Quoted by : Bigdog, Febuary 2002


Using the J3Editor

Getting started. Read the Document that comes with the Editor. It didn't help me at first but I would recall having read something about whatever was confusing me and it would make more sense after using the editor some. Download Sqzip, Bruce Jensen Resource Manager, or Skinmaster to extract files from the archives. All the bitmaps associated with a J3 object must be in the file you are working in. If not you will get the "Failed to open dib file" Error. In the Documentation section is a doc called Skin Textures by plane type. It list which bitmaps need to be present to open the J3P files for the planes. Some people work in a copy of the entire sqs. I make a file with all the Files for that plane present. Sometimes I overlook one and have to note which one the error message says is missing and go retrieve it. Also when I save a file I put a number on the front so I still have the original. I also do this when making major changes so I can backtrack.

To put a drawing into the editor it must be set as a bitmap such as the game reads. Ie 512x512 72 dpi 8 bit color. Once you have set this in the background you adjust its size by manipulating the overall size of the grid. I find a length or wingspan that is at or close to an even messure in meters. Example the Ki-61 had a wingspan of 12 meters. With the grid set at 1 meter interval I played with the overall size until my drawing matched this.

The object tree is at the left upper corner of the editor and can be moved about and resized. This is where you select what part of the plane you are going to work on. The documentation covers this pretty well. It takes a little bit of time to get the feel of it but it isn't that hard.

The debug version of the editor has a Vertex Normals function. These control the way light is reflected off the surface. The editor in the downloads section handles these atomaticly. After I have an area to my satisfaction I run the 3d file through this version to correct the Normals. There is a thread where Judge and Hammered had to explain these things to me in great detail and I still do not have a firm grasp on them.

There is a thread by Alan Grey where I explained how to mirror objects in the editor. This is extreamly helpful on radically new mods as you only have to create it once. It is not a complicated proscess just a time consuming one.

To import an object from one J3 file to another you will need to download NotesPad I think it is in the download section. Read the tutorial aat Jaxon's site for information on the files in a text format as this is how this is done.

Hammered's site has a tutorial on mapping. It takes a little time to grasp the concept but it is simple once you figure it out. It is a nice and fun time consuming process as well.

Beware when deleting faces and such in the Editor because if you do too many at one time it seems to crash. Just do a few and save then pick back up and cary on. Saving often and under various names for backtracking is an extremly wise idea.

That pretty much covers my knowledge of this stuff as I am new to it. Yes it can get discouraging. Yes it can get frustrating. Yes it takes a great deal of time and commitment. BUT when you launch the game and see the new creation in it it is worth it. Even more gratifying than a Skin at least to me.

And Wraith this is for you. To non mirror the Nacels on the 38 make a coppy of whichever bitmap they read from on the 38. Copy the nacel entityies in the object tree and paste them to the same group as the originals. Set this entity to read from the new bitmap in the Attributes window. Delete the faces from this group that will read from the original bitmap leaving the ones that will be the Anti-glare panels. In the original nacel entity delete the faces that will make up the Anti-glare Panels. There are several explinations on this board for adding new bitmaps using SQzip.

I hope this helps. Maybe some of the more experienced people can expound on this. I didn't want to discourage anyone in the other thread. There are just so few of us doing this and so much that could be done.