guide Modding Tools for War Thunder

[Results45 2,200]

The list below speaks for itself, but in summary, what I've made below is a resource guide to a wide variety of free game-modding tools.

 

All the tools listed below (including War Thunder CDK) are at your disposal to begin creating game content whether you are someone with a decent amount of experience or someone trying it out for the first time.

 

Autodesk™ for Academia

• 3-year academic liscence included
• Mild-to-moderate learning curve
• Free for all students studying art-design/film/animation, industry, engineering, and sciences in partnering institutions
• 3DS Max is Windows-only
• Use Fusion 360 when modeling on a Mac and then export to 3DS Max
• Installation limit of 2 Windows-Mac-Linux devices (per title)
• Disclosure of your enrolled institution and period of enrollment required upon email confirmation
• Bluff at your own risk
• http://www.autodesk.com/education/home

 

Adobe Photoshop™ CS3/4/5/6/CC Extended Edition

• 3D editing tools included with the Photoshop Extended package
• Allows you to create 3D models out of 2D graphic designs
• Editing of 3D designs on a general level – not to the extent of Autodesk, Blender, or Cinema 4D
• If you are familiar with Photoshop or similar software, definitely feel free to play-around with it!

 

Blender™ 2.77

• Free
• Open Source via GNU GPLv2+, Apache 2.0
• Branched path-tracer
• Create & edit 3D models
• Manual: https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/dev/
• https://www.blender.org/features/

 

Cinema 4D™ Student & Educator Edition

• Free, but requires access-code through enrollment in a course and/or a course instructor
• http://www.maxon.net/products/general-information/general-information/student-versions.html

 

SketchUp™

• Free
• Ideal for beginners learning the basics of 3D-modeling
• Comparable to SolidWorks (not free)
• Thousands of extensions and plugins available – pretty much an app store that adds functionality to SketchUp
• http://www.sketchup.com/

 

Houdini Apprentice™

• Free (full version requires liscence)
• Includes standard tools for 3D modeling
• Best used for multi-set rendering, animation, and dynamics simulation creation and sandbox
• Houdini Apprentice: https://www.sidefx.com/products/houdini-apprentice/
• Houdini Engine plugins for Unreal Engine 4, Unity 5, 3DS Max, Maya, and Cinema4D (must be running Houdini Engine Free at minimum): https://www.sidefx.com/products/houdini-engine/

 

Sculptris™

• Free
• Requires installation of Zbrush 4R7
• Tool used for sculpting 3D models in Zbrush
• Finished models can be imported from/exported to any rendering software supporting .OBJ/.STL/.FBX files
• http://pixologic.com/sculptris/
• http://docs.pixologic.com/features/main-features/import-export/

 

OctaneRender 3.0™ Demo

• Free (full version requires liscence)
• Similar to Blender Cycles
• Rendering engine is CUDA-based (will only work on Nvidia GPUs)
• Support for AMD Radeon GPUs ~ and maybe even Intel Xe cards ~ are in the works.
• Rendering resolution locked at 1000x600
• Completed renderings contain Octane logo
• https://home.otoy.com/render/octane-render/demo/

 

OctaneRender 3.0™ Plugins (free)

• https://home.otoy.com/render/octane-render/demo/
• Autodesk

a.  3DS Max

b.  Maya

c.  Revit

d.  Inventor

e.  AutoCAD

f.   SoftImage

• Blender
• Cinema 4D
• Daz Studio
• SketchUp
• Houdini
• Rinoceros
• 6 MORE

 

V-Ray™ 3.4 Plugins (free)

• Similar to redering engines included with Cinema4D, 3DS Max, or Maya
• More optimized and includes extra features & capability
• Autodesk

• a.  3DS Max

  b.  Maya

  c.  Revit

• Blender
• Google Sketchup

 

KeyShot 6™ Plugins (free)

• https://www.keyshot.com/downloads/plugins/
• https://www.keyshot.com/resources/downloads/
• Similar to Blender Cycles
• Requires installation of KeyShot HD ($95 for students & educators)
• Keyshot Bridge included with Zbrush 4R7
• Autodesk

• a.  3DS Max

  b.  Maya

  c.  Revit

  d.  Fusion 360

• Cinema 4D
• Google Sketchup
• SolidWorks

 

Integrating your 3D model(s) into a game

 

Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, modifying of engine source codes and redistributing it without consent from the owner via license or an alternative agreement(s) violates the EULA.

 

• War Thunder CDK

o Free

o Gaijin Dagor 5.0 content developer kit

o MissionED (mission editor)

o DagorED (location & model editor)

o https://warthunder.com/en/news/541-The-War-Thunder-CDK-en/

 

• Godot Engine 3.1

o Free

o Simple to use and easy to learn (install size & UI is lighter than Unity)

o 100% Open Source via MIT Licence

o Documentation & Manuals

o https://godotengine.org/

o GitHub Releases

 

• Unity 2019 Personal Edition

o Free

o No royalties, annual, maintenance, or per-title fees

o Documentation & Manuals

o https://unity3d.com/get-unity

 

• Unreal Engine 4.21

o Free

o Registration Epic Games account required

o Source Code can be modified and shared, but cannot be combined with anything under a Copyleft license

o 5% royalties on revenue generated from any games you make (if commercially distributed).

o Documentation & Manuals

o https://www.unrealengine.com/what-is-unreal-engine-4

 

• CryEngine 5.3

o Now Free (previously proprietary or licensed to game studios)

o Available on STEAM

o No royalties or licensing fees

o CryTek account creation required 

o Documentation & Manuals

o https://www.cryengine.com/features

 

• Amazon Lumberyard

o Free

o Derived from CryEngine

o No royalties or liscencing fees (FAQ here)

o No account required for installation

o Documentation & Manuals

o https://aws.amazon.com/lumberyard/

 

• Source 2013

o Free version of Source Engine

o Open-source

o Code-based

o Latest builds still proprietary (2014, Source 2)

o Build free mods for Source Engine powered games

o STEAM client must be installed to run.

o Engine mods: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/source-sdk-2013

o Documentation & Manuals

o https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Source_SDK_2013

 

Sharing your ideas, creations, and skills with others:

• Hold discussions here on the forums!
• Talk to other gamers about it on TeamSpeak or Discord!
• Post your creations on War Thunder Live!
• Make YouTube videos!
• Livestream on Twitch and YouTube Gaming!
• Organize group projects over Hangouts and Google Drive!

 

Hopefully, this guide was helpful in getting you started in game content creation.

 

Happy modding!

Results

Edited December 3, 2019 by Results45

[Lord_of_Sofa 6,335]

Autodesk™ for Academia

• Mild learning curve
• Free for all students studying art-design/film/animation, industry, engineering, and sciences in partnering institutions
• 3DS Max is Windows-only (all other in-suite software is compatible with OSX & Linux)
• Installation limit of 2 Windows-Mac-Linux devices (per title)
• Disclosure of your enrolled institution and period of enrollment required upon email confirmation
• Bluff at your own risk
• http://www.autodesk.com/education/home

 

 

Hopefully, this guide was useful in helping you to get started with game content creation.

 

Happy modding!

Results

 

Wait a second. Autodesk? As in the program that I use to create my CAD models? I can do WT stuff with that?

[CmdNomad 1,393]

Wait a second. Autodesk? As in the program that I use to create my CAD models? I can do WT stuff with that?

Yeah like Adobe they have quite a lot of software, one is AutoCAD and one is 3DsMax.
I wouldnt try to use AutoCAD for Warthunder modding. ^^
Its like using Indesign for drawing just because Photoshop is from Adobe too.

[Lord_of_Sofa 6,335]

Yeah like Adobe they have quite a lot of software, one is AutoCAD and one is 3DsMax.
I wouldnt try to use AutoCAD for Warthunder modding. ^^
Its like using Indesign for drawing just because Photoshop is from Adobe too.

 

Challenge accepted :Ds  

[PROKON 509]

Good List!

Mmh...why did you think that AutoCAD wont work that well?

[Lord_of_Sofa 6,335]

Ok I downloaded 3DsMax an fooled around a little. Seems like you can import whatever CAD format you prefer. Problem seems to be that you can only import materials from the autodesk library.

[CmdNomad 1,393]

Good List!

Mmh...why did you think that AutoCAD wont work that well?

 

Because the game pluggins are coded for 3dsMax.

Of course you can import models from AutoCAD into 3dsmax and then go from there.

But there is a reason why you generally model your Game Assets in 3dsMax and not CAD. ^^

[Results45 2,200]

Updated OP:

• listed OctaneRender 3.0 Demo
• Added link to OctaneRender plugins

 

Yeah like Adobe they have quite a lot of software, one is AutoCAD and one is 3DsMax.

 

I wouldnt try to use AutoCAD for Warthunder modding. ^^

 

Its like using Indesign for drawing just because Photoshop is from Adobe too.

 

3DS Max isn't an option for non-Windows users so wouldn't Maya be the only option for people with Linux or a Mac?

 

From what I've heard, Maya has a slightly steeper learning curve than 3DS Max while AutoCAD was built for another industry altogether. xD

 

Because the game pluggins are coded for 3dsMax.

 

Of course you can import models from AutoCAD into 3dsmax and then go from there.....

 

Pretty sure the same can be done from Maya and Google Sketchup as well.

Edited May 25, 2016 by Results45

[CmdNomad 1,393]

Maya is the Animation Tool from Autodesk.
Its primary use is to annimate 2D And 3D content.
And before you use Google Sketchup learn to use Blender ^^
For me Google Sketchup is somwhere around the IKEA kitchen planner in terms of useability.

[Results45 2,200]

Added Houdini, Sculptris, KeyShot, and V-Ray to the list 

[Results45 2,200]

Found a great article that does a great job comparing 3DS Max vs. Maya : http://blog.digitaltutors.com/3ds-max-vs-maya-is-one-better-than-the-other/

Edited October 7, 2016 by Results45

[Results45 2,200]

Skinning with Adobe Photoshop:

.

[Results45 2,200]

Apparently around the I posted this thread, CryEngine & Amazon Lumberyard became free (should of known) 

 

Anyway, just wanted update you guys:

• CryEngine is free (and listed in the OP)
• Lumberyard added
• Source 2013 also added
• Included links to documentation and manuals for Blender, Lumberyard, Source 2013, Unity, Unreal, and CryEngine to help you get familiar with the general toolsets of each one as you begin.
• Comparision article (on the latter three engines): https://nexon7.wordpress.com/2013/09/03/unreal-engine-4-vs-cry-engine-3/ 

Edited February 28, 2017 by Results45

[Results45 2,200]

On 5/24/2016 at 11:14 PM, CmdNomad said:

Maya is the Animation Tool from Autodesk.
Its primary use is to annimate 2D And 3D content.
And before you use Google Sketchup learn to use Blender ^^
For me Google Sketchup is somwhere around the IKEA kitchen planner in terms of useability.

 

I wonder if I could create something in Photoshop CC Extended or SketchUp, export it to 3DS Max, and then import it into Dagor.......

[CmdNomad 1,393]

4 hours ago, Results45 said:

 

I wonder if I could create something in Photoshop CC Extended or SketchUp, export it to 3DS Max, and then import it into Dagor.......

 

If you have 3dsMax why would you want to create the model in SketchUp?

 

[Gallonmate 133]

3ds max can open a variety of 3d files and for the program files it doesn't accept directly there is usually an alternate file option that will work with 3ds max.

 

But importing models in 3ds max isn't always perfect.

 

For example I've imported stuff into the game from sketchup files but if the model isn't prepared correctly for 3ds max, there can be problems with normals from using doublesided materials or something related.

 

 

Edited April 24, 2017 by Gallonmate

[BigSauq_Maryland 0]

Hello. How do i conect Blender with CDK? In what folder i can get models from WT? Is Blender 2.8 compattible with WT/CDK?

[Results45 2,200]

On 14/03/2019 at 04:26, BigSauq_Maryland said:

Hello. How do i conect Blender with CDK? In what folder i can get models from WT? Is Blender 2.8 compattible with WT/CDK?

 

You don't (and can't). Blender is a path tracer while War Thunder (Dagor Engine) CDK is a game engine. You can take the same 3D models and textures and import and render them in both engines though.

 

War Thunder CDK is kind of a pain to master in my opinion, but it is the only way to mod the game outside of simply importing/downloading textures and skins.

 

Blender is great if you want to get realistic renders of your 3D models. Companies like Nvidia, AMD, and CryTek are working on real-time ray and eventually path tracing, but it currently is still too taxing or is not supported by most graphics cards and game engines.

 

Godot 3.1 is one of the best engines to start learning 3D game design. I would play around with it myself if I had the time. 

 

.

[Shadow__CZ 2,186]

Is there option how to import blender 3D models into game/CDK though?

[Results45 2,200]

.

On 14/03/2019 at 04:26, BigSauq_Maryland said:

Hello. How do i conect Blender with CDK? In what folder i can get models from WT? Is Blender 2.8 compattible with WT/CDK?

 

Sorry. Now that I think about it, you can. The process is a little complex, but it's possible. Below is what I know. 

 

On 21/03/2019 at 11:12, ShadowRangerCZ said:

Is there option how to import blender 3D models into game/CDK though?

 

Not directly. You will need to first need to re-format each of your into a file-type ~ these (if 3D models) or these (if textures/skins) ~ that 3DS Max supports. I don't know exactly which ones though so you may need to do a little research to make sure.

• [full list of graphics file formats] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_file_formats#Graphics
• [wiki.warthunder tutorial #1] https://wiki.warthunder.com/Basic_information_about_creating_models_for_Dagor_Engine
• [wiki.warthunder tutorial #2] https://wiki.warthunder.com/3D_models_for_aircraft#Dagor_Tools
• [wiki.warthunder tutorial #3] https://wiki.warthunder.com/index.php?title=Checking_3D_model_of_the_aircraft_in_game
• [wiki.warthunder tutorial #4] https://wiki.warthunder.com/Custom_skins
• [exporting game-format files like this (.dxp.bin) into 3DS Max for editing] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWgWyhsjcvg
• [Importing Thread] https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/337922-importing-3d-model-questions-and-answers/
• [Exporting Thread] https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/400066-exporting-war-thunder-models-into-gmod/

 

I would like to mention that I do not have much personal experience with any of this, but I can try to help you out. If you would like help from someone experienced, I would message @Gallonmate

 

Good luck! 

[Gallonmate 133]

Just wanted to add that blender is actually supported for cdk, there's a plugin with cdk to export from blender. But there's very little info about it and only one or two people have successfully shown how to do it if you crawl through the forums to find their post. And it might be in russian.

[Results45 2,200]

Three updates:

 

#1: Epic Games bought Quixel so now as long as you install Unreal Engine 4 you get access to all Megascans assets COMPLETELY FREE! Not to mention you can mix and paint materials to create new ones within UE4 so that essentially nets you "unlimited" free 4K materials/textures. 

https://quixel.com/blog/2019/11/12/quixel-joins-forces-with-epic-games

 

How to export assets from UE4 to other game engines and 3D modeling software (plus additional free resources): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aNqVg-uANHhcjL2ZIypvWBMZn4fsAfVxkW1vMw5WZdk/edit?usp=sharing

 

 

#2: A great introduction to Godot Engine I came across last night:

 

 

#3: Gaijin may consider joining Google Stadia and other streaming platforms once they start supporting MMOs!

 

source: https://wccftech.com/gaijin-ceo-interview-we-wouldnt-have-launched-war-thunder-on-steams-current-state/

 

 

Keep it up Tinkerheads!