First, unless you plan to create a completely new model, which is beyond the scope of this tutorial, you will need to copy an existing one.
Use Animation View to look through "RESOURCE\MODELS\Characters" and find an existing model which looks something like the character you wish to create. Copy and rename the model. You can call it anything you like.
In "RESOURCE\MODELS\Heads", find the corresponding head model. Copy it and rename the copy to match your new model.
In "PROGRAM\Models\initModels.c", find the block which defines the model that you are copying. Copy and paste that block to create a new definition. Change the "model.id" line to the name of your new model.
And now you have a model which is a clone of Nathaniel Hawk in a black and red jacket. Next: customising your character...
Use Animation View to look through "RESOURCE\MODELS\Characters" and find an existing model which looks something like the character you wish to create. Copy and rename the model. You can call it anything you like.
Example: you could make a copy of "Blaze5.gm" and call it "BlackJake.gm".
In "RESOURCE\MODELS\Heads", find the corresponding head model. Copy it and rename the copy to match your new model.
Find "h_Blaze5.gm", copy it, and rename the copy "H_BlackJake.gm".
In "RESOURCE\animation\Heads", find the corresponding .ani file. Copy it and rename the copy to match your new model.Find "h_Blaze5.ani", copy it, and rename the copy "H_BlackJake.ani".
These two files are needed for the "talking head" animation which appears if you talk to the character. Even if this will only be a player character, you'll still want the "talking head" because some quests and storylines use self-dialogs in which your character talks to you. Some character models have no "H_" files and therefore no talking heads; these models were imported from "Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales" and that game does not use "talking heads", so they don't exist for these models.In "PROGRAM\Models\initModels.c", find the block which defines the model that you are copying. Copy and paste that block to create a new definition. Change the "model.id" line to the name of your new model.
The definition for "Blaze5" is this:
The copy should look like this:
Code:
model.description = "I have a somewhat black mood today, have you something that compliment that?";
model.id = "Blaze5";
model.FaceId = 16;
model.nation = PERSONAL_NATION;
model.price = 300;
model.assigned = true;
model.name = "Nathaniel";
model.lastname = "Hawk";
AddCharacterModel(model);
Code:
model.description = "I have a somewhat black mood today, have you something that compliment that?";
model.id = "BlackJake";
model.FaceId = 16;
model.nation = PERSONAL_NATION;
model.price = 300;
model.assigned = true;
model.name = "Nathaniel";
model.lastname = "Hawk";
AddCharacterModel(model);
And now you have a model which is a clone of Nathaniel Hawk in a black and red jacket. Next: customising your character...