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Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 12:51 pm
by Viktor
Does anyone know a good tutorial somewhere about making new unit sprites (collections) for Myth 2? I'd like to try my hand at it but have no idea where to start.
Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 2:59 pm
by Lugas
Making collections for Myth 2 is incredibly difficult. For Mac, you'll need Amber, which can be found somewhere here.
I don't have a PC, so I don't have any idea what is needed for PC. The idea for making collections is to create images in Photoshop (or something similar) that are the units sequences. Examples are attacking, idle, moving, taunting, celebration, dead body, dying, body parts and a headshot. Headshot is the portrait of the unit. You also need to make different angles for the sequences. All the bitmaps (they have to be 8-bit bmps) need to have the same colour table.
Collection making is very difficult unless you have a lot of patience and skill.
Also: If you are intending on making a collection, good luck! 
Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 5:41 pm
by Viktor
Thanks for the warning. I do realise how hard it is- I've done some 2-d animations in the past, and I actually examined the myth 2 collections prior to making this post. They seem to average 500 frames!
Yes, it is difficult, which is why I was asking for directions to a tutorial. Obviously, I can already start making a sprite in photoshop as a bunch of layers. But I have no idea how to make it into a working myth 2 collection.
Also, I was kind of looking for tips that might save me time. For example, I know some people make 3d models and rotate them , making snapshots into frames that are later compiled into a sprite. I'm sure exprienced authors know of other shortcuts, as well as perhaps better programs than Photoshop for this sort of thing.
Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 6:29 pm
by Graydon
Unfortunately Lugas doesn't seem to really know what he's talking about 
To make a unit by hand, frame by frame, in photoshop would probably kill any normal person. Unit making involves 3d modeling and animation. You use an industry standard modeling program to model, texture, rig, and animate your character or unit. Then you take screenshots from all 8 views, from each frame of every action.
Once you manage this much, you have to take the images into photoshop and index them all to the same colour table. That's a job in itself. Once they're all indexed you have to import through amber, create sequences and make a collection.... another entire job in itself. If you put the effort in, and manage to model and animate a unit, come back and get more details on the rest of it
Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 7:10 am
by Lugas
I don't know what I'm talking about! 
lol!
I don't have a 3d application thing so I can't really make a good collection.
Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 9:41 am
by William Wallet
Graydon wrote:Unit making involves 3d modeling and animation.
POPPYCOCK!
Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:55 am
by Gleep
Well you could make a collection in 2d if you wanted, you'd need to be a damn talented 2d animator tho, and very dedicated. Animating 1 angle for the base sequences wouldnt be that bad, but then having to do 7 more camera angle for each would really test your dedication.
Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 6:59 pm
by Viktor
Well, I realise the 3d method is easier. I thought one advatage of 2d sprites was that they can be more detailed than 3d models, but lose out in animation fluency.
Graydon said that one uses amber to organise these sprites into a collection, but Lugas said that amber is only availiable for Mac, and I have a PC. is there an analogous program for PC?
Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 9:59 pm
by Gleep
Not at this time, but there is one in the works.
Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 10:20 pm
by Point
making units is easy enough ... poser is what i use for the animations... place model in their use myth presets then animate... tuff part is getting all the amber stuff done (time consuming) if you build it over another unit its simpler...
Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 2:51 pm
by vinylrake
There are a couple of articles about creating new units for Myth 2 archived at the myth graveyard site:
Rohan's Myth II Unit Primer
Strangelet's Myth II Unit Making Tutorial
Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 12:43 pm
by Viktor
Awesome.
Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 1:59 pm
by vinylrake
Viktor wrote:Well, I realise the 3d method is easier. I thought one advatage of 2d sprites was that they can be more detailed than 3d models, but lose out in animation fluency.
The images you import as 'frames' of your unit animations WILL be 2D images, but there are two ways of creating those hundreds of individual (2D image) frames you need for a unit.
1) you can *create* the unit in a 3D graphics program which lets you easily rotate the unit (model) around or move the camera around so you can easily render the image from all thge different angles/perspectives you need.
or...
2) you can use a 2D graphics program and paint hundreds of individual animation frames by hand.