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| =Converting New Models for Darkwind=
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| A quick step-by-step guide to turning a Sketchup model into a Darkwind model. This isn't very detailed, because I'm not an expert in Blender, so you probably don't want to learn my bad habits anyway. Also you may prefer to use another 3D modelling package, in which case detailed instructions won't be much use to you. Either way you need to learn (or know) how to use a 3D modelling package before we start. I picked up enough blender to be useful in a few evenings of following tutorials, so it's not a huge issue. All the tools we'll be using here are free, so that's no barrier either.
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| ====Software====
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| You will need:
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| [http://www.blender.org Blender] - or your preferred modelling software. It needs to be able to import Collada format models (.dae) and export Wavefront objects (.obj).
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| [http://sketchup.google.com/ Sketchup], Google's free modelling program.
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| ====First, Catch Your Model====
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| You'll need to find the model you want to convert on sketchup. Have a look through the [http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/ 3D Warehouse]. There are a few things to take into consideration:
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| ===== Technical =====
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| * Is the model too detailed? Check the download size, anything over 5Mb is probably off limits. If the model is "tuned" (spit), try and find the original.
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| * Can Darkwind support it? Four wheelers with enclosed cabins only.
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| * Is it possible to texture it? We'll look into this in detail later, but for now the closer to a simple cube it is, the better.
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| * Is it legal? Models on sketchup can be used for pretty much anything, but I'd steer clear of anything with comments like "found on the web".
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| ===== Aesthetic =====
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| This is more about whether your model will ever make it into the game. Making something that fits with sam's vision of the world gives you a much better chance. I'd avoid one-offs, made up cars or kit cars. Modern cars are lower priority than 60s and 70s style, and anything unusual tends to be better. There are any number of 70s muscle cars, but I haven't bothered converting any because there are so many in the game already. Except for the Capri, obviously. I never said I followed all the rules :)
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| ===== Our Example =====
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| For this tutorial, I'll be using this [http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=e646866ff6a7eabd8869daa461a34b2&prevstart=0 Chevy Suburban], spotted by Knight. This passes pretty much all the tests above, except possibly being a bit close to an Apache. I suspect the differences are enough though.
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| ====Stripping====
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| There are two main steps to take us from a Sketchup model to a Darkwind model. We need to reduce the poly count to 1500 from whatever it starts at (often 20000 or more), and then we need to texture it with a single 512x512 texture. To start with, we'll reduce the poly count as much as possible by deleting everything we don't need from the model.
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| Download the model, and open it in sketchup. Select XXX from the menu to see the poly count. Currently it's XXX (this is not accurate for a variety of reasons, but it's a reasonable estimate). Now select Outliner from the XXX menu. This lists all the separate objects in the model. Click on one and it will be outlined in blue. Click again and everything else greys out, so we can see exactly what we're doing.
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| Obviously the first thing we need to do is delete one of the suburbans.
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| Next we'll go through and remove what we can. Wheels aren't needed,
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| Now that we've got rid of everything we can, it's time to export to blender for the more detailed work. Select everything on the outliner, right click and choose "explode". This may take several minutes, so be patient. If there's anything left, explode it again. Keep going until the outliner looks like this:
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| Now select XXX from the file menu, and export the model. That's it for Sketchup, so feel free to close it and open up Blender.
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| ====Cleaning====
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| ====Wrapping====
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| ====Finishing====
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