Best softwares for making effects

Shtreimel

What are the best softwares for making effects(+particle effects) for Dota?

(I am talking about effects like these: http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131700
and these: http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=133765



And where can I find good tutoraials for making effects? (or even making the effects from scratch?

Do you recommend me any tutorials?


Sorry for bad English, if you find any mistakes in my English just let me know about it

Thanks for anything and have a good week!

BohSheh

Its particle effect , so far no one have done any direct tutorial for this effect . Since there is no proper guide or submission section for it , I could only thought of editing via its engine , the Source engine . https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Category:Particle_system
try looking here .

Shtreimel

BohSheh wrote: »

Its particle effect , so far no one have done any direct tutorial for this effect . Since there is no proper guide or submission section for it , I could only thought of editing via its engine , the Source engine . https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Category:Particle_system
try looking here .

.


Ok thanks, any other suggestions?

Automedic

Hi there,

the program I'm using is the Alien Swarm particle editor. There is no proper guide for it yet but Cyborgmatt wrote down a few steps to get it to run: http://www.cyborgmatt.com/2012/01/dota-2-particle-editor/

Good luck!

Shtreimel

Automedic wrote: »

Hi there,

the program I'm using is the Alien Swarm particle editor. There is no proper guide for it yet but Cyborgmatt wrote down a few steps to get it to run: http://www.cyborgmatt.com/2012/01/dota-2-particle-editor/

Good luck!

Thanks man, but I'm mainly looking for software that I can create a new effects from scratch, where can I find/learn to do that?

I want to make mostly effects like these : http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=133765

Automedic

Shtreimel wrote: »

Thanks man, but I'm mainly looking for software that I can create a new effects from scratch, where can I find/learn to do that?

I want to make mostly effects like these : http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=133765

Ah, I think know what you want.

That's still Alien Swarm. The Horse Strangler works a lot by replacing default files with custom created models and materials he incorporates into the particle effects. His fissure and lanaya wards are good examples of that. For that you have to manually compile a .mdl file from .smds (which you can create with basically any modelling software like Blender) via .QC compiling. Spudnik made a pretty awesome guide for that.

[NB] Mohsen

Yeah just make a particle effect in blender and import it. There is a guide for making particle effects, so if I find it ill post it here.

Shtreimel

ok thanks I'll try learning about that
Any other recommendations?

Rusty_Gvfx

Hey I followed the tutorial here and cant seem to get the particle veiwer to show http://www.cyborgmatt.com/2012/01/do...rticle-editor/

Got quite a bit of FX experience so figured I would be able to work it out but its tricky when I cant even get to the particle editor : P

If you find that guide Mohsen I would also be keen to read it : )

Cheers!

[NB] Mohsen

Go to dynamics and stimulation section or the other vid:

http://www.blender.org/support/tutorials/

http://blenderdiplom.com/en/tutorials/416-tutorial-advanced-particle-trail-in-blender-264.html

Rusty_Gvfx

So wait you can export effects from blender into Dota 2? How does that work? Particles are normally an engine based thing for games.

Thanks for the links by the way.

[NB] Mohsen

No, unfortunately you cannot do so. But, here is what valve has said on the requirements page:

Effects

Vertex Based Particle Effects for Items

For items which have effects on them by default, such as edge glows, item authors will be required to submit a .dmx or .fbx mesh which defines where these particles should go on their item. This will use base effect authored for the item and place the particles accordingly.

To do this, create a new mesh, much like creating an LOD. However, this mesh will represent particle positions, one per vertex. Triangles, faces, and general connectivity do not matter on this mesh. The best way to create a mesh for this is to treat it as a single polygon. Keep in mind that particles will be created from all vertices in the mesh, so do not attempt to create valid convex or closed triangles in the traditional sense if this creates vertices in undesired locations.

While it is possible to use the vertices from the original mesh, generally speaking the density will not end up being appropriate for the effect. In addition, UV's, hard edges, etc. can create duplicate vertices in some cases which is generally undesirable.

There is a hard limit to the particle count allowed for each item.

While each piece of modeling software will vary, here is an example of how to quickly create effects for an item in Maya :

First, start with your finished geometry. Select this mesh and Modify->Make Live. This will allow us to use the base mesh to draw vertices for our new mesh, while constraining them to the topology of the original.

Next switch to the Mesh->Create Polygon Tool. This will allow you to draw the new FX mesh locked to the live geo. The entire mesh will be a single polygon. Draw points where you wish to see particles, such as along a blade edge. The density of these points will usually be higher than that of the normal mesh, it may require a bit of trial and error to get the proper density for the desired look.

Once you've added all the points, you can export just the effects mesh. Name your mesh the same as the item with a _fx postfix, similar to an LOD.

Loading the effect into the item submission tool will show you a preview.

And I'm also guessing it needs to either be exported as a .smd file or a .fbx file.

Sukotto

^Thats just weapon FX, I'm sure OP is asking about ability particles.

As Rusty said, particle authoring is an engine based thing so you have to use the Alien Swarm SDK to make your particles like Automedic stated

Rusty_Gvfx

^ exactly. I have seen people managing to do this like Automedic and the two the op linked. Everyone seems kind of tight lipped about it though. Though that could also be because their arnt as many wanting to do FX. I had to teach myself to do FX after all to get into the industry.

Geh if only I could get the Alien Swarm particle editor to open : / Could probably figure the rest out myself from that point. Though still no idea how you replace characters skills as a shop item.

Zipfinator

Rusty_Gvfx wrote: »

Though still no idea how you replace characters skills as a shop item.

You wouldn't. Valve seems to only be interested in implementing community made particles as part of a set. I don't believe there's any single items in game currently with custom particles that were submitted by the community, just a few that have custom particles that Valve made.

Rusty_Gvfx

I understand it has to be part of a set. I plan to do collaborations with people after all. Iv seen people managed to change Pudges rot and kunkas splash so im guessing its possible.

flashice2030@163.com

I consider MAYA MAX BLENDer all these wares could use particle system to make good sfx, but you can only make sfx to a sequence image for preview ,but cant use them in the Dota2game. so why so many game corps has their own particle effect editor? right, it's the connection between their engine and sxf . Maybe alien swarm is the best way now,after all the particle editor released by vale. but in future I 'm sure valve 'll supply a convience way for sfx ani ect.

Rusty_Gvfx

Well there are a lot of reasons why people use their own particle engines for their games. The main one if optimization. The other big reason is because they can add features on the fly to their own particle engine. If they use maya or whatever else they have to count on the company to add it for them. There a LOT more reason.

However the best way to look at it is Maya and Max particles are for movies. Engine particle engines are for games. Some engines do use maya for particles. However from what I used it was a pain in the ass. As you make all the stuff in maya and cant see what it looked like at all. Then import it into the game and realized it looked nothing how I thought it would. Bleugh Gamebryo

Pretty sure the alien swarm particle editor is the same particle editor they used for dota 2 anyway. So might as well get into using that. Iv been using it for the last 2 days. Recolouring current effects and slightly tweaking them is a breeze. Creating effects from scratch is a whole other story. Its been a fun puzzle to crack though and they have pretty good documentation online. Just dont know how materials work yet.

Shtreimel

Is it possible to make a complete custom effect in Alien Swarm Particle Editor?

AndrewHelenek

Rusty_Gvfx wrote: »

Pretty sure the alien swarm particle editor is the same particle editor they used for dota 2 anyway. So might as well get into using that. Iv been using it for the last 2 days. Recolouring current effects and slightly tweaking them is a breeze. Creating effects from scratch is a whole other story. Its been a fun puzzle to crack though and they have pretty good documentation online. Just dont know how materials work yet.

I'm pretty sure you're right about the alien swarm particle editor. You can create the particles in the Alien Swarm Editor and save out the .pcf/.pfc (whichever it is, can't remember on the fly) And use that to overwrite what is currently in the game. I imagine you would then send that file to valve for them to implement through their pipeline.

However, I would avoid just recolouring the current effects. I don't believe that is what valve is looking for based off what they have already implemented from the community. Since there are no guidelines, I highly recommend looking at all the particles they've already implemented from the community and assess your own opinions.

Hopefully one of the particle guys shed some light on the matter with a fancy tutorial so everyone can have their hand at particles. :thumbup:

Rusty_Gvfx

Iv seen a few recolours of effects being sold : P The guys from my work were commenting on it.

Rusty_Gvfx

Well I guess it would depend on what effects are being made. If say someone made all 4 effects completely different from the originals id say ited be a higher percent. As that would be a lot of work. Hard to say really. I havnt exactly seen any complete re skins yet effects wise. Trying to learn the stuff so I can do a colab with someone and make some full re skins. Will be able to tell you the percent's then.

Heres some of my stuff from work btw:



Have a thread here of my stuff http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134795&highlight=path+exile


Hoping to collaborate with someone once I can figure out how to make full effects in this editor. Thankfully its kind of like unreal engine. Just unartist friendly :P

AndrewHelenek

Rusty_Gvfx wrote: »

Well I guess it would depend on what effects are being made. If say someone made all 4 effects completely different from the originals id say ited be a higher percent. As that would be a lot of work. Hard to say really. I havnt exactly seen any complete re skins yet effects wise

The new earthshaker set has that, new particles for all his ablities.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCVdcQniJo4"]Dota 2 Earthshaker - Bindings of Deep Magma custom animation preview - YouTube[/ame]

Rusty_Gvfx

Oh isnt that the old effect from Jakiro on the ends of his club? From liquid fire. The slam was the same just with a recoloured shockwave though the cracks were new. The fissure might be all new but I have a feeling its maybe using stuff from elsewhere in dota. Maybe the fire batrider leaves with low opacity (that fire emitting from the fissure). Again this is guessing.

Shtreimel

Wow.. T
hen how do I make an effect like you guys posted here from scratch?