I'm having an odd issue with .mdl and MED that I can't seem to get a handle on.

I can load the sample models that came with the GStudio application just fine, and have been using them (specifically the mig mdl) just fine as placeholders while coding a space shooter.

I've since replaced them with models exported from elsewhere as .obj, and saving them as .mdl for use in GStudio.

In MED they look fine. The textures look just as I would expect them to, and everything seems perfectly normal. However, when using the engine to preview them, or when using them via ent_create they simply don't seem to display.

The entities are physically there, as my collision events work fine - it's just that you can't see them. The only change to the code is that I've replaced the placeholder .mdl with the new .mdl I've imported into MED and saved.

I've tried remapping the models, and loading the textures in separately, and even flagging them as having external textures.

If I don't skin the models, they appear just fine (but without textures) - if I do skin the model, they just disappear.

At this point, I'm somewhat stuck. I've banged my head on this one for hours. Any help would be appreciated.

Rob

I am thinking that maybe the new skin has an all black map in its alpha channel....
Is it possable that you could make one of your problem models available to us for testing and diagnosis?

Here's an example of the model in question.
http://www.mordorbbs.com/temp/minfrig.mdl (5.9mb)

I'm quite prepared to believe that I'm doing something very newbie in relation to MED and alpha channels. Thank you for your assistance.

Rob

I had a problem when exporting from max they all all had a transparent "material", as in base alpha spec etc...you can also try disabling that.

Hey...
I just got home from work...
I'm presently looking at your model...
I see you have only .dds textures... Therefore, the alpha channels can-not be the problem.
But... I see that all four textures are identical.
So... I have created a new file and I marked three of the textures as "Shared" with the first.
That way the model file size is reduced from 5.8 to 1.7 meg... You should do the same!
I will now add both models to my present project for a test...
More comments to come...

Hi,
Thanks for that. I've gone so far as to create a totally new texture as a test, which I know has no alpha channel issues, and that hasn't fixed the problem either.

I'll take your advice on board about sharing the textures though. (I didn't know it was an option) - anything to cut down on overall file size is a good thing.

Looking forward to further comments.

Rob

Hey again...
Here's the scoop...
I put both models in my project and I ran the game...
Only just a few parts were visable.
There is indeed a problem with the skins because I then removed all four skins from one of the models and I re-ran the game....
That model showed up fine but with no texture.
So... your .dds texture probably has the wrong .dds attributes.
You should read the manual about proper settings when creating .dds files.
If you have a .tga or .pcx of the same texture try that. Then re-create a new different type of .dds and then test.
Let me know your progress...

Hi Terra,

Thanks for that.

Could you please do me a favour and create a junk TGA or PCX texture and see if it works on the model at your end?

I tried that a little while ago, and it still didn't work at my end, which is what confused me. If it works at your end, I know for certain it's purely a problem with the .dds - otherwise, I'm messing something else up.

Rob

if you use tga, be sure they are 32 bit only. bmp files need to be 24 bit only. if you use other bit types the texture wont render right

It works fine with a new .tga image but you need to re-do all four textures...
Here's a link to a pic that I took...
http://www.terrasame.com/mig1.jpg