Are you sure that's not an exe or something? Because I just looked at my xsi and it has a folder called 'addons' and there's a subfolder 'valvesource' and then a bunch of stuff in it. I installed so long ago I have no idea how I did it.

no, it's a zip file with that in it, unless i'm downloading the wrong thing?

ok I've worked out how to do it, I think it may be different from when you did it,

I shall list the steps of what I did just incase anyone else wants to know.

1. download the valve source zip file.
2. Unzip it.
3. Open Mod Tool.
4. click, File > Addon > Install.
5. Browse to the .xsiaddon file.
6. Click Install.

Yeah! Good! When I get back to doing a bunch of edits in the site docs, I'll include this

ok well, I got it working but I'm useles at it, i really need to use a beginners tutorial first, and I also suppose I better get Mikshape?

You might find working with milkshape and the unimesh tutorials much easier. Milkshape has a 30 day trial, then it's $25 to register (which I think is well worth it). But if you have some time to devote, get milkshape and then work through the 3 unimesh tutorials and that will probably be enough to make using xsi not so hard for you. I did 3 meshes with milkshape (before unimesh) and then moved to xsi for my next mesh at that time.

ok, thanks for the information

I see all those colors which represent different bone assignments, but I can't seem to select any one color as a group of vertices. It seems to me there should be a way to do that. Any suggestions?

The colors are a crude representation of the bone assignments anyway, many vertices have multiple assignments. You could simply use the select tool and select the group of vertices you want to look at with the bone tool. What is nice is that if you have your bone tool window over to the side I remember being able to see the actual vertex I was on in the bone tool highlighted on the mesh.

Thank you for this tutorial! I found it very helpful, and have been able to do 2 clothes and 1 hair edit with it so far.

Now I'm having a problem though... I wanted to make a completely new hair mesh, but I couldn't seem to make one that was somewhat decent in XSI, so I went back to Blender and made it there. I exported the mesh as .3ds (thats the only format I saw that both would handle) and then imported it into XSI along with the .smd of the original hair. I re-assigned all the joints based on location and compared them to the original and it all seemed to look alright, so I deleted the original mesh and exported my new assigned mesh and skeleton out to a .smd, but now when I try to import that .smd into SimPE, it says 'Object Not Set to Reference of Object' (something like that, anyways) and when the Mesh Importer opens its all empty, saying there are no vertices, faces or joints at all. I'm thinking it might be because of the mesh name, or that it doesn't have any part of the original left so it's not recognizing it

EDIT: I've been poking around it some more and it seems that XSI is erasing all of the UV Coordinates on import. I guess this means I better learn to use XSI a little better so I cant make this mesh!

I've only imported into xsi using smd format. Not sure if you could get your blender thing out as obj and into SimPE and then export as smd, might want to try that.

XSI will lose *normals* and regenerate them - but I don't know anything about it's 3ds import and blender's 3ds export or how well they play together. I also haven't tried working in smd format with multi group files, as it seems to be export 1 group at a time, which well, when you get to hair starts to be a pain.

Going through SimPE might work... I'll have to create a dummy file and try that!

I hate to bother you again but I'm having one more problem. I have my mesh made, joints assigned, etc, (done 100% in XSI) and I made it to fit the body/head reference mesh posted in the FAQ forum. I imported the .smd from SimPE and checked the body to see if it was the same size and position as the skeleton I imported, which it was, so I thought I could just then export my newly assigned mesh since the size and placement was correct. When I import the mesh into SimPE though, it gets blow up by several times. I.E The top of the hair is about half a sim length above the head, and the shoulder-length hair goes down to the waist. My SimPE import/export scale is still 1, and I've poked around XSI but can't seem to find anything about an import/export scale. Any suggestions?

I haven't worked with xsi in a complicated way - I was just taking some body meshes in and out. How did you get your skeleton into xsi? How did you get your new mesh parts to be associated with it? (I know how unimesh handles that situation, but I didn't learn that part of xsi)

I made my new mesh and imported the original fully assigned skeleton and mesh from SimPE, then selected my mesh, went to Animate > Deform Envelope > Set envelope, used the middle mouse button to select the 'neck' chain (including all of the 'l_hair, r_hair, etc. bones) and then right clicked to assign them 'based on distance'. I went checked all the assignments in the weight editor and it looked ok compared to the original. Once everything on my mesh looked alright I deleted the original mesh (not the skeleton) and exported my new mesh with the skeleton.

well, if you did a lot of 'left hair' and 'right hair' (the animation bones) that would cause *some* of the distortion, those are to be used very... lightly.

Try just assigning the whole thing by hand to hair. I don't remember anything about trying to have it automatically assign or do so by distance. (you can assign the entire group of selected vertices at once). I haven't done much in xsi for a good year, I'm rusty. I don't know what to suggest. I also don't know if you new pieces (that you mae before bringing in the skeleton) are actually _with_ the skeleton on export. In unimesh, we have to regroup things to make them 'one'

Yes, the 'assign by distance' was using the animation bones with rather major assignments. Ill try it manually and shift the majority of the assignments to the head joint and see how that comes out. Thanks!

EDIT: I tried converting the OBJ to SMD through SimPE, but that only made it completely invisible when I looked in bodyshop. However I remade the mesh yet again in XSI, this time used 100% assignments to the head, neck, and spine02 joints and it works perfectly! Thank you so much!

I just wrote down the steps to editing meshes in mod tool from start to finish, but I'm having some problems with welding. tiggerypum, how would I weld, I keep getting a message saying I can't. Also once I looked at my mesh in body shop it was very sharp and pointy. I could see all the joints, etc. It wasn't smooth like usual. How would I adjust this. Please help! I finally got somewhere but am now stuck.

should I deselect all the points then reselect the whole morph and then click on modify-weld???

thank you,
sincerely
Noorfr

Well, I found that the 'filter points' worked better for me (I list both commands in the 'welding' section)

You used the word 'morph' - are you currently working on a morph, or did you just mean mesh?

Sorry, I meant mesh of preggy morph.
but I figured the weld part out. I don't have to click on Save for it to take effect. If I just choose weld (points) and bring the bar down to zero, and then close the menu, it "welds". I kept thinking I have to save for it to happen.

I found that I can edit all the different body morphs, as long as I select that I want to export them from SimPE. But then I have to edit each one individually, starting a new scene after I import it into ModTool, then edit, then export. It's a hassle but it works and makes it easier.

But unfortunately, after I export the mesh out, I don't seem to be able to edit it again. It looks like I have to re-Import it into SimPE, replace the GMDC and then start again with the export from SimPE. Is there anyway for me to do this without having to re-Import and then export from SimPE?

Any help will be greatly appreciated,
thanx,
Noorfr

Also, how would I hide/unhide the meshes (morphs of preggy, normal, etc.) or select/deselect, so that I can edit them one at a time but like in milkshape, I would be able to see them all so that I can properly adjust them.

I'm sorry if I seem to have too many questions,
I really have no clue who else to ask.

thank you so much for helping,
Noorfr

noorfr

back when I last worked a lot in xsi, the only thing we had was meshtool/smd and it didn't support morphs - so honestly, I don't know. I've been very short on time, so I honestly can't say when I'll have time to go into xsi to see if I can write up something more substantial about what works and doesn't. I suggest trying very basic edits on meshes (like pull a spike out) and write down what you try to figure out a combination that works.

I downloaded the add on thing then unzipped it but it wont show up in the list of add ons.

ElmoSays - did you look all the way over on the menu bar where I point to the 'valvesource' thing as being? After you unzipped it, did you try double clicking it or dragging it to the xsi folder (I forget where it has to go I installed it back in 2005)

What?! I didn't even get a XSI folder when I downloaded it. I'll go double check.

Thanks, in no small part, to this tutorial and the associated questions I learned to use Softimage to modify exported smd files. SimPE 66.2.38582 can export meshes in the xsi format and it's wonderful because those nasty sharp edges, caused by a problem with the normals, are gone now. There would probably be no problem if I was just moving vertices around but I've gotten used to be able to take the legs from one mesh, the shoes from another, the top from another, then move some vertices AND be able to work on the map in the texture editor.

The 'merge' function (create - polymesh - merge) does what's expected but the sharp edges return!

Also, (working with xsi exports from SimPE) the texture editor is not displaying the selected mesh (it's empty but for the clip) so I can't correct the overlaps and gaps.

I have spent hours, over two or three occasions, searching for somewhere that talks about this. Is there going to be an updated tutorial or a forum about using xsi export and XSI modtool 6?

i can't even find the free version, only the 30 days demo...