Quetzal's Projects

[quetzal]

I finally fixed this issue. If any designers are experiencing the same issue, make sure the root of ZT Studio is set to 'c:\temp\output\'.

[quetzal]

Maybe we can get something similar to a radical remake in ZT1.

[quetzal]

Has anyone tried creating static objects(ex. foliage, statue) with Sprites rendering plugin?

I'm now struggling with rendering objects.

[Goosifer]

I make mine just by tweaking the camera angle through trial and error.

[quetzal]

When I use the plugin, it works fine up to the sprite png files render, but in my case, it seems to be a problem from the creation of the pal file.
I'd like to know how other designers go through the process of creating their own objects. Do you create palette files through Gimp and convert them directly to ZT Studio?

[Goosifer]

Yeah everyone has their own way of doing things. Most modders today import models and animations from other games like Zoo Tycoon 2, and then render to ZT1 sprites with Hendrix's Blender plugin. I'm personally obsessed with control over the whole process so I do everything from scratch. I think @Vondell's process is similar to mine, though I think he's much more efficient than I am.

 

1. I make my 3D model and animations in Blender. I recommend paying for Gamedev.tv's Blender course if you have the money, that's how I learned. It goes for very cheap when it's on sale (like $15-$20 USD for the whole thing). Youtube works too but I like them because they just get to the point. None of that Youtube personality nonsense.

2. I either paint ontop of the model using a tablet to create the texture, or I stencil paint it. Lots of youtube tutorials for this.

3. Adjust materials and lighting so they get close to the game's style. This part takes a while and trust me, every project will need you to do this all over again usually since depending on the geometry you're working with, you'll need to posterize it a bit to look right.

4. Using processing nodes in Blender, I adjust brightness, sharpness, saturation so the render matches the game style if the lighting and materials weren't enough (they usually aren't enough).

5. For each angle, SE, SW, NE, NW - I adjust the Blender camera to get the render to match the isometric tiling of the game. This part takes the longest and you render, re-render, make adjustments, test in game, try again etc as you revisit steps 2, 3, and 4. Trial and error alone will take you anywhere between days to months depending on how consistent you work on your project. I get easily distracted with real life so this part takes me months lol.

6. I use Zoot to import all frames output by Blender and convert to ZT1 sprites. This part makes the palette files you asked about.

7. Last step is just to configure the mod. This is the easiest and takes like less than 10 min, unless you're doing something unconventional or something you haven't done before. Making buildings takes a bit of experimentation to get the input nodes working right for example (where the guests enter the buildilng).

 

I've never made an animal but this should all pretty much be the same general steps. In the end you're just animating a 3D model and rendering to a 2D sprite. Also if you use Hendrix's tool, steps 1-6 are done for you, but if you want better results I recommend getting good at it all. That way you have better control over the final product and can tweak the render depending on what's not looking right (blurriness for example). Plus if you make everything yourself, you own the whole thing :P

[(Designer)Zarawatto]

On 7/6/2025 at 4:41 PM, Goosifer said:

Yeah everyone has their own way of doing things.

Yeah I made my first items in GIMP... Every frame is an exported layer of the same project 😹😹. However, non animated items like foliage were made with Blender and Zoot the way you described, but the sprites had to be reworked in GIMP for better contrast and saturation of color before importing into Zoot.