WoW Model Viewer Q&A!
Something I felt like doing just because and it is a somewhat graphics/icon related thing. Included are questions most likely to pop up now that WMV is pretty buggy, not really maintained but overall mostly functional. If you have a question not answered that isn't too computer saavy (sorry I don't know how to handle video card errors, coding or things of that nature), feel free to ask.
Q: Can't see eyes/hair or are seeing double images of the model?
A: Go to View -> Show model control. With hair not showing with certain helms, pick your hair first and then use model control. For eyes pick your equipment first and then un-check #56 for draenei and #49 for blood elves. For certain creature and NPCs there are extra bodies or repeating images that shouldn't be there. Gradually going through and un-checking certain numbers in the model control list will fix this.
Q: Can I load a custom background without it lagging?
A: Yes, you can. Its widths and length can be any size you want. The only condition is both of the numbers have to be one of the powers of two. I.e. 1024, 512, 256, 128, etc. Note that this does not mean the same thing as being able to evenly divide the number by 2 like 300. Why it has to be by powers of two deals with how computers (particularly video games) read via binary code.
Q: The item list on the main site is old. Where can I download the latest one?
A: Download the attachment at the bottom of the first post here. Requires registration to the forums to download. If a certain weapon doesn't sheath right or is in the wrong hand you'll have to manually fix the numbering in the sheet yourself. Look to the question below to find out how.
Q: The item list is updated too slow. How can I add/fix items myself?
A: A great tutorial can be read on the WMV forums here.
Q: Where can I find the model of Thrall/Other NPCs? They're not in the Creatures list.
A: Go to File-> View NPC.
Q: How can I go about adding NPCs on my own to the list?
A: Read the post about it here.
Q: How can I epuip weapons to NPCs?
A: Here and here are good places to read for that.
Q: Can I change the lighting of the model?
A: Short answer: yes. To get the Lighting panel go to View -> Show light control.
Long answer: How to use it effectively would require an entirely separate tutorial dedicated to it. So here instead I'll list definitions of the the following terms you'll be seeing when using the lighting tools. A good portion of these definitions were generally taken from someone much smarter than me from here. These are pretty basic. Please note I am not a lighting expert and these definitions are based on my observations of their effect in WMV only.
Terms that'll you'll see in the lighting panel and lighting menu (in alphabetical order) are:
Ambiance - is the color of light that doesn't come from any direction. Illuminates all surfaces everywhere in the whole world evenly regardless of where they are and which way they're facing. This will basically influence the color of your shadows in WMV. Generally pick dark or medium colors as light colors will 'erase' any kind of shading.
Arc - applies only to spot lights and controls where the cone of light shines. This changes based on where your camera is or how far you are zoomed in on the model. Seems to only count while "Relative" is active.
Diffuse - is even, directed light coming off a surface. For most things, the diffuse light is the main lighting we see and comes from a specific direction or location, and creates shading. Surfaces facing towards the light source will be brighter, while surfaces facing away from the light source will be darker. Used to define the main "color" lighting of the scene. Generally, pick a light or medium color as dark colors have no real effect.
Directional (Dir) Light - is a light that has a specific direction, but no location. It seems to come from an infinitely far away source, like the sun. Surfaces facing the light are illuminated more than surfaces facing away, but their location doesn't matter. A Directional Light illuminates all objects in the scene, no matter where they are.
Light Attenuation - is how bright the light should be, which controls how quickly the light intensity drops off as you move away from it. Is only used for pos/point lights. Constant controls the influence of the ambiance color, linear the diffuse, and quadratic the specular.
Point (Pos) Light: is a light that has a specific location and radiates equally out in all directions. Examples of point lights would be candles or bare lightbulbs. Surfaces close to the point light are brighter than those which are far away. Lights with high attenuation are very localized, while lights with low attenuation will spread farther.
Position & Target - where as position refers to where your light is located and target is where that light will be pointing. Target in particular only effects Dir lights.
Relative - only has effects in "Use Dynamic lights" mode, and shines the colors you picked based on where you placed the lights. Enable "Render Light Objects" to see where you placed your light. Use this to control where you want your deep and dark shadows.
Render Light Objects - shows where your lights are placed if you have the "Relative" and "Use Dynamic lights" option enabled.
Specular - is the color of the light being reflected in the highlights (think shiny things). They often appear as the bright spots on a surface. This is usually left white, but you can change it to any color you like.
Spot (Spot) Light: a light with both location and direction. A spotlight sends out a cone of light defined by the spotlight angle, and illuminates only objects within that cone. Spotlight seems mostly effective with "Relative" active. Not one of my favorite types of lights.
Use Ambient light - basically only tints the color of the model if you use this option and doesn't create any real shading for the model. I'd suggest using only light colors for your diffuse and some kind of dark color for your ambiance. Positioning this light has no effects unless "Use True lighting" is enabled. Shadows are then created based on where the lights are regardless if "Relative" is enabled or not. The types of lights used in this mode have no visual effect.
Use Dynamic lights - the default setting. It's buggy at times in WMV, switching between this and "Use Ambient lights" mode gets it working properly again though. This option calculates how lighting would look like based on where you place your lights if you have the "Relative" option enabled. Enable "Render Light Objects" to see where they are.
Use Model lights only - ignores any and all lighting settings made in the lighting panel and uses whatever default lighting Blizzard made for the model. With "Use True lighting" enabled, shadows are created based on where the lights positioned regardless if "Relative" is enabled or not and uses the colors in the lighting panel settings. Types of lights used have no effects in this mode.
Use True lighting - pretty much only to be used in conjunction with "Use Dynamic lights". Calculates real world lighting by adding "real" shadows. If "Relative" is enabled the shadows are based on the position of where you placed your lights.
XYZ - X = forward/back direction, Y = up/down and Z = left/right.
You can use up to four separate lights in different positions in WMV. Hollywood and the 3D world generally use 3 different lights. A very basic 101 on it can be read here. Using only one light, here's some examples of how the lighting will change depending on the settings:
Default Settings
Use Model lights only
Use Ambient lights
Use Ambient lights or Model lights with Use True lighting
Use Dynamic lighting with a directional light
Use Dynamic lighting with a directional light, and Relative active
Use Dynamic lighting with a directional light, Relative, and Use True lighting enabled
Use Dynamic lighting with a point light
Use Dynamic lighting with a point light, and Relative enabled
Use Dynamic lighting with a point light, Relative, and Use True lighting enabled
Use Dynamic lighting with a spot light
Use Dynamic lighting with a spot light, and Relative enabled
Use Dynamic lighting with a spot light, Relative, and Use True lighting enabled
That's all. If you have even more questions I'll try my best to answer them. Have fun!
Q: Can't see eyes/hair or are seeing double images of the model?
A: Go to View -> Show model control. With hair not showing with certain helms, pick your hair first and then use model control. For eyes pick your equipment first and then un-check #56 for draenei and #49 for blood elves. For certain creature and NPCs there are extra bodies or repeating images that shouldn't be there. Gradually going through and un-checking certain numbers in the model control list will fix this.
Q: Can I load a custom background without it lagging?
A: Yes, you can. Its widths and length can be any size you want. The only condition is both of the numbers have to be one of the powers of two. I.e. 1024, 512, 256, 128, etc. Note that this does not mean the same thing as being able to evenly divide the number by 2 like 300. Why it has to be by powers of two deals with how computers (particularly video games) read via binary code.
Q: The item list on the main site is old. Where can I download the latest one?
A: Download the attachment at the bottom of the first post here. Requires registration to the forums to download. If a certain weapon doesn't sheath right or is in the wrong hand you'll have to manually fix the numbering in the sheet yourself. Look to the question below to find out how.
Q: The item list is updated too slow. How can I add/fix items myself?
A: A great tutorial can be read on the WMV forums here.
Q: Where can I find the model of Thrall/Other NPCs? They're not in the Creatures list.
A: Go to File-> View NPC.
Q: How can I go about adding NPCs on my own to the list?
A: Read the post about it here.
Q: How can I epuip weapons to NPCs?
A: Here and here are good places to read for that.
Q: Can I change the lighting of the model?
A: Short answer: yes. To get the Lighting panel go to View -> Show light control.
Long answer: How to use it effectively would require an entirely separate tutorial dedicated to it. So here instead I'll list definitions of the the following terms you'll be seeing when using the lighting tools. A good portion of these definitions were generally taken from someone much smarter than me from here. These are pretty basic. Please note I am not a lighting expert and these definitions are based on my observations of their effect in WMV only.
Terms that'll you'll see in the lighting panel and lighting menu (in alphabetical order) are:
Ambiance - is the color of light that doesn't come from any direction. Illuminates all surfaces everywhere in the whole world evenly regardless of where they are and which way they're facing. This will basically influence the color of your shadows in WMV. Generally pick dark or medium colors as light colors will 'erase' any kind of shading.
Arc - applies only to spot lights and controls where the cone of light shines. This changes based on where your camera is or how far you are zoomed in on the model. Seems to only count while "Relative" is active.
Diffuse - is even, directed light coming off a surface. For most things, the diffuse light is the main lighting we see and comes from a specific direction or location, and creates shading. Surfaces facing towards the light source will be brighter, while surfaces facing away from the light source will be darker. Used to define the main "color" lighting of the scene. Generally, pick a light or medium color as dark colors have no real effect.
Directional (Dir) Light - is a light that has a specific direction, but no location. It seems to come from an infinitely far away source, like the sun. Surfaces facing the light are illuminated more than surfaces facing away, but their location doesn't matter. A Directional Light illuminates all objects in the scene, no matter where they are.
Light Attenuation - is how bright the light should be, which controls how quickly the light intensity drops off as you move away from it. Is only used for pos/point lights. Constant controls the influence of the ambiance color, linear the diffuse, and quadratic the specular.
Point (Pos) Light: is a light that has a specific location and radiates equally out in all directions. Examples of point lights would be candles or bare lightbulbs. Surfaces close to the point light are brighter than those which are far away. Lights with high attenuation are very localized, while lights with low attenuation will spread farther.
Position & Target - where as position refers to where your light is located and target is where that light will be pointing. Target in particular only effects Dir lights.
Relative - only has effects in "Use Dynamic lights" mode, and shines the colors you picked based on where you placed the lights. Enable "Render Light Objects" to see where you placed your light. Use this to control where you want your deep and dark shadows.
Render Light Objects - shows where your lights are placed if you have the "Relative" and "Use Dynamic lights" option enabled.
Specular - is the color of the light being reflected in the highlights (think shiny things). They often appear as the bright spots on a surface. This is usually left white, but you can change it to any color you like.
Spot (Spot) Light: a light with both location and direction. A spotlight sends out a cone of light defined by the spotlight angle, and illuminates only objects within that cone. Spotlight seems mostly effective with "Relative" active. Not one of my favorite types of lights.
Use Ambient light - basically only tints the color of the model if you use this option and doesn't create any real shading for the model. I'd suggest using only light colors for your diffuse and some kind of dark color for your ambiance. Positioning this light has no effects unless "Use True lighting" is enabled. Shadows are then created based on where the lights are regardless if "Relative" is enabled or not. The types of lights used in this mode have no visual effect.
Use Dynamic lights - the default setting. It's buggy at times in WMV, switching between this and "Use Ambient lights" mode gets it working properly again though. This option calculates how lighting would look like based on where you place your lights if you have the "Relative" option enabled. Enable "Render Light Objects" to see where they are.
Use Model lights only - ignores any and all lighting settings made in the lighting panel and uses whatever default lighting Blizzard made for the model. With "Use True lighting" enabled, shadows are created based on where the lights positioned regardless if "Relative" is enabled or not and uses the colors in the lighting panel settings. Types of lights used have no effects in this mode.
Use True lighting - pretty much only to be used in conjunction with "Use Dynamic lights". Calculates real world lighting by adding "real" shadows. If "Relative" is enabled the shadows are based on the position of where you placed your lights.
XYZ - X = forward/back direction, Y = up/down and Z = left/right.
You can use up to four separate lights in different positions in WMV. Hollywood and the 3D world generally use 3 different lights. A very basic 101 on it can be read here. Using only one light, here's some examples of how the lighting will change depending on the settings:
Default Settings
Use Model lights only
Use Ambient lights
Use Ambient lights or Model lights with Use True lighting
Use Dynamic lighting with a directional light
Use Dynamic lighting with a directional light, and Relative active
Use Dynamic lighting with a directional light, Relative, and Use True lighting enabled
Use Dynamic lighting with a point light
Use Dynamic lighting with a point light, and Relative enabled
Use Dynamic lighting with a point light, Relative, and Use True lighting enabled
Use Dynamic lighting with a spot light
Use Dynamic lighting with a spot light, and Relative enabled
Use Dynamic lighting with a spot light, Relative, and Use True lighting enabled
That's all. If you have even more questions I'll try my best to answer them. Have fun!