3D model sizing

[cokeman118]

Just wondering on how to size a model to fit into the doom world.
If I make a 3d model of an object...a barrel lets say, how do I know how big it should be in relation to other objects in doom? I don't want to make it big or small. Is there any scale to go by, or is it just trial and error??

[Enjay]

The last time I looked at the units in Q2modeller, they were pretty clse to the Doom ones. Think a 128 wide square was near enough 128 wide in game. However, height was a little off. I think the model had to be about 160 tall in Q2modeller to be 128 tall in game (My guess is this may be because Doom was originally at screen res 320x200 and modern ports automatically compensate for the change in resolution ratio to more modern common higher resolution values).

Anyway, even if you get it wrong, the modeldef lump allows you to scale your model in the X, Y and Z directions. Sometimes it is an advantage to make a much bigger model and scale it down. Once you've played around with a few models, you start to get a feel for how big they will look in game compared to how they look in the modeling program.

Also, I've sometimes found that, when replacing sprite items, making the model exactly the same size as the original sprite doesn't always look as good as making it a more natural size for a true 3D object.

[cokeman118]

Cool thanks...

Is it possible to make only a few 3d models, or do all sprites need to be replaced when doing this? I'm not looking to replace every sprite to 3D, just certain ones.

[Nash]

Of course it's possible. Only the actors that have a corresponding MODELDEF will have their sprites replaced with a model.

[Enjay]

And even then, you don't have to replace all the sprites for that actor - just the ones you define.