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Making Addon Models

This section of the guide assumes that you have some familiarity with 3D modeling, texturing, and rigging. This is a tutorial for how to set up models to work with Hyperdeep specifically, and not a tutorial on how to make 3D models in general.

We use Blender in this guide, but the same steps can be applied to any 3D software.

Introduction

Addon clothing items for Hyperdeep are made up of several elements:

  1. The model (fbx)
  2. Textures (png)
  3. Config (json)

This section will run through how to correctly set up each of these elements.

The Model

Hyperdeep supports importing skeletal meshes in FBX format. These models must have the same skeleton as HD-chan. For this purpose we provide a "mannequin" file:

Mannequin file download

Warning

This mannequin file will likely change over time to match the model used in the game. If you are making an addon model for the first time after a new game update, make sure you are using the latest mannequin file!

As well as a skeleton, the mannequin also contains a vertex weighted model of HD-chan to help you with sizing and weight painting.

Tip

The easiest way to get started with weight painting (at least for relatively form-fitting clothing) is to transfer the weights from the mannequin mesh to your addon mesh.

Hyperdeep supports a maximum of 10 material slots per addon.

When exporting your model, include both the skeleton and your addon mesh. Don't bother packing in textures as the game needs to load them separately anyway.

Textures

HD will search the addons directory for png files matching a certain naming scheme, as follows:

[addon name]_[material slot]_[map].png

The [addon name] should be the same as your model and config files. The [material slot] determines which material slot the texture will be applied to. An addon can contain a maximum of ten material slots, numbered from 0 to 9. If you don’t include a number the game will just assume it’s slot 0. Do not pad with zeros.

The [map] value determines what type of texture it is, and supports the following values (values in parentheses are equivalent):

  • diffuse (diff, albedo) (1)
  • normal (norm) (2)
  • metallic (metal)
  • roughness (rough)
  • emissive (emit)
  1. The alpha channel of the diffuse map is used for the opacity/translucency of the material
  2. DirectX channel format

Shaders

The shader for addons is a stylized, vaguely PBR material with a lot of post-processing. Don’t expect the results in-game to look exactly like they do in another rendering engine.

Mask

In addition to the textures applied to the addon itself, an additional mask texture can also be specified. This optional texture determines which (if any) parts of HD-chan's body should be hidden (made invisible) while the addon is enabled. This is useful for creating addons that should hide or replace a part of HD-chan's body, even if the addon geometry doesn't actually cover the part in question, e.g., a helmet covering HD-chan's ears.

Masks use the mannequin model's first UV map, with black representing hidden areas, and white representing unmodified areas. When multiple addons with masks are used, their masks are multiplied.

Mask textures are specified using the following naming scheme:

[addon name]_mask.png

Thumbnail

The game will search for a file called [addon_name].png and use it as a thumbnail in-game.

Config

The config JSON file determines a few things about how the addon will appear in game. Click the plus icons in the below example for a description of each field:

2b_shoes.json
{
    "category": "shoes", // (1)!
    "hair": false, // (3)!
    "bra": false, // (4)!
    "shoe_type": "low", // (5)!
    "covers_nipples": false, // (7)!
    "covers_fingernails": false, // (8)!
    "covers_toenails": true,
    "covers_hair_main": false, // (6)!
    "covers_hair_bangs": false,
    "covers_hair_temples": false,
    "translucent": false, // (9)!
    "view_offset": 1.0 // (2)!
}

  1. Which category the addon will appear in. If you specify a category that doesn't already exist, the game will create a new one for you. The built-in clothing categories are:

    • panties
    • bra
    • top
    • bottom
    • dress
    • socks
    • stockings
    • bodysuit
    • outerwear
    • kemomimi
    • headgear
    • necklace
    • wrists
    • ring
    • horns
    • tails
    • earrings
    • glasses
    • shoes
    • nipple
    • facialpiercings
    • bellybutton

  2. When the game renders your addon, it will push the geometry towards the camera a little bit according to this value. This helps to alleviate clipping.

    If you notice HD-chan’s skin poking through clothing, increase this value (or use a mask). Negative values are supported but seldom useful.

    I would always recommend having a value of at least 1.0 except in specific circumstances. This can be tweaked in-game too.

  3. Whether the addon is hair. Hair addons replace HD-chan’s existing hair when they’re added.

    Note

    You can’t currently combine hair addons and default hair pieces, or use multiple hair addons together, so any hair addons should be imported together as a single object.

  4. Whether the addon acts as a bra. Bras change the physics of HD-chan’s breasts.

  5. Whether the addon is a pair of shoes, and if so, which type. Shoes change the behaviour of HD-chan’s feet. The shoe type options are:

    • none
    • flat
    • low
    • high

    These options correspond to the different shoe poses in the mannequin file. The difference between none and flat is that flat prevents HD-chan's foot from bending (and so for a flexible, flat shoe, actually choosing none might give a better appearance).

  6. Whether the addon makes the individual elements of HD-chan's hair invisible. Useful for helmets, etc.

  7. Whether the addon covers (flattens) HD-chan's nipples.

  8. Whether the addon covers HD-chan's fingernails/toenails.

  9. Whether the addon uses translucency. This flag allows addons to represent materials like glass or clear plastic, with the diffuse map's alpha channel determining how translucent each part of the model is.

    Note

    The translucent addon material is more expensive to render, and so should only be used when necessary.

    When translucency is disabled, the diffuse map alpha channel creates a pseudo-transparent masking effect that is suitable for making parts of the model completely invisible.