Nexus Modding > Game Assets

Coverting ships

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Blazar:
Hi according to the modding manual you need to create a working folder \_work and put all the source files containing model, texture and parameter files to be converted to for the game are placed here.
Including; converter.tpr – Data-file of the converter.
However i can not find it anywhere. In the mod tools folder there is the converter  .exe  and 2 .dll files.

I have used the Nexus Skirmisher  SP Settings as a template and created a folder in the mods folder:
so: C\Program Files\Nexus - The Jupiter Incident\mods\new mod
In new mod  there are the files of Nexus Skirmisher SP Settings (because i also used this for my prevoius question).
Do i have to make a _work folder in the main new mod folder? Or do i have to make sub directories as well because in the manual in Chapter 2 they state that the models must be placed in the _work/art/meshes directory and that all models must include the following subdirectories.
-obj -textures

I know that the destination folder of the converted models should be in the main new mod folder  \meshes
and \ textures \meshes. That i do understand.
I know how the basic structure of a mod should be.
What confuses me is how to actually convert a .lwo and .tga to a .msh and .tex

I have tried different combinations but without reslut.

I have read the tutorials on moddb, nexus wiki, of the old dragon etc, done about 6,5 hours of research today but i am still stuck in the mud. :(

Summary:
1. where is; the converter.tpr – Data-file of the converter
2. how should the directory structure be to convert the a .lwo and .tga to a .msh and .tex

Thanks in advance.

Arparso:
You need to run the model / texture converter for that. When you start mod_tools.exe, select your mod and then choose "Start Model / Texture Converter", the converter should pop up. There you can set up tasks (e.g. "meshes", "fx textures", "gui icons", etc.) and add the raw model or texture files to each task. After configuring the texture or model options and setting the appropriate destination directory you just hit "Process All" and everything gets converted for you. You can save your converter project in a file, so you don't have to recreate all of your settings again and again ... this is the converter.tpr you seem to be looking for - it just stores the converter settings and is usually placed in "__work\art" (notice the TWO underscores before "work", not only one).

Now I won't go into much detail here, simply because one of the sample mods of Nexus already includes such a sample project you can use as a reference for your own project. Have a look at the "SAMPLE 02  Everything Change" mod and try to load the converter with that mod selected... it should load the existing converter project, ready for you to inspect and see how it's done. ;)

Blazar:
I was seraching for the sample already, as described in the manual. But there is no sample mod. There is in the mod folder a NEXUS Standard Multiplayer Battles.dap file. Maybe becuase i installed the game as standard and not customed.

Yes i knew about the Start Model / Texture Converter, i've used that. When selecting a mod, there's a error screen: cannot open projectfile. But after clikking ok the converter still opens with the the "Source root" and "Destination root" already filled in.

When i choose "Open Project" and go to the folder where the .lwo file is or the .tga files there is nothing to open File types: Builder projects. There are none.

So there's a basic problem, i don't have the "SAMPLE 02  Everything Change"  mod. Is there maybe one on the Moddb site to download? Otherwise i would have to reinstall? It seems that that must be the first place to begin understanding the structure of Nexus modding.
Thanks
 

Arparso:
Yes, you'd need to install the game again, but choose to install the mod tools and mod samples as well.


--- Quote ---Yes i knew about the Start Model / Texture Converter, i've used that. When selecting a mod, there's a error screen: cannot open projectfile. But after clikking ok the converter still opens with the the "Source root" and "Destination root" already filled in.

When i choose "Open Project" and go to the folder where the .lwo file is or the .tga files there is nothing to open File types: Builder projects. There are none.
--- End quote ---
Of course you can't open any project, because you didn't create one for your mod yet. Just start the converter, click Ok on the error message and choose "Save project". Save it as "__work\art\converter.tpr" in your mod's folder and it'll be loaded automatically from now on. You can choose a different filename, of course, but then you'll have to use "Open project" manually each time you start the Converter.

Tasks:
A task is basically a group of files each using the same converter settings. For example, for the Freespace mod, I've created a "Meshes - XXX" and "Textures - XXX" task for each race with XXX being the actual race's name. Create, rename and delete tasks by using the buttons in the upper left of the converter dialog.

Source Root:
The source folder for all the art assets you want to convert (meshes, textures, sounds, etc.). This is set by default to the "__work\art" subfolder of your mod directory. I recommend just using that default name.

Destination Root:
This is the target folder for all your converted assets. It's set by default to your mod's base folder. Leave it at that.

Destination Directory:
This is the subfolder your converted assets belonging to the selected task will end up in. For example, set this to "meshes", so your converted models end up in the correct model folder. Model textures usually belong in the "textures\meshes" folder, so set up a separate task for these with the "textures\meshes" destination directory.

Source Files:
This is the list of the actual files you want to convert. Each task has it's own list of source files.

Use "Add", "Delete" and "Clear" to add new or delete old source files from that list. Use them to add your .lwo, .lws and .tga files to each task.



If you're done, use "Save Project" to save all your settings. Then hit "Process All" and everything will be converted just nicely. If you check "Process Changed Only", it'll skip assets that haven't changed since the last run.

Blazar:
Arparso
Thanks very much for the detailed explanation. The first step i will be doing is to re-install the game with the full installation modality. After that i will successively go through the steps, in order to understand the modding proces. Using this guide as well.
Thanks again  :)

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