Importing model into Nova

Hi all, a few things.

I've created a sketchup model and textured it (also with sketchup). I have the .skp file. Now, I'd like to import this ship so it is a playable ship on EV: Nova.

What steps do I take from here? I already have the following programs.. if they are of any help.

MissionComputer
NovaTools
ResEdit
BlitZen
EnRLE
DeRLE
View RLE (Zacha Pedro)
Sprites (by Ralph and Rodger Sutherland, with 'm2s' which has the ability to make movies into sprites. I know this has something to do with the method.

Cheers, Tom

This post has been edited by Ravenheart : 14 June 2007 - 01:34 PM

You need to export it as .obj, then texture and fully render it in something like Blender. I think the trial version of SketchUp Pro can export as .obj.

Then, with Blender, render 36 (or more) frames of the ship turning around. Look in the Member-run FAQ for the angle you need to have it at to match the rest of Nova's ships. Take all of the animation frames you made, and drop them on the p2s program (part of Sprites). This will make a PICT sprite and mask of the ship.

Take these PICT sprite and mask, and put them into MissionComputer's Make RLE utility (or use EnRLE) to make an rleD and shän resource. Then set that up so your shďp resource will use the graphics.

You should also render pics for the shipyard/hail dialog, a large shipyard image (optional), and a target graphic (you can just take one of the animation frames and use MC's Target Generator). I can't remember what the RIDs need to be for these, but the Nova Bible will say what they are.

Google sketchup trial version won't let me export my file as a .obj.. anyone have any other ideas of how to get around this problem?

I understand everything else though, thanks for the clear explanation.

This post has been edited by Ravenheart : 14 June 2007 - 03:32 PM

Export the .skp file to a .kmz file in Sketchup, install a script from this page (I don't know which script is the right one...) into Blender and import the .kmz file into Blender.

This post has been edited by JacaByte : 14 June 2007 - 03:49 PM

I can't find any resource telling me exactly how I should install this blender script. Do you know?

Put it in path to Blender application folder/.blender/scripts

Ah, invisible folder. When you're in the parent folder you can reach it by choosing "Go > Go to Folder..." and entering ".blender".

This post has been edited by Guy : 15 June 2007 - 05:15 PM

There isn't a folder 'scripts', and it won't work if i create the directory myself.

What platform are you on?

Mac OS X 10.4.9

I can't help you. It's likely that the folder setups are different between platforms and I can't find out what they are on OS X.

Alright, thanks for your help.

Control-click on the Blender application and select "Show package contents". That'll get you into the application's resources in the UI. Unfortunately it won't show you the hidden directory. To do that, open up the Terminal app (it should be in your Utilities folder), and paste this in and hit enter:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true

Having done that, open the MacOS directory, and you should see the .blender directory.

I think there's an issue with OS X, any file or folder that begins with a period will automatically hide them, and unless you have Mac OS 9 classic, you won't be able to find it, unless you get a software that can detect invisible files and stuff.

TinkerTool can do that. It's under the "Finder" tab. Plus it's free.

@coraxus, on Jun 30 2007, 01:08 PM, said in Importing model into Nova:

I think there's an issue with OS X, any file or folder that begins with a period will automatically hide them...

This is by design; file names beginning with a full stop are the UNIX equivalent of the Macintosh ‘Invisible’ flag, so Mac OS X (as a hybrid of Macintosh and UNIX) observes both conventions.

Beware! Google Sketch-Up has crashed on me during the export process. It is most likely to crash when dealing with a complex model. Be sure to save your work before exporting!