Hey guys,
this is my first tutorial ever so if its bad dont critisize me, the main reason im writing
this tutorial is for myself. Why you ask? Because teaching other people is the quickest way to
teaching yourself, so getting writing tutorials on things you half understand, it doesent hurt anyone
and in the long run benifits you.
Anyways, onto the tutorial.
In this tutorial I will be using 3ds max to make my level, other model creating programs will
work of course, it just may be harder to do some of the functions I mention.
What you will need:
3d modelling program (prefurrably 3ds max)
An X - 3ds exporter if your program doesent import X files
(optional) A paint program
1) DO NOT START BUILDING YOUR LEVEL YET, you need to get it to the right scale!
2) To get the right scale import a default floor tile from the FPSC mesh library (equivilent to a 1x1 cell size in FPSC)
3) If you are using a program that cannot import X files, use another program to change it to 3ds,
like milkshape can import x and export 3ds.
4) After you have 1 floor tile in, to make it easier to work with set the grid scale in your
editor to the same size as the floor tile. If you cannot do this then just keep the floor tile there.
5) Now what I like to do is load up a wall x file from the mesh bank and put it on the edge of my grid.
6) (Optional) If you do this it does make it easier to export and the generally make the level:
Create a grid in your favorite image program that is the same size as a wall piece, so now you have your grid and a side plane.
This way you can delete the floor and wall files but still have a reference.
7) Build your level, keep in mind, all ground piecies should be equivelent to 1x1 square (floor tile in FPSC) and all walls should be the same as walls in FPSC.
8) After you have build your level (turn edged faces on, or wireframe mode) and there should be lines between every floor tile and wall piece.
9) If there is in most of them you have succeeded.
10) Now for the hard part.
11)
12) Start in a corner on your grid and select the bottum 3x3 tiles.
So if you have a building 4 walls high and 3x3 floor tiles. grab the bottum floor, remember only the FIRST floor of a building or open ground 3x3 tiles big.
13) This is where you need patience, if you have none then leave now.
14) Copy those 3x3x1 tiles and copy them into a new file and export as an X file,
Name it what you want but do something like an array, like: "3x3 first floor.x". save it in the meshbank
15) Load up the segment editor and click the "add entity" or the "mesh" button, either works if I recall. (Did I mention I'm on my laptop not at my house, so I dont have FPSC, 3ds max, or the segment editor, im just free handing this)
16) Once you have that "segment" loaded align it with the 3x3 squares on the segment editors floor and there you go, the first part of your level!
- Now you may be wondering about textures, this is a problem I have run into alot, If you want to texture your level what you will have to do is in your modelling program, the different parts you want textured you need to divide up into different X files then load them seperatly into the segment editor, this is why it takes so long
17) Now export the segment with a name that you can remember (use the x files name if you prefure)
18) Fire up FPSC and load in the segment in the FAR LEFT HAND CORNER.
19) Do these steps over and over again, doing the bottum floor, then the second floor, loading and saving all of that.
20) If you had a large level this should take hours if not days, but its worth it.
After hours/days of work continue onto this part
21) Now that you have your level all set up go to save as, and unstead of saving it as your level, save it in the prefabs folder with the extionsion of the prefab on the end of it, (i think its .fpm im not sure though, look at the end of prefabs and find out for yourself)
22) Now you ready to try out your level?
23) After saving the prefab open a new level and load the prefab.
24) You have a HUGE level using only one prefab, and you know the best part? It works just like a regular level, no poly leaks, no collision problems (If you did it right)
25) Run it and it should load SUPER fast because all it had to do was load 1 prefab
26) There you go, a completely awesome custom level in FPSC.
Tips:
- If you have problems just ask me
- Dont tell me this tutorial sucked your ass, because I didnt do it for you, I did it for the community and me, and if you say stuff like what i stated above your not part of the commmunity in my book.
Cheers,
-Inverted
Opposites are different, not wrong
