Modeling with 3D Editor

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This is part of the Custom Track tutorial.

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Using a 3D modeling program

If you have never made a 3D model before, it is recommended to use Google Sketchup 8, which is free and easy to learn to use.

Google Sketchup

First, you will need to download Google Sketchup if you do not already have it here: Google Sketchup 8 Download

You will also need this plug-in: OBJ Exporter download. Put the .rb file in the Plugins folder of GSU (found in your Program Files folder).

If you have never used Google Sketchup before, you should watch the video tutorials found here: Google Sketchup Video Tutorials

Now, it is time to create the track using the information you learned in the video tutorials. However, there are some important rules not listed in the video that you must follow for the model to be Mario Kart Wii compatible:

• As a general rule, the road should be about 15,000' (or 4500m) across (you can use the Tape Measure tool to measure this, but make sure you are using the Simple Feet and Inches template). This is the approximate width that an ideal road would have (for example, the width of the road at Fishdom Island). If the model is too small you will need to use the scale tool to make it all bigger.
• The whole drivable road must be above the red and green axis in Sketchup. Mario Kart Wii enforces a fall boundary below these axis even if it is not in the course.kcl file. If you were to build a road on or below these axis you will respawn (be picked up by Lakitu) over and over again.
• The exporter below only exports the front (white) faces of the model. Make sure the white faces are pointing in the direction you want to see them. If they aren't, right click on them and click "Reverse Faces." Of course, if the faces are textured you cannot see which way they are facing, so click "Entity Info" to check which side(s) are textured. If you want a face to be visible from both sides, you will have to add depth to it.
• Lines in Sketchup will not be visible in Mario Kart Wii; only faces appear.
• The OBJ file format does not support many of Sketchup's built in features such as camera animation, fog, shadows, or non-photo textures. These will not show up within Mario Kart Wii as they are controlled differently there. NEVER use solid colors unless they are an actual photo; they will appear black in-game.
• To test the size and scale of your track in-game, use moon jump hacks (on Dolphin or with Riivolution and a Wii) or simply add solidity to the road portions of the track. You will also need to move the start position over the track. 1 unit in Mario Kart Wii (used within the KMP editor) is equal to 3.2813 feet in Sketchup. But ,it's actually more usefull to use meters, as 1 meter in Sketchup is equal to 1 model unit.

If you still need help scaling your track to the correct size, you can download any other Sketchup file for a custom track from the internet. All of BigOto2's track models are available on the Sketchup 3D warehouse: Fishdom Island and Volcanic Skyway are some of them. You can then compare your track's scale to these other custom tracks.

Another 3D Model Editor

If you made your model in a 3d model editor that isn't Google Sketchup, you have to do something more for it to work. Follow the same steps you did to make the model in Sketchup, but after you export the OBJ file, you must run it through Blender (that means importing into it and exporting after) for then to be right. In Blender's Import and Export dialogs, remember to set the "Blender Exports Objects as OBJ" to "Material Groups". That should do it.

Importing Your Model

CTools Pack

Open the CTools Pack's BRRES Editor and click File-->New. The click File-->Import-->Wavefront OBJ. Use the '...' button next to the file path to open the .obj model file.

If there is a problem with the .obj file, a message should appear explaining what is wrong. If it is to do with materials, you can disable them using the Load Materials checkbox - but you'll have to import each texture manually later on. (the texture mapping goes OK, just the actual texture goes wrong)

If everything worked, you should now have more options. If you are making a course model, be sure to check the Course Model box, and if you are making the map, check the Map Model box, otherwise, don't check either box. Normally you can leave all of the other settings alone, however they can be used to correct problems.

If your model is too big or small, use the scale feature to increase or decrease it's size. Typically Mario Kart Wii courses are about 100000 units across.

If your model appears rotated, or lying on its side, use the swap Y and Z check box to correct this problem. By convention, Mario Kart Wii uses Y for vertical, but other programs use Z.

If your model shows only the back sides, it may be because you have the cull mode incorrect. Set it to the opposite mode to the default. If it is on automatic and did not work, consider going back to your modeling program and inverting normals.

After the OBJ model is imported, save the file as/over "course_model.brres" inside the SZS.

After The Model Is Done

Now, you follow the Texturing tutorial to see how to fix the colors of the track so that they're the way you want to.

Links

Custom Track Tutorials

Main Tutorials
Introduction – Textures – Scale – Modeling ⇒ Using Blender – BRRES: CTools
BRRES: BrawlBox – BRRES: RiiStudio – Minimap – Solidity – KCL: Wiimms Tools – KMP Editing
Object Editing – Cameras – Cannons – Post-effects – Videos

Battle Arenas
Battle Arenas – Enemy routes in battle arenas ⇒ Using Wiimm's Tools – Coins

Misc. Tutorials
Getting Files – BrawlBox Tricks – Animations – Shadows – Mipmaps
Custom Effects – Moving Terrain – Music – Ports – Paint Remakes – Tutorial Archive
Extended presence flags: Track Tutorial – LE-CODE Track FAQ

Testing and Reviewing
Testing a Track – Visual Review – Track Transformation – Fixing Errors

Software
3D Tools – BrawlBox – CTools Pack – KMP3D – KMP Cloud – KMP Modifier
Lorenzi's KMP Editor – MagicY – Material Tool – Post-Effect Editor – Wiimms SZS Tools – Wiimm's Tool Manager

Other
KMP Objects – Custom Objects – Model Database – Tutorial Archive