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Help & Tutorials => Model Tutorials => Topic started by: windhunter7 on October 15, 2015, 03:52:24 PM



Title: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Tutorial(Blender to Brawl)
Post by: windhunter7 on October 15, 2015, 03:52:24 PM
Update (9/14/2019): Updated info on Blender
Most Crucial Update Ever: Officially, this tutorial is now complete! FAQs may be added, and video
             guides in addition will also be added, but the text tutorial is complete!
A completely revamped video tutorial series will be coming! Subscribe on my website to get notified of when:                     https://dragongames7.wixsite.com/mainpage/subscribe (https://dragongames7.wixsite.com/mainpage/subscribe)
Helpfull Hint: Press the 'Z' key to toggle wireframe in Blender; this is a really helpful toggle to use, especially with
             Weight Paint.

Tutorial for 3DS Max(NOT by me, but I support it :) ): http://forums.kc-mm.com/index.php?topic=41996.0 (http://forums.kc-mm.com/index.php?topic=41996.0)

Donate: https://dragongames7.wixsite.com/mainpage/donate (https://dragongames7.wixsite.com/mainpage/donate)  :kdance: :kdance: :kdance:

*Note: Please use this tutorial instead, if you can! It's more updated, but only supports some fighters; after I finish the preset files for all fighters, I will deprecate this tutorial, and this page will only contain the FAQ!*
Video Tutorial (Full, just be sure to also use this text tutorial as a guideline for many things, especially the FAQ):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soU3c3heKIU&t=1s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soU3c3heKIU&t=1s)

I. Required Programs

            Blender Preset Files (For Ease of Rigging):
                          https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sdlRW6Rw8NmTPDlrPgGdaPgxg_FUes9l (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sdlRW6Rw8NmTPDlrPgGdaPgxg_FUes9l)
             Brres Viewer:
                          http://www.mediafire.com/file/zdr4chm4m3pzyj7/brresviewer.rar (http://www.mediafire.com/file/zdr4chm4m3pzyj7/brresviewer.rar)
             Blender 2.78(Or 2.79; Due to the new Blender 2.8 being out, and it being so different, I am not sure if it's compatible, so please use a version of 2.78 or 2.79 only):
                          http://download.blender.org/release/Blender2.78/ (http://download.blender.org/release/Blender2.78/)
                          Later Release Available Here: https://www.blender.org/ (https://www.blender.org/)
             FBX Converter 2013.3:
                          http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Graphic/Image-Convertors/Autodesk-FBX-Converter.shtml (http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Graphic/Image-Convertors/Autodesk-FBX-Converter.shtml)
             BrawlBox 0.78(Preferable):
                          http://forums.kc-mm.com/Gallery/BrawlView.php?Number=214043 (http://forums.kc-mm.com/Gallery/BrawlView.php?Number=214043)
             BrawlBox 0.77(Alternative):
                          http://forums.kc-mm.com/Gallery/BrawlView.php?Number=212010 (http://forums.kc-mm.com/Gallery/BrawlView.php?Number=212010)
             BrawlBox 0.71(In Addition):
                          http://forums.kc-mm.com/Gallery/BrawlView.php?Number=35494 (http://forums.kc-mm.com/Gallery/BrawlView.php?Number=35494)

II. Getting the Brawl Model into Blender

            1) Export the Model You're Replacing(Vanilla Brawl) as a .dae
             2) Using FBX Converter 2013.3(Link above), convert to .fbx(2013)
             3) Import the .fbx of the Model into Blender first, then the Model That You Wish to Import(Don't Forget to
                          Delete the Stuff in the 3D View Before Importing)
             4) Rescale(Possibly Also Rotate and/or Translate) the Model Over the Vanilla Brawl Model(You also want to
                          make sure that your character's arms, legs, etc. are in the same rotations and positions as the
                          Vanilla Brawl model)
             5) Delete the Model Parts from the Vanilla Brawl Model

III. Rigging and Reposing Your Model

            (Note: There is a bug that normally prevents the 3rd finger on a character from getting
                          imported correctly; the fix is, BEFORE parenting the rigged model to the fbx bones, go into Edit
                          Mode on the fbx bones, and delete the buggy finger bones; then duplicate two of the working
                          fingers, and rename them to the same name as the ones you deleted)
             (Note: Check the FAQ, the first question, for more info on this)
             6) Rig Your Model to the Armature(I HIGHLY Recommend Using Bones Generated from a PSK Export from
                          the Program Brres Viewer, As "Rigging" Bones, and Then Reparenting to the Original Armature
                          After Rigging); also, after completion of weighting(IF Weight Paint is used to rig), enter Weight
                          Paint Mode and do a "Normallize All" on a bone that you did NOT edit the weights of.

IV. Importing Your Model to BrawlBox & Finalizing the Import

            7) Export from Blender as a .fbx, but BEFORE clicking "Save", go to the Armature options
                          and uncheck "Add Leaf Bones"
             8] Using FBX Converter, convert this to a .dae
             9) In Brawlbox 0.77/.78, the character's file, right-click the MDL0, and hit Replace, and choose the .dae
                          file; the only settings to worry about are that the top three options are set to True; if and only if
                          this crashes, proceed to steps 10 - 16; otherwise, skip to step 17!
             10) If Crash... First, make sure that all vertices have weight on them; if they do, proceed to steps 11-16
             11) Another reason for crashing BrawlBox is either hidden data(Which is exceedingly rare, but to fix, you
                          can export to the .3ds format, import the .3ds file, and redo the rigging), or, the more common
                          reason is because certain, random times, if you have more than one mesh, it won't let you
                          import all of them
             12) To fix this problem with the multiple meshes, first export each mesh separately(One, different mesh
                          + the armature for every single .fbx export)
             13) Then, convert all of the .fbx files to .dae with the Converter
             14) Replace your model MDL0 with one .dae file(Doesn't matter which)
             15) Save, and then replace the MDL0 with another .dae file, and after it imports, export it as a .mdl0;
                          repeat for every other .dae file needed

             Note: The next steps are ALL with Brawlbox 0.71

             16) Open the file you saved, and, using BrawlBox 0.71's "Add New Object", do that on the MDL0 with
                          each .mdl0 file(Use default settings); repeat for each .mdl0
             17) Save, exit, and reopen
             18) Expand the MDL0
             19) Expand the Bones folder; if, and only if, there's a bone called "Armature", right-click TopN and click
                          "Add to Parent", then delete "Armature"
             20) Save, Exit, and Reopen, then expand the MDL0 again
             21) Expand the Objects folder and Materials folder
             22) In the Materials folder, every material should have a + next to it; if there are any that don't, right-
                          click it and "Add Reference Texture"(If I remember the name right), then right-click that new
                          reference and Rename to whatever you want the texture to be called(Case-Sensitive)
             23) In the Objects folder, for each "polygon" listed, Scroll down to "Visibility Bone", and make sure it's set
                          to the same as the original Vanilla Brawl Model
             24) Then right-click on the TextureData[0] and Import your Texture(s), with the same name(s) as in the
                          Materials folder's materials(AKA the names after you expand the materials, not the material
                          names themselves); then delete the Vanilla Brawl textures
             25) Test animations and in-game to see if it works, as well as for testing if it's glitched at all!


V. FAQ

            1 Q: I'm really confused by step 6; how do you do that thing with the .psk that you mentioned?

             A: Open up the .pac file with the program Brres Viewer, and export the model as a .psk, then do the following steps(ONLY two of these steps actually take more than a few seconds!)(Note: These steps are also including the latter part of step 4, and step 5):
Quote
1) Import both the .psk AND .fbx of the vBrawl model into Blender
2) Rotate the .psk model and bones -90 on the Z axis (Exactly) and scale it down to match the exact same scale
             as the .fbx bones/model
3) Delete the model attached to the PSK, and hide both the bones and the model from the .fbx
4) Rig your model to the PSK bones(This is what takes the longest, and is one of the two mentioned steps)
5) If the limb lengths or rotations of your model are NOT matching those of the vBrawl model, enter Pose Mode on
             the PSK bones, and rotate and/or translate the bones until your model is posed in the same T-Pose
             position as the vBrawl model; the result should be that if you have both models visible and go into
             Wireframe Mode, and select one, the other should basically be right on top of it(This is the other of the
             mentioned steps)
6) (Optional) I highly, HIGHLY recommend backing up your file here, just in case you're not content with the
             rigging or the positioning/posing you did, because it's a lot easier to edit those with the .psk bones than    
             with the .fbx ones
7) (You have to do this part separately for each mesh) Select one of the meshes rigged to the PSK bones and click
             Apply for the Armature Modifier; do the same with the other meshes, if applicable
8] Select all and go to Oject->Parent->Clear and Keep Transformation
9) Delete the vBrawl model that's currently attached to the .fbx bones, as well as the PSK bones(AKA the
             "ArmObject" armature)
10) Select all the meshes, THEN shift-select the Armature, and hit Ctrl+P and click on "With Empty Groups"; you
             are now ready for exporting!



             2 Q: Is there a shortcut to rig a mesh to one single bone, rather than have to click on ALL those vertices to weight them?

             A: Yes. After going into Weight Paint mode and selecting the bone, click on just one vertex, then in the weight tools, click on "Invert"; then click on that one spot again so everything is red.


             3 Q: When my model is imported into Brawlbox, there are a bunch of vertices that are either exploding or rigged weirdly, causing gaps on parts; how do I fix that?

             A: For exploding vertices, do the "Normalize All" step mentioned in Step 6, and if the problem still persists, use BrawlBox's weight editor and just change the values of the rigging, even if it's 0.001 difference. For the gaps, that's usually easily fixable by, in Blender, going into Edit Mode on the mesh and press spacebar and type in "Remove Doubles" and click on that. It will remove duplicate vertices, and should fix it.


             4 Q: I have this weird problem where, if I'm in the center of a stage, it's fine, but if I go towards the edge, random vertices start going towards the center of the stage. What's causing this, and how do I fix it?

             A: It's being caused by vertices being rigged partially(Or fully) to a bone that doesn't get translated; like TopN, for example; the fix is to remove those weights, so it's only rigged to the correct bones.


             5 Q: In BrawlBox, the model looks perfectly fine, and the texture resolutions are even powers of 2, but in-game, it's not using the correct textures at all. How do I fix this?

             A: Make sure that you have the textures actually imported into the TextureData[0] brres, and that the name of the texture in the materials has the same case(It IS case-sensitive)


             6 Q: I tried to follow the tutorial, but I'm completely lost. What do I do?

             A: Just go to my Discord channel and request tutoring. Simple as that. Alternatively, until I find the time to make the revamped tutorial videos, you can still look at the old ones below.(Under "Useful Links")

             7 Q: I just did some heavy weight editing on one glove/boot, and I don't want to have to do all that same work on the other one; is there a way to skip this, or duplicate it to the other side?

             A: Yes; the steps to fix it are as follows: 1) Delete the other side that you're going to copy(For example, if you have one mesh that has left and right boots, you would go into Edit Mode, select the vertices of the boot that you didn't do the weight edits on, and delete those); 2) Duplicate the mesh, and leave it at the same spot, then Mirror on Global X axis(If done right, it should *seem* like it did before, but you still have to fix the rigging); 3) Make sure that the mesh is NOT AT ALL parented to ANY armature at all, and then in Vertex Groups, right-click each one that has the letter L or R(Which one depends on which side this glove/boot copy is on) and Rename, changing the L/R to the other; then reparent to whatever armature it was parented to and/or merge it back with the other mesh(If applicable)

             8 Q: There are splits in my mesh, kind of similar to rips or tears; is there a way to fix this?

             A: Yes; in Edit Mode, select one vertex of the split, and another vertex that is directly across(For example, if you're starting at the top of the rip, it would be the two vertices at the top that are on opposite sides of the rip); then, press spacebar and start typing in "Merge"; then after clicking on that, you have various options, and although each one is for a different purpose, most of the time, you'll want to use "At Center"

             9 Q: Moveset effects are on the wrong parts and/or weird shielding/grabbing glitches, or similar types of oddities; what's causing this, and what is the fix?

             A: This is caused by incorrect bone IDs; first, make sure that when you export the model from Blender, that "Add Leaf Bones" is NOT checked; if you don't, you'll have to manually delete all the bones in BrawlBox that end in "_end"; also, make sure to delete the "Armature" bone if it does in fact get created

             10 Q: You mentioned that you have to do a "Normalize All" to fix the exploding vertices, but the vertices are still exploded. What should I do?

             A: Don't fret; this is simply a glitch in Blender, where it didn't actually normalize everything because of a selection bug; just make sure that, while in Weight Paint Mode, you're also in Pose Mode on the bones, and you right-click a bone(A different bone than the initial one selected when you first have both Pose Mode and Weight Paint Mode on simultaneously) in the 3D View instead of selecting it in the List View *before* you use "Normalize All"

             11 Q: How do you separate one single mesh into several different ones?

             A: Go from Object Mode into Edit Mode, then select the vertices that you want to separate into a different mesh; then go to Object->Vertices->Separate->By Selection

             12 Q: When I attempt to do rigging via Automatic Weights, it doesn't weight anything, and instead produces an error. How do I fix it so that Automatic Weights works?

             A: 1) Make sure to Remove Doubles first, as double vertices are usually what prevents automatic weights from working; 2) If this still doesn't work, make sure that the model has only 0-1 Vertex Colors, and NO MORE; 3) And if this does not work either, export the model as a .3ds, and import the .3ds model back into Blender; 4) As a LAST resort, if ALL 3 methods do NOT work, use manual weight painting via Empty Groups

             13 Q: When I import the armature into Blender, the bones are pointing in all these crazy directions and freaking me out! What did I do wrong?

             A: Absolutely nothing! As oddly as this sounds, this is actually what it SHOULD look like when imported into Blender to work properly, which is why I highly recommend using the PSK bones for the rigging and then just swapping armatures, like I outlined earlier in this tutorial!

             14 Q: My model that I'm importing is too hi-poly! How do I optimize it so that it doesn't freeze the game?

             A: There are two ways to optimize it to not freeze; the first way is the way I recommend, since it still makes it so that you can use HD models and such with Dolphin texture hacks, as well as because it's easier, and that is to replace the texture in Brawlbox with itself, set the format to CMPR (If and only if that doesn't change the effects of the texture), and reduce the dimensions before clicking "OK" (Make sure that the dimensions are in powers of 2, though); the second way is to first do the things I mentioned already in FAQs 3 and 8 to reduce polycount a little bit, and then in addition to these steps, you can also use a Decimate Modifier on the mesh(es) and Apply the modifier; there are different kinds of decimate modifiers, too, and you can learn more about this modifier from the Blender documentation on it (Which is easily findable via Google Search)

             15 Q: I tried the "Normalize All" step from FAQ #3, but I still encounter the exploding vertices in BrawlBox, and if I try to select the stray vertices to re-weight them, BrawlBox throws an error! What do I do?

             A: Another solution, although seemingly rare to encounter having to need it, is back in Blender, go into Edit Mode on each mesh, select all vertices, and then Object->Vertices->Separate->By Loose Parts, and although you'll have lots of polygons instead of just one per mesh, that should fix it.

             16 Q: How do I merge model parts of one import over a character with model parts of another import over that same character? I try to do it in Brawlbox, but there are limits as to what I can do, so how do I do it with Blender?

             A: How to do it is the following:
1) Definitions - Import the first import into Blender as you normally would (Via FBX), and I'll call this import A; then import the second one (It should import with a skeleton named "Armature.001") and I'll call this one B
2) For B, for each mesh, go to the Modifiers section, and press the x to remove the Armature Modifier(Make sure to do this for all parts you'll be using, then delete the other parts; also delete the parts of A that you won't use)
3) Select all meshes of B(But NOT the Armature), then go to Object->Parent->Clear and Keep Transformation
4) WHILE these are still selected, shift-select A's armature(You should have the Armature be bright orange and the model parts dark orange if done correctly)
5) Press Ctrl+P on your keyboard, then select "With Empty Groups"
6) Delete B's armature, then you can export as normal (Via FBX, etc.); if Brawlbox crashes (Which sometimes might happen), follow steps 12-16 of the tutorial

             17 Q: My model is detached from the skeleton in Brawlbox! In fact, there's like something weird going on, it has two different armatures, instead of just the Brawl one! Help!

             A: This happens when you import a model into Blender that's already rigged to a skeleton and then you follow the tutorial (Using manual weight painting). The reason why it happens is kinda complicated to explain, and the fix is unfortunate because it involves having to re-rig from scratch, but the fix is to delete ALL the vertex groups, remove the modifier(s), unparent the model from the armature via Object->Parent->Clear and Keep Transformation, THEN parenting it to the Brawl armature and rigging it from scratch; this is the only known fix that I know of, but if anyone knows Blender well enough to know a work around to not have to redo it from scratch, please send me a message.

             18 Q: My model has a problem where its perfectly fine in Blender, and even animates fine, but in Brawlbox, a part of the model, such as a finger or toe, has weird rotations and is basically backwards, but only during the animations

             A: With Blender, certain characters have corrupted bones specific to that character, the fix is (in Blender) to Unparent the model from the bones, go into Edit Mode on the bones, copy the data to paper or Notepad or something about the corrupted bones name and X, Y, and Z head and tail positions, as well as its parent and the bones that are parented to it, delete this bone, duplicate a working bone of a similar rotation (i.e. use left leg bones for left leg bones, right leg bones for right leg bones, etc. ), and then give this bone the old bones stats, as well as all bones that had the deleted bone as a parent, make their parents this new bone; then in Brawlbox, the only thing you have to do is move the new bone up or down in the hierarchy ***if*** its not in the proper spot

             19 Q: You haven't created a vBrawl preset Blender file yet, or I want to rig over a custom character, such as a BrawlEx custom boneset. How do I create my own Blender preset file?

             A: Set aside time for this, as it can take time to do it if you're a perfectionist, but here are the steps to do it:
1) Export the Brawlbox model as a .dae, and use the FBX Converter to convert it to a .fbx, and import that into Blender
2) Open up the .pac of the character in Brres Viewer, and export from there as a .psk
3) Import the .psk into Blender; you'll likely have to enable it, as it's defaultly unchecked in User Preferences
4) Something very important about the .psk is that all the leaf bones (These are the bones at the end of anything, i.e. fingers, toes, head, etc.) have the head of the bone aligned correctly, but the tail will not be even close to correct, so you have to move these "nubs" back to where they should be, AKA at the tips of the fingers, tips of the toes, top of the head, etc.
5) Do the Blender bone fix in FAQ #18 (If needed)

VI. Useful Links

            How to Rig in BrawlBox:
                          http://forums.kc-mm.com/index.php?topic=67847.msg1344885#msg1344885 (http://forums.kc-mm.com/index.php?topic=67847.msg1344885#msg1344885)
             OLD Video Tutorial(Going to Be Completely Revamped and Made a LOT More Efficient):
                          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TcKjPlpL74 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TcKjPlpL74)
             ALL My FINISHED Tutorials:
                          https://dragongames7.wixsite.com/mods-tutorials/tutorials (https://dragongames7.wixsite.com/mods-tutorials/tutorials)

For optional further stuff, such as reducing filesize, or help needed, just DM me on Discord, send me a PM, email me at chessmanevan@gmail.com with the Subject line "Brawl Importing Help", or ask a question on the forum of my website: https://dragongames7.wixsite.com/forum (https://dragongames7.wixsite.com/forum)

 :happy: :happy: :happy:


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(In Progress)
Post by: DarkDeity on December 12, 2015, 11:03:34 PM
so hows progress with this tutorial going? a free alternative to autodesk for importing sounds great. and unless theres a tutorial for gmax, im pretty much stuck with blender lol


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(In Progress)
Post by: windhunter7 on December 13, 2015, 03:26:15 PM
Okay, I guess. Since I'm doing the tutorial while working on Wolf Link, right now I'm vertexing Wolf Link to go over Bowser's Shell Form(In addition to his regular form)


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: DarkWolf4564 on May 25, 2016, 03:09:47 PM
Maybe put a year # as well, just in case people get confused when the last update came out. Or do it when the next update comes... Anyways how's the progress? I really need to how to do this
"2. Importing the Bones of the Other Skeletons to Blender" part.  :kdance:

   V Ignore V
I can try to do it myself, but if I can't figure it out in a few weeks, I'll have to wait.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on May 25, 2016, 03:23:19 PM
I like that suggestion; I'ma add it.

How's the progress currently? I'm extremely backed up with texture and model requests right now, so I'm putting Project Wolf Link and this tutorial on hold for now, and then I can continue.

As for the "Importing the Bones of the Other Skeletons to Blender" part, I'm actually just going to scratch that and completely remake the tutorial to only say how to do the regular character model with expressions, etc., because for the animation effects that are also MDL0 files, which is what that part is, it's literally the exact same process; the only difference is that no expressions or anything, so it's much simpler, and a different location for the MDL0s. So, instead of the regular FitCharacterName00.pac(Though some of the other MDL0s are in there), most, if not all, of the other MDL0s reside in the FitCharacterName.pac and the FitCharacterNameMotionEtc.pac

Hope this info helps. Lemme know when you're at the next step and are stuck.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: DarkWolf4564 on May 25, 2016, 06:01:34 PM
Ah! Now I get what you're saying... (Had to read it numerous times) All I need to do now is try to open the eye lid on my character. (not official, just for testing. It's over peach btw...) Now I'm telling you why I need to open the eyelids. It's a(n) animatronic character and the eyelids are half closed. ._.
I need to give it little more... "life" before testing it. I don't know why I need to do it, when it's just for testing. But my OCD won't let it just be for testing, it's got to be a character. T_T  :kdance:


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: KendallJT on May 26, 2016, 12:32:07 AM
Really wish there was a plug in for this. A plug for blender to brawlbox would be more convenient =w=


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on May 26, 2016, 03:20:08 PM
I might eventually make a program that will auto-do it as a separate program or something, but that is more or less at the end of my very very long list of agendas that I have planned.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: DarkWolf4564 on June 04, 2016, 01:24:01 AM
Edit: Removed Message, & added This "Edit." T_T
Edit #2: I'm still here, waiting...  :kdance:


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on June 04, 2016, 05:21:33 AM
So I can't tell all the problems you're having from the pics, so please provide more info on the problems; but the one about putting the one armature over the other, select everything and then go to Object->Parent->Clear Parent (Keep Transform), then select everything that isn't the model or the Brawl armature and delete it.

Btw, what format was this model originally in? Because if it would've been able to be imported to BrawlBox with it's own armature, if it was a specific Autodesk format, and you can do bone edits to fix it and it's much simpler than having to rig from scratch.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: Silver76 on June 14, 2016, 02:49:19 PM
After I made to psk file, and started Blender, it wouldn't open the file up


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on June 14, 2016, 02:59:03 PM
Did you click at the top where it says "File" and click "Import"? Because you have to import it; you can't directly open it with Blender. This is the case with almost all model files in almost any 3d modeling program.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on June 19, 2016, 07:06:50 PM
Note: I just updated the OP to include a link to BlackJax's mini-tutorial on how to rig in BrawlBox(Which is currently needed), until I have the full working tutorial finished.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: Silver76 on July 14, 2016, 03:15:39 PM
oh lol


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: HEY_IT_IS_ME on July 31, 2016, 10:26:00 AM
Can't wait for this to be finished!


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: okotochiken on September 08, 2016, 01:58:55 AM
Hey Wind. Well, if you're reading this post, I got the model properly rigged, this time over Snake. However, it just won't appear in game! I've tried Dolphin and the actual Wii with no result. I've properly texted the rigging in Brawlbox, by the way. A little help?

https://mega.nz/#!a9d1RAQY!-paLZU11iAlIhib4Nbv2l6YHmHCFZ7a1atIv2u2gokg


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on September 08, 2016, 04:28:36 PM
So, it's not properly textured; yes, you have the material right, but you don't actually have the texture in the file; so you need to right-click the "TextureData[0]" BRES and click Import->Texture and then select the texture for the model; then you HAVE to name it "Jacksepticeye", like you did in the material, matching that case, as well. And it only displays the textures in BrawlBox if the texture, properly named, is in the same folder as the file; otherwise it'll make it appear white in BrawlBox. As for in-game, since it has no textures assigned to it yet, it copies randomized textures from its surroundings; you also should fix the rigging, since it looks really weird and creepy in-game.

I am curious, though; specific parts, especially the arms, look like good rigging, so I'm wondering: Did you rig the model in Blender, or did you rig it in BrawlBox? Because if you rigged it in Blender, could I get more info on what you did, and then we could collab on this tutorial? Because I've been trying to figure how to get it to work for like a year.

Post Merge: September 08, 2016, 04:29:52 PM
P.S. I apologize in advance if anything I said sounds mean; I just want to provide feedback of how you can improve upon it, just for the purposes of constructive criticism.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: okotochiken on September 08, 2016, 11:15:59 PM
I used both Blender and Brawlbox to get it working. I sent an email with the steps to your Gmail account.

Also, HOW DID YOU GET IT IN GAME! No matter what I did it wouldn't show up; I kept getting default Snake...

Post Merge: September 08, 2016, 11:17:00 PM
Also, after a small amount of experimentation, Step 8 doesn't always work and the weights may need to be set manually.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on September 09, 2016, 06:33:57 AM
Ok; I saw the email you sent me, and though steps 1-12 is what I've been attempting before, I didn't attempt the Rigging Refinement before; so when I finish my current requests, I'll get back to testing Blender importing, and check it out, and if I can get it to work 100%, I'll give you credit in my tutorial.

As for how I got it in-game, I openened Snake's .pcs file(NOT his .pac file, because his .pac file is only used in solo gameplay, whereas his .pcs file is used in multiplayer and most types of fighting; some characters require both for that, though), replaced the MDL0 with the .dae file, and placed it in Snake's folder. It still needs the texture imported into the TextureData[0], though.



Post Merge: September 09, 2016, 06:34:27 AM
Thanks a lot, though, btw! :D When I get a chance, I'm totally trying it out! :)


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: okotochiken on September 09, 2016, 02:08:40 PM
Yeah, I replaced the mld0 in the pcs as well (and the texture is added too), but for some reason I still end up with default Snake. Do you use Dolphin's sd.raw method, the actual wii, or an iso patcher to use mods?


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on September 09, 2016, 02:23:00 PM
I do one of two things; either I use Project M hackless(3.5) on an SD card in the Wii, and put the .pcs in fighter->snake when I get to the Project M folder; the other is that I use WiiScrubber to inject it into the Brawl ISO in Dolphin, which I have instructions to do in the spoiler below:


(If you don't yet have the ISO on your computer)
Download this (http://cleanrip.googlecode.com/files/CleanRip-v1.0.5.zip) and follow this tutorial(Where it documents how to use Clean Rip; the rest of the tutorial you don't need to know for these next steps, as they're unrelated; with the exception of downloading Dolphin; you should download Dolphin to be able to do one of these steps) (http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Wii-Games-on-Dolphin-Emulator)

Put the .iso and the .pcs in a folder for modifying the .iso.(It can be the same folder as for Dolphin games, but doesn't have to be)

Download Wii Scrubber(It's in the Resources section of kc-mm), and put it in the same folder as the .iso and the .pcs file. Open WIIScrubber.exe. Click "Load ISO" and select the Brawl .iso. It will give warning messages, but you can ignore these, as they won't affect this. Just hold down "Enter" until the messages go away. Expand "Data Partition 2" and "fighter", then "snake" and find the FitSnake00.pcs file. It will have a bunch of digits and stuff next to it. You don't need to know any of those, though, so just right-click it and click "Replace". Select your .pcs file with the import; now it should say something about re-compiling and give the same warning messages when you initially opened the .iso. It should automatically save the replacement when you finish pressing "Enter" for all of the warnings and the .iso loads.

Now if you open the ISO in Dolphin, he should appear in-game.



Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: okotochiken on September 09, 2016, 03:15:56 PM
Well, I tried patching the iso and my game just stopped. It didn't make the monotonous drone that I've come to associate with freezing, so I have no idea what's going on. I'll try rigging him over someone else, like Captain Falcon.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on September 09, 2016, 03:21:28 PM
Dolphin just does that sometimes; it's Dolphin, not the mod; just restart Dolphin, and retry until it loads. I know it's Dolphin, because I've tested things both on Dolphin and on the Wii, and Dolphin is the only one that'll randomly freeze.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: okotochiken on September 09, 2016, 03:41:54 PM
What settings do you use to import the file into Brawlbox? Also, I've emailed you my latest (and best rigged) model, so can you please see if you can get it working?


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on September 09, 2016, 09:01:01 PM
Here's a screenshot of my settings in the spoiler:

(http://i.imgur.com/41p3eBe.png)


Ok, so here's what I found out about the most recent .dae file that you emailed me:

Rigging: Appears perfect to me, wondering how you managed that(Tested rigging via previewing animations in BrawlBox)
Does it appear? Unknown
Why is it unknown if it appears? Because this one, unlike the last one you emailed me, freezes Brawl
Textures: It still doesn't have the texture, and you may want to fix that
Bones: You were missing some Bandanna bones, but even after I added those in, it still froze, so it wasn't the rigging, and it was the model
More Info: What EXACTLY did you do differently for this one? Because I noticed that the rigging on this one was perfect, but this was the one that actually froze the game whereas the other one didn't.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: okotochiken on September 09, 2016, 09:26:07 PM
With the rigging, I used 3DS Max for this one to see if it was Blender's fault it wouldn't appear ingame. The only things I did to the model itself was resize & rotate it. I can give you the source link to the place where I downloaded it if you want to have a look.

http://3delicious.net/index.php?a=detail&id=67324 (http://3delicious.net/index.php?a=detail&id=67324)

Just click the picture to download. I'll fiddle with my 3DS Max export settings to see if I can get it working, but I'm pretty sure it's set to the correct ones needed to export for Brawlbox...


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on September 09, 2016, 09:28:57 PM
No, it wasn't Blender's fault at all; as I said before, it appeared in-game for me; 3DS Max, for some reason, however, ended up making the import freeze the game.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: okotochiken on September 10, 2016, 02:58:56 AM
Well I'll just keep fiddling. Thanks for the help!


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on September 10, 2016, 04:12:18 AM
Likewise, and thank you for your help, too! :D


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on November 01, 2016, 10:15:22 PM
Important Notice to All Blender Importers:

Ok, so for those of you who are subscribed to my tutorial thread, just letting you guys know that I (more or less) solved the whole Blender importing issue. The only glitch that still occurs is just something that can be fixed in BrawlBox in a few minutes. The secret is to use Blender 2.78a, since it was difficult to get 2.70 not to freeze BrawlBox, and 2.77 had model glitches. But yeah, this new breakthrough means that you can actually rig the character in Blender, and it is also a more direct import/export process. Oh, almost forgot, you also have to skip using BRRES Viewer entirely, and just export the .dae with Brawlbox and import the .dae into Blender without using any conversions first. If someone knows enough about Blender to know how to make the bones 100% visible, instead of lines, please let me know, because I'm still a semi-novice when it comes to Blender. Also, if anyone has any ideas on how to directly fix the current and final glitch, please lemme know!

Unfortunately, though, I'm really busy this semester, so it'll be after the semester that I make the official tutorial. Hopefully December, if I have enough time.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: Luigis-Spaghetti on November 02, 2016, 02:18:57 PM
This is great! :happy: So does this mean I can just make the dae file in blender and import it into brawlbox, or are there still a few steps required? Either way, this is an awesome step toward making brawl modding more accessible for everyone!


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on November 02, 2016, 03:12:58 PM
You still have to export it as .fbx and then use Autodesk's FBX Converter; but the advantages to this are that to get the actual bones, you don't have to go through a separate program, and can just directly export the .dae from BrawlBox and import it into Blender, and also, you can now import fully-rigged characters, with only minor import glitches that are ONLY rotations, so they're a LOT more fixable; especially with Brawlbox's bug on translating vertices, whereas rotating them works fine in the latest BrawlBox.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: LinkTahuterasuSpirit on November 03, 2016, 03:40:15 PM
cool so do you export the model from blender as a .fbx?


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on November 03, 2016, 04:04:44 PM
Yup :)


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: Silver76 on November 10, 2016, 05:33:52 PM
Nice keep the tutorial going! (im trying to use chromebooks for brawlbox :P)


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: LinkTahuterasuSpirit on November 11, 2016, 02:22:45 PM
Nice keep the tutorial going! (im trying to use chromebooks for brawlbox :P)
can you even use brawlbox on a chromebook?


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: Luigis-Spaghetti on November 15, 2016, 03:51:35 PM
If you use Linux OS on it. Otherwise an unmodified chromebook can't run any programs, I am almost certain


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: UN on November 30, 2016, 04:30:20 PM
You still have to export it as .fbx and then use Autodesk's FBX Converter; but the advantages to this are that to get the actual bones, you don't have to go through a separate program, and can just directly export the .dae from BrawlBox and import it into Blender, and also, you can now import fully-rigged characters, with only minor import glitches that are ONLY rotations, so they're a LOT more fixable; especially with Brawlbox's bug on translating vertices, whereas rotating them works fine in the latest BrawlBox.
I'm not sure if anyone noticed but the resources downloaded are broken. I have trued googling some of them, it worked by the way, but seems pointless to leave the resources icon on top if they haven't fixed it. I'm not trying to be negative, I just think it would be easier if they worked is all.

What are all the requirements for this tutorial, or have you not gotten around to it yet?


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on November 30, 2016, 06:02:50 PM
I am not in control of whether or not the resources are updated, unfortunately. As for the requirements for the tutorial, most of the requirements are how to use the programs, but here's the full list of programs needed:

Brres Viewer
Autodesk's FBX Converter
Blender 2.78
BrawlBox 0.71
BrawlBox 0.77

But yeah, I haven't 100% gotten to the requirements yet. And besides which, this whole tutorial is gonna be reworked when I update it, including that the only requirements will be the programs I just listed, which I'll provide DL links to, with the exception of rigging knowledge in Blender, which I'll only cover one method and not the other; I mean, there are actually some really good tutorials online, especially on Youtube. That's actually how I got started. So this tutorial, when I rework it, is gonna be a lot more on the conversion than the actual rigging.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on December 17, 2016, 10:18:29 AM
Ok, got the part with the right leg and right arm resolved! :D So yeah, finally, a way to import from Blender with NO rigging WHATSOEVER in BrawlBox needed(Although, it's smart to test the animations in BrawlBox, and if it doesn't look right, it's best to just re-rig those minor problems in BrawlBox); looking forward to making the tutorial on how to do it! :)


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: Lawliet on December 31, 2016, 01:11:39 PM
You seem to be making progress on this! A free alternative to 3DS Max is awesome!


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on December 31, 2016, 04:12:02 PM
Yup; I'm working on it now, actually! It's gonna be a 3-part video tutorial, and I'm almost done with the introductions to each of the 3. All that's left to this part is the subtitles, which I should be able to finish tonight. Before school starts, my goals are to get at the very least to the actual rigging part of the tutorial, and hopefully pass that and start on the "Making the model fit the same pose", which is actually the most important crucial part of the whole process, as well as one of the most difficult parts. The second hardest and important is the rigging, and then everything else is mostly juts clicking buttons, so fairly straight-forward.

Post Merge: December 31, 2016, 04:14:43 PM
Gonna probably be a few years, at least, before I can even figure out a little bit about how to do this with Smash 4 models. For importing to Brawl, it took me like a year or two to figure this out to perfect the process as much as possible. So I can't even imagine how difficult it'll be for me to come up with a way to do it for Sm4sh. That's gonna be a doozy. :P


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: Silver76 on January 11, 2017, 01:24:51 PM
So how's the video going on?


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on January 11, 2017, 09:52:41 PM
Great! I finished the introductions of all 3 parts, and also finished the whole first part, as well. Subtitles, too! However, I have not yet done the intermission between the sub-parts(i.e. the titles of each sub-section) or the raise in the volume so that it's more audible yet(Yes, I know how to do that) However, I unfortunately not only have a cold right now, which would make the tutorials not as professional(Since I'd be coughing and talking more nasily through the WHOLE thing, as opposed to through part of it), but I'm also full-time at school + Honors Club + 2 part-time jobs, so this semester's a killer; if I have time over like Spring Break, I'll continue working on it, but I doubt that I'll have time; I'll 100% have time in the summer, though. ;D

*For those who want to know about Project Wolf Link's tie into this, I did finish vertexing Midna into a riding position on Wolf Link like in TP. You'll see what I mean in the summer or so, when the tutorial is 100% complete! ;)


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: UN on January 14, 2017, 10:51:30 AM
Wait, it's not done? I thought you said it would be finished by mid December?


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on January 14, 2017, 03:42:09 PM
No, what I said before was actually in Project Wolf Link's thread, and I said I was going to start it:

Still on hold for now, but some time this week, or next Sunday(the 1st of January), I will resume the project and start on the importation and tutorial. :)

And then, after that, I said that my goals(Not fact, but what I hope to accomplish) will be to get to finishing a particular part of the tutorial before the semester starts:

Yup; I'm working on it now, actually! It's gonna be a 3-part video tutorial, and I'm almost done with the introductions to each of the 3. All that's left to this part is the subtitles, which I should be able to finish tonight. Before school starts, my goals are to get at the very least to the actual rigging part of the tutorial, and hopefully pass that and start on the "Making the model fit the same pose", which is actually the most important crucial part of the whole process, as well as one of the most difficult parts. The second hardest and important is the rigging, and then everything else is mostly juts clicking buttons, so fairly straight-forward.

And I would've gotten to that part, too, if it weren't for those medling kids! Or the fact that I got a cold and am not going to do a video tutorial with a cold.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on February 28, 2017, 09:17:17 AM
Important Note: I updated the OP to have a primary summary of what exactly to do(Basically, a mini-version of the video tutorial, but without the video, images, or details; it's in text), with the previous disorganized tutorial in the spoilers; see my notes in white in the OP. Also, I have not yet continued work on the tutorial because midterms are right now for a few weeks, but I plan on continuing work on the tutorial soon.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on March 26, 2017, 07:18:12 PM
I was wrong about the steps for how to align the bones and re- parent and stuff, so I just edited the OP! Check out the latest version of my mini- tutorial! Hopefully I can finish with the full one somewhat soon!!! ;)

Post Merge: March 26, 2017, 07:18:51 PM
Also, tested this one, so I know it works this time!


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Guide(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on May 04, 2017, 07:13:02 AM
Important Update: I edited my summary thing in the OP, because the steps involving confusing gobbly-gook and constraints wasn't even working, and it's 100% not needed, because I misunderstood some stuff. So now, 12 steps has gone to 9, including removing the step that's really annoying with editing constraints for every single bone. Now all ya gotta do for Blender importing is as simple as moving some bones around, and only a few resizes and clicks, other than that! I'm so excited that it's so much even simpler now! :kdance:

:happy:


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Tutorial(Blender to Brawl)(WIP)
Post by: Lasercraft32 on April 28, 2018, 01:19:50 PM
Why though? I
I might eventually make a program that will auto-do it as a separate program or something, but that is more or less at the end of my very very long list of agendas that I have planned.

know your probably busy, but I have no clue how to rig models even with this tutorial!

You should definitely make this!


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Tutorial(Blender to Brawl)(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on April 28, 2018, 05:06:28 PM
Have you tried the video tutorial? This one is more of a summary, so this one's more for people who know Blender extremely well


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Tutorial(Blender to Brawl)(WIP)
Post by: Lasercraft32 on May 09, 2018, 12:54:37 PM
What do I do if it explodes when I use the animations???


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Tutorial(Blender to Brawl)(WIP)
Post by: DarkNebulaDoji on May 18, 2018, 07:07:44 PM
I can't get the weights to work properly; I followed all the steps of your tutorial countless times and I can never get the weights right, even when I normalize them. When I delete the Armature Modifier the model is stuck in T-Pose and won't follow the bones no matter what, and when I don't the model derps out in various ways depending on what weight I painted on it/normalized on it that try.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Tutorial(Blender to Brawl)(WIP)
Post by: windhunter7 on May 18, 2018, 07:33:06 PM
I do tutoring via Discord and/or Skype for these sorts of things, would either of those work for you? @DarkNebulaDoji


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Tutorial(Blender to Brawl)(WIP)
Post by: Russell_SSB on July 07, 2018, 06:17:46 PM
Hey, I got the model made in Blender, but as I place it in BrawlBox the model is stuck in its T-pose and it doesn't do anything, not even the moves in the moveset. Plus, I'm still trying to get use to importing the models as playable fighters and the bones are messed up which doesn't make it move. Is there anything I am doing wrong?


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Tutorial(Blender to Brawl)
Post by: windhunter7 on July 10, 2018, 11:07:32 PM
Major Update! Completely finished the tutorial! Also now is including a FAQ, too! :)

A link to here on my website coming soon!

The video tutorials eventually coming!

:kdance: :kdance: :kdance:

Post Merge: July 11, 2018, 12:01:55 AM
@Russell_SSB

A lot of my old tutorial was confusing, and the oldest tutorial still being there, taking up space, was making it rather clunky; check out the most recent, and final, tutorial, which I literally updated only about an hour or so ago, and see if that helps! :)


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Tutorial(Blender to Brawl)
Post by: windhunter7 on July 22, 2018, 03:39:09 PM
Another major update! Added 7 additional FAQs:

      - Mirroring Hands/Boots
      - Merging Vertices
      - Bone IDs Being Off from the _end Bones
      - Weird Normalize All Bug
      - Separating Mesh into Several Meshes
      - Automatic Weights Not Working and Producing an Error
      - Bones Pointing in All Directions


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Tutorial(Blender to Brawl)
Post by: windhunter7 on July 29, 2018, 06:14:37 PM
Update: Added a new FAQ about reducing filesize, and I also numbered the FAQs, too! :happy:


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Tutorial(Blender to Brawl)
Post by: windhunter7 on August 07, 2018, 10:11:57 AM
Update: Added a new FAQ about a further possible step to fix exploding vertices.


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Tutorial(Blender to Brawl)
Post by: windhunter7 on April 20, 2020, 04:49:33 AM
Wow, I can't believe I've been completely forgetting to post here about my updates, but there is now a full video on how to do it (Although it's not clipped and doesn't have sound, so is kinda long), but it is a full video that covers everything you should need for the basics, and these recent updates of mine to the tutorial, as well as the video, also include what I just added today, which is a copy of the Drive with the preset files already officially existing, as well as an additional FAQ on how to create these (And some other FAQs I added) :)

The preset files link is located under "Required Programs"


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Tutorial(Blender to Brawl)
Post by: bro289 on April 20, 2020, 12:47:57 PM
when I import the blender model I have into brawlbox, the bones are rotated at an angle and that messes up everything. Is there a way to fix this?


Title: Re: Windhunter7's Blender Importing Tutorial(Blender to Brawl)
Post by: windhunter7 on April 20, 2020, 08:20:16 PM
Do you have a picture of what you mean? Also, I usually only check the forum once a week, so for prompt response and even helpful pictures, add me on Discord and ask me there: Windhunter#3141