Super Powio Introduction: .DTS's are shape files for Starsiege that comprise the bulk of the environmental objects within Starsiege. Obstacles and vehicles alike are made from .DTS files. Until now, it has been impossible to create new shapes due to the lack of developer support for Starsiege and the Darkstar engine. Starsiege: Tribes has made better progress in these areas, however it is where possibilities for Starsiege first appeared. This thread is intended to gather information concerning the creation of .DTS shapes, and to periodically announce its working progression so far. Super Powio - August 25, 2003 7:02 am Plugins go in to the plugins directory in 3dSM 2.5, and it should be an option when exporting to DTS. It's called a Vamas shape or something. I forget, I haven't ran 3dSM in a while (takes up way too many resources). As for making the actual shapes: .DTS's are just simple low-poly shapes with simple color pigments or textures applied to them. The textures can be in normal MS format: only their name is retained and they'll still work when the shape actually shows in-game. Transparent textures are a different story: you have to use .pngs with an alpha map to show transparency instead. Every DTS [u]must[/u] have a single block named 'bounds'. All this is is a simple, untextured rectangular block that should just barely surround the rest of the shape. It can be as small or as big as you want, and is invisible in-game. However, if the player would be able to see any part of this block, the shape would be drawn to that player. Some objects also have a collision mesh. This is the same thing that you see on your HUD when you target just about anything. It is made the same way as making any other shape except that it's untextured and has a color pigment of 178, 178, 178. Thanks to S-110 for that information. :smile: Objects can also be animated (duh). All you need is a 'sequence' helper (under General if you have the plugin installed right), and from you make an animation as normal. As far as I know, nothing except for manipulating the shape will work correctly. That means you can't shift textures around by moving the UVW (sp?) around in the animation. I'm still trying to figure that one out. Textures can be swapped though by using an .IPS file as the texture, for those who are familar with them. .IPS's are a listing of textures to be used in a single animation, and as each frame passes the textures are used after a certain amount of frames of animation. Finally, if you've ever looked at a DTS through a hex editor, you might have noticed the hierarchy of the shape, with names like Base, Debris, Hulk, etc. I'm not exactly sure how it works, since whenever I use a hierarchy in a shape it seems to screw it up. I got it working once with debris, but it was very buggy. (Shapes within the vehicle's line of sight have textured debris, but shapes outside have low-detail debris. Try with your vehicle in the mission editor, it's fun.) That's it. That's pretty much as far as I've gotten. The one thing I'm so bent up over is getting textures to move like on the Mars Perimeter Fence thingy, or the Dias Irae. Other stuff I need to know are setting up a proper hierarchy, and setting up transitions between animations. Then of course there's making new transparent textures, but that's outside 3dSM. Almost all my resources were taken from [url=http://www.garagegames.com/docs/torque/tools/max2dts/index.html]here[/url]. I know it's for Torque, but the two DTS formats are so similar that some of the same methods worked, including the hierarchy stuff (to a point). Sentinal - August 25, 2003 2:26 pm To answer your other question: when exporting, choose "Vicon Combining Exporter (.DTS)" from the drop-down menu. Sentinal - August 25, 2003 2:43 pm Have you tried "HexEdit" ? Super Powio - August 31, 2003 10:22 am This probably doesn't belong here, but for those who have been keeping score, I found a way to get translucent textures to work plus a little extra. It turns out that all those FX bitmaps aren't alpha maps after all. They're just additive textures like the sprites in Half-Life: color from the bitmap gets added to the environment behind it. Simply put, you just see the texture as if it were a glass pane. Alternatively, you could also use subtractive textures, which weren't used in Starsiege to begin with (except for one texture that I know of). These are little more complex: they take color away from the environment behind it, so you get sort of a negative image with darker colors. It only works in accellerated mode though. In software mode, you end up seeing the light version of the bitmap. Teleporter effect as a subtractive texture: [img]http://sunandshadows.com/staticscreen/powioimgs/DarkFX.jpg[/img] Izzy - September 16, 2003 11:35 am I'm making some great prgress on DTS shape modifications in hex. I now can pretty much mix and match herc and shape parts. I am currently in the process of writing a document on hexidecimal DTS editing that will point out what parts of the hex does what; and what charaters do what; for example the character "w" will switch one part of a herc to the other side where "x" does the opposite. So in the hex you can change the *$( to www on the left shoulder and the #*% to xxx on the right shoulder and the shoulders will switch side making a cool looking moon shape shoulder...........also I've made cool claw formations on the cockpits of hercs like that of the judge and shep, but these are visible outside the herc. Revmoval of parts is quite easy as well. I"m currently putting together a DTS HEX team to tear apart these DTS files so we can what parts are listed in the DTS and the hiaracy. So far i know the shoulders are first..........hips are third. ...................................more to come... go to SRc forum to see pictures of my new monstrosities. [img]http://www.westol.com/~wizardoz/todot2.jpg[img][/img] Izzy - December 2, 2003 11:29 am I like to bring this post back alive. I've spent the last few weeks learning 3dmax 2.5 and I can pretty much say that I know it well. I have made tons of new dts animated shapes as well as stumbled across some new descoveriies like the particle beams. I can add sequences and hierarchy to shapes making them move. I made a new tank that operated in the game by using the myramidon hierachy. I also made a lot of new building and shapes with some cool effects like when you get close to them you set off a trigger that makes the shapes change to other shapes. I have not mastered the program yet but with the help of my friend who is a software programmer we are making a dts import plugin for the max 2.5. Just wanted to drop a line. Izzy - December 3, 2003 6:21 pm To all: I am becoming quite good with the nurbs in 3d max and have made some pretty remarkable shapes. I am amazed at how uncomplicated starsiege hercs cound be. You can make a herc or a animal or anything that will move with as little as 5 or 6 shapes. You just bind them togeter and with nurbs edit the shapes to form it like you want. I made an awsome rippleing water effect with the (2 rail) option. its is pretty badd ass and looks waves in an ocean moving. I havent exported it yet. Any way my reason for posting was that when i do infact get a fully functional moving vehilce (probally only have 2 or 3 parts.) and it is drivabel i will post all my research here for all you guys to look at. How to add transitiions and sequences and nurb editing and so forth. Also the dts import when my friend jamie gets it done he said he can do it in about an hour if he ever finds time. All my work is dedicated to powio if not for him and his tireless efforts none of this would be possible. I know the word tireless now. Izzy - December 19, 2003 1:24 am THIS TUTORIAL USES THE DISRUPTOR AND MYRAMIDON SCRIPT DIRECTIONS FOR TANK MAKING (BY: SRc IzzY) BaseA 32 Body0 head0 Aux_A0 cockpit Left_Tread0 Right_Tread0 BaseB 16 Body1 head1 Aux_A1 cockpit1 Left_Tread1 Right_Tread1 BaseC 8 Body2 head2 Aux_A2 cockpit2 Left_Tread2 Right_Tread2 bounds Camera01 coll0 Body head Left_Tread Right_Tread Seq01_cockpit Seq02_Right_Tread Seq03_Left_Tread ___________________________________________________________________________________ Start out by creating your basic shapes (Cockpit, Left_Tread, Right_Tread, head, Body a small diamond shape called BaseA 32 and a box called Aux_A0 (which will be where your weapons mount. Align the BaseA 32 with the body on XYZ axis. Put your Aux_0 where you want your weapons (Align button looks like a check mark in menu bar.) Add a camera point (free camera) and center it to your cockpit using the align button on XYZ axis (pointing the way you want your tank to look when it spawns) Create 3 Sequences and animate them by hitting the animate button and putting your timeline on the highest number. Make sure your you use the assigned controllers (TCB Postion, TCB Rotation, TCB scale) under your motion Tab. Name your sequences as stated above in the hierarchy. And then align them on the XYZ axis with your treads. Line up your hierarchy as show above. (This is done by using the selection tool in the top menu bar, select your object, then hit the select button. Exit out and hit the link button, It's forth from the left. Return back to your list button and select the Parent. For example if you wanted to link the head to the Body you would select the head, hit link button, and go back in list and select the Body as the parent). Select all your shapes using the select button in your top menu bar. Hold down ctrl button to select or skip objects. Select the Body, head, cockpit, Right_Tread, Aux_A0, BaseA 32, and Left_Tread and nothing else. Now that you have your selections go to Edit and then to clone. Make 3 "clone copys" of the things you selected. Now your list should start looking like above. Go into your body3 and delete the cockpit3 and anything else that is in there not shown above. Now go through your list and name your parts as shown above. Now we need to link the parts to our sequences. SOFT LINK This is not the way Dynamix did it but this is how I have been doing it due to its easier. The makers of Starsiege used a (flat .bmp) for the tread animation. I use a soft link animation that actually makes the part move. What you want to do is select your Right_Tread1 and go back to your Motion tab and change your controllers to Link Control. After you do this you will notice a Add Link button. Select this and link your (TREADS) to the appropriate sequence by going back to your list button (Right_Tread goes to Seq02_Right_Tread) and so on. DO NOT DO THIS TO THE COCKPIT. The cockpit works on its own after you line up hierachy as shown above. The weapons will go on your head or Aux_A1. Select your 1 shapes Body1 and so forth and skin them. They are what you see in the game. Create a box that barely covers the object and name it coll0 (collision) and link the above objects to it. Add another box around that one called bounds. Now export your shape to your main Starsiege directory as a DTS file. name it kn_MYRM.DTS if you want to see it right away. To get the object to use skins inthe vehicle bay name the shape you use to skin your 1 objects with a base (rb_red.BMP) then the shape will use all .bmpsin your skins folder using the rb base. For example rb_mypicture.bmp. That's about it. If your tank doesn't work then Go backand review your hierachy and make sure it matches the one above exactly. After you do this a few times you can make a modeled tank work in under five minutes. IZZY of the SRc 303842260 Here is a perfect working tank I made for reference. http://www.sunandshadows.com/src/tank.max Here is this tutorial in text format to see the hierachy. http://www.sunandshadows.com/src/tank.txt