2 skins, one model..... a huge question

[Ryan19]

ok. I have read alot of tuts. discussing how to get 2 skins for the same model (oz02 most recently). I have followed the different tuts. word for word and have got to the same conclusion/error. My skin and model show up on my custom unit in WE as well as the original unit that is based on. But when I test the map, the original unit appears normal, but the new custom unit appears as nothing but its shadow. (To give a quick example, i made a Chaos tauren by modofying the Minotaur.blp, THEN i did the whole process of opening a mdx extractor and got my tauren model and protrait THEN used yobgul's to edit the skins THEN placed custom unit with modified Minotaur.blp and Tauren.mdx in WE; it appears as it should [like my image adjustment] Then I closed and saved WE THEN reopened and tested which causes the new unit to by nothing but its shadow). The part which i think i am messing up is archiving the model with winMPQ because I dont really now how to because all the tuts. i read always assume you know how to use winMPQ (I have tried opening war3.mpq and adding my stuff by clicking the add button, finding the file and putting in the paths [textures\ for the skin and units\orc\Tauren\ for the model and protrait] and I have tried doing the same by opening my custom map and adding the models/skin.) So, if anyone knows why my unit appears fine in WE but appears only as its shadow in game, please tell what is the problem and how to fix it; and if the problem involves how I am adding my model and skin with winMPQ then please PLEASE give a DETAILED explaination on how to fix it.

 

[oz02]

Unless you have TFT you don't need to use WinMPQ for importing files. Just use the regular WE's Import Manager and import the models and skins with the correct path (read darky28's tutorial for more info on importing models).

 

[Detrivus]

My Infernal model kept doing the green cube thing and not loading in WE, but when I actually played the map, it showed up just fine. Try that and see if your tauren will show up in-game. Or try repeating the model copying and skinning process, which I'm going to have to do with my doom guard... it's team colored shoulderpads are the only things that show up, the rest of him is invisible.

 

[Ryan19]

a couple of replies:

to Oz02: yes i am using tft, so does that change anything? and ccould you post a link to darky's tut.

to Detrivux: my problem has nothing to do with WE not loading, it is the game that wont load it; so unless you miss read my problem, I do see how that pretains to the situation - please explain.

to all: if anyone knows a good tut. that explain my problem or how to use winMPQ, pleass please post a link or tell me how.... thanks all for help

 

[Detrivus]

Use the WE Import Manager instead of WinMPQ if you have TFT. Now here's a tut for you of how I get 2 skins on the same model.

For starts, open up WC3 Viewer (http://www.wc3sear.ch/?p=Tools&ID=11) and find the Tauren Model (units\orc\tauren\tauren.mdx). Once it's selected, click the Extract MDX button in the top-right corner. Save it to your desktop or wherever is easiest. Now, using Yobgul's File Converter (http://www.wc3sear.ch/?p=Tools&ID=3), load your Tauren.mdx and convert it to a .mdl file. Open Notepad and open the Tauren.mdl. Now theres ALOT of text and complicated stuff, but just scroll slowly down until you see this text:
Textures 4 {
Bitmap {
Image "units\Orc\Tauren\Minotaur.blp",
}
Bitmap {
Image "",
ReplaceableId 1,
}
Bitmap {
Image "Textures\gutz.blp",
}
Bitmap {
Image "Textures\Zap1.blp",
}

Simply change the "units\Orc\Tauren\Minotaur.blp" to "units\Orc\Tauren\Yourskinfile'sname.blp". Now go back to Yobgul's Converter and turn it back into a MDX file. If Yobgul's has an error, close and reopen it and try again.
Now import your ChaosTauren.mdx or whatever into WE with the Import Manager (button looks like a file and a green arrow). Then import your skin and make it's custom path "units\Orc\Tauren\blabla.blp". Go to Object Editor and make sure the unit's model is set on Import instead of Preset or Custom and make sure it's using the Chaos Tauren model. Save, close, reopen, and it should display. If you get a loading error and a green cube shows up on your screen, test the map before asking for more help.

And in my previous post, WE worked just fine it was my Infernal model that didn't. But when I tested the map it showed up and was fixed.