The Preferences Window

There are two tabs to the preferences window the first one relates to the set up of the viewports and the second deals with miscellaneous preferences. The images below show the two tabs of the preferences window, click on the part you wish to know more about.

Property Selector

MilkShape 3D allows the user to set up colours of components used for modelling. The drop down list allows a specific component to be selected, a colour for the selected object can then be chosen by clicking the choose button next to the pull down box. The complete list of changeable components is:

Perspective Background (the 3D view)

Orthographic Background (the 2D views)

Perspective Grid

Orthographic Grid

X Axis

Y Axis

Z Axis

Vertex

Selected Vertex

Face

Selected Face

Bone

Selected Bone

Selected Joint

Keyed Bone

Grid Size

This pull down box allows the user to set the occurrence of grid lines on the grid in the orthographic (2D) views. Four options are given:

Gridsize 1x1 (default)

Gridsize 2x2

Gridsize 4x4

Gridsize 8x8

The default grid size is 1x1, this gives the most grid lines and is therefore easiest to work with. The grid size you use usually depends on how big the models are that you construct.

Point Size

This drop down box allows the user to select the size of the points that MilkShape 3D will display. This means the size of the vertices. The higher the number the easier they will be to select but they might also restrict your view more as a result. The values are as follows.

Pointsize 1

Pointsize 2

Pointsize 3 (default)

Pointsize 5

Pointsize 3 gives a vertex large enough to select easily and one which does not restrict the view very much.

Filter Texture

When texturing a model, texture filters will be created which will mip-map the texture on the model. Mip-Mapping basically smooths the texture so that the rasterised pixels are not obvious. You could say that filtering the texture reduces the 'blockyness' of the texture.

Can Line Stipple

When moving, scaling or extruding a line is created with the start point at the point where the user initially held the mouse down and the end point at the current position of the mouse (when the left mouse button is still pressed). This is a solid line by default. The 'Can Line Stipple' option sets this line to be a stippled (dotted) line. This also stipples the box line used for multiple selections.

Import Frame

This one takes a bit of explaining. MD2 and MD3 models which MilkShape 3D supports use an animation mechanism called 'Morph Target Animations'. If you are experienced in forms of animation then you might have heard of them. MilkShape 3D supports an animation mechanism called 'Skeletal Animations', the two types of animation are incompatible. Only one frame can be opened at a time. This option therefore specifies the target frame from the MD2 or MD3 file to be loaded into MilkShape 3D.

Animation FPS

This value determines the frequency of the animation (the speed it will play back at). The default value is 24 fps. Certain games that you export models for may require a larger or smaller number of frames per second so remember to check the requirements of your target game.

CS Hand Offset

When importing Counter-Strike models using the Tools->Decompile CS Left MDL File or the Tools->Decompile CS Right MDL File tools, this value offsets the loaded model to the value specified from the centre of the scene.

Joint Size

This allows the user to set the size of the joints that are used in MilkShape 3D. The default value is 1.0. The size you require may depend on the size of the model you are building. A size of 1.0 may not be adequate in larger models as you will struggle to select or even see the joints.

OK Button

This button will save preferences and close the preferences box.