Creating .vxl files

[Steel Mirage]

I'm attempting to learn how to create voxels for use in future modding attempts with "Voxel Section Editor III 1.37". Trial and error is proving to be an immense pain in the ass.
Before going any further, after reading the C.R.A.P. thread and the B.v.P. thread, I feel I should say this-
DISCLAIMER:
1) I am a newbie, not a noob. Thanks GD for straightening me out on that one. As such, I have no intent to behave immorally a unethically.
2) I have no intent to release anything anytime soon. I'm still in my very early education insofar as creating a mod.
That being said, as stated, my first attempts to figure out how to create my own voxel file was a sore disappointment.
My strategy right now is to try to use the XCC Mixer to extract a voxel file so that I can take a look at how a finished file would look like from the inside. This rang a few of my internal moral/ethical alarms, but like I said, I'm just kinda trying to learn the ropes here, I'm not trying to vultch anyone.
Either way, using XCC hasn't worked, and it seems trial and error will produce competency in creating good voxels about the same time that the sun runs out of hydrogen.
If anyone has any suggestions, tips, etc., I would be more than happy to listen and learn and see if I can get this figured out. In return I offer masters level+ essay writing skills, etc.
Chizz.

[DCoder]

Have you ever played with Lego? Individual voxel blocks are similar to that.

Failing that, there's 3ds2vxl so you can convert a 3d model into voxels.

[Steel Mirage]

I'm a huge fan of Legos. Still have my collection from childhood. I'm just having a hard time integrating that with VSE III. It just seems like there might be a better way to figure this out, and that it would be worthwhile to see if there was another way orther than just dicking around with it. I've been looking at the dimensions of some of the other units out there, and they're gigantic. Building, say, a Dreadnought from scratch would take days it seems... I'm wondering now if thats just the way it is...

[Graion Dilach]

Well, I usually start with a huge one-colored box within the canvas (it's about 10 mins to do this one) then I literally carve out the voxel from it.

Seems the harder part is to match the turret's, the barrel's and the unit's size.

[Steel Mirage]

Yeah, I've been kinda pondering on that... I'm gonna leave that alone for now though till I get a grip on some basics. Any basics really. I've seen some mods out there with some really poor units. I'm trying to study RA2: Apocalypse by Xaeus, whoever that is. He's done a fantastic job, but there are some units that are just like, what the hell?
When it does come time to try to match turrets, etc, are there any decent tutorials out there?

[Graion Dilach]

Well, there aren't. The problem is, voxels and SHPs cannot be taught. Everybody has his own style. I can give you basic tips, however you have to figure your style out. Not to mention, I haven't finished a turreted vxl yet.

Positioning is easy using HVA Builder's Voxel Offset. Matching the sizes... counting the voxels. I dunno.

[Orac]

Well, before you can really do anything else, you'll probably want to learn the hotkey controls for navigating. In 3.8, these are Ctrl+X, Ctrl+Y, and Ctrl+Z, for the respective axes. I'm not sure what they are in the latest version, but IIRC they're different to 3.8's ones. The other keys you'll want are Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, which are still Copy and paste, and Ctrl+L. This one is really useful in a number of situations.

Once you have that understanding of navigation around a voxel, create a nice little voxel. In RA2, that'll probably mean something in the X=27 Y=21 Z=55 sort of ballpark. Now, make something. A car, probably, is the sort of size you're in. Or a Drone (Chaos or otherwise).

As for the Dreadnought you mentioned above, you'd be correct that voxelling it would take days or even weeks. If you do it by hand. There is some good evidence that Westwood worked in 3D and then converted, and if you're OK in 3D then you can do the same. This is particularly good for things which are fucking huge or have organic curves to them, but can yield some unexpected results.

At the end of the day, the best tutorial is practise. As I've said to many, many people, when I started voxelling I voxelled vehicle interiors too. Seats, handles, screens. All of that. I'm past that stage now, but it still helps to illustrate the fact that you'll have to practise a bit before you have anything even close to being worth publicising. But sooner or later you'll probably get there with adequate practise.

[Steel Mirage]

Copy all that... And thank you. That pretty much takes care of that...