Modeling in 3DS Max

(TripleBlackIce) #1

This question is mainly directed at Sock, but I’ll take any help I can.
:banghead:

I’m trying to make a view maps for ET, and I’m pretty happy with how Radient works. Actually Radiant is MUCH more user friendly than the UT Editor I first learned.

Here’s my question: I have been doing Max professionally for 6 years now. I noticed in another post that Sock said he created the Goldrush base model in Max and then rebuilt/cleaned it up in Radient. I would really enjoying knowing how you did this. I’ve seen the exporter/importer links, etc. But most seem to be for objects within a map, not the map itself.

I think I could do much better job starting in Max and finishing in Radient.

Can you help me out here Sock? :drink:

I’m not talking like FULL tutorial here, unless you got one. :beer:

(duke'ku) #2

model it and export it to ase. the ase is inserted into the map as a misc_gamemodel.

(TripleBlackIce) #3

Okay right, but so that’s a placement model. Then everything is remodeled in Radient? Or is there a way to have Max models as ‘part’ of the mapping.

Thanks btw :drink:

(rgoer) #4

misc_gamemodel is used for dynamic (constructable, objective or otherwise) models… mapmodels (like what he’s talking about) should be misc_models instead.

And yeah, when you bring in your .ase model as a misc_model entity, give it the “spawnflags 2” (autoclipping) key/value pair, put it in a skybox and compile away with the newest version of q3map2–all misc_model triangles get merged with the world brush faces into one big happy triangle mess, and you’ve got a working map. Sort of. You’ll need to tweek it, as mapmodels do no VIS blocking, and mapmodel autoclipping can sometimes be buggy.

(Fluffy_gIMp) #5

If I understand the question; you can’t build something in max and then edit it in Radiant, just because of the rules Radiant constrains the way brushes must be created (i.e. not concave), constraints that a building as a model you don’t have, hence you can’t edit them like brushes. (if that makes any sense?)

That’s not to say you can’t still build large portions of the level in max and then import it in. Being somewhat biased towards the 3d package over the brush construction tools in Radiant, I believe you can build things far quicker and with greater detail in polygons than you can ever hope to building in brushes.

What you do still need brushes for is blocking visibility, which is why you’d need to build the models in small pieces so they weren’t all drawn at once.
As duke’ku points out you’ll want them as ASE files.

As for the reasoning behind why the initial layout was roughed out in max first, was because we had a tendency with some of our other maps to build them on a flat plane. To change that, after we had drawn up the initial design on the whiteboard I transposed it into max and started creating some height variation. There is no reason why this couldn’t have been done in radiant, I just found it quicker to knock up in max.

-Fluffy_gIMp

(TripleBlackIce) #6

:drink:

That’s what I needed to know Fluffy_gIMp. I figured I would still have to build it in Radient, but doing it in Max first and building based off that should really help speed things up, and make for cleaner more accurate layouts. Thanks! :banana:

(rgoer) #7

There is one other possibility: import an untextured .3ds model into Milkshape, and then export a .map file from there. You’ll then get untextured brushwork that you can edit and texture in Radiant.