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A note the tutorial: I wrote this when the prerelease demo of IC was first out. Since that time the actual game has been released, so it is a good idea to drop by the Relic forums for the very latest information regarding this title. If you just want to get your feet wet with the toolset and the demo, then you're in the right place! Grab the files below and follow the tutorial to make it all happen.

● IC Files ●

The Relic Impossible Creatures game pack. Unzip and place entire folder inside your gmax>game packs directory. Use the included shortcut to launch the program. Download here

If you plan on following along with the tutorials linked above, you'll need this file. It's the gmax reference model used by the tutorials, and press here for the textures for the reference model. You'll have to assign a path from within gmax to the textures to get them to show up on the model. Remember, you will also need the big download to test your creature... but if you want to get a handle on the tutorial while your waiting for the game pack release, this will do it for you. Grab the step by step guide to creating your first "combinable" creature by pressing here.

What? You got the game pack but can't find your Boner? Are you saying you need to get a boner? Press here. ( Tee Hee )

Additional Files: Complete with all animations and textures for your modeling pleasure: Archerfish and Lobster.

● IC Links ●

http://www.relic.com/product/impossiblecreatures/index.php :     IC overview.
http://forums.relicnews.com/ :    Forums for discussion of IC and tools.
http://www.microsoft.com/games/impossiblecreatures/    MS site w/download demo link.
http://www.relic.com/rdn/main.php   Developer portion of Relic, where to sign up and get tools.
http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7692   Link to gmax tutorials.

Notes:

The full toolset download is almost 150 MB, so be forewarned if you're a dialup user. Be sure to turn off your firewall before going to get the files themselves, as I didn't, and it took me two days to realize that was why I couldn't get them to download.

● How to model objects for Impossible Creatures using the RDN Gmax gamepack ●

Because I'm an old, unrepentant platform gaming dinosaur, we're going to model and export one of the staples of classic gaming: a mushroom. Open up your gmax, using the RDN icon... set up your grid settings to something like this ( 10mm spacing).

Build that stem! I suggest using the keyboard entry to control the size of your model. Once built, convert it to an editable mesh. Assign a bend modifier ( I used around 30 degrees, but it's up to you what looks good.) Once bent, apply a UVW modifier to it and break open the Material Editor.

With texture applied ( I used face mapping ) go ahead and collapse it. Now, hit the create tab, and make a nice little geosphere. I used the hemisphere / smooth settings, then converted it to an editable mesh and scaled out the base row of verticies to give it a better look. Line it up and assign your UVW mapping and texture as before.

Once you've got your texture on and your alignment done, Attach the cap to the stem by pressing Attach, then attach list, select the stem, and hit ok. You'll know you're good when you see a big box surround your entire model. You'll likely see a box like what's in the photo below. Just leave the settings alone and press ok to complete the attachment

Now, let's export it as a Sigmamesh. Press file>export, pick sigmamesh from the bottom rollout, and save it to this path:C:\Program Files\Relic\Impossible Creatures RDN Tools v1.1\Data\Art\EBPs\Stock. This is important. Save it somewhere else and you'll get an error messege...

Close gmax, and open up the Object Editor in the IC toolset. Press File>New EPB and navigate to the .sgm you just saved. Select it, and Taa Daa! There it is! Use the mouse to zoom around and check out your model. When you're ready to save it, just press File> Save. Yep, that's it. Now, fire up the Mission Editor.

When you open the mission editor, it is likely you'll see a couple of warning dialogues. Ignore them by pressing ok. You'll get a box to choose your terrain, pick anything you want. Once selected, ignore the next warning dialogue. Ok! Now you're ready! Look over to the right side of your screen. You'll see an expandable selection area... choose Stock.

Pick your object by highlighting it on the list. Now roll that mouse over to the playfield, and press down both mouse buttons to place your object. See the blue arrow in the photo below? It points to on-screen navigation hints the editor gives you. Check 'em out... you can reposition your object using a variety of mouse and button combo's.

Don't forget to save it! The mission editor levels you make won't play in the demo version of the game ( come on, are you really surprised at that? ) but you can save them for when the game is released. Just press file, save and give it a name.

To wrap it up, here's a photo of the mushroom with the komodo dragon from the demo, to give you a sense of scale.

Hope this helped! See you on the forums!