Sketchup and SharpOcarina Q's

[haddockd]

Hi All,

 

Been messing around with importing models into SO using Sketchup and a few quick questions

 

1) Been on the Sketchup warehouse and trying to import some simple models as tests and they all throw IndexOutOfRange Exceptions. Any obvious reason as to why that may be? The models arent terribly large

 

2) How do you break up larger models and get them to "link" together properly?

 

3) What is the best method to add groups and actors to those models for import into the ROM?

[giadrosich]

For #3: I'm not sure if Jason's ZAO-ADD program will deal with custom maps, but since it injects into 117 by default, you could probably mess with the program that way. Might have to put in a manual injection offset. You can add objects/actors pretty easy that way.

[Jason777]

IndexOutOfRange can either mean that there are too many polygons or the model's scale is too large.

 

When you mean "link" up together, are you referring to maps in scene?

 

There is a feature in SharpOcarina which allows you to add objects and actors to a custom map before importing.

[haddockd]

Yes I am referring to having multiple maps to a scene...ideas?

[Jason777]

Build a version of the map that contains only the necessary collision (not mesh) and no textures. Think of that as the scene file. Of course, use that as the "Collision Model" (It's near the top of the "General" tab).

 

Build a detailed version of the map that contains everything that you want to be visible (mesh). Think of that as all the map files put into one model. Go into that version and seperate everything into groups. Every group signifies a map. Then export each group separately. Go into the "Rooms" tab of SharpOcarina and then add each of the seperate groups. Those are all your map files.

 

Finally, to link up all the maps you must simply go into the "Transitions and Spawns" tabs and add in however many transition actors you see necessary (doors).

 

You could use ZAO-ADD to add actors and objects to the map file, but it would kind of be unnecessary because SharpOcarina has the features built into it specifically for custom maps. Not to mention that you wouldn't be able to edit the actors or objects in the maps with SharpOcarina because the program edits the map through XML generated scene/map files based on user input and not by loading the map through the ROM. The only thing that SharpOcarina doesn't have is a way to automatically generate an injection offset.

[haddockd]

So clearly I am missing the tutorial on how exactly to do that in sketchUp. Does such a tut exist here?

 

I totally get it conceptually Jason777, so thank you for that

[giadrosich]

So clearly I am missing the tutorial on how exactly to do that in sketchUp. Does such a tut exist here?

 

I totally get it conceptually Jason777, so thank you for that

I think I get what he's saying, I can mess with it tomorrow to see if I can get it to work. If so, then I'll put up a tutorial on it.

[Jason777]

You select all the faces that you want to be part of a single group ("Ctrl" + Clicking + Clicking + Clicking + etc) and then you "Right Click"-> "Make Group"

 

[xdaniel]

The only thing that SharpOcarina doesn't have is a way to automatically generate an injection offset.

It does automatically inject each room one after another by default (can be disabled from the Options menu), but it does not look for free space by itself or anything like that, true. It also doesn't check if it overwrites any existing data, so offset management is something the user needs to do. Granted, it also doesn't tell the user how big each generated room file will be, so the consecutive room injection still requires some guesswork.

[haddockd]

I thought it would be best just to revive this thread versus making a new one.

 

No matter what template I use in SketchUp, all my models come into SharpOcarina SUPER tiny. What small secret am I missing when making the models in SketchUp?

[Secant]

Chances are SketchUp is automatically scaling your model when you change templates; instead of doing that, you'll want to scale the entire model. Alternatively, for your obj exporter plugin, change the model units to something smaller (for example, if you're using, feet, try changing it to inches), or if you aren't already, change it to the model's default units, which usually works for me.

[Netsrac]

After making the level, try scaling it in Sketchup to something in between 20 and 22 and then scale it to something in between 1 and 3 in Sharp Ocarina. That's what I do and it turns out just fine.

 

EDIT: @Secant Dang you were faster >.<

[haddockd]

Chances are SketchUp is automatically scaling your model when you change templates; instead of doing that, you'll want to scale the entire model. Alternatively, for your obj exporter plugin, change the model units to something smaller (for example, if you're using, feet, try changing it to inches), or if you aren't already, change it to the model's default units, which usually works for me.

I have tried using the Scale feature, but it is klunky and takes a considerable amount of time for a complex model (unless I have been doing it wrong). What is the fastest way to scale a model to 20 or 22?

 

I click on File > ObjExporter to export my models. There are no visible options to change. Can you be more detailed on this please?

[Netsrac]

Well, what I do is highlighting everything, then I click the scale button, move it just a bit, and then I type in the numbers and press enter.

 

But you could also get a .obj exporter plugin that has a scaling option. I've never heard of one tho.

[haddockd]

Awesome. That worked. I was getting confused because I was trying to actually type it in the box, but the box isnt editable. You just have to type the numbers in thin air and the textbox updates itself. Nice GUI Google.

 

Thanks again!