Working Area (Bin Files) I am sure that, by this point, this page is totally unnecessary, since everyone has read Oliver Pieper's Readme.txt and has already completed the hay-pyramid exercise, right? Hehe, either way, please bear with me while I go over this stuff yet another one more time yet again. All models in mtm2 (and a few other games) are saved in bin file format. The technical differences between bin format and other formats are not really that important to us mtmers, just as long as we know that bins are what we want, and that BinEdit will allow us to change existing models or create new ones of our own.
Note 1 : bins, models, props, objects. These are all words that describe the same thing - the stuff in our tracks. Note 2 : if you need a more thorough explanation of bins and their file format and how they're used in BINedit, please go here.
Now, Oliver Pieper tells us that, "a BIN file describes a three-dimensional model..." but let's not just repeat that here. Don't let the words "three-dimensional" frighten you off. All this means is that models are not flat objects. They are not a picture painted on a canvas. Bin file models have sides and a top and a bottom. It's that simple. A bin model has three basic parts. 1. vertex points 2. face(s) - sometimes called polygons 3. texture(s) Oliver gave us nice little text diagrams to help us visualize these ideas.
Verticies only | Face added | Texture added
1 + + 2 3 + + 4 | 1 +----------+ 2 ! / ! / ! / ! / 3 +-----+ 4 | 1 +----------+ 2 !xyxyxyxyx/ !yxyxyxyx/ !xyxyxyx/ !yxyxyx/ 3 +-----+ 4
So, to make a model, then, we need to do three things. 1. define some verticies 2. tell the face(s) which verticies to use 3. apply a graphic texture to the face Here are a few rules to keep in mind while you create your models. - you may use 3 or 4 verticies to define a face - 3 for triangles and 4 for rectangles - yes, that's right - verticies go on the corners - sorry, no round faces or star shaped faces allowed - you may create any shape you need using combinations of squares and triangles (this includes tires) - a face is defined using verticies in a clockwise order - a face is visible on one side only - you need a second face for the other side - one texture can be used for as many faces as you need - complicated models are built by using these basic ideas again and again Ultimately, there are no real limits to creating a model. You may build something as far to the right or to the left as you want, you can build something as tall or as short as you want, and it can be as close to you or as far from you as you choose. That is, it can be as wide or long or tall as you design it. You are as free or as restricted as your imagination allows.