I think I found a way to quickly get decent looking custom franchise icons for the results screen, even for complex shapes. This method uses Brawlbox, 3ds Max and Photoshop / Illustrator to convert an image to vectors. I will also assume you have basic understanding on how to use the mentioned programs. It's fairly simple once you get the hang of it. I think the example shown below took 10 minutes to make. This method is a compromise between making optimized vectors and the simplicity of images.
In Brawlbox (this part only needs to be done once to obtain reference files):
1. Export a stock franchise icon model from STGRESULT.pac as .dae to use as a reference.
2. Export the material, shader, and color sequence (CLR) of that stock franchise icon.
In Adobe Photoshop (Skip this section if you have a .svg file and Adobe Illustrator):
1. Import your new franchise icon image (easiest with a mono-color franchise icon on a mono-color or transparent background).
2. Select the relevant parts of the franchise icon to identify it from the background. One method is to use the quick selection tool. Refine edges if needed.
3. Right-click selection -> Make work path -> set the tolerance to 1.0 (adjust if needed) -> OK
4. File -> Export -> Paths to Illustrator -> Save the resultant .ai file
If you have Adobe Illustrator and a .svg file:
1. Open your .svg
2. Save as a .ai file.
3. Set the version to Illustrator 8. This is the latest version compatible with 3ds Max, as far as I can tell.
In 3ds Max:
1. Import the reference .dae
2. Import the .ai file. It will become an editable spline.
3. Rotate and move the spline so it overlaps the reference and is centered on all axes.
4. Scale the spline to match the size of the reference. May need to be larger, see asterisk at the end.
5. Add a "Turn to poly" modifier to the spline and limit the polygon size to 3 for triangulated polygons.
6. (Optional) Add a "ProOptimizer" modifier to reduce the number of vertices if needed. Keep in mind that this can oversimplify the shape of your franchise icon if overdone.
7. Use the compact material editor to apply the material of the reference to the new franchise icon.
8. Add a "Skin" modifier that includes all bones. Weigh all vertices completely to "mark4".
9. Select your new finished franchise icon and export the selection as .dae
In Brawlbox:
1. Use the existing MDLO and CLR filename structure to import/replace your created .dae. If adding a franchise icon rather than replacing one, import the CLR file and give it the same name.
2. Replace the material and shader of the imported .dae with the reference material and shader.
3. Set the imported .dae object's Draw Pass to XLU, Draw Priority to 251, and uncheck "Doesn't matter" for Draw Priority.
4. Save and test in game.
*If your icon is too small, I manually scaled mine to the proper size. If you need to rescale, unfortunately you must delete the skin modifer, rescale, then return to step 8 of the 3ds Max portion. The resultant file can be used as the new reference in the future for properly sizing the franchise icon.
Examples:
http://forums.kc-mm.com/Gallery/BrawlView.php?Number=220285
