Quake/Halflife Models

#2 Indirectly yes.. you can load em into milkshape, export them to 3ds, put em in max and reanimate..


or you could use milkshape to export em into dts, but the exporter isnt complete yet. Either way, you need milkshape :)

Phil.

#1 If you can get them into 3d Studio Max...

Yes

#3 You can use Milkshape to export them to 3DS as individual frames (if they are animated), and then import/export them from MAX.

#4 I am interested in more info on this... I've been trying to use a half life SMD importer for MAX and then export the animations...

here's what I've done so far...

Used Milkshape 3d to decompile the gman from half-life...

Then I used this very useful max script: [url=http://mojo.gmaxsupport.com/Sections/MaxScripts.html] Website

This loads the half-life model quite nicely, complete with biped...

Next I tried to follow the exporting a character documentation to export him to dts... (you need to rotate him to be facing the Y-axis and scale him down to 2 units high, and move him to 0,0,0)... I create the bounding box, renumber it to 2, and link it to his hip (just in case I decide to make him move or something)...

I go to the DTS exporter, and choose embed shape... when I try to export, it complains about the skin being "linked"... so, I go take a look at the skin modifier... I don't really know what to do at this point besides delete the skin, which I did, but that rips the skeleton right out of him... So, I kinda just slide the skeleton back into place... and then he exports fine.

I even loaded him up in the showtool, and all textures (copied to appropriate dir) are on him... however, I have NO IDEA where to start with animating this guy... I've looked at the documentation, and it seems to want me to rename individual pieces of his mesh, but, I thought there was a way that I could control a single continuous mesh with a skeleton and create DSQ files to make it move...

Also, since I deleted my skin modifier, did I not just totally destroy his capability to be animated? If so, how do I get around this DTS exporter error about the skin being linked? If not, what do I do in order to make a DSQ that controls those bones and makes my model move properly?

Could anyone point me to a better tutorial than the one in the documentation on this? Surely there's something somewhere? I hope?!

Any and all input is welcome and appreciated in advance.

Thank you.

#5 Okay, kind of a basic rundown - someone more experienced with this will have to tell you the whole story.

The skin object has to be outside the heirarchy altogether, make sure it is not using any other object (not even the bip-01 root node) as a parent. Looking at the schematic view is the best way to see if it is accidentally linked to some other object.

As far as animating goes - you animate him as you would any other biped shape, you can export the animation sequences using the TGE exporter to create .dsq files. More info on that can be found in the documentation.

#6 Has anyone had texture problems with using halflife models? I tried using the Milkshape DTS exporter, and then tried exporting from Milkshape to 3ds and from there to DTS, and both ways I get textures that are messed up in really weird ways. Trying to get it as simple as possible, I went with the chicken model from counterstrike, with only one texture, and it moves the texture vertically up the body about halfway so the leg part of the image is in the middle of the model and the bottom of the model is black. All other models are similarly skewed.

The weirdest thing is that the models look _fine_ in 3ds, but when exported from there to DTS, they have exactly the same problems as the ones that come right out of milkshape. I can send images if anyone wants to see what they look like.

Thanks!

#7 ...sounds like the UV coordinates don't make it the the exporting process...might try another format. I think .vmrl will keep groupings intact, but don't quote me...