Modeling in GMax

[archvilell]

I haven't heard much about the GMax program that Discreet has for free download. It practically is MAX made specifically for people who want to model characters, guns, landscapes (which we'd all do in Hammer), rops etc. If you are cheap like me and want a good program to use, I recommend it.

Anyway. When making a model, is generally recommended to make everything from one object and use extrude face etc, or can I use multiple objects for the same effect.

For instance, I want to make a sniper rifle with a massive muzzle brake on the end. Can I make the muzzle brake a piece and the barrel another, or is it recommended that I make them all the same?

 

[The Dark Elf]

doesn't matter, use whatever method you prefer, so long as the final result is optimized and uses tripolys.

 

[Stormy]

Pritty random post, you making a statment or asking a question, im abit drink atm so i might not be reading it right but rah! um you now what i mean.

 

[archvilell]

Alright, Dark Elf. Thats what I wanted to hear. Now, how would I make something optimized? What does that mean? I plan on just making the gun like any other thing I would make. I don't think it will have too many polygons if I do it that way, but I could be wrong.

I plan on making my gun normal (as opposed to CS guns, which are all lefthanded guns used with the right hand), so the bolt will not be visible until the player reloads, then the model will be rotated so you can see it. The bolt will unloc, be slib back and forth, then locked again, and the gun will be brought back to the fire position. During reload, it will be brought down to the hip level and a clip stuffed in it M1 Garand style.

I could scan my sketch and show you guys for critiques, but I'm too tired right now. Maybe a little later. Just think of an Arma-Lite AR-50, the sidemounted Steyr Aug scope, and Ruger .243 Mark II bolt. For those of you who aren't gun nuts like me, I'll post a sketch sometime.

 

[Cunbelin]

Just a warning you will have to jump through some hoops to get things out of gmax and into HL2. Sometimes things are required to be a single mesh, sometimes they are required to be a single closed mesh, in the case of a weapon you should be fine with multiple parts. Anyway good luck.

 

[archvilell]

Thanks for the warning. I'll be sure to watch out for that.

-Archvilell

 

[Sir Phoenixx]

If you can extrude from from the same object, then do it, if it's too much then just create a new object (which you can then connect it's polygons to the other object, accomplishing the same thing).

Optomizing means to go through and combine and remove as many polygons as possible without taking any visual detail out.

For example, if you make a box with a dozen segments so that the top of it forms a curving shape, but the bottom remains straight, you should delete the side polygons, and make them one polygon connecting the top vertices to the bottom two corner vertices, leaving the middle ones, then delete the bottom polygons and connect the corner vertices, etc.

You also need to remove polygons that are completely inside others. (Like the back of buttons/knobs/switches, the rear of the barrel, etc.)

 

[archvilell]

Ah, gotcha. Ok, I'll be sure to do that when I'm done. Thanks.