How to attach a model — we won't dive deep into mod structure; let's go straight to the attachment mechanics.
Open the map editor; it will look something like this. I've pointed an arrow at an important window—do not close it, as this is the "map properties tree".
image 1, I'll be inserting these as links because the screenshots are large.
Place a unit; let's use the Chieftain, as he doesn't have LOD models (all units before Tribes of the East have separate low-poly models for the map; by the way, the GEM mod removed all these models).
I selected the Chieftain, and as we can see, the map properties window has changed—it is now showing object properties.
image 2If you click on the text in the Shared line, a button with an ellipsis will appear; click it.
image 3The object window opens. Just as we entered Shared, we can go further—for example, into the model, from the model into the skeleton, and in the skeleton copy the UID to extract it from data.pak, but more on that later.
image 4Okay, let's go.
You need to enter the animset; there are many animations there. Enter the idle stance.
image 5Now we are in the animation. There is an Effect line, which is empty. You need to create an effect; click the line and press New instead of the ellipsis.
image 6A window appears. If we simply write
Idle.(Effect), this file will appear in the Chieftain's animation folder, which might cause confusion. It is better to write something like
T5bEffect/Idle.(Effect) ; then a folder containing the file will be created instead of just a file, and all subsequent files created will appear in that folder. Click OK.
image 7We need to enter the effect; it's a list like an animset. In it, we create an item.
image 8In this item, just as we created the effect, we also create a file for attaching the model; let's call it Weapon.
image 9Enter it. You need to enter the bone that the model is attached to, but this field isn't visible. You need to make it available; to do this, right-click in an empty space and click Show Hidden.
image 10The field has appeared—it's the last line. You need to enter the bone there; for the Chieftain, the weapon is R_Sword (check bone names in the GrannyViewer program,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJRyPStxtl0&list=PLdoAvaqrPO162NqQw-sY7ScdL8q2EW2eB&index=5)).
For testing, I entered an archer in the model line; the result is that we attached a model to the axe.
image 11image 12If you don't know what to use to view bones in a skeleton, let me know and I'll explain; I just don't want to do unnecessary work X) I've already been sitting here writing for almost an hour.
If you didn't understand how I selected the archer, write that too