Gold Star Misc Items
I'm thinking of doing a set of misc items for the medic but am a little confused about what I can and can't do.
I've decompiled several gold star misc items for the medic that have made it into the game (mainly coats and clothing) and noticed they all seem to add extra 'floating' geometry which I presume sits over the top of the original medic model. Is it possible to edit the existing medic geometry and submit it? To work correctly in game it would need to replace the original medic model, or are misc items limited to only new 'floating' geometry that just sits on top?
I'm basically trying to work out what the restrictions are for getting an item gold started.
Thanks
I've decompiled several gold star misc items for the medic that have made it into the game (mainly coats and clothing) and noticed they all seem to add extra 'floating' geometry which I presume sits over the top of the original medic model. Is it possible to edit the existing medic geometry and submit it? To work correctly in game it would need to replace the original medic model, or are misc items limited to only new 'floating' geometry that just sits on top?
I'm basically trying to work out what the restrictions are for getting an item gold started.
Thanks
Replies
However you can not force the character mesh to hide parts that are not already hideable via bodygroups. For example, the scout has bodygroups for his default hat and headset, so you could make an item that works with those or hides those.
That's reason one why misc clothing items "cover" the character.
The second big reason is the rigging. You have to make the clothing mesh's topology match (or come very close to matching) the character's topology so that the weightmapping/rigging will let the clothing move with the character without clipping.
And even when you do match it perfectly, there are many extreme poses that cause clipping and peek through, so clothing items usually make a character look at least a little "fatter" in those spots.
So TLDR; yes, generally you'd have to make clothing "float" over the character. Expect a challenge to rig it to prevent clipping and peek through in all poses.
Yeah I had a look into body groups but unfortunately medic only has one for his backpack. Think I'll have to edit the medics mesh in order to achieve what I'm after... I'll be back in a couple of days crying about rigging
So is the gold star system a basic automated check to make sure you have the correct textures/tri count/fold structure?
Yep.
Unless your item is reallly reallly kick ass it's probably not worth the time. Not trying to be negative but Valve pretty much says the same thing.
Making major changes to the base mesh means that they would either have to split the mesh so it has new bodygroups or they'd have to make a way for your mesh to over ride the original.
Both unlikely scenarios.
Thet want Simple and Easy, no work on their part.
No that's fine honestly! It's what I kind of expected to be honest!
I've done a really quick paint over to explain what I'm trying to achieve.
(Hot pants might be too Hot!)
So I reckon I could do the top half of him as floating geometry rather than editing the original mesh. However, the hot pants and legs are going to be an issue i reckon. Could possible edit the original texture along with adding some additional geometry to achieve the hot pants and legs (is editing the original texture an ok thing to do? less risky than changing the geo, but Valve could still consider it extra work if they currently don't have a system to swap textures.) Not sure how I would deal with the bulge where the trousers meet the boots though.
Any suggestions?
I think the top part above the belt and the hat are doable and worth it though.
2 things with the legs:
1: shorts, ewww, lol. Maybe a bit too much medic for me
2: most likely Valve would only do a feet bodygroup, and that's if someone made some kick ass boots. The entire legs is probably just too much.
When I made some pyro feet (lady liberty) a long time ago I just made the pyrops skin have alpha for the feet. Then I could see my feet instead of his boots.
For testing that is a pretty easy way to do it.
Of course all medics in game would be legless when you play...
you could probably still put the buttons/pockets on top of the medics pants and make it appear to be a more cohesive item.
So what I'm going to do split it up into three items. Hat, Shirt + lederhosen (a non hotpants version for now) and possibly some new boots/socks but I imagine I'll have to experiment with that.