A plan to build tools for exporting models

(ikanatto) #1

Hi gentlemen :slight_smile: How is your modding going? I hope all go well.
As title says, I am planning to build some tools to create the model files, such as md3 and mdm. This will help not olly me exporting mdm, but also those who want to replace the models to his ones. I know there are already plans to deal with ET model files and md3 can be used as player models, but this is just my try for me.

BTW, I would like to know what kind of tools do you want if you are interesting in using, a plugin for 3ds max or milkshape? or stand-alone? or just convertor?
I think 3ds max is nice application but cost pretty much. Milkshape costs low, but at this time it does support the multi-weighted vertex which is required for mdm creation. Yeah, stand-alone is good choice but this will be hard try for me and require a lot of time. Convertor itself already exists but is not conventional. And this is something ‘hacking.’

Please let me know your opinion if you dont mind. Thanks.

Regards.

(P4nth3r) #2

Well, What I would like to see are the following plugins for 3d max (all versions)

  1. a good MD3/MDC/MDS/MDM importer and exporter, that is easy too use and clear.

That we be a good start =D
I would be great if you could do all this.

Greetz Panther

(carnage) #3

i would be happy with anythign as long as it brigt the good player moddelrs back to et

btw good luck… do this and children will learn your name in school

(EB) #4

Any news on this ?

(jet Pilot) #5

Like said before, an importer/export would be grand! I’d very much like to see an importer for 3ds (i use max 6) that can import tags properly, maybe even a tag generator.
If you can get this working, you’ll be a hero to many, many modellers!

(IneQuation) #6

I think it’d be better to write a set of plugins for Blender, as it’s free. I’d write them myself if I only had the knowledge to do it. :frowning:

(kamikazee) #7

Isn’t it possible to choose 1 common format and write a convertor?
This way you could use 3ds max, lightwave, blender, milkshape or any other tool out there that can save to a general format, which can then be converted to the format you want.

Only problem here would be to find this common format. I’ll search for one this evening or so.

(carnage) #8

venom studios has had quite a deep look into this and its not as simple as many think, rather than haing the moddle conting everyhting like a md3 it uses skeletal stuctures etc and exports a number of files

the mdm is just a one frame moddle with a skeleton, the mdx are each set of animation contining only a idential skeleotn of the moddle, the idea is to save on filesize by only having to store one frame of veritices. it alos makes it easier to reomove animation stages and add new ones since it not all in one large file

i have the knowledge to program something that would do this in VB.net other things like C++ would be harder.

i just cant find the information i need on the format of the moddles, if someone can find me the info on file sturcture of mdm mdx and md3, i think i will be able to write a md3/mdm+mdx converter. however it would have to be a standalone program that takes a md3, but i gess anyone can use it regardless of software

(kamikazee) #9

However I know somewhat about C++ and I’m interested in this project, it 'll be mainly time that is holding me back.

In the mean time, Googled around for common file formats:
MD3: http://www.draekko.org/documentation/md3format.html
MDC: http://www.planetwolfenstein.com/themdcfile/
MDS/MDX/MDM: http://games.theteamkillers.net/rtcw/mdx/ (for MDS, click trough at the top)

(carnage) #10

kamikazee perhaps u want to disscus some aspects and stuff and maby we can help each other out

also i came with a problem with the md3 to mdm converter idea. md3 stores each vertex per frame but mdm/mdx needs a bone structure. I think md4 to mdm/mdx is posible as it has bones bu ime not sure on the avidibility of md4 exporters. if not it might have to be a plugin

(ikanatto) #11

In need of some knowledgements about mdm mdx structures, this may help. http://ikanatto.s59.xrea.com/archives/2005/04/unofficial_mdmm.html

Recently little works on convertor project have been done, beacuse of lack of time and knowledgements.
I just wonder why official mdm exporter is still hiding now. Are there any problems to release it?
BTW does Blender support bones and multi-weightings? and how are plugings made?

(ikanatto) #12

So carnage came up to an idea of MD3 to MDM, that was the path I tried 2 years ago.
One thing I can tell you is that MD3 is based on vertex animation, although MDM loves bone animation.
It is quite hard task to handle vertex animations as bone animations. I had tried it in Perl meanwhile but failed.

(carnage) #13

So carnage came up to an idea of MD3 to MDM, that was the path I tried 2 years ago.
One thing I can tell you is that MD3 is based on vertex animation, although MDM loves bone animation.

thast why i surgested md4 to mdm as how would we know what bones to group each vertice to

ikanatto you sertainly have the knowlegde of the file formats from documents ive read on the web on this topic

i surgest that me ikanatto and kamikazee meet up as between us i think we have enough knowlege of all the areas needed to build a tool to do this, shouldnt be pretty simple to export a file once the file structure is in place

(IneQuation) #14

It does. And import/export plugins are written in Python.

I think I will have a go at an MDS Blender import/export plugin and learn Python by the way. :wink:

(carnage) #15

i belive there is alread a mds importer/exporter

EDIT// might be mdc ime thinking of

(kamikazee) #16

Anything with bones and meshes could do…

(carnage) #17

ill look into this but i think md4 will be like a combination of mdm and mdx so its one frame of verite and faces with the skelton as animation

i think it has been split so two differnt modles with the same skeleton can use the same animation while saving it only once and loading just once

we might find that md4 is olmost what we are trying to creat it just need a bit of seperating

(kamikazee) #18

The only thing I haven’t looked at is how to make that md4.

The format looks promising though.

(carnage) #19

ime no moddler so could sum1 tell how avaidable md4 exporters are?

EDIT//

found info in the md4, looks like it contains all the inforamtion needs to be converted to mdm/mdx

http://www.draekko.org/documentation/md4format.html

(kamikazee) #20

Have you found some exporter for md4 yet? It supposed to be included in Q3A PR 1.29, but those seem just rumors.
I’d rather believe the format is ‘as dead as dodo’.

BTW: Here is one reference to the official MDS pack from Gray Matter. This includes some 3DS Max Plugins which seem quite interesting, if I only could get a hold on the pack.

I’m only not verry in to register on tramdesign for this one time I need something from it…
Who can inform about the release date or can supply a link to the same pack?