*Darkhill's ModelView32 Update is available for download in the "Ships/Mods/Weapons" section*
Q1. Why is this page here?
A1. This page is here to help people gain information and support about a model editing program called ModelView32 created by Heriko Herrmann. It addresses common questions and problems that you may expericance while using ModelView32.
Q2. When I first convert my model from cob, any subobjects appear right in the centre of my model (inside the hull). Have I set the axes up correctly?
A1. Don't worry you have set the axes up correctly. Just save your model in pof format then reopen it. All the subobjects should be in their correct places. I don't know why ModelView32 does this on the first time. However here's another way of taking this bug, if your subobjects are not in the centre of your hull the very first time you import it from cob, then your axes aren't setup correctly.
Q2. Why do I get the following error "Error #20008: Import failed: Too many polygons"?
(Also see Q4, below)
A2. A possible reason could be because you haven't got the modified version of ModelView32 which supports Hi-Poly models. It could so occur because the model your trying to open has too many polygons, even for the Hi-Poly version! If you modelled the shp, try reducing the amount of polygons by removing some subojects (like turrets) or if your model has shields first, remove them. Then convert your model & shields separately and save them in their own pof. Open up your model pof and use the "Import shield from another POF" option which is found under the "shields" tab. This proceedure will help to bypass this limitation, however there may be some instantces where another program like PCS may be required..
Q3. Placing FP lights in Truespace enables PCS to autogen FP points. Do I still have to do this if I use ModelView32?
A3. Simply, no. When exporting to PCS you can place "Firing Point" lights at the end of your turret's barrel (labeled TurretXX-FPXX), and PCS will automatically generate firing points using these lights. Since ModelView doesn't have this feature there is no need to do this, it doesn't matter if you have already done this, ModelView32 will just ignore the extra data. However both ModelView32 and PCS require you to place a "base light" to indicate the base of a turret (single and multipart). These lights don't have to be specially named but have to be attached to the turret (in multipart turrets attach this light to the base). You should have the "base light" located at the centre of the turret base that it is attached to. This is to reduce the chance of any rotational/axes problems later on. To set up Firing Points in modelview, load up the model and access the "Turret" section in the pof editor. Select what turret you want to edit (select the barrel for multipart turrets) and at the bottom, you can add, delete and move the "Firing Points" and it's normals.
Q4. Why can't I import hi-poly models and/or capital ships with shields?
OR Why do I get errors like "Too many bounding boxes" & "Too many normals" with models?
A4. Most likely the problem is that you have the standard version of Modelview32. To be able to view certain models you need to download and install the latest version which is "Modelview32 Beta 05 Build 28". If you still are encountering this error, or you already have the latest version, you need to download the Hi-Poly patch and and replace the main exe (usually found in C:\DMTOOLS\MODELVIEW32) with the patched one. The reason why you have to go to such lengths is becausel ModelView32 isn't designed to import hi-poly models, since the restrictions were decided upon before hi-poly models were supported by FS2, these limits served as a "model corruption/error warning" failsafe for FS2.
(Note - Modelview Beta05 Build28, Modelview32 Patch and Darkhill's Update are available for download in the "Ships/Mods/Weapons" section)
Q5. Why can't I access the "dockpoint" and "path info" tabs in ModelView32's editor?
A5. You can't access these features because the original coder, "Heriko Herrmann" has not written the code for these features yet. He left disabled buttons so when coding was finally done, it can be implemented aned the buttons easily activated. As far as I know, there isn't any plans for completion of these features, so the source code has been released so that someone else could finish these features. The only solution is to use another program like PCS which has those features.
Q6. After working for awhile ModelView32 either takes up too much memory; refuses to save my model or cuts down my model's filesize down (corrupting it), why? - Raised by Trivial Psychic
A6. Unfortunately one of the problems that ModelView has, especially with the Hi-Poly version, is memory leaks. This can cause it take up an unimaginable amount of memory, refusing to save a model and even cutting down the model's filesize effectivly corrupting the model. Reportedly, memory leakage is reduced in the standard version or when working with non-hi poly models, unfortunatley this is sometimes unavoidable. If this is correct the only solution is to either use another program like PCS or use ModelView32 only in short "bursts" while saving to new files regulary.