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create doom 3 model like

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#1

hi, i have discovered this amazing software and id like to convert some lowpoly models from quake to doom 3 engine,
my idea is to load the low poly model in zbrush and sculpt it to convert it in a highg poly model , then create anormal map and aply to the low poly model
can someone guide me a litle i have learned to model, only need help with the normal a bump map create

please sorry for my bad inglis im from spain

#2

Hello wfei, check the “practical guide” that floats around the first page of this forum. It should be a “stickie” but that doesn’t seem to be supported. It shows how to export a normal map for use in I think Lightwave an Max. Has ID published how to use normal maps in the new Doom engine? I suppose for compatibility it will be similar to use in max or maya. Also, I recall that the models for QuakeIII were two pieces separated at the waist, so while strafing a character faced the direction they are firing from the waist up. The monsters in DoomIII that I have seen look like one mesh, does anyone know for sure?

#3

Quake 3 models are one piece for the body, and one piece for the head. Doom 3 models are one piece total, from what I’ve seen.

To do what you’re asking, you would need to follow these steps:

Download an .MD3 format importer/exporter for your modelling package. (For Quake 3 stuff, I prefer pop-n-fresh’s md3 plugin for 3dsmax.)

Import the model into your modelling program, and export it as an .OBJ file. For 3dsmax, you’ll need an OBJ importer/exporter.

Import the .OBJ file into ZBrush and detail it as you wish.

Export from ZBrush the detailed model as an .OBJ file.

Import it back into your modelling program and optimize the polygons until they’re at a good count. A decent number for today’s computers would be anywhere from 2,000 to 4,000 polys. Some Doom 3 models use less and some use more. Just get it to look right, and make sure the model is symmetrical so you can animate it easier.

Use your favorite normal mapping plugin to generate the normal map from the high poly model.

Rig the low poly model, and animate it.

The toolset for Doom 3 has not been released yet, therefor there is no information as to the animation frames, methods, etc. to get to the final result. Wait a few weeks for the SDK to be released, and they’ll probably explain everything.

To get the model into Doom 3, you’ll need an .MD5 exporter, and currently there are only third-party plugins for this. I would personally wait until the official stuff has been released.

#4

wfei_hong,

Zbrush is very good for what you want to do, Arizona is incorrect I think in the optimal workflow for making your model. Take the model, new or from Quake 3 or whatever (multi-mesh models can make things trickier) and optimize it with animation in mind in your favorite low poly modelling program. Export it as an .obj file. Import into Zbrush, subdivide and model to your hearts content. You do not need to export the high poly version as Arizona states, because Zbrush can generate the normal map for you! Here is [my prior Doom 3 post](http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=20980) where I imported a mesh from Doom 3 into Zbrush, and as indicated in that thread by others, make sure when you set up the UVs in your other modelling application you don't use overlapping UVs as Zbrush doesn't like them. Or just use GUV tiles generated in Zbrush, although then you will have to export the low poly model back out of Zbrush in order to keep the GUV set up. I may start a thread explaining how I imported a normal mapped static mesh into Doom 3, and how I made seamlessly tiled normal mapped textures as well (others have described the stuff already, at least for export to other applications). My animation experience amounts to making the Max biped skeleton walk around, but I want to make and animate some characters in Doom eventually.
#5

oops, I didn’t notice I’d already posted in this thread! :stuck_out_tongue:

oh well my posts are progressively less clueless anyway. (?)

#6

@lovecrafty:

ZBrush’s normal map feature is nice, but sometimes it doesn’t like certain UVW layouts.

Here’s a model I made for DOOM 3 in a couple hours in ZBrush:

The head is a total of 200 triangles, and the lighting you see is per pixel normal mapping with 3 rotating lights.

That normal map was done in ZBrush.