Making your own maps

[KevinB834]

Thinking about trying to make my own maps and I wanted to know what programs you would need to do this and how.

I have the following Programs:

1.Google Sketchup Pro 8
2.Plugins for Sketchup Pro: ObjExporter.rb and triangulate.rb
3. Spinouts Converter: Release12

Not really sure where to start. Do I use Sketchup to make my map then I use Spinouts converter to make it F3DEX2 then insert it into the rom some how? Or is there a lot more to it?

[Arcaith]

Make your map in sketchup, then export it to obj. You'll need python to run the converter, but once you run it it's fairly simple. It'll prompt you for input, and will insert it into the ROM you specify.

[KevinB834]

I understand everything except for a few things when it asks for some input. My model is a house and i'm not sure what it means by scale, objects, and actors. Where do I find the scale of my object? Are the objects how many pieces were made to make the model? With actors I have no actual actors in the model like NPC's, is that what it is asking for?

I think those are the only problems i'm having because when the converter is done doing its stuff and I go to the map in game the place freezes on the Japanese text.

EDIT: The only python program i'm using is obj2area. Is that the only one you need to use or a different one before using obj2area.

[Salvage66]

Jul 27, 2011 15:15:48 GMT -5 KevinB834 said:

I understand everything except for a few things when it asks for some input. My model is a house and i'm not sure what it means by scale, objects, and actors. Where do I find the scale of my object? Are the objects how many pieces were made to make the model? With actors I have no actual actors in the model like NPC's, is that what it is asking for?

I think those are the only problems i'm having because when the converter is done doing its stuff and I go to the map in game the place freezes on the Japanese text.

That sir is level select do you have your controls set up to use it? if not maybe your map is too big.Edit the number of objects you use is for making actors objects are also known as groups.like for use with actor lists.

[KevinB834]

Jul 27, 2011 15:18:03 GMT -5 Salvage66 said:

Jul 27, 2011 15:15:48 GMT -5 KevinB834 said:

I understand everything except for a few things when it asks for some input. My model is a house and i'm not sure what it means by scale, objects, and actors. Where do I find the scale of my object? Are the objects how many pieces were made to make the model? With actors I have no actual actors in the model like NPC's, is that what it is asking for?

I think those are the only problems i'm having because when the converter is done doing its stuff and I go to the map in game the place freezes on the Japanese text.

That sir is level select do you have your controls set up to use it? if not maybe your map is too big.

So the objects, scale and actors are talking about what is in the level that i'm replacing? And yes I have controls to use level select.

[Jason777]

Hmm, let me try to explain this in the simplest way possible...

SCALE: How many times greater would you like to make the size of your map? Inputting an integer of 2 will make your map 2X larger than it originally is in SketchUp and inputting an integer of 0.5 will make your map 1/2 its original size. What are the dimensions of just one polygon in your map? I need this information to give you a good value for scaling.

OBJECTS[/u]: This is the model or a type of model that an actor (enemy) uses. Some objects only are tied with one actor while others are associated with many actors AND some actors use more than one object. Just think of them as visual parts of an actor.

ACTORS[/u]: These are basically the internal parts of an enemy. THIS really is what an enemy/monster/item/misc is. It's object is just it's model but it still needs the correct object(s) to load.

Hope those definitions clear things up. Now I'll give you a short walkthrough of what every option in obj2area does...

Zelda 64 Debug ROM: specify the path to the ROM
Wavefront obj file for collision: specify the path to the OBJ file you would like to use for "solidness" in the map
Scale: Give a factor by how much bigger or larger you would like your map to be
Reverse faces? (y/n): White faces in SketchUp are solid. Blue faces are not. If you export with "double-sided faces" just put 'n'.
Area Number (0-109): Input the scene number (basically the map) you would like to replace
Music Value: Input the music would you like playing the map. It has to be music in the ROM.
Number of start positions: Self-explanatory. This the number of start positions you would like to put in.
Number of transition actors: This is for switching between rooms in the map to load up different mesh. You don't need to worry about this now.
Number of waterboxes: Input the different number of places in your map that have the same location on the Y-axis and you would like to place water. (or Z-axis... I forget which way is up).
Use different obj for mesh or multiple mesh map? (y/n):

[/i] This is to use a different OBJ (or OBJs) for the visual representation of the map besides the one specified for collision. You don't need to worry about this now.
Number of actors: Self-explanatory. This is the number of actors you would like to put in the map.
Number of Objects: Self-explanatory. This is the number of objects you would like to put in the map.
Indoor? (y/n): Do you want the map to be an indoor map (no skybox or sky) or not? (has a blue sky)
Darken Textures? (y/n): Self-explanatory.
Ignore normals? (y/n): I'm not entirely sure. It either has to do with the coloring of a polygon or collision (solidness).
Save this configuration? (y/n): Save the way you imported this map (if it works) so that way you don't have to type everything back in once you wanna re-import.
[/QUOTE]

That was for obj2area v13. I always use obj2area v2 because I never get freezes.

[KevinB834]

I enter everything correctly from what you gave me Jason, but it still freezes when I try going into the room. Ive tried realease 12, 13, and 2 and they all freeze for me. Ill just give up on it.

[Deleted]

Try it with no actors or objects loaded, if that doesn't work then it's a problem with the map.

[Secant]

Jul 31, 2011 21:35:43 GMT -5 Dead said:

just a little note....
if you want nice maps thataren't made by cubes and cylinders (that is basically what you can make with sketchup...)

Highly uninformed comment. If you actually take the time to familiarize yourself with all the tools SketchUp has, you'll realize it's one of the best programs for low-detail interior maps and, for those particularly good with it, even exterior landscapes. In fact, its only major drawback is its lack of good built-in texturing tools, which is more or less nullified by the huge repository of third-party plugins, many of which add new ways to adjust texture mapping. Besides that, SketchUp is comparatively user-friendly and includes a free version to boot. Considering kevinb also has the Pro version, that expands his toolset and export options, which basically gives you everything you need to make really good maps.

Also, SketchUp doesn't use prims as you seem to suggest (unless you build these prims manually and group them, but it's still not really a prim even then). It builds raw meshes using lines and polygons, which is the most efficient system for model building on the N64.

[Secant]

Aug 1, 2011 20:02:16 GMT -5 Dead said:

true, but what most people make is squares and circles because that is easy, if you actually havethe knowledge on how to make exterior landscapes, you might as well use a proper modeller, since well, sketchup has A LOT of drawbacks.... like a fish that I made, it would have been a lot easier to make it in a proper program like blender instead of in sketchup.
yes, There is more than cubes and cylinders, if you have the knowledge and the time to draw it line by line and to mess with texture mapping and assorted issues.

That is a fault of the user's lack of knowledge, not of the program's shortcomings. SketchUp is not inferior; it is merely different.

</pettyargument>

I've noticed a lot of trouble with later releases becoming less and less stable, kevin. A few things to consider:

• Nemu runs most conversions just fine. If you're using Project64, that could explain the crashes.
  
• Some scenes do not like to cooperate with imports. Which scene are you importing your map over, and does the original map normally load up just fine before importing over it?
  
• Attempting a map import on the same ROM with the same scene can cause problems even if you've changed something in the configuration that would normally fix the problem. Always use a fresh ROM when performing test imports.
  
• As DeathBasket suggested, the problem could also easily be a rogue actor or object. Try your first imports without any actors, objects, doors, or waterboxes. Whatever you do, though, make sure you include at least one entry point (or else the map will just hang like it does in the Goddess cutscenes).
  

Hopefully that helps somewhat.