Originally posted here: avpunknown
Created by: Coty
Mirrored here for archival purposes
Peparations: Tutorial to change an SP character to MP for AvP2
Requirements: Aliens vs. Predator 2 Tools
Copy and paste Tamiko.abc from the Characters folder to the MP folder. Rename her to test_Tamiko.abc or whatever you like.
Now open her in MEdit. You will see something like "unable to find child model mBase.abc, and all animation dimensions will be lost. Click OK on them. It's just telling you it can't find the SP child models.
Highlight the top child model in the upper right. Click on the Child Model tab and choose "Remove Child Model." Do this until all of them are gone.
under the child model tab again, choose "Add Child Model." Browse to MP_mBase.abc or whatever child model you need first and open it. Make sure you're in the MP folder. Add them one at a time in the right order for safety... Do the same for all the child models you need...
Now save your model before this next step, importing native animations and stuff. Some of the options in the checkboxes will crash MEdit. I don't know which ones for sure, probably lods if the pieces aren't the same. I know UV coords shouldn't be checked either.
Under File\Import, import animations. I used minigunner ... This will give you the minigunner native animations....
You might want to also import other things in the native, like weight sets, sockets, etc... UV coords are obsolete. Weight sets, translations, and sockets should be ok. Some, like User Dims might not work. You can enter them in manually though. When you see the User Dimensions like in this image, MEdit is telling you that the dimensions need to be set for this animation.
Those Dims_Default and Dims_Crouch animations from Tomica you may want to keep instead of using others. The user dimensions are the bounding box used for collision detection. You can also adjust the dimension and translation of each animation by clicking on the + &- buttons here:
The pieces get assigned a number (Texture Index) in MEdit for each texture you use. That number will correspond to skin1, skin2, exc... in the Characterbutes. Some models have as many as 3 and 4 skins. Also AvP2 uses the same skin for different models.
You'll have to match the DefaultSkinPaths in CharacterButes.txt to the skin numbers in MEdit by changing the Texture Index in MEdit or changing the butes. In MEdit, click on a piece (Torso), then click on Piece/Piece Info.
I noticed Tamiko doesn't even use Skin1 in MEdit. She uses Texture Indexes 0 (Torso), 2 (Head), and 3 (arms and leggs). So by changing all the pieces of Texture Index 3 to 1, you can solve Tamiko's skin problems with Obrian without editing CharacterButes.
Calc Internal Radius should probably be run before finishing too...
NOTE: Tamiko has an over-riding animation called "*WF_PS1." An animation with a star in front of it in Talon means it is an over-riding animation. This one replaces WF_PS1 in the mp_mbase_Ps1 child model and gives Tamiko the female walk.
