Half-Life Tutorials

Making a World model for Half-Life - by Rat

 

You will be able to save a lot of time if in advance, if you research and perhaps sketch out what you are trying to accomplish for a model. If you are working with a team, you will need to write down all that is expected of the model. It can be frustrating if you get the usual, "I don't care, just make a <insert model here>!

If you are not going to be the artist of the model you will need to get with him on the creation of what you think the shadow outlines, (the flat or 2d edges of the model), are going to look like. Once you think that you have what is what the team wants you will have to submit it to them so they can decide if that is what is meant by the description they have given you.

Lets say the team has decided on having a knife for use ingame. And they told you that it should not be real elaborate, so as to keep the lag in game play down. This would require that you have a model that would be a low poly count. Well with that said and done, you or your 2d artist set out to come up with something. You need to decide:

Once you have decided, you may want to do some research to see what is already in some games, so as to original. Then you might want to look in some magazines or on the web for something that you have in mind. If you find a photo of one out there, then you have already won half the battle of design!

The photo below was the one pick to best suit our model design of the knife. We will be using it to make our model by using it in the background.

 

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Figure 1.3 Proposed photo of knife

 

Below is what our finished model will look like once it is completed.

 

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Figure 1.4 Finished model of knife

Fleshing the model out

At this point you will be starting Milkshape 3d up and setting the background image to one of the windows with its view set to left, as the above picture has its view set. In the "Left" viewport, right click and click on the Choose Background Image... on the menu selection. In the "Open" dialog box, navigate to the directory that you have set up to receive all the files to make your model by clicking on the drop down list button on the "Look in:" section. I made mine in a "C:\WINDOWS\Desktop\models\knife2" as you can see from the directory structure of my QC file.(See Figure 1.5a). You now should see the background image in the "Left" viewport, as Figure 1.6 has it in its viewport. Once you set the background image, you will be able to start creating the knife. If you wish to turn off the background image, just repeat the steps outlined above, but click the "Cancel" button on the "Open" dialog box, and it will disappear.

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Figure 1.5a Setting up a Background picture