COLLADA .dae models

 

I will make models (buildings etc.) and post them here as .dae files or in the maps my brother will make. Feel free to get inspired by them. I will export .dae models to .map files (which in turn will have brushes), which QuArK editor works with. The above model is almost finished.

Update:

Because the resulting .dae file imported in a 3d graphic program shows that the resulting poly, for example a cube, it is build by the Qubism program like a puzzle, even you do not see this in it.

A cube is build by the program with a couple of polys (not one), wich is not good for map making as it will add towards brush count and a higher map compilation, and possible texture misalignment because of the increase in brush faces.

So use the program because of its portability and for puting your ideas in the program saved file for future use. Saving a idea as a prefab is always usefull.

Urban decay in winter (photos)

Urban decay in winter

This video is part of  "Urban decay in winter".
A abandoned tobacco factory from my city. No, it is not Chernobyl or Pripyat. If i can extract the police siren so i can use it for Kingpin Life of crime, i will be happy :) In the courtyard they are a few buildings, but they are not accesible if you go and try to reach the buildings upper floors, due to colapse. Only one is accesible it seems. And you should be carefull so a brick or more don't come down on your head. More videos to come.

Added links

I added links on the right, Quake Army Knife editor related.

Add a texture with transparency to a wall brush by using func_wall

1. How to add a graffiti texture to your brush without problems by using func_wall:

This tutorial also applies to a normal texture, but in that case you do not put the brush in a func_wall, because if the brush is a prefab (a crate etc.) will not cast shadows.

In the graffiti texture situation it does not matter because the func_wall is added on a wall.

- Add a cube brush in your map, click the + sign, and choose all the 6 faces with ctrl or shift keybord keys. Go to ,,Polyhedron-view,, or ,,Face_view,, and click ,,choose texture,, and click sprites and double click alfa_v1 texture. Now you have the transparency on all the brush faces.

- Click ,,flags for this face,, and untick everything.

So doing the same thing, add your texture with transparency on the south face of the new cube (if you put the brush on the north wall).

Next, you include your brush in the func_wall so the texture won't be bright in the game regardless of the light position.

2. Add it in a func_wall:

- Click KingPin Entities, choose func_wall, click + and delete its poly.

Add your new cube to the func_wall by draggin it with the left mouse button on it. (give ,,new cube,, another name if you wish).

Double click the func_wall and thick ,,SURF2_ALPHA,,.

I learned about ,,func_wall,, ,,SURF2_ALPHA,, and unthick all flags by reading felikkz7 topic, his last answer in the topic.

Thanks felikkz7 for the post in the topic.

http://quark.sourceforge.net/forums/index.php?topic=1012.15

Add a brush, resize it and add texture and scale it

1. 3D layouts views

First, go and click ,,Layout,, and choose 4 views (a) layout to have 4 windows.

To move in any window views, move by holding the right mouse button and dragg it there.

To zoom in or out, hold right and left mouse buttons and drag it forward, backward or left and right.

2. Adding a simple brush and resize it:

Make a cube, choose a 0.1 Grid (the button below ,,File,,) click it in the top right window view and with your left mouse button click and edit the brush width and height by dragging one of the middle of the faces of the brush to resize it, and to be as thin as it can be.

Click the new cube bellow the ,,Worldspawn,, and go to ,,Polyhedron-view or Face_view,, and click ,,choose texture,,

3. How to add a new texture in the editor and add it to a brush:

Click the new cube bellow the ,,Worldspawn,, and go to ,,Polyhedron-view or Face_view,, and click ,,choose texture,,

Double click with your mouse to add it to your brush.

4. How to scale the texture on your brush:

Scale the texture on the brush with ,,adjust texture to fit the face,, or ,,adjust texture on face but keep scaling to a minimum,, or click ,,Tex. Scale:,, and add two numbers with space between them:

0.1 0.1 (you can also choose 0.2 0.2 to 1 1 and beyond them in increments of 0.1, 0.12 or even 0.01). Many times i use 0.4 0.4, 0.7 0.7 or even

0.1 0.1.

In the bottom right 3d window you will see that the image has been scaled.

Add texture list in QuArk with new textures

1. Choose a texture for your brush, and at ,,Texture browser...,, unselect the ,,Kingpin Textures,, texture folder (click anywhere on white space), click ,,Folders,, and ,,New main folder...,,

Click ,,In a new Add-on,, to make a new .qrk addon, with a name (for example your username_textures). The addon name must not be long.

2. Now you have a ,,New folder,, and give this the same name as the created .qrk addon.

On the left of the binoculars icon click ,,Make links to textures in a folder.,,

Click ,,main,, on the list and leave thicked only ,,Dynamic,, and ,,Merged,, and click ,,Ok,,

Click + of the ,,main,, list and delete everything except your texture folder.

3. Drag your texture folder name in the list on the ,,username_textures,, and delete the empty ,,main,,.

Now you have a new structured list as above. Close Quark and save.

Move the .qrk addon in Quark ,,addons,, folder if you want.

Enjoy your textures or textures with transparency. :)

How to make a texture with transparency from a normal texture from your photo

My tutorial also applies to a certain degree for a normal texture (depending of your camera image resolution), and if this is the case, skip to part 2. It is posible that the normal texture whould be squished in the proces.

For this tutorial i have used a free and good program called Background Eraser by handyCloset Inc. from google play on my smartphone with android version 4.2.2 for saving the .png files with transparency and also edit them by removing allot of unwanted pixel around them), and Paint shop pro 7 on windows 7 ultimate for the bellow operations.

A image with a tranparency can be used for a graffiti, poster or flag texture, etc. and be sure to add them in game to a smooth surface if you took a picture of them in real life on a smooth wall.

I Using Background Eraser:

1. Editing the program options and using ,,Auto,, tool:

After you have opened your image file (click ,,Load a photo,,), do not move the 4 crop arrows, as is not needed. Just click ,,Done,, and then ,,Zoom,, so you do not accidentaly edit the image. Do not click ,,BgColor,, and leave the transparency part of the image white with grey squares as it is.

Zoom in and click ,,Manual,, and first adjust its ,,Manual Size,, and use its below pink handle tool to move it and delete parts of the image.

Zoom with your fingers up close, click ,,Auto,, and adjust it to about 20 or 25 for the threshold of Similar Color. Drag by the below red handle tool in a place then release it. When you release it, his tool makes the transparency part of the image.

2. Use the ,,Manual,,:

- Use the ,,Auto,, tool to pinpoint the exact location for the use of ,,Manual,, tool.

If you made mistakes click the undo arrow and maybe ,,Repair,,. Personaly I do not use the ,,Extract,, tool, as i think is not necessary for this tutorial.

- When you are done, click ,,Done,, click ,,Smooth,, 0, Save and Finish. It will save the image in your Pictures/Eraser folder.

Next when you open the image with Paint shop pro 7 you will see that black is the color of transparency.

II Using Paint shop pro 7:

Edit and save your image file (in my case a .png file) to a .tga file so it works for Kingpin life of crime by editing the following:

Save the file/files with F12 and ,,Save as...,, Truevision Targa (*.tga) in a new folder to keep the originals.

1. Adjust brightness and contrast:

Open the images again and go to (or hit Shift+B):

Colors- Adjust - Brightness/Contrast...

Brightness: -60

% Contrast: -50

2. Adjust gamma correction:

Go to (or hit Shift+G):

Colors- Adjust - Gamma Correction...

Thick link, and edit to 0.60 for Red, Green and Blue.

Hit Ctrl+S to save the file/files.

Minimize them in the program or open the file/files again and:

3. Resize the image:

Go to Image-Resize... (or hit Shift+S) and leave ticked ,,Resize all layers,, and ,,Maintain aspect ratio of:,, (the number will differ by image, so do not manualy input numbers)

Thick Percentage of original Width: 25 x Height: 25

Resize type: Biliniar resample for downsizing your image.

If you have many images, remember that Shift+S gives you the resize window.

Ctrl+S to save the file/files once again.

Next time this adjustements will remain as it is in photoshop pro 7, so you do not have to imput them again.

4. Resize the image to be at the power of two:

First, see the size of the image by going to ,,Image-Image Information...,, and read the dimensions in pixels.

Go to Image-Canvas Size... and adjust width and height to a lower number.

Leave both Center image horizontaly and Center image verticaly ticked if it helps you.

The resulting size of the image (and skins for models) should be at the power of 2 and most likely is not. For example 2, 4, 8, 16, are at the power of two but small to be used for a texture. Use 32, 64, 128, or 256 and combine them if your texture is not square. Keep it around the maximum of 256, so you do not have problems running your map.

If you are making a texture from a image that does not have a size of power of two numbers, the OpenGL engine resamples the texture and posible do it poorly.

If the image does not resize with Canvas Size, see below. But if it is ok, save the file as .tga, then read 5.

First right click the image folder and click ,,Browse With Paint Shop Pro 7,, and make a screen shot of images folder (you can use Snipping Tool for this), because after 7. the image name will save as Image 21 for example and it will lose its name.

- See the size of the image by going to ,,Image-Image Information...,, and read the dimensions in pixels.

- Open and Copy the image file.

- File-New and add for example at ,,Width: 256,, and ,,Height: 128,, (keep resolution at 72.000, Pixels, Pixels/inch, Background color: Black and Image type: 16.7 Million Colors (24 Bit).

- Copy the image file from the first one with Copy(your image)-Edit-Paste-As New Layer in the second empty one.

- Close the first image and save the new image as .tga. (hit F12).

- Click ok when the program tells you that the image will be saved as a merged one.

- Right click the image folder, click ,,Browse With Paint Shop Pro 7,, right click a image and click ,,Rename...,,

Use two or three words, for example word_v_1

and use underscore for the break, as QuArk and the game needs it like this.

For example if the image is 183x137, make it 256x128, but watch out for the numbers.

Now, if you go to ,,Image-Image Information...,, you will see the image has lost its alpha (Number of alphas: 0). Do not worry :)

5. Restoring the image transparency by editing and saving the .tga back to .png., then back to .tga :

Because the images was merged, we need to restore its transparency (Alpha channel transparency).

-,,File-Save as...,, (hit F12) and save as .png, click ,,Options,, bellow.

-Tick ,,Noninterlaced,, and leave thicked ,,Optimized palette,, and click ,,Run Optimizer...,,.

-Leave ,,Colors,, tab alone, go to ,,Transparency,, tab and tick ,,Alpha channel transparency,, and ,,Areas that match this color,,.

-Pick color, choose R:0 G:0 B:0 (the last color (8) in the top first row of colors), add 0 at Hue: and leave ticked ,,Link colors,,

-Click ,,Ok,, leave the ,,Format,, as ,,Non-Interlaced,, click ,,Ok,, and save as .png. 

-Close this png. file.

-Open the .png and save it back to .tga.

In Kingpin/main/textures/ make a new folder for your textures, for example username_textures and add the textures in that folder.

For adding the new textures in QuArk read the tutorial:

,,Adding the path to the new textures folder in QuArk:,, tutorial.

Kingpin: Life of Crime enhanced graphics

Enjoy my modified QeffectsGL. :), that i have posted on moddb site.

Download link:
Kingpin life of crime enhanced graphics

I modified how textures and how the effects look, by tweaking QeffectsGL. For example, the fire, the lights, brightness and the bloom effects. Also, the muzzle flash of the guns in the game is changed. But of course you could tweak the effects, making it look better or worse. I plan to make some decals to go with QeffectsGL, when the player or the characters in the game fire their weapons and leave a mark on the wall.

All thanks for the program goes to XaeroX, the maker of QeffectsGL.

Copy the files from the archive (QeffectsGL_readme.txt, opengl32.dll and QeffectsGL.ini) in the Kingpin directory, where your Kingpin.exe is. After you run the game, a log file will appear (QeffectsGL.log). You can read it to see if you have any errors. To uninstall, just delete the three files.

As it states on QeffectsGL site :

1. Do not replace the library in "WINDOWS/System32" !
2. Some anti-cheating software (e.g. VAC) may refer the library to as a cheat. Do not use anti-cheating software when playing with QeffectsGL!

Due to SSAO not properly displaying shadows (fuzzy shadow appears around the model feet, through shadow on ground is ok) edit QeffectsGL.ini with notepad and change SSAO=1 to SSAO=0, like below. The rest can be on default, because if you change to SSAO=0, it doesen't take into account the others.

And if you run the game at a lower frame rate than usual, change the below numbers to a lower ones.
Anisotropy=16
Multisample=8

Without the modified QeffectsGL:

With the modified QeffectsGL:

Official Kingpin life of crime system req.

 Minimum

Pentium 233
64 Mb RAM
3D Accelerator (that supports OpenGL)
4x CD-ROM Drive
570 Mb HD Space

    Recommended

Pentium II 300
128 Mb RAM
2nd Generation 3D Accelerator or higher