Pern Dragon Modding Guide
Contents |
Breed Selection
While a few different Dragon bodies may be used, the most popular at this writing is the Astral. This species is very compatible with the look of Pern dragons, and is easily modified to remove the unnecessary parts. The Wings of your new Pern dragon, however, should be those of the Storm, as they are the only ones available that are similar enough to those described in the book.
HUD 2.5
With the newer HUD, modifying your Dragon to fit the look of Pern is a snap. When you are accepted into the clan, and given a rank, you will be issued a Rank Notecard - your Pern (color) Notecard. This card is used by the Dragon HUD to recolor, retexture, and adjust the shine and visibility of your dragon to fit your rank.
Do not give anyone else your Rank Notecard! Rank can only be issued by a Gold or Bronze Dragon. If someone claims to have lost their card, they must get a new one from a Gold or Bronze.
Adding your Rank Notecard
Once you have received your notecard, wear your Dragon and HUD. Open the pallet option (3rd from the top), and you should see an egg. Right-click on the egg, and choose "Edit". Open the More window, and you will see a script and (about) 3 notecards. Drop your new Rank Notecard into the contents folder, and close the Edit window.
Activating your Rank
You are now ready to re-color your Dragon! With your HUD pallet option open, left-click on the Egg. You will be presented with a blue pop-down menu - choose "Load", and then chose the option associated with your Pern Color. Your Chat history will say "Loading...", and after a few moments, will say "Loading Complete". Click the Egg again, and select "Activate" from the menu, and your Dragon will transform before your eyes into your new Rank & Color.
Old Style HUD
Eye Whirling
The Pern books described Dragon Eyes very specifically. Dragon eyes are faceted, and whirl in different patterns and speeds to indicate mood. While the changes listed above will texture them correctly, they will not add the "whirling" effect. This can be done with a very simple script, but the process itself is tricky and may take several tries.
Currently, we are using the script "anim-SMOOTH" from the Library, which everyone has access to in your Inventory. A newer version is in development that will add more angles and changes of speed. When available, it will be posted on this page.
The difficult part is getting the script into the eye. While wearing the head, preferably on a posing stand, right-click on the Dragon head and select "Edit". Check the option to "Edit Linked Prims" and select the eyelid or any other single part. This is where it gets tricky - the eyelid (the part that blinks) is blocking our access to the eye. One option is to move the eyelid temporarily, but if you do, make sure you note the position before you move it, so that it can be returned to exactly the spot it started in. If you're not comfortable with that, the other option is to use the camera controls to VERY carefully move your camera until it is INSIDE the eyelid - this allows you to select the eyeball itself. You can then drop the rotation script into the contents panel on the eyeball.
Once you have dropped the script into the eye, MAKE SURE it's the eye that's rotating before you deselect anything!
