batch Processing, or go a little farther and from your script create a droplet, specially useful for texture-rich objects like the Tanis shipyard... :thumb:
BTW Spook, thx a lot and congratulations! :clap:

[KennyMcCormick]

I wrote this (http://dbestmann.bei.t-online.de/flip.exe) little prog. You only have to drop the BMPs and the OBJ files. It will automaticly flip the pictures and replace all >,< to dots...

[Pesmontis]

Another two little proggies are available on my website (http://www.angelfire.com/scifi2/texfree/) . One of them, the 'HW2 HOD reporter' is more for developers, since it quickly generates an RTF file on HOD contents of ship-type HOD files.

[malcom2073]

stereolithography tank.. heh. The Total Annihilation community was thinking about renting the use of one to create molds for die-cast models of the units. I think Relic should go into merchandizing. I would definently pay for a lego Vaygr battlecruiser :P Or models... or even a die cast pulsar Corvette.

[TractionControl]

That actually wouldn't be very hard to do, and I was thinking about doing it. Then I realized I'd have to pay money, so that was out.

[TyrealMathias]

hehe.. money...

yes yes, id replace the Transformers altar ontop of my desk (i made it out of a door.. :-D) with an HW/HW2 altar, MWUAHAHAHAHH!!

[Rent-a-Zilla]

Big thumbs up to all ye...

http://scratchy.spods.co.uk/~rubenstein/battlecruiser.jpg

It's missing lots of stuff etc., but I'm happy...

[TyrealMathias]

did you render that in Maya? if so.. what do i do to make it look like that? im kinda.. umm. 'Maya-illiterate' yes yes... too many years of using MAX...

[Ghent]

Spooky - I don't think something is clearing out of memory properly between loading up 2 ships (without exiting) in the HOD convertor. For example - load up the attackbomber, works fine... load up attackbomber elite (which appears to be a null mesh .hod file of some sort?), gives no conversion... fine & dandy, it's really just .ship file stuff that is different on this ship... ok then proceed to open up say Carrier or somet. It won't load. Program doesn't crash, just sits there with the null mesh details from the attackbomber.hod still in there. This type of problem also occurs after large & complex meshes like the carrier, shipyard, MS, BC. The program has to be exited then restarted in order to do another conversion.

Also, in terms of the planetkiller & some other "large" hod files, are you sure the HOD convertor is properly dealing with complex heirarchies? All the ships that fail to convert have multi-level heirarchies, ie - the T-MAT ship has 5 or 6 levels in it, and the HOD convertor fails to convert anything from any LOD after about the 11th object, with the 11th object being corrupt.

Again, great job so far, and I hope these comments can help pinpoint some things.

[TyrealMathias]

Aye, Ghent is right (of course ;)) about the not loading stuff up...

[Spooky]

Thanks for the comments chaps. :) I am working on the next version that will hopefully fix some of these irksome errors and add a few more features as well...

[TyrealMathias]

ooooooh.. what kind of features? :)

[Rent-a-Zilla]

That battlecruiser was rendered in MAX 5, btw - I used the lighttracer plugin and a single skylight.

[TyrealMathias]

ahhh... interesting... i never really use any of the nifty rendering stuff.. or ANY 3rd party plugins.. (too damn lazy)

[Spooky]

OK - following the comment made by Pesmontis I have released a new version of the application (v1.0.4) - link is in the first post of this thread. The main feature of this release is that you no longer have to flip the textures to get the UV mapping functioning properly. :)

A few more parts of the file are now read as well (as can be seen in the debug window). More to follow...

[EH_AceTFL]

nah to autor of HODViwer - IF your program have such error that you get , not . apply code tockenizer at and, that will change all , to . Other thing is that you can add <unpact> button so we can decinate if we want or no.

[DarkJackal]

I'm not certain if you speak english or not, but if you read the rest of the thread, that issue has already been addressed. It's a windows option, not an issue with the program itself.

DarkJackal

[FalseHope]

Thx Spooky, that change will save a lot of production time!

[Spooky]

OK - another minor update. I thought it best to let people choose whether they want to flip the UV coordinates so have added that option. I have also added some Tool Tips:

http://www.b5mods.com/spooky/hodviewer03.jpg

Download link on the first page of the thread as usual. :)

[J.Raider]

Programm is working now. :D

Great work Spooky! :up:

http://www.ogsys.de/pics/hw2_battlecruiser.jpg

[mheller]

Hi, I think your program is great, but I don't understand how to extract a ship as one 3d file instead of many, I read your message on assembling the subobjects, but it didn't help me, if you could give some clarification on how I would go about doing that I would be very gratefully.

Sincerely,
Mark Heller

[TKD]

If your using deep exploration you just load the main body and click on top left corner where it says File -> Merge file .. then you just load the missing parts from the folder you have them in.

Hope this helps

[mheller]

Thank you very much for letting me know, I greatly appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Mark Heller

[mheller]

Mesh coordinate errors

I have been trying to convert the hiigaran mothership, and battlecruiser, and am having a tough time with parts of the mesh that is not properly aligned, the battlecruiser turrets are appearing inside the ship, and other errors that are making it hard to complete the conversions, if any one can help i would appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Mark Heller

[Spooky]

I have released v1.0.6 of my Extractor that now works on all the Subsystem .HOD files (I think ;)). The ones that were not working did not contain any textures, and seem to be made up of the meshes used when targeting engines etc (i.e. the bits that go red/green).

Link in the first post of this thread...

[Spooky]

Originally posted by mheller
Mesh coordinate errors

I have been trying to convert the hiigaran mothership, and battlecruiser, and am having a tough time with parts of the mesh that is not properly aligned, the battlecruiser turrets are appearing inside the ship, and other errors that are making it hard to complete the conversions, if any one can help i would appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Mark Heller

From the sound of it you are failing to apply any relevant offsets/rotations to the sub-objects.

For example to position the Hiigaran Mothership door correctly you need to an apply an offset. Look down the Debug text until you find an entry for the moshipdoor object thus:

Name Length=10
Name=moshipdoor
Parent Length=4
Parent=Root
Offset= 123.354 | 12.93311 | 44.44958
Rotation= 0 | 0 | 0
Scale= 1 | 1 | 1
Shear?= 0 | 0 | 0
Byte Data= 1 | 1 | 1

You see the Offset section has 3 numbers, these are the x,y,z offset figures for the object. To apply these using Deep Exploration you need to use the Geometry Transform option when saving:

http://www.b5mods.com/spooky/deepex01.jpg

Rotation values (if present) will be in Radians so will need converting to degrees before entering.

If you are trying to position a barrel on a turret you will most likely have to apply two sets of changes - firstly to move to the turret position and then from the turret to the barrel. All position/rotation info is relative to the parent object (as per HW1).

If this works properly when you then Merge the Body and Door they should look like this:

http://www.b5mods.com/spooky/hgn_mothership01.jpg

:)

[arya314]

Maybe I'm just an idiot, but what texture is what?

[mheller]

I was wondering I've been trying for hours to remap in Deep the coordinate offsets for the turrets and barrels on the hiiragan battlecruiser. If any one can shed some light on this problem, that would be great,
Thanks,
Mark Heller

[Fishfighter]

For the risk of sounding like a newbiee, how do u extrat useing spookys hw2 hod viewer. I cant find a way to extrat them in to obj files or any thing :-(

[Fishfighter]

Ignor last post for pure stupidity

[mandrill]

I'm trying to follow the steps given for extracting obj files. I've got to:


6. Open SGAViewer.exe. Make sure the directory is correct using Actions->Set Extract Location in the menu. Add the path to the Homeworld2.big folder by typing it in. Don't use the browse button. So if your like me your directory should be C:\Program Files\Sierra\Homeworld2\Data\HWExtract\Homeworld2.big. Click apply.

Where's SGAviewer.exe. Where can i find it. if a program is mentioned in a post it would be useful if it was linked :) Then I wouldn't have to ask what may seem like a daft question.

[Spooky]

http://www.a-fluffy.demon.co.uk/homeworld2

Use the RelicArchiveExtractor.exe from here, it has superceded the SGAViewer. :)

[EH_AceTFL]

mm Spooky, can you add EXTRACT button to your program?

[EH_AceTFL]

other thing is that program still dont place all textures correctly...

[Bonnet]

Here is a plugin for PSP and PS for dds formats, The intructions can are on the page http://www.cncden.com/renegade_skin_tut.shtml

[Gank]

Irfanview also converts dds to bmp and is free.

[Fishfighter]

4 every 1 that has 3ds max there are plugins avaliable at http://www.maxplugins.de/ that enable you to inport and export .obj and .mtl files into max. So all the people like me who "HATE" :sniper: maya can now do all there work in max. Enjoy, i am going to start make scenes soon :-)

[CommodoreOtto]

Originally posted by Fishfighter

For the risk of sounding like a newbiee, how do u extrat useing spookys hw2 hod viewer. I cant find a way to extrat them in to obj files or any thing :-(

Ignor last post for pure stupidity

4 every 1 that has 3ds max there are plugins avaliable at http://www.maxplugins.de/ that enable you to inport and export .obj and .mtl files into max. So all the people like me who "HATE" :sniper: maya can now do all there work in max. Enjoy, i am going to start make scenes soon :-) Christ preserve us, they're here.

[Ghent]

mip levels 2, 4, 6 appear to be corrupted in DDS files extracted with the HOD convertor, Spooky. Just giving a little heads up so any problems can be looked into.

I'm also still wondering, since day 1 of texture conversion for HW2, where exactly the team colors info is being stored at. There's no layers in the .dds files that I see for team colors so far, just the mip levels for ship LODs. The specularity & luminosity(emissive?) information seems to be contained in a seperate texture map , usually with a [2] or [3] after the texture name....

...but no team color info so far.

[Gank]

every second mip is corrupted when the files are extracted with a hex editor as well so its probably not the hod extractors fault.

[Ghent]

corrrection... it appears mip levels are actually numbered as 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (7)... so this means that mips #1, 3, 5, (7) are corrputed. I've posted this problem to Delphy also under his BIG extractor thread, and he noted that he is not experiencing any texture corruption issues at all. It has to be some small bug or problem that both Spooky's HOD extractor and hex editors like yourself are both doing. Logically, if Delphy had said his own extractor was giving corruption, then yes this would be a generic problem everyone has.... but this is not the case. I've tried decompressing the mip levels to bmp and tga format using 2 different programs now, plus just viewing the raw .dds file itself in PSP (dds plugin installed). MWGraphics convim.exe tool , and a tool from nvidia , detach.exe

[Spooky]

I am doing nothing to the main image data other than reading it in it's raw format so it cannot be the HOD Extractor causing the problem. If the same thing happens when using a HEX Editor then that more or less proves it. DxTex shows the odd numbered layers as garbage as well BTW.

As for the team colours/stripes, it is very simple to see where their definitions are. They are stored as alpha channels in the the diffuse and glow textures, as shown here in the Vaygr MS:

Diffuse
http://www.b5mods.com/spooky/v_ms_front_export_diffuse.jpg

Glow
http://www.b5mods.com/spooky/v_ms_front_export_glow.jpg

The garish light blue is just the background colour showing through the alpha channels. :)

[Spooky]

A major piece of functionality has been added to this release with the ability to preview the extracted .DDS files:

http://www.b5mods.com/spooky/hodviewer04.jpg

Download link is in the first post of the thread. :)

[EH_AceTFL]

nahhhh can you add .bmp saving?

[Gank]

As for the team colours/stripes, it is very simple to see where their definitions are. They are stored as alpha channels in the the diffuse and glow textures, as shown here in the Vaygr MS

So they are, relatively simple to apply too
http://www.boomspeed.com/meejahhor/pulsecorv.jpg

How hard would it be to have the converter automatically apply the offsets when extracting? Would save a fair bit of time for those of us without Deep Exploration.

[Spooky]

Sub-object positioning is definately on my to-do list...

...As is saving as a .bmp file...

...And a mesh preview screen (I'm currently learning the arcane art of DirectX programming ;)). :)

[Delphy]

Spooky, see my hwse2 thread. nuff said. ;)

[Spooky]

I know... ;) :D

D3D and OpenGL graphics programming have been a gaping hole in my knowledge until now - but not any more. :)

[Bakuras]

Did you study up on D3D through the SDK or some other source? I've found the SDK to be pretty helpfull, but it's not exactly the best reference :)

[tahoe916]

Is there somewhere where I can just download a couple models to play with in lightwave, Im having such a hard time extracting them with all these programs Im lost, I just wanna play in Lightwave!! :banana:

[Sp3ctre]

Originally posted by tahoe916
Is there somewhere where I can just download a couple models to play with in lightwave, Im having such a hard time extracting them with all these programs Im lost, I just wanna play in Lightwave!! :banana:

I think the only way remains Deep exploration. I've extracted for now the Higaarian bomber, marine frigate, and the bentusi MS in ready LWO formats

[EH_AceTFL]

hey Spooky we waiting for version unpacking .bmp's :)

[Spooky]

Originally posted by tahoe916
Is there somewhere where I can just download a couple models to play with in lightwave, Im having such a hard time extracting them with all these programs Im lost, I just wanna play in Lightwave!! :banana:

Check here:
http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18782&perpage=15&pagenumber=10

Fabio has released most of the main ships as Lightwave meshes over at LWG3D, extracted using this very tool. :)

[SvK]

Hey! Fabio's conversions are on LWG3D's front page! They're just very small.

[Spooky]

OK - time for another release. I have tidied up the texture viewing somewhat and ...... added the ability to save the .DDS files as .BMP files. :)

http://www.b5mods.com/spooky/hodviewer05.jpg

Link as per first post in this thread. :)

[lastmay]

http://ns1.jilinfarm.com/member/lastmay/utcftp.JPG

I can't open any .hod now!

where can i get the old version of HODviewer?

[Spooky]

A few inadvertant bugs crept into the previous release (now fixed). Also thanks to Pesmontis noticing it the DDS files now have the correct number of MIPS (i.e. 1 as each MIP level was actually stored as a separate file within the .HOD for some reason). In addition some more of the remaining bits of the file are now being read in. :)

Download link as usual. :)

[Spooky]

Main new feature with this release is the ability to view and extract those ships that contain .TGA textures instead of .DDS ones. The only example I have found is the meg_missilefrigate as shown below:

http://www.b5mods.com/spooky/hodviewer06.jpg
http://www.b5mods.com/spooky/meg_missilefrigate01.jpg

For those people wishing to use TGA files instead of DDS when creating ships please note that the Targa files should be 32-bit true colour images...

Also, with TGA files you do not need to reverse the UV coordinates to get the textures mapping properly. :)

Download link in first post.

Next step is to get the elite ships and planetkiller extracting properly. :)

[Gank]

Getting an Unable to CreateDevice for texture preview error with the last 3 releases, prog aint working.

[Bonnet]

What is the .MTL file i get when i extract? Btw does anyone know how to set maya so that it dosent fade out an object after you zoom out so far? Aslo how do i make the textures apply correctly?

Ok i am also getting the following error when i click on the texture under the name section

Run-time error '-208552767 (8870b59)':
Automation error

ok tis only occurs when you try to open the texture w. out first extracting it. It would be nice fi you made it so it didnt crash thought

[Spooky]

The .MTL (material) file is the file that tells the .OBJ (object) file the properties of the textures used and where to find them.

The error message will be trapped in the next release. :)

[Bonnet]

Ok, I know I am a complete n00b at maya. But I googled this and sorted through ten pages and found nothing. So how do you apply/open a mtl file?

[Naquaii]

It should apply automatically, do you have the textures in the right format? They should be bmp's for most of the models.

[EH_AceTFL]

grah

* EH_AceTFL kicks next relese of HOD Viwer - MOVE FASTER!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bonnet]

So when i opent he file it should automatically open the mtl files. If that is the case then it isnt working, and yes the stuff was ported to BMP.

[Naquaii]

Maybe your 3d-program doesn't support mtl's. Tested deepexploration?

[Bonnet]

Maya dosnet support mtl's? Anyways no, i will look at it.

[Spooky]

DeepExploration will use MTL files (if present). I do not know how other programs use them....

[EH_AceTFL]

mlt is must for obj files.

[starfleet]

i don't know if this is because of the version i'm using (dl'n the new version in a min once another dl is done) but i've noticed that the mesh seems to look for name[1].bmp where as spooky's extractor (at least the version i'm using) exports them as .mtl's so it's like there is a mix up in there some where *shrugs* anyway off to dl the new version and find out.

[Spooky]

NO NO NO. The .MTL file is an ASCII file that is referenced by the .OBJ file. It contains details of the textures used and where to find the .BMP file to use. You need to save the textures as .BMP files once you have extracted them as .DDS files. There is an option to do this in the application. :)

[Spooky]

OK - a new update. The Planetkiller extracts properly, as do the Elite Bomber and Corvette. Here is the latter:

http://www.b5mods.com/spooky/hgn_assaultcorvetteelite01.jpg

Next mesh to sort out is the Balcora Gate and then there will be another release. :)

[pipakin]

You're my hero Spooky.

P.S.: Thanks for that debug tab...It's a life saver for HOD Hackers like me :)

-Philip "Pip" Kin

[Bonnet]

Spooky can i host you tool on my site www.tuinaschool.com/~zbobet2012

[TyrealMathias]

Spooky, the newest version seem to not extract the Planetkiller properly as stated.... :-/

EDIT: or the elite ships :(

[Spooky]

Hmm - maybe I mislead people a bit there. What I meant was that the new version currently under development extracts the Planetkiller and Elite ships i.e. v1.2.5 - oops. :)

Also I am more or less extracting the Neu_Transport for good measure - which is basically the Prisonship from HW1 (the Neu_Sountest is a cube BTW :D).

[EH_AceTFL]

why Eliteships and plantkiler cant be extracted? They are other then 'normal' models?

[Spooky]

The Planetkiller not extracting was due to a bug in the code (as I suspect the Balcora Gate will be). The Elite ships and the Neu_ ships are significantly different internally. The Elite ships have different STAT sections and use both vertex fans and strips in the MULT and GOBG sections whereas the 'normal' ships just use vertex strips. I convert the fans to strips for creating the .OBJ files. :)

[EH_AceTFL]

heh.. where is bug in code? Or what it done in your program? Runtime error?

[EH_AceTFL]

mhm 3 words from me:

1) can next relase kill .dds texture unpaking when someone want to save them to bmps? then he dont need .dds .. (like me)

2) can you add $#% unpact button? To dont make program extract files when .hod is loaded (for example, when you forgot to hit all those radio buttons, you will need to reload program to unpact file)

3) Error - if you dont select unpact textures, and you hit save as .bmp and then select whatever texture program return error and shut down.

before relase next wersion, plz read what i posted. :!:

[Sebas_V]

Ace you still use 3de try deepExp it has DDS

[Spooky]

Yep - been a few days since the last release but there has been some significant reworking of the code and additions.

New features are:

1) Extract Button :D

2) Can now load and extract every single ship/subsystem HOD file (I think :))

It even extracts the NEU_TRANSPORT mesh (although it does not texture map correctly yet!).

Link in the first post as per normal.

:)

Oh and I just upgraded my Deep Exploration to v3.0 for £49. Has several nice new features and seems quicker and more stable - a bargain for such an essential tool. :)

[Thought]

Is it just me or is it not working on background .hod files?


FORM Length=8
VERS= 512
FORM Length=30
NAME= Homeworld2 Multi Mesh File
FORM Length=3097782
HVMD
67
67
LITE Length=207
Num HIER=1869182051

[Spooky]

As I said in my previous post it works on every ship/subsystem HOD - I did not mention background ones (yet)... ;)

[Thought]

FIX IT :(

I want to extract the hod textures :O

[EH_AceTFL]

Originally posted by Sebas_V
Ace you still use 3de try deepExp it has DDS

1) I got registrated 3de, i dont want to kick my money and buy de if 3de works ok.
2) if you extract bmps you dont extract dds strange?

[Gank]

Spooky, I still get an error message saying unable to createdevice for texture preview on startup which prevents the program from working, any idea on whats causing that?

EH_AceTFL, the hods contain dds files not bmps, you cant extract bmps because there are none in the files. And theres no need to buy DE, Ifranview will convert them and its free.

[EH_AceTFL]

heh me dont say nothing more. :trix:

[Spooky]

Thought - if the background HODs are as I think they do not contain textures, they are purely made up from coloured vertexes as were those from HW1. :)

[Pesmontis]

Agree w. Spooky, except for the 'Tanis.hod'. 'Planet.hod' & 'Taniswstars.hod' (don't even know whether these are used in the game).
They contain '8888' LMIP chunks, i.e. Targa images which you'd get quicker using a hexeditor.
Want me to put up pictures?

(I accidentally have one from Tanis.hod... searching... God where do I leave all this stuff... ;-)

http://tatooinebase.star-fleet.org/IMAGES/Tanis.HOD.Targa01.tga

btw. don't click the link, instead do a 'save as'.

[Zero-9]

Hey spooky, just got around to using this tool, very nice job :)
well done.

[pipakin]

Pes, about the 8888 chunks, how are they stored in the HOD file? Are they the whole TGA image, or just the pixel data. (I.E. do they contain the header?)

-Philip "I hate LMIP Chunks" Kin

[Pesmontis]

I just use an existing TGA image as example & copy parts of the header / footer to the new TGA image. Then I make sure the size info (two parameters in the TGA header) are equal to the LMIP parameters found in a HOD. Colour depth I set to hex{20 08}, which I believe is one way of defining a 24-bit colour TGA map.

In the HOD there's several TGA images per LMIP chunk, i.e. one image per MIP MAP. The LMIP body isn't continuous, because per MIP MAP it has two DWORDs as MIP MAP size info (this was discussed before in this thread (http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19420&perpage=5&highlight=MIP%20MAP&pagenumber=5) ). Other info (on DDS MIP MAPs) is there in functions 'getLMIP' & 'rebuildLMIP'.

[pipakin]

AH HAH! You're a blessing Pes.

-Philip "I finally get it" Kin

[Jet-Bot]

Originally posted by Rent-a-Zilla
Big thumbs up to all ye...

http://scratchy.spods.co.uk/~rubenstein/battlecruiser.jpg

It's missing lots of stuff etc., but I'm happy...


WOW., you want to help me out and let me have the 3d model :)
I can't get the relic archive extractor to work., it keep giving me error half way.

[FreeZy]

Sppoky for some reason the .HOD extractor is extracting wrong. When I extract something, and try to view it in 3dExploration I get a grey screen and it says it's not a valid format. Any help?

[Jet-Bot]

Same thing happen to me... I can't get any skin out either...

[Sebas_V]

open OBJ files and replace al , COMMA with . POINT

[FreeZy]

*sigh* Well I got them to extract right.. But now LightwaveDE won't save anything with over 400 points. :( Anyone know any other good FREE 3d modeling programs? :/

[Spooky]

Milkshape 3D is not free but it is very cheap and I whole heartedly recommend it. I have used it exclusively thus far for all my models. :)

The problems people are experiencing viewing the .OBJ files are purely down to the regional settings on your PCs. Change the decimal symbol from a ',' to a '.' and all will be fine...

[FreeZy]

I went to google and typed in Milkshape3D... I see no where to buy it... Just places to DL it. Do you have to pay for it once you have it for a certain amount of time? Or is there an official website I need to goto?

[Spooky]

www.milkshape3d.com ;)

[FinalCat]

as things go, http://wings.sourceforge.net is okay, however i dont think it is capable of handleing textures yet.

EDIT>

Sod that, this baby rocks

http://bluecircut.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Data/wingsbcsc.jpg

[Pesmontis]

Hey Spooks, I've mailed you one of my multi-object HODs. In your HOD Viewer 1.30 it's not coming out very well, which must be due to the way I built it.

Could you check in your code what's wrong with it?
(I might also check it myself if I could use your source).

Thanks on beforehand,
Pesmontis.

[Spooky]

Pedro - I've mailed a reply but to repeat it here in case it does not arrive: ;)

The MIP level count immediately after the DXT5 was always 1 too low, i.e. 4 instead of 5 in most cases. The rest of the file reads fine apart from the names of the .DDS files. In the original Relic HOD files the full path of where the texture is on the HDD was stored. I look for the '\' symbol to extract the name and as there is not one there it gets a little confused. :)

I extracted the mesh objects with no problem...

[Pesmontis]

Man ! I've been looking at the chunk lengths & couldn't find anything troubling ( causing me pain in the neck @#$%! ).

So it's the MIP level count, wah...

You're saving my day man :)

[stiles]

Originally posted by FinalCat
as things go, http://wings.sourceforge.net is okay, however i dont think it is capable of handleing textures yet.

EDIT>

Sod that, this baby rocks

http://bluecircut.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Data/wingsbcsc.jpg

Hey final cat, how did u get the textures into wings 3d? I don't have much of an idea how to use this proggy but it looks pretty good

[fluffypuppy]

i just accidentaly figured this out myself today. if you've extracted all the textures along with the mesh, etc. (it may need to be in bmp file, not sure). once you import the obj file, the textures just appear there. i'm not sure how it's happening.

[fluffypuppy]

man, we should get a wings3D for hw2 discussion going on a new thread. or is there one already?

[Spooky]

The list of textures to use (as .bmp files) are stored in the .mtl file that is created with the .obj (where applicable - some meshes do not have textures in the .hod). The .obj file contains 'usemtl xxx' lines that tell the application when to switch texture... :)

[BlueTech]

milkshape3d is free! what u talking about?

just set ur system date to 20 yrs ahead before u start it for the first time and POOF! a 20 year evaluation period! :D

[joelsama]

Originally posted by BlueTech
milkshape3d is free! what u talking about?

just set ur system date to 20 yrs ahead before u start it for the first time and POOF! a 20 year evaluation period! :D

You're kidding! Does that really work?

And BTW, Spooky, hi there. I'm sure this is a silly question and I've probably missed something, but here it goes anyway.

The latest version of your extractor is working just great for me, but there's one thing I don't get. Where is the .obj file actually saved when you extract a ship?

I understand all the directions for how to import/export stuff from program to program, but I can't find where the files I extracted are.

What have I foolishly overlooked?

thanks, Joel.

[Spooky]

The OBJ/MTL files will appear in the same directory that the .HOD is in. :)

And I am still working on this tool - just been a little sidetracked with some others people may have noticed ;)

[BlueTech]

Originally posted by joelsama


You're kidding! Does that really work?



#!$#*@$@#($&#$*(#&($*&(*#@*#(@$#($

dont go trying it, it DOSNT really work... it detects that u set back the system date and it treats it as expired.... :(


PHARTS IN MILKSHAPES FACE

[Spooky]

Anyone who is too tightfisted to fork out the $25/€25 needed to purchase Milkshape has no sympathy from me if they cannot get it to work. It is a superb modelling application for the price and I have used it for years. Mete should be supported for all the work he puts in to the program, not ripped off...

[fluffypuppy]

and for those still unable to fork over the $25, try wings3D. it took me alittle while, but now i am fairly comfortable with the program and realise how intuitive it really is. i like it. and it's FREE!

[Spooky]

At long last an update. The application now read all the chunks from the ship and subsystem .HOD files (apart from the neu_xxx ones). It will also extract the neu_transport mesh and texture map it correctly: :)

http://www.b5mods.com/spooky/neu_prisonship_02.jpg

Next is to make sure all the FX and Background .HOD files are read and extracted OK... :)

Download link is in the first post as per usual.

[Spooky]

OK - another minor update - all .DDS textures are now extracted with all the MIP levels present. :)

Link in first post...

[Alfie]

Hey Spooky are you gonna make you proggie open source?

[omiwan]

WICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKEDWICKED




thx alot your work is very much apretiated:blow: :angel:

[Ammon Ra]

hrm...only ships and subsystems..?? yeah read the readme and intro thingies...

still i'd like to see how relic made the backgrounds, but the program blocks when i try to open m01. edit: works for others.

edit: okay, this is a bit akward. i kan open ships, i.e. hgn_assaultcorvetee, but nothing appears, and nothing happens when i press extract. all options on and off and everything inbetween.
thare are no extracted files in the proggies directory, no files in the hod's directory....i'll search a bit untill i post more.

[Spooky]

It will not work properly if you try and open a ship after a failed opening of a background .HOD file. Quit the program and restart and all should be OK. The next release of the program will read these .HOD files as well - Christmas has slowed development down somewhat... ;)

[fluffypuppy]

no problem. take your time.

can i make a request of the people who post here please? ok. if you are just posting to say "yay, i want this! get it finished!". please don't. when browsing through the forums, if i see this thread has a recent post, i get all excited and read it to see if it's gone final or whatever. very dissapointing to find someone's just posted about how they want this. this is NOT directed at people such as ammon ra who have actual questions.

thanks.

[Uranium - 235]

Humph.... I extract say, hgn_carrier.hod from the .big file, say to open it, and I get no texture map, no hierarchy, just the list up top of engine and such...

Gah, got Hierarchy... now I only wish I knew what to do with this thing :p Any help? How would I just add a basic hardpoint? The other HOD tool at least gave me a file I could EDIT ;)

[Uranium - 235]

Just an obnoxious bump to an unbumpable thread: How exactly do I add hardpoints? I could add them just fine (with some trial and error) using the old crappy .hier style... but I can't do jack with these.

[Ghent]

sorry that i can't address the hardpoints issue Uranium, however...

Spooky, great updates to this tool. Seems to be working nearly flawlessly now, although you might include a little blurb about the proper order of useage under the HELP menu. It's not always intuitive to all users to load the hod, check boxes, load hod again, extract each lod seperately, then switch tabs to save the textures as DDS/BMP. HOWEVER, that feature is very nice, thank you for putting it in (conversion of DDS to BMP)

I'm working on a proper coversion of the planetkiller into a HW playable ship. Anims included. I am a bit concerned that there is no _jointc1_gob object in there, only the lod0, and lod1 objects. Every single other object/joint in the model at lod0 has a goblin for it as well.

;)

[Uranium - 235]

Well if it's not meant to do hardpoints he should say so :) The thread this was inspired by WAS a hardpoint editor and everyone wanted a GUI for it, so I assumed this was a GUI hardpoint editor :D

[fluffypuppy]

ghent has a point about how to use this baby. he made me realise that i was doing exactly what he said without even realising it. yes, you do need to load and re-load to get things to do what you want. i got in the habit of looking in the folder to make sure the things i wanted were actually being extracted before i exited.

uranium, i actually haven't used this one to do hard point editing. i had been using HardEd. don't think it does hard point editing anyway, just a display.

anyway, use HardEd for now.

[Vemarkis]

Spooky, intrested in a O-R-B Conversion to Hw2?

[Steppe]

i cant use the files because i miss all those ocx files. is there a place where i can get them

[Spooky]

Download the VB6 SP5 runtime files from Microsoft's site... :)

[Sparafucile]

fyi: got that 'unable to CreateDevice for texture' error (something like that). so I reinstalled the VB runtime and it went away after a reboot. works fine now

[Sparafucile]

Spooky: I'm having a PM conversation with a guy that's rather newbish when it comes to having the VB RunTime and necessary OCX controls. You also might still be under the impression that common OCXs are included in the VB RunTime. Well, they're not; it's up to the developer to include them in the 'install'. (uh.. at least, mscomctl.ocx is not installed by vbrun60sp5.exe; feel free to smack me if I don't know what i'm talking about. heh heh)

Could you look up the OCXs your tools depend on and include them in a zip along with instructions on how to register them? I would have done it for you, but I don't have the source files, and Dependency Walker doesn't show OCX dependencies (only DLLs, I guess). Thanks.

[EH_AceTFL]

you guys know how to get HW2 vessal with difrent texture colors, other then gray/gray?!


by the way, why we cant link .hod files to hod extractor? if i do so, it only open, and nothing more. :(

[Spooky]

Yes, there have been more than a few occurrences of missing .OCX files. Trouble is that having a full development environment on my PC means that I of course have everything I need! What I really need to know (and cannot at present be bothered to find out) is which .OCX files are in the VB6 runtime distribution. Once I know this I can then ascertain which extra ones I need to include in a release... ;)

[DeathWish]

Ok, I'm a little confused. I've been using this tool just fine without errors for a couple months now and all of a sudden it stopped working. Now I'm getting the following error with both the HOD tool and the HW/HW2/IC big extractor:

System Error &H8007007E (-214024770). The specified module could not be found.

Any help would be appreciated, can't get back to modding til I can get at them HODs!

[EH_AceTFL]

i think most imporant will be to make this thing save files with "." NOT "," I need to edit each unpacked model!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its so hard to change this??

[Enterprise-E]

Ace, You can set your Windows to use "." instead of ",". i did that and since then i have no problems with unpacked models-

[Spooky]

It is a Regional Setting of you PC that is causing the "," to be used as the decimal separator instead of ".". Change that and you will have no more problems... :)

[DeathWish]

Ok figured out my problem; something Installed over the last few days must have overwritten an OCX with an older version. Updated a few OCXs and now it works great!

[Sparafucile]

Spooky: after more research, i have confirmed that no, that's correct, no OCXs are included in the VB Run-Time install (ref: kb 290887 (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;290887)).

- to discover which OCXs your a VB project relies upon (assuming VB6 IDE): access the Components dialog through right-clicking on the Toolbox, selecting the appropriate item on the Project menu, or pressing Ctrl-T on your keyboard. looking at the Controls tab, check the Selected Items Only box and the list will only the controls that are available for use in this project. highlighting an item will show it's filename and path in the status frame. not all of the files shown may actually be in use and therefore unneccessary to anyone running the program.

another way to determine the OCXs used by a particular form is to open its .frm file in Notepad. they should be listed right at the top of the file along with their registry keys.

btw: that "Unable to CreateDevice for texture preview" error has returned. gonna see if a reboot will make it go away again...

ok, the error disappeared after i rebooted. strange... i'll let you know if it comes back.

[Spooky]

Thanks for that - the next release will include the pertinent .OCX files... :)

[EH_AceTFL]

ahh thanks enterprise, it works fine now.
but i still think that you should add .hod opening by starting hodtool with file as paramerer. I think windows use -open to do this.

[Lantash]

hey deathwish im getting the same:

System Error &H8007007E (-214024770). The specified module could not be found

which OCX files did you replace cus i did a search in the system 32 folder and found 25 differant ocx files and though it might be quiker just to ask before i have to start updating them all :).

[DeathWish]

Ok, now I'm having a different problem, when I try to open neu_transport.hod it won't display any of the textures, and when I try to extract it nothing happens and it becomes unable to open any more hods until I close it and open it again.

[EH_AceTFL]

Originally posted by DeathWish
Ok, now I'm having a different problem, when I try to open neu_transport.hod it won't display any of the textures, and when I try to extract it nothing happens and it becomes unable to open any more hods until I close it and open it again.

hmm it loads fine here. But this is just remake (bad remake) of HW1 prison ship...

[DeathWish]

I know, but I wanted to take a look at it anyway :p Maybe I need to install that VB6 thing...?

[Pesmontis]

Spooky, I'm looking at HODs with SSUB chunks without face-lists. They seem to be valid HODs, how does v1.5.1 treat such HODs (from Greggy & Bandit's mod)?

[Spooky]

Errr - no idea at the moment. I have not looked at the code base for a while... ;)

[yano]

Hi all , well for now all the .obj file i'v extracted from .HOD look like this.....
and it look strange (corrupt) in milkshape 3D too....

i really didn't understand what i make wrong , i've read and read again the kitbashing tutorial...

i think i messed something when i extract .obj with the HOdtool....
(but what???????) ,
coz i have no problem with .obj extract from .PEO
(by example)



http://membres.lycos.fr/nomadbentusi/images/error.JPG

Thanks for your help ;)

[ZuiljiN]

humm..im not sure but i think its because you got a french windows and your symbole décimal is , instead of . so go in your panneau de configuration then option régionale et linguistique then personnaliser and change the symbole décimal to . this will fix your bug :)

[yano]

humm..im not sure but i think its because you got a french windows and your symbole décimal is , instead of . so go in your panneau de configuration then option régionale et linguistique then personnaliser and change the symbole décimal to . this will fix your bug :)

Hahaahaha really? (yes i'v a french windows XP version so i try what u said thanks man ;)

---------------------
Edit :

Humm first MANY THA N K S!!! Zuiljjin.....i'll never think to it by myself...it was the problem...it's fix now :)

Humm...so i can begin the new bentusi ship... :) MANY thanks again ;)

IT's the 'future' Bentusi transporter..or..frigate...destroyer? lol i don't now for now...
I must go to work now (i'm late!!! arrrf)
i'll try to put on game my first kitbashing , bye ;)

http://membres.lycos.fr/nomadbentusi/images/thanks.JPG

[apofis920]

hello, I have a problem, I want to extract texture with the tga format but it puts them to me in dds
help me please

[EH_AceTFL]

hello, I have a problem, I want to extract texture with the tga format but it puts them to me in dds
help me please
you need to click on each texture that had to be saved as .tga or .bmp (i was sure that it was saving only to .bmp hmm)

[namno72]

great tool....anyway does anyone know if it is possible to convert aifr or fda files into mp3´s

[Delphy]

namno: Use the DiskWriter plugin in Winamp to output to WAV then convert to MP3 using your favourite encoder. (Seriously, do a search this has been asked WAY too many times)

[DeathWish]

download link seems to be broken in first post... at least for me...