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NOTE : First off there are certain
rules that must be followed in order to properly use QTiP. This
is important, so pay attention...
1. All faces will be made into triangles.
Most MD2 engines like triangles and so does QTiP!.
2. All animation frames MUST have the same
vertex/triangle count. This is not to say the model must be the
same in all frames so be creative.
3. QTiP only exports the currently SELECTED
objects from the Max scene.
4. Make models that ROCK!
To the right is the
panel that you will see in Max...here is a description of how
the controls work
Frame List: The frame
list contains the names of the animation frames for the MD2 file.
There a defaults, but since most people prefer or need custom
frame names and counts, QTiP allows you to import frame lists
which are nothing more than a list of names in a textfile.
Import Frame List:
Selecting this option will allow you to import the frame list
from any text file. The textfile should just be a list of frame
names of no more than 15 characters, each on a separate line.
Set Start and Set End:
This sets the animation segment that will be updated in the MD2
file. These buttons set the start and end frames of the MD2 animation
frame list. Click a start frame in the list window and then the
start button, then select an end frame and click the end button.
Start Frame and End Frame:
Displays the currently selected start and end frames from the
MD2 frame list.
Anim Start Frame: Enter
a value in the box that corresponds to the first frame of the
animation segment from the Max timeline that you want to export. (i.e.
You have selected the 40 frames for the "stand" animation
from the frame list box to export. The actual stand animation in the Max timeline
runs from frames 1-40. You enter the number 1 in the box, and
frames 1-40 from the Max animation will be written to "stand"
frames 1-40 in the MD2 file.)
Export Model Only:
Checking this will export only the geometry of the model, ignoring all texture coordinates and texture maps. This is useful for quickly exporting geometry for applications that don't need texture data
Skip GL Commands:
This will skip the 'GL Commands' section of the MD2 to save filesize. The GL commands are drawing instructions that reference the vertex and face sections of the MD2. Most MD2 engines need this section, however the data contained in it is redundant if your MD2 engine is configurable to just draw the entire model without this data
Max Width / Height:
These two fields set the maximum size that QTiP will use for the
texture it exports. The actual size will be the smallest size
necessary to fit all the the maps.
Oversampling:
Texture oversampling expands the usable image area in the exported texture. Normally QTiP will extract only the portion of a texture map that is actually rendered on the object instead of the entire image. This saves a lot of space by bin-packing only the used portion of all maps. The problem with this is that some renderers will anti-alias and bleed into the neighboring image’s pixels. What texture oversampling does is expand the portion of the original image that is copied into the exported texture by a given number of pixels, so any blending will not show neighboring pixels of another image. This results in a slightly larger exported texture, but the additional size is minimal. The value is in pixels and 6 or less should be sufficient for any renderer that has been tested.
Force to Fixed Size:
This checkbox will force QTiP to make the texture it generates
the size specified in the max width and height fields. You use
this if you need or want to texture of a specific size.
Skin Name: Allows you
to specify a name for the PCX and/or BMP skin file. The default
name is 'tris'.
Palette Editor: This
button opens a dialog that will allow you to load, edit and save
a palette. This palette is used to create the 8 bit per pixel
PCX file that is generated upon export. The palette file is a Photoshop compatible .ACT palette file.
Save BMP Texture: Check
the box to export a 24 bit BMP skin file for paletting and color
correction in a 2D art package.
Save PCX Texture: Check
this box to export the skin texture to a PCX file that has been
remapped to the currently selected palette.
Scale Enter a scale
value to enlarge or shrink your model when exporting an MD2. Leave
the default value, and the model will not be scaled.
Update / Export: These
buttons have related but different purposes. If you choose the
export option, you will be writing an MD2 file that matches the
timeline in Max starting at frame 0. It is basically a template
that you will need to update later. If the file already exists,
it will be overwritten.
The Update button differs in that it if
the file exists, it will update the selected frames, but only
if the geometry has the same face, vertex and frame count. If
the geometry doesn't match, you will get a warning and be unable
to save the file. If the file doesn't exist, QTiP will perform
an export and then update the chosen frames. In practice, the
update button will be used almost exclusively, but the export
button was provided for overwriting unwanted files without
having to make sure the geometry will match the existing file.
Remember, The only objects that will be exported are those that are selected.
If you choose to use a skeleton for your animations, you would
only want to export your model. You accomplish this by simply
selecting only the model and not the skeleton. It couldn't be
easier!
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