Request for a Programmer! Possible Solution to WOW CMs

[kevin]

HI!

Now I've been trying to read all the updated news on the forum, but so far to my knowledge nobody has a real good way of importing CHARACTER models from WOW (the 8 main raices). Now everyone can import the NPCS or the MODELS but nobody I can find can impor a custom character without a serious degree of difficulty.

I think all us people who desperately want to recreate our character can now do it.

http://www.curse-gaming.com/mod.php?addid=2090

The new version of the model viewer at that site includes SOURCE CODE!

Here's the deal, this character model viewer, v0.46b, saves the characters and the armor sets you custom design as "*.chr" files.

At any time you can load these char files and you have the specific character or armor designs you saved.

If this reader can do that, then I am positive someone with programming knowledge can read the source code, and develop a model importer that utilizes the *.chr save state from the model viewer to import/extract a model based on the parameters in the *.chr file.

In otherwords: you open up this model viewer, save the character skinning/hair/face settings in the *.chr file
Use a custom made model creator that loads / creates a model based on the parameters in the *.chr file


The source code is released so you can base the model creator on the source code (automatically extracting/creating the skins).

I just can't do more than the most basic programs, so I don't know how to do this. but I KNOW someone out there does!!!!!!!



The Long Method:

ok, in th emean time I think I have figured out a long method for extracting female/male models.

In the NPC section of a viewer, there's a list hundreds of entries long, with models that are "all inclusive" single model sets.

Basically you find the model witht he basic hair and body that you want. Make a ntoe of the extended file name. (someone should create a cross indexed directory to translate these file names).

What you can do is export a standard character model. create some bs .blp files, and load it up in ant model editor (or in the vertix editor). Copy the the mid sectio nand the face, go to the generic NPC file, and paste that copy over it.

That is a long method of creating a basic male/female with the hair and face design of your choice.



Seriously I think the model viewer option is our best bet! The source code for this program HAS been released, just recently. Is there anyone with programming experience willing to create a program that will adopt and use the *.chr files?

 

[Mecheon]

I've been bugtesting that program for a while. Good when it works

Also, it won't help at all. All the .chr files do is make the program load up a certain group of skins and models (For shoulderpads and helmets), which is what WoW does. They don't do anything magical to remove the unneeded stuff, they just don't show them. If you could somehow make a program that grabbed the number of skins from it, you'd still have the various other unused things, except they'd be invisable

 

[kevin]

Currently the program cannot do this however, the capacity for the source code to be built up to that feature is there.

You said yourself, the *.chr files point to what is visible and invisible.

The point I am making is if the *.chr file already tells the program which aprts you want to utilize, then another program can use the same function to identify which parts you want to save.

I am positive a programmer out there can use the source code to create a secondary program, which loads the *.chr file, loads all the parts which are meant to be visible, while simultaneously "auto-editing" the invisible parts out of the equation.

I've seen programs work exactly like this. The *.chr file already identifies which portion of the mpq you wish to view. A susequent program can then identify the flagged areas, and save them.

or to put it in an oversimplistic way:
*.chr is a file of bread crumbs leading the videocard to display the desired result.

make a program that follwos those breadcrumbs.


When transferring playable character model files, I have been able to open up those files in simple vertex editing programs. I lose half the information (legs, hair and portions of the forearm) when I do that, but I know, that if this lost information was flagged, then you could save the desired information.

So I know that portions of these .mdl files can be flagged (I've witnessed it), *.chr files have already been able to zero in on the specific portions you want flagged.

Somehow someone out there can figure out how to combine these actions, I'm sure of it. Especially since the author himself is working on similar approaches in improving this model viewer.


Anyway, I am asking everyone to see if anyone knows enough about programming to do this.


I will also ask my friends, though, if my friends get involved I just know they're going to make it a shareware

they don't do anything for free and I doubt I can convince them to get interested enough in wc3 model editing to do it on their own volition.