Tool for SUR file building ?

www.digitalbrilliance.com
it is a working tool with some bugs and many limitations

personally i prefer to create my surs by hand

ive many modeling tools installed but mainly use ms3d coz of the plugins

It makes a fully working shrink wrapped sur file for single group models without issues. I've tested surs made with this for days on end and not had any problems. The sur generator will work on items like cargo cannisters as well with no known problems as well as bases using the modular design concept (bases made from different sections)

There is an issue with multi part models as the hitpoints section isn't included for that type of model so it will crash if the model is hit on certain hardpoints. You have to add the hpid sections manually to the sur file to get multipart surs to work

My obsevations

these sur topics are too much re-inventing the wheel for me
the old methods worked fine, i refuse to learn new stuff

I hear what you're saying OP, i really do and fully understand where you're coming from. I have my own ways of doing things as well which would probably seem weird to others but work for me. Working form fitting sur files are the holy grail for a lot of people, and a utility that does that is what we're all after. There are many ways to create sur files, kind of depends what you're after and secondly, what sort of model you're making the sur for. For me at least, the sur builder does what i want with a press of a button as i primarily work with single group models. For those who want parts that break off etc, then maybe the sur splicer is the way to go, or build them from scratch like you do. I don't have the patience for that i have to say lol

thats ok
i just... dont trust tools

u know... if something is too easy then its a trap

Greetings OP! Can you clarify to me a few things about SUR files, answer a few questions I have about them?

SURs are surface files right? They are basically nothing more than the wireframe of a model? If so, you by chance know how can I create/export to a .SUR file from a program like per say, AutoCAD?

I've done some 3D solid modeling in my 15 years as a Draftsman and if there is a way I can help create SURs from my AutoCAD experience and knowledge, I'm sure it would be a boon to you guys. I dunno how much I would be able to pump out though.

Surely, I'd like to put my skills to use on a bomber prototype VHF Sam is working on.

Anyway, thanks in advance!

no surs are not the wireframes
every ship consists of 3 different models

one visual model that you can see
one wireframe model that you can see on the interface when you target an opponent
and one surface model which indeed is responsible for taking hits and collisions
wireframe and sur models are less detailed than the visual one and work completely different

however - you cant create surs with CAD as there is no exporter plugin
and simply exporting a normal model to .sur in milkshape will fail as .sur has special requirements

AutoCAD does export to native straight to 3DMax format OP, any way 3DMax can export out to a format to be used in creating SURs or wireframe models useable by Freelancer?

yes you can import it into ms3d

have read at TSP that they are working on a 3dsmax -> sur exporter - W0dka wanted to make it standalone so he gets rid of 3dsmax version incompatibelities

Nice! Thanks OP and Huor, good to know! I'll keep an eye out for W0dka's exporter proggy!

This is to show off the new SUR utility by Schmackbolzen. I tried it on a new rock asteroid model that you can fly into and dock with.


Points of interest, it's detecting every undulation on the surface of the asteroid, also the fly through entrance as well with all the various internal parts properly covered by the sur which the utility accurately finds. There is no cheating going on here with the use of the phantom physics command. I've tested this base in a full battle environment and all parts receive hits, external and internal



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXNCalYwjqI

how big is the sur?

225kb

a bit big, dont you think?
I experienced similar results with that tool and am worried that such big surs lead to massive performance problems on servers
in the end every polygon of that sur has to be calculated for the hit detection x times per second
the biggest FL surs are not larger than 80k while standard surs are about 3-10k

on my tests i compared the tool generated surs with custom ones i created by splicing
that was a 4kb spliced sur vs a 238kb generated sur
ive not yet any experience with server performance using such generated surs but like i said... the size worries me

Yes i agree with you, they do look on the large size but i haven't experienced any issues yet, although i am on my test server. One of the things i like about it is the ability for it to handle models like the one i posted in every little minute detail. Only time will tell, although Sushi claims an improvement in framerates since he converted all his models in the Star Wars mod he's working on

Going to try it on some of the Starlancer bases, see how they shape up. Seeing as i can't get my head round splicing, least this method works for me.