Problem with displaying transparent textures of MDL models! SOLVED!

Quake
1

A question to all knowledgeable people!

Whatever I do with the models in Blender, when converting the model to MDL format with transparency activated in the menu, they still get a texture in BMP format that does not support the alpha channel. In its original form, the model has a texture in PNG format with an alpha channel. But when I open a model from custom modifications in MDL format in the viewer, I see trees and pines with leaves and needles displayed with a black frame, and in the game these textures become transparent! Transparent! Question: How? In what editor are these models created for the game and how are they converted to MDL, so that when the game starts, the transparency of the textures of leaves, branches, etc. is activated? With what program should a PNG texture with an alpha channel be placed in the MDL model? How to do it?

I didn’t find anything on the Internet, only a viewer for Half-Life (H1MV), but this viewer is not compatible with Quake (Q1MV) models, although it is similar to it and it has a built-in transparency activation menu.

Example of tree screenshots with model visualization stages and description:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zxRrXxGW1k_eoHgRhzEG8paIk5IDbbJ1/view?usp=share_link

Archive with description and examples of tree models:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eN5ZAZOWo7nIStQp-IUaoClzDcI3-bLo/view?usp=sharing

Repeating the text in the screenshot:

  1. A highly polygonal model in a Blender with activated transparent leaf textures in PNG format with an alpha channel.
  2. The model in the game converted to MDL format has solid opaque leaf textures due to the fact that when converting the texture format changed to a BMP that does not support the alpha channel.
  3. A model in the game with an external texture connected in PNG format with an alpha channel. When converting from Blender to MDL, information about texture transparency remained inside the model.
  4. A model from some modification for Quake in MDL format in the “QME 3.1” and “Q1MV 0.5” viewers has solid opaque leaf textures. Only it is not clear what texture is embedded in this model initially when converting from the source file?
  5. The model in the game has transparent leaf textures with an alpha channel!!!

P.S.: I apologize for my poor knowledge of English. :slight_smile:

With best wishes,
Andrew (Ash1980)

2

To obtain transparants in Quake you need to make sure the transparant parts need to have the pink gamma from the qmle pallet.
You also have to point out the flags command to “0 x 00004000” in Qmle.
It has nothing to do with jpg or png, bmp will do.
Also you need an engine that is capeable to match transparants, quakespasm2.04.

Hope this helps,
succes!

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3

[quote=Madfox]To obtain transparants in Quake you need to make sure the transparant parts need to have the pink gamma from the qmle pallet.
You also have to point out the flags command to “0 x 00004000” in Qmle.
It has nothing to do with jpg or png, bmp will do.
Also you need an engine that is capeable to match transparants, quakespasm2.04.

Hope this helps,
succes!

%url%[/quote]

Friend, you’re just a genius! I’m shaking your hand!

After your advice, I managed to do it! True, I had to suffer a little for the first time with layers in Photoshop, but now I know how to do it! Now it is not necessary to connect external textures, but there may be problems with bright pixels. There is only one question left - why is the shadow of the leaves displayed as if the textures are not transparent? In the form of rectangles.

I have attached a screenshot:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YVLr4pwOBE253TSvlNCdLNHU27Vv0cbm/view?usp=sharing

If anyone needs it, here is the color number for the transparent layer of Quake textures: 9f5b53

4

I just followed Kreathor’s advice, so glad it worked!
The shadow fall is because the light.executive can’t make difference between opaque and transparent.
It just takes the whole object.

With extra lightpoints you can shape illusion of shadows, but it is a tricky job. Smart use of minlights.

There is also a solution by changing the leaf parts into sprites. Then they turn with the viewpoint.
This takes more work to set up and needs changes in the qc.