Yes
Yes
Yes and
Yes

The first one will come from using another python library. The pcx thing was largely chosen because I didn't want the md3tomdl source to have any dependencies on external code, and 8bit pcx was just easy enough to hand-parse. I'll make sure that the examples include some that use the library.

Multiple skins and proper group frames are things that are easy to manipulate with a script and the module that I have now. It's the kind of thing that you'd have to write a whole difficult-to-parse syntax in the "config file" method of the existing tool, so I hope the omission thus far is understandable.

As an example, to set the rotate flag on a model would require the following line added to the script:

����mymdl.flags = 8

If the requirement to know the numerical values of the flags is considered too taxing I might be persuaded to include them as constants! 

@preach, that would be awesome to have those features. It is the last things I use Qme for (multiple skins and model flags) and not having Qme in the pipeline will be awesome.

The config file flag of mymdl.flags is fine with me, is this parameter available in the current version?

I totally understand why the skin / animation names option is missing from the current version. Writing a config file parser is always time consuming. 

There seems no point keeping the module back when it would already be useful to you, so here it is:

http://www.btinternet.com/~chapterhonour/qmdl.zip

Pop the qmdl folder in your python "Lib" folder. You can then put the following lines in a file called flag.py to add the flag to the mdl file md3tomdl produces.

��from qmdl.mdl import Mdl
��mymdl = Mdl()
��infile = open(r"input.mdl", "rb")
��mymdl.read(infile)
��infile.close()

��mymdl.flags = 8

��outfile = open(r"output.mdl", "wb")
��mymdl.write(outfile)
��outfile.close()


I'd suggest having a short batch file that calls md3tomdl followed by this python script.

Let me know how it works, I've tested with python 3.2, but if you have an earlier version installed it might still work... 

Some helpful code for renaming frames:

def rename_range(frames, start, name, length):
����for i in range(length):
��������frames[i + start].name = (name + str(i + 1)).encode("ascii")

def rename_frames(mdl, names):
����i = 0
����for name in names:
��������rename_range(mdl.frames, i, *(name))
��������i += name[1]

rename_frames(mymdl, [("walk", 8), ("run", 6), ("stand", 9)])

Essentially you write a list of tuples, where each tuple is the sequence name and length. 

@Preach, unfortunately I don't have python installed, but I can wait, honestly there is no hurry. :) Plus I am busy creating new skins at the moment, so it will be a while before I am back to exporting models again. 

rawr

Sock's mesh, uv and skin and I rigged and posed it.

Thanks again for the converter, preach. Wouldn't have bothered with this stuff without it. 

http://www.simonoc.com/images/design/sp/q1_hknight_commander1.jpg 

 

When i look at this, i start to think the dragon monster would also fit neatly into socks map. 

wow, really nice.

Quake's monster skins tend to have a bit more blood and grime splattered on them; yours looks relatively clean by comparison. 

there's two skins, a clean one and a bloodied one. :) 

Very nice, indeed! 

Very nice ! Would love to see its behaviour ingame :) Go map !! 

The knight with a shield has finally been realised. 

All this new medieval stuff looks like taken from an alternate reality that also happened to just have Q1, it's that good. 

And it's an amazing looking shield! Nice work! 

That's the best looking model I have seen in a while :) 

I like the way is has that humor on his face, while its shield looks so nasty.
Great model face lift! 

It reminds me of John Blanche' illustrations:

http://taran.pagesperso-orange.fr/images/4khorne.jpg

Especially those from Sorcery! 

Something I found on polycount today, linked from the low-poly-models thread

http://wiki.polycount.com/SphereTopology

It's a guide on how to save polys on spheres by collapsing edges that don't improve the silhouette of the shape. It's interesting in itself, but also as a starting point for how to optimise curved models generally. 

Okay, it's only a double post.

http://www.btinternet.com/~chapterhonour/quadtrick.zip

Whack it in progs and load a map with a quad.

It's basically a similar trick to the gem, but because I can write the scripts in python now, I can cope with doing directional calculations on normals. This means you can get coherent effects rather than the random ones seen earlier. 

I see the difference. Is it engine dependent?

And yeah, a well presented article.

I'd be interested in one a bit more high level though. How the silhouette is all important and the visual acuity of the ones in Quake is pretty damn good. 

that looks awesome man... :D 

Yes, that looks good!

I just remade the squad.mdl, giving it a flat skinfile.
It doesn't change much to the already excisting,
as if smaller objects get reduced in game.

This scripted print really glows. 

It relies on the normal effects, so it's very hard to see in darkplaces for the reasons mentioned earlier in the thread (back where sock posted the health vials). Fitzquake is recommended because it has motion interpolation without vertex lighting, but it's also worth seeing that it renders in winquake.