[DOA5LR] OBJECT TOOL - Tutorial & Guide : How to use and understand it

[LGMODS]

[TUTORIAL & GUIDE] OBJECT TOOL : How to use and understand it.

Doutoku Tool.

 

This thread is under construction.

 

Over years using this tool I will provide all what I know and discovered about this tool.

How to use it, how to understand it, what is the capacity of this tool, how to optimize your mods using materials, environnement, shiny effects and else.

There are a lot to say and explain about this tool.

 

UNDERSTAND INTERFACE :

 

On this guide I will use the version 0.26.2.

Be careful if you use lower versions there are some property that don't exist with some issues and crash, I found this version stable that's why I'm using this one.

 

 

WGT_all_body : Show mesh name and amount of meshes inside a TMC.

VGrp : Show the group assigned per meshes.

VtxCt & IdxCt : Show the amount of vertices & index count per meshes slots.

Tex1-2-3-4-5 : Show the textures orders.

TexType : Show how the textures are read.

Trnsp : Transparency level.

Dsid : Double Sided level.

Mcol / mtcp / Mtrl : Material property.

Z1 / Z2 / Cast / Recv / Culling : Advanced parameters. Z1 & Z2 need to be combined with Trnsp, Cast - Recv & Culling are for shadows & lightning.

 

UNWRAPPING ALL OF THIS :

 

WGT_all_body :

 

RIGHT CLICK OVER A MESH SLOT

 

ADD SUB OBJECT :

 

.You can add as many meshes slots as you need, until now I didn't found a maximum but I also didn't tried to add more than 15 meshes slots in 1 TMC.

 

DELETE SUB OBJECT :

 

. You can also delete usless slots that don't include meshes, this is HIGHLY recommended to delete them to fix the blinking shadows issues.

 

DELETE ALL VERTICES AND INDICES :

 

. Remove the mesh inside this slots but DO NOT delete the slot itself.

 

GET MATERIAL :

 

. Import and inject a new material for the targeted mesh (this part will be developped separately).

 

VGrp :

 

. This tab show the number of UV (textures) that the mesh slot can hold. As show on the screenshot it have to be combined with the lower part.

 

. You CAN'T change the number of UV count if a mesh is already added, you have to create a new WGT_all_body group and change the number before inject a mesh inside.

 

. Usefull if you have a mesh that have only diffuse or don't wan't to use Normal Map and others textures for x reasons. But keep in mind a mesh group that have only 1 UV could be less detailed due to lack of Normal Map & Specular.

 

. Also usefull for certain material injection.

=> On the screenshot you can notice some of my meshes actually use 1 UV (VGrp 2), this is a mesh that have shiny material with only diffuse.

 

VtxCt & IdxCt :

 

. Vertex Count & Index Count are just showing the amount of vertices & their index per meshes inside each slots.

 

. I already added a mesh that have 100k vertices and was working, so I guess there are no limit but you could get some lag in game, specially if the mesh is big.

 

Tex1-2-3-4-5 :

 

. This is where you will swap your textures for each meshes.

 

. A TMC can hold 5 textures per mesh slot, but until now the 5th slot is useless or I didn't found an utility despite some test.

 

. This tab have to be combined with TexType tab to know how to swap and place your textures.

 

. By default the order is usually 0012 (Diffuse - Diffuse / Wet - Normal Map - Specular).

 

TexType :

 

. 0 = Diffuse / Wet, 1 = Normal Map, 2 = Specular & 3 = Environnement.

 

. Unless you are using a Skin Slot you can duplicate the diffuse texture when you use TexType 0012.

 

. To enable the Environnement property you have to choose a TexType that include 3 (example 0123) then check the option.

 

Example to understand better :

 

0012 : Diffuse - Diffuse - Normal Map - Specular

0123 : Diffuse - Normal Map - Specular - Environement

03 : Diffuse - Environnement

 

. When you decided of your TexType you can swap your textures in the proper order in Tex1-2-3-4-5 tab.

 

Trnsp :

 

. Enable transparency for meshes that have textures with alpha channel.

 

=> Level 0 no transparency

=> Level 1 soft transparency

=> Level 2 hard transparency

 

. If your mesh don't need alpha channel textures you can leave the setting on 0, but if you set it to 1 or 2 anyway you'll get a lighter mesh.

 

. If your mesh have alpha channel you will have to find the proper setting (to combine with Z1 tab) :

 

=> Level 1 need to be combined with 08 setting on Z1 tab.

=> Level 2 need to be combined with 02 setting on Z1 tab.

 

Others mix will give differents results but are mostly uncompatible and could give bugs.

 

Dsid :

 

. Give to the mesh the double sided property, useful when you have a mesh that is not "closed", good example with skirt then you won't have a kind of see through issue.

 

. If your mesh don't need to be double sided and you activate it anyway you'll get a lighter mesh.

=> Combined to Level 2 Trsnp where a mesh don't need alpha channel it will give an even more lighter mesh.

 

Mcol / mtcp / Mtrl :

 

. Mcol is the main property where you'll inject or change your material setting.

 

. Try to change the number and see the result by yourself, your mesh will become more or less light / dark, combined to mtcp & Mtrl it will give different result.

 

. If you are using a Skin Slot and want to remove this property you will have to change the mtcp parameter, usually decreasing by 1 is enough to remove it (but will still have other property anyway, this is just to avoid the Wet property mostly).

 

. This part will need a separated tutorial where you'll understand how inject and change your material property (shiny effect, animated textures and others) for each meshes via advanced tab.

 

Z1 / Z2 / Cast / Recv / Culling :

 

. Z1 have to be combined with Trsnp setting to enable and optimize your transparency level (reference said before).

 

. Z2 is how the transparency meshes are read to avoid overlapped problems, 0 - 1 - 2 is the proper order, this is mostly used for hair.TMC.

 

. Cast, Recv & Culling are 3 property where I didn't spend a lot of time but look to be related to lights & shadows, changes are almost not visible in game where I recommend to don't change these settings, whatever the original.

=> Set the Cast option to 2 if you have a mesh slot empty to avoid flickering shadows issue.

 

__________________________

 

 

UNDERSTAND & EDITING MTCOL PROPERTY :

 

This part is an advanced parameters to control and edit the material property (but I'm not talking about injecting material yet).

 

 

 

Click on the desired mesh you want to edit then click on the top on MtrCol option.

In this example I will show the first mesh slot parameters "WGT_all_body_0 (this is a body mesh without Body Skin Parameter).

 

As show on the screenshot a new window will be opened, revealing all advanced parameters where you'll control the material in detail.

 

INDEX : Show the material index, all meshes who have the same index will be grouped together (in this example, the mesh index 12 is lonely), editing a parameter with many meshes inside the same index will change this parameters for all these meshes.

 

USE : Show the amount of meshes for the same material.

 

RGB - B/W column :

 

R = Red Color

G = Green Color

B = Blue Color

B/W = Black & White Colors

 

. You an add from 0 to 255 numbers for RGB setting but I don't recommend it since low number is enought to change colors too.

 

-> This is where you can control the colors per parameters, as example you can give to a specular a red reflection without recoloring the texture itself.

 

AMBIANT : Control the ambiant, this is what the object reflects when illuminated by ambient light rather than direct light.

 

=> Here is an example by increasing the ambiant & diffuse RGB parameters : (Left MtCol edit / Right no MtCol edit)

 

 

DIFFUSE : Control the diffuse parameter, changing the colors without editing the texture itself.

 

SPECULAR : Control the specular parameter, changing the colors without editing the texture itself (but keep in mind you'll always be more accurate by editing the texture than the MtrCol parameter, this parameter globalize all where editing a texture can let you create colors reflection on the desired spots).

 

ENVIRONNEMENT : Control the environnement parameter, changing the colors without editing the texture itself, even increasing or decreasing the power with B/W tab.

 

GLOW : Control the shiny effect but CAN NOT work without the material injection before (will be developped separately).

 

SPECULAR2 / DIFFUSE2 / SPECULAR3 : Advanced parameters to dig deeper with them.

 

RIM LIGHT : This is a light that highlights only the contours of the subject (will be developped separately).

 

SPECULAR(Wet) : Property only applied to Skin Mesh, control the wet effect.

 

UNKNOWS Parameters : From few test I didn't saw a change with these parameters so I don't know their utility for the moment.

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTE :

 

. Except Diffuse & Speculars parameters I HIGHLY not recommend to put high number on others settings or your mods could crash in game.

. Don't abuse and don't go over 50 maximum per column. If your mod keep crashing after edited a parameter just low the numbers.

. More you edit all parameters and more you take the risk to have an unstable mod, be careful and don't be greedy.

 

________________

 

 

GLOW & RIM LIGHT EFFECTS :

 

GLOW : Now let's talk about how to make a mesh shiny with Glow parameter and material injection.

 

First you will have to inject the shiny material from another TMC that include it, on this example I will take Raidou COS01 model and his WGT_All_Body_8 material.

 

 

Once you located the mesh that have a shiny property in a TMC, open your mod that need to have the shiny material in Object Tool and choose the WGT_all_body slot that need this effect.

On this example I will inject it in the WGT_all_body_9 slot.

 

Right click on the mesh slot and choose "Get Material", a new window will appear.

 

 

Drag Raidou COS01 into "Referenced TMC File", choose the shiny material in "Referenced Object", click on MtrlCol - Add in "Material Type" and then click OK.

 

If your mod never had shiny material it will automatically add a new number in the MCol parameter (here it's number 13).

If your mod already had this material it will ask you if you want to add it anyway since it already exist, just click yes.

 

Your mesh is now shiny.

You can increase or decrease the power of the shiny effect & their colors via Advanced MtrlCol tab as show before with RGB column.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE : The shiny effect is sometime not visible via Neosis and LR Studio, you have to check in game to be sure it's well injected.

 

---

 

RIM LIGHT : Now let's talk about how to make a mesh having highlight around the border of your mesh.

 

Difference with Shiny material is Rim Light don't need to have a material injected and can be changed anytime on a mod.

 

You just have to play with the advanced parameter and RGB column to choose the intensity and colors that you want to give on your mod.

 

Here is an example with Durga Mecha HLOD mod, she have custom blue Rim Light :

 

 

And here the property inside MtrlCol advanced parameters :

 

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTE : Rim Light IS NOT Cel Shading. You can't add black Rim Light.

 

_________________

 

More to explain later.

 

Please keep in mind all of this are explained ONLY by experiments over years using the tool.

 

[LGMODS]

Reserved.

[timmyc]

Nice detailed write-up, Lola.    This is one of the indispensable tools for DOA modding.

[Guest Hrun]

Thank you so much. Similar tutorials are very valuable for beginners.

[Squizzo]

Great tutorial the object tool can be a daunting tool to use at first.

 

Just a note, the Cast and Recv control whether the mesh will cast or recieve shadows.

1=on and 2=off.

 

Sometimes when deleting a mesh the cast setting gets left on and the deleted mesh will cast a flickering shadow. Just set the cast to 2 for that mesh if you have this issue.

[LGMODS]

Nice detailed write-up, Lola.    This is one of the indispensable tools for DOA modding.

 

Thank you so much. Similar tutorials are very valuable for beginners.

 

Indeed, it was time to give a guide to this tool.

Then no more secret on how to make same as my work, at least this tutorial will be based on how I work with this tool.

 

Great tutorial the object tool can be a daunting tool to use at first.

 

Just a note, the Cast and Recv control whether the mesh will cast or recieve shadows.

1=on and 2=off.

 

Sometimes when deleting a mesh the cast setting gets left on and the deleted mesh will cast a flickering shadow. Just set the cast to 2 for that mesh if you have this issue.

 

Thank you for the info Squizzo, I'll add this info on the first post.

So now there are two way to fix the blinking shadows issue (or flickering as you call it) :

 

1. Delete all meshes slots that don't include a mesh.

 

or

 

2. Set the Cast option to 2 on the mesh slot that don't have meshes included.

[LGMODS]

UPDATE : Added advanced MtrlCol parameter infos with detailled guide.

[X-Fans]

Nice tutorial.

 

Can u example an turorial on how to use Bone tool because i try to make an mod where i add clothes to the nude body, where the clothes/Skirt does not move, or have animation

[Raz']

Nice tutorial ! Thank you Lola

[LGMODS]

Nice tutorial.

 

Can u example an turorial on how to use Bone tool because i try to make an mod where i add clothes to the nude body, where the clothes/Skirt does not move, or have animation

 

Later.

 

Nice tutorial ! Thank you Lola

 

Thank you.

[gswg94]

very good post

[kevinspacey]

I used it a thousands of times with trial and error and now I know why, thank you for clarification.

[T R F]

On 10.02.2018 at 10:43 AM, 870905 said:

Oh, it's very useful. This should be at the beginning of the forum too.

Yes.

 

[Bewul]

Many thanks Lola !

Here, have my happy doggo reward gif <3 

https://imgur.com/gallery/qbVb1

[870905]

29 minutes ago, Bewul said:

Many thanks Lola !

Here, have my happy doggo reward gif <3 

https://imgur.com/gallery/qbVb1

I do not understand why you are giving the link, when you can post this image here? 

This tutorial is really very useful, but I found it on the 4rd or 5th page of the forum.

 

[870905]

Oh, it's very useful. This should be at the beginning of the forum too.

[Mudkip44]

not sure if theres one somewhere else but is there like a full tutorial on how to like add a costume/object and then make it work within the game?? ive been able to export the tmc mesh and then change it/save it as a tmc but i couldnt export the textures from gimp correctly (even with the dds export) and the game just didnt read it. anytips or links to a tutorial that explains everything??:v also i cant get the object tool to be in english (which is unhelpful) n ive deleted the language file or whatever

[LGMODS]

I don't think there are a complete tutorial to show the process to imports external meshes to DOA5LR, it will be tedious and long to do this kind of tutorial.

 

Regarding textures I've made a tutorial for that, maybe you can find some useful infos here : https://www.loverslab.com/topic/88632-doa5lr-textures-tutorial-guide-how-to-use-and-understand-them/

I don't use Gimp to my side but Paint.net for convert texture to .dds (DXT1 for flat texture and DXT5 for alpha channel).

 

About english version, don't delete the langage file, just remove the ".disable" name on this file.

[Bewul]

I've been going on with the Chinese version for a while now, as I was unable to switch it to english (my Langage.dat file wasn't named with a .disable to remove, Idk why). I'm now used to it, but if anyone has an idea how to solve this I'll be glad to hear. 

[Bewul]

On 23/04/2018 at 10:27 PM, Stunger said:

 

Language.dat

Thanks man, work pretty fine now !

Don't get why deleting the extension was not working 

[anbo911]

Hello sir,I have a problem with using wet(Tex).When I add it in mesh,it will have a shadow on the mod when I see it in the game.like this picture.Could you please help me to find out what problem with wet(Tex).many thanks!

 

[syfjhz22]

On 5/30/2018 at 2:33 AM, anbo911 said:

Hello sir,I have a problem with using wet(Tex).When I add it in mesh,it will have a shadow on the mod when I see it in the game.like this picture.Could you please help me to find out what problem with wet(Tex).many thanks!

 

Changing from none-wet texture to wet texture require you to get material from a wet object so that metacp can set up properly.

 

Just for your information, be real careful with the alpha channel in your texture. I took me a long time to realise its effect on wet texture.

[Mudkip44]

ive been having this issue where it shows through the mesh and its displayed from the inside instead of the texture being on the outside of the mesh, ive also messed with the trns and z settings with no luck any tips on how to fix?? been wanting to contribute more mods uwu

[kevinspacey]

I quess it's the faces of the hair in blender are too close to each other, so now you see the backside face, which is invisble if double side is off. also hair files are real tricky in my opinion.

[immersion456]

I made a printable reference card for LGMODS' tutorial on TMC Object Tool:

 

https://www.deviantart.com/immersion456/art/DoA5-Printable-Reference-Card-for-LGMODS-tutorial-815276730