Section of Town using Vue

[Poserfiend]

Thanks for the comments. I have been researching the various free and pay sights for the right models. I am also trying to find the folks who developed the Realms Overseer models for CC2 map conversions. They would be perfect.

I have both NWN and 2. I've used them to develop maps, but have never been really happy with what i could do there.

I'll look at the Sketchup stuff. I've tried it a few times, but never really got fired up over it. Looks like it is time to look again.

I've been tweaking this one and will get a newer version out later this week along with the next one.

[Gamerprinter]

I use a subdivisional surface modeler called Nendo, from Izware. Although I paid $70 for it, I think its available now for $49. But you can probably find a free trial download for it too.

Anyway, it was originally designed by Nichimen, a 3D company working for Squaresoft out of Japan. They had a high end program called Mirai, and Nendo was its watered down basic modeling portion of that app. Nendo means "clay" in Japanese.

Unlike apps like 3D Studio Max, which is very mathematically precise, Nendo has no numbers to get exact with. Its really more like playing with clay. Start with a primitive like a cube, select the object (versus a point or a face), right click and a list options show up. Click "smooth" and each face of the six sided cube is divided into four even faces with the center moved outward, looking more like an odd shape ball. You select faces and move it, rotate, rescale it using an X Y Z coordinate system.

I find it easy to get use to, and once you're comfortable with the smooth setting, you begin to create unsmoothed basic shapes than smooth to convert into organic shapes. Its great for everything from buildings, to objects and lifeforms.

The painter part of it is kind of crude. I generally get the shape I'm looking for then export as a .3DS or .OBJ 3D object and import to Vue or whatever 3D app you're using. I use Nendo to create everything, a piece at a time.

My main 3D apps have modelers in them as well, but Nendo is so easy to use and pliable features lets you making "anything" you want.

If you look at my Sargoseum Temple map for the last I.C.E. contest which I won with my entry. I used a Poser nude guy to represent my god, Sargos. But the whale he rides, the crab, dolphins, octopus and clams were all generated in Nendo, imported to Raydream textured rendered, then converted to transparent PNG files to import and composite in Xara Xtreme. That's my process using 3D for maps anyway.

GP