Dynaverse.net
Taldrenites => Starfleet Command Models => Topic started by: Rod ONeal on July 28, 2008, 01:31:17 am
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I while back I found bridge commander import export plugins for Gmax. I contacted one of the authors and asked him if he would be willing to try and compile the 3DMax .MOD source to make import export plugins for Gmax for us. Well, to make a long story short, he has successfully compiled the .MOD plugins to work in Gmax. I haven't tried all of the functionality to see if there are no bugs, but I did successfully import and export .MOD with LODS with Gmax. It works just like 3DMax.
You'll need Gmax version 1.2. It's available at
http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax
http://www.fileplanet.com/69843/60000/fileinfo/gmax-v1.2
http://www.4shared.com/file/56695695/3378fb01/gmax12.html?dirPwdVerified=ae1a9a1c
I've tried to upload the plugins to battleclinic, but to no avail. I'm not sure what the problem is. Here's a link you can DL it from until I can sort out why I can't get the upload to work. Enjoy!
http://www.4shared.com/file/56811432/d16fefa0/SFCgmax.html?dirPwdVerified=ae1a9a1c
Finally folks a free modeler for SFC! :dance:
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WOW....that IS cool news...after all these years...I might finally learn to model....
COOL! ;D
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Awesome and profound!
Perhaps this should be stickied!
JM.
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I while back I found bridge commander import export plugins for Gmax. I contacted one of the authors and asked him if he would be willing to try and compile the 3DMax .MOD source to make import export plugins for Gmax for us. Well, to make a long story short, he has successfully compiled the .MOD plugins to work in Gmax. I haven't tried all of the functionality to see if there are no bugs, but I did successfully import and export .MOD with LODS with Gmax. It works just like 3DMax.
cool, good that i have a backup of my GMax 1.2 somewhere, even if i have max now, i will try this and have to ask if the guy could make some ST-Armada1 and 2 plugins for GMax :)
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Can you please compress it in Zip format rather than *.rar .
Most people now have Zip compatibility with Windows, *.rar is slow in comming. Thanks.
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TD, Do you have the max source for the Armada plugins? I can see what can be done. Be aware though, these took a couple of months to get.
This is also good for Vista users, I believe. FWIU GMax runs on vista.
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Thanks maybe I will get back to kitbashing ships again, not just reskinning them.
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Hot dog!! Permission to upload the plugins at SFC3Files?
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Hot dog!! Permission to upload the plugins at SFC3Files?
These are totally freeware. Upload to your hearts content.
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Think you could also post the plugins for BC? Would love those too.
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This is the complete .nif installer. It's for all of the .nif games, including BC, and multiple versions of studio max, as well as GMax.
http://www.4shared.com/file/32075088/b16baa7/niftools-max-plugins-02160.html?dirPwdVerified=ae1a9a1c
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This is the complete .nif installer. It's for all of the .nif games, including BC, and multiple versions of studio max, as well as GMax.
[url]http://www.4shared.com/file/32075088/b16baa7/niftools-max-plugins-02160.html?dirPwdVerified=ae1a9a1c[/url]
:notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :thumbsup:
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yea !!! Now I can permanently delete Milkshape.
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Im not sure what issue you were having uploading it, but it uploaded fine when i tried it.
http://www.battleclinic.com/docks/dock/4628-SFC-Gmax-Plugin-details.html#4628
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Thanks, Mr. Cue.
Maybe it's firefox? I go to the upload screen enter all of the info, and before I can click to upload the page automatically goes to BC's home page.
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Thanks, Mr. Cue.
Maybe it's firefox? I go to the upload screen enter all of the info, and before I can click to upload the page automatically goes to BC's home page.
I used FF to do the upload.
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Maybe it's this Kiwi internet? lol (Now don't try and tell me that you're in NZ too. :P)
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Wow - great news :D
Anybody tried running this on Xp or Vista yet?
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Most people run XP anyway, so chances are there are no XP issues.
Not sure about Vista. I know though from using the NIF plugin installers that they'll install into MAX 9, which does run on Vista.
I don't know if GMAX 1.2 runs on Vista though.
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I have XP and GMax runs fine. The problem with older versions of max on Vista is max's license server. Vista's security protocols don't like it. GMax doesn't use a licensing server. It should work fine. These plugins won't work on studio max. Just GMax.
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ran into a little issue when exporting from GMAX it seems that all the normals are flipped when viewed in the model viewer has anyone else had this issue?
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I've done a couple of exports. One by importing and then exporting a stock Taldren model, with the LODs. The second by importing a .3ds model that I made and then exporting it. Both exported fine.
Did you make the model in GMax, or did you import it into GMax?
If you imported it, what format was it in?
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Cool! Maybe this won't load my system down so much.
Mike
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I've done a couple of exports. One by importing and then exporting a stock Taldren model, with the LODs. The second by importing a .3ds model that I made and then exporting it. Both exported fine.
Did you make the model in GMax, or did you import it into GMax?
If you imported it, what format was it in?
i made the model in GMAX and exported it to .mod format. maybe it is just me then.
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I just made a sphere and exported it to .mod and it was OK. It's possible you accidentally reversed the normals while making the model?
If it persists send me the model and I'll have a look to see what's going on. If there's a bug I want to sort it out.
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Must have been something i did with that particular model that screwed it up.i even imported the .mod and it was fine. i exported a few other quickly made parts with no problem.
all in all it is great. GMAX doesn't have the overhead that 3DS Max does and runs alot smoother on older systems. also for some reason the boolean functions tend to work better as well.
great job on these plugins i am sure that this will open up alot of new modelers to SFC since it is a great program that is also free.
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Uploaded at Sfc3Files... http://starfleetcommand3.filefront.com/file/SFC_MOD_Gmax_plugin;92634
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Cool to see some modeling coming from these. Here's a renderer for Gmax. It allows you, with a bit of effort, to export your Gmax scene to Yafray. You might like it better than the mod viewer.
http://www.4shared.com/file/57412627/789a9a21/gmaxrender.html?dirPwdVerified=ae1a9a1c
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This is the gmax forum if you need more info about using gmax.
http://www.turbosquid.com/Forum/Index.cfm/stgAct/ForumList/intGroupID/1004
Don't forget to download and install the help and tutorial file! They are very useful.;-)
http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax
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The BC plugins are great. On some models that I port from BC to SFC, I get these smoothing group errors when I use MS3D.
But, when I use the plugins for MAX/GMAX, I don't get those smoothing group errors.
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Ya'll, remember you can upload stuff for distribution here on D.net
If you click on the frontpage (click on the dynaverse banner in the up right corner) then click on Downloads, then Library upload, you can upload it to the D.net FTP.
Send me a brief note about it and I'll move it to the proper location, and send you back a link to post for DL's.
Regards,
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Perhaps someone here can help me out? I seem to be having trouble with the Star Union (http://www.battleclinic.com/docks/dock.php?r=federation&page=123) dreadnought.
It works fine in SFC ModViewer...
Anim8or doesn't seem to import .mod, unless I've missed something...?
Zmodeler 1.x doesn't believe it's actually a .mod file, 2.x doesn't have .mods as a supported option (that I've seen, anyway).
It crashes MilkShape 1.8.3 (with the Assimsoft plug-in) every time it tries to load (but MS works fine with most other models).
GMax 1.2 will load it, but I can't output it to anything useful other than .nif (from the nif-tools plug-in for Max), which should work, but I have 3ds Max 2009 (aka Rev 11), and the nif-tools only support through Rev 9.
It loads fine in Ultimate Unwrap 3D, but the lousy demo doesn't give even a single save. And since there's no returns on the software, I'm not inclined to blow $50 for one model on the chance that it might export to something useful.
Basically, I'm not having any luck, regardless of what I try. I just want to get the model into .3ds (or .lwo, or .3dm, or .stl or something that's bloody useful). Any chance somebody here can help me out? Please? And no, I wouldn't upload it without permission. I may be new, but I'm suicidal :-X Thanks in advance.
\edit
After further gnashing of teeth, I finally found where Atheorhaven said to go to http://outalance.battleclinic.com/atheorhaven/html/_sgg/m1m3s1_1.htm for some useful tools, where I found moddxfv1.zip. It's a .mod to .dxf converter and it works flawlessly and is super simple. From .dxf I can get it into whatever I need, so I'm happy (after two frakking days...sigh). Thanks to Stealth/darkjedi for writing this useful tool.
/edit
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Has there been any progress on the SOD importer-exporter?
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Has there been any progress on the SOD importer-exporter?
I've just sent off an email to Rockstar games. They acquired Mad Doc software. Maybe they have the .SOD source code and maybe they'll release it? We'll see?
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I wonder if your contact would be willing to compile new SFC plugins for MAX 9. One can hope.
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I wonder if anyone else has run into this issue. On starting Gmax 1.2, I'm getting notifications that the two SFC plugins aren't initializing.
Any guesses? Thanks.
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Here's some things to check/try. Post if it sorts it out for you.
1, Have you installed the winmm.dll into the main gmax directory (That's what allows the plugins to work. ) and the plugins into the gmax/plugins directory?
2, You could try installing the niftools-max-plugins. They give you a new .exe called "nifgmax.exe" to start the program from.
3, Are you certain that you have gmax 1.2?
4, Make sure you have the gmax plugins and not the 3ds studio max plugins.
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On the subject of Armada plugins... Rockstar has directed me to Activision, unfortunately. I have filled out a customer service form with Activision, but I don't hold out a lot of hope. We'll see.
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Here's some things to check/try. Post if it sorts it out for you.
1, Have you installed the winmm.dll into the main gmax directory (That's what allows the plugins to work. ) and the plugins into the gmax/plugins directory?
Yep, winmm.dll is tucked in with all the other DLLs and the plugins are in the right folder. Still get the message headed "Loading DLLs" and the failures.
2, You could try installing the niftools-max-plugins. They give you a new .exe called "nifgmax.exe" to start the program from.
If it comes to it, I may give that a try.
3, Are you certain that you have gmax 1.2?
Yep, though I'm running on Win98 and noticed the winmm.dll is listed as one for NWN2, which IIRC, runs on XP and above. Might that be it?
4, Make sure you have the gmax plugins and not the 3ds studio max plugins.
The downloaded file, from Battleclinic, is listed as SFCgmax.
Thanks for the suggestions.
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Might be the win98. I'm not sure if the NIF tools will help in that case. It's all that I can think of trying though. It works without the .dll file
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I thought Activiosion got bought out too though for the life of me I can't remember which?
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Sorry to post in a relatively old thread but I was wondering if Rod had heard anything back from Activiosion regarding the source code for Armada plugins.
Anyway...don't know if this helps or not but here is the Storm3D Object Definition (SOD) File Format document as well as an extract from the Milkshape plugin creator Chris Graham
Storm3D Object Definition (SOD) File Format
===========================================
Author: Steve Williams
Modified for v1.93 : Chris Graham
Storm3D Graphics Engine Lead.
Copyright © Activision 2000.
Modifications : Updated to SOD v1.93 (as for Armada 2 mods).
Audience
========
This document is intended for use by experienced 3D tools programmers
for the purposes of writing exporters, importers and conversion tools
to/from the .SOD format. A good understanding of real time 3D graphics
principles is assumed. The reader is expected to be familiar with
real time 3D geometry concepts such as lighting, animation & scene
graph hierarchies.
Introduction
============
The SOD file format is a binary file format describing the 3D directed
scene graph hierarchies used by the Storm3D rendering engine.
Each .SOD file describes one such hierarchy.
The SOD file format has evolved through several versions.
This document describes the latest format, 1.93.
Datatypes used in this document
===============================
UINT8 unsigned 8 bit integer
UINT16 unsigned 16 bit integer
UINT32 unsigned 32 bit integer
FLOAT floating point (4 byte) value
VECTOR2 {FLOAT u, FLOAT v}
VECTOR3 {FLOAT x, FLOAT y, FLOAT z}
MATRIX34 { VECTOR3 RIGHT, UP, FRONT, POSITION } MATRICES MUST BE ORTHOGONAL.
COLOUR { FLOAT red, FLOAT green, FLOAT blue } Component range 0.0 - 1.0
Other local datatypes are defined where appropriate.
Additional Syntax
=================
TYPE ARRAY(nentries) - A contiguous array of nentries of type TYPE
Identifiers
===========
IDENTIFIER
{
UINT16 strlen(string), string (8 bit ascii values) including terminating '\0'
OR
UINT16 0 - Indicates null string.
}
File Structure
==============
Section 1 : File Header
Section 2 : Lighting Materials
Section 3 : Nodes - Written recursively from the root.
Section 4 : Animation Channels
Section 5 : Animation References
Section Description
===================
Section 1 : File Header
=======================
HEADER Storm3D_SW File identification header (8 bit ascii values) - no strlen or terminating '\0'.
FLOAT version Current version is 1.93. 1.91 has also been found and is similar.
Section 2 : Lighting Materials
==============================
Defines the characteristics of the vertex lighting materials defined in this .SOD file.
UINT16 count - The number of lighting materials defined in this file.
LIGHTING_MATERIAL ARRAY(count) Array of lighting materials.
LIGHTING_MATERIAL
{
IDENTIFIER identifier Name of the lighting material.
COLOUR ambient Real time lighting ambient component
COLOUR diffuse Real time lighting diffue component
COLOUR specular Real time lighting specular component (only used by the phong illumination model)
FLOAT specular power Specular exponent, used to determine the 'shininess' of material using the phong illumination model.
UINT8 lighting model (constant=0, lambert=1, phong=2)
UINT8 unknown (=0)
}
Section 3 : Nodes
=================
The nodes consist of 5 types NULL, LOD_CONTROL, SPRITE, MESH and EMITTER which together form
a scene graph which describes the object's hierarchy.
UINT16 count - The number of nodes in the hierarchy.
NODE
{
UINT16 node_type (0 - null, 1- mesh, 3 - sprite, 11 - LOD control node, 12 - emitter) DO NOT USE OTHER VALUES.
IDENTIFIER identifier
IDENTIFIER parent (which will be null for root node)
MATRIX34 local transform
TYPE_SPECIFIC_DATA<node_type> Type specific data field as defined below.
}
Null Nodes
==========
TYPE_SPECIFIC_DATA<NULL>
{
No addtional data required.
}
Null nodes are used for two purposes :
1. As 'glue' to stick the rest of the hierarchy together
2. To mark specific locations in the hierachy, for example, hardpoints.
LOD Control Nodes
=================
TYPE_SPECIFIC_DATA<LOD_CONTROL>
{
No addtional data required.
}
Storm3D uses discrete (rather than dynamic) LODs for level of detail control. Each
child of an LOD control node indicates a discrete LOD that the graphics engine may
use when rendering this object. LOD selection is based on visible on-screen area.
Sprite Nodes
============
TYPE_SPECIFIC_DATA<SPRITE_NODE>
{
None: The appropriate sprite node definition to use is determined from the
identifier. The sprite node definition is defined in the .spr files.
}
Examples of sprite node usage include running lights in ST:Armada.
TYPE_SPECIFIC_DATA<PARTICLE_EMITTER>
{
IDENTIFIER Emitter used by this node as defined by an @emitter description in the .spr files.
}
Polygon Mesh Nodes
==================
TYPE_SPECIFIC_DATA<MESH>
{
IDENTIFIER texture material (0 for default) - Defines the TEXTURE_MATERIAL to be used by this mesh.
if (version==1.93)
{
byte unknown[4]
UINT32 textures=1|2
} else textures=1
IDENTIFIER texture
if (version==1.93)
{
UINT32 unknown=0
}
if (textures==2)
{
IDENTIFIER bump
UINT32 unknown
}
if (version==1.93)
{
UINT32 unknown=0
} else UINT16 unknown=0
UINT16 nvertices : Number of vertices
UINT16 number of texture coordinates (ntexcoords)
UINT16 number of vertex lighting groups (ngroups)
VECTOR3 ARRAY vertex positions (nvertices entries)
VECTOR2 ARRAY texture coordinates (ntexcoords entries)
VERTEX_LIGHTING_GROUP ARRAY (ngroups entries)
}
UINT8 cull type (0 - no cull, 1- (backface cull)
UINT16 0 - unused must be 0.
VERTEX_LIGHTING_GROUP
{
UINT16 num_faces (all faces are triangles)
IDENTIFIER lighting_material (0=default)
FACE ARRAY (num_faces entries)
}
FACE_VERTEX
{
UINT16 index into mesh vertex positions array
UINT16 index into mesh texture coordinate array
}
FACE
{
FACE_VERTEX ARRAY(3) 3 entries describing a triangular faces vertex link.
}
Emitter nodes
=============
IDENTIFIER emitter_id
Section 4 : Animation Channels (Defines transform animation)
================================================== ==========
UINT16 count // Number of animation channels
ANIMATION_CHANNEL ARRAY(count) Array of animation channels.
ANIMATION_CHANNEL
{
IDENTIFIER node : The node to which this animation channel refers.
UINT16 nkeyframes : The number of keyframes used by this channel.
FLOAT channel_period : The length of time one loop of this channel lasts.
UINT16 0 : Not currently used. Must be 0.
MATRIX34 ARRAY(nkeyframes) keyframe_data : The actual animation transforms, evenly spaced over time 'channel_period'.
}
Section 5 : Animation References (Defines texture animation)
================================================== ==========
Animation references are a way of linking texture (flipbook) animations defined in the
.spr files to the geometry of a .SOD mesh node. An example of their usage is the
flipbook animation applied to the geometry for the various shield effects in Armada.
UINT16 num_animation_references
ANIMATION_REFERENCE ARRAY(num_animation_references)
ANIMATION_REFERENCE
{
UINT8 type : Must be 4
IDENTIFIER node : The node to which this animation applies.
IDENTIFIER anim : The animation (as defined in .spr files) that is to be applied to this node.
FLOAT playback_offset : Time offset in seconds to be applied to this animation reference.
}
Additional Information
======================
Vertex Lighting Material Sharing
================================
Vertex lighting materials are shared between objects, when parsing a .SOD file,
Storm3D searches for a match in all previously loaded files. If a match is found, that
material is used. This prevents artists from having to ensure the material characteristics
of commonly used materials are correct in each file, and also saves memory.
A 'palette' of commonly used materials can be found in materials.sod
In Armada, this file is loaded prior to most other SOD files & so defines the
characteristics of many common materials.
Hierarchy Structure (Armada Specific)
=====================================
Armada uses various nodes in a Storm3D hierarchy for special purposes.
These include hardpoints, damage nodes, running lights, borgification.
When generating new artwork, the artist must pay careful attention to the
structure of the hierarchy for the new object to function correctly in Armada.
A definition of the hierarchy structure required by Armada is beyond the scope
of this document. For the time being, existing artwork can be used as a reference.
TEXTURE_MATERIAL Definition
===========================
A texture material defines the characteristics of the polygon rasterizer used to
render the polygons in a given mesh. The texture materials are currently fixed
and defined within the executable.
Useful values are :
default - Standard material
additive - Use additive blending
opaque - don't use alpha channel for translucency (use it for glow)
translucent - Semi transparent
alphathreshold - Use for objects using alpha channel 'cut outs' - alpha
channels will have hard edged 'threshold' but objects will be
drawn quickly.
alpha - Uses entire alpha channel. Object will require sorting, so
will have performance implications.
wireframe - Use wireframe graphics.
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The newer version of niftools which can also installed on GMax can be found here:
http://niftools.sourceforge.net/wiki/NifTools
It's been updated frequently for better compatibility and bug fixes.
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The newer version of niftools which can also installed on GMax can be found here:
[url]http://niftools.sourceforge.net/wiki/NifTools[/url]
It's been updated frequently for better compatibility and bug fixes.
These plugins, while very cool, aren't for SFC. Just don't want to confuse anyone.
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ok noob question tring to conver to SFC1 and cant find the lightmaps, I know there there, I can tell as much in model viewer and the fact the model has the light maps, how do I get rid of these things
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It occurs to me that it might be possible to write a MOD exporter with maxscript (without the need of the Max SDK) if we know how the MOD file is structured...
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It occurs to me that it might be possible to write a MOD exporter with maxscript (without the need of the Max SDK) if we know how the MOD file is structured...
where would I get my hands on maxscript (to see how it is written)?
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scriptspot.com has a bunch of maxscripts, inluding file import/export stuff.. it's really not that hard a scripting language at all
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FWIU a script isn't version specific. As long as the version of Max you are using has the features to support the script. So, since every version from at least Max3 has the features needed to be able to import or export a .MOD, a script would be version independent. Nobody should have to write a new script every time Autodesk adds a feature and changes the version number.
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it CAN be version specific, but it usually isn't. Even if a particular script may not work in version 3, a rewrite to MAKE it work in version 3 should be doable.
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ok noob question tring to conver to SFC1 and cant find the lightmaps, I know there there, I can tell as much in model viewer and the fact the model has the light maps, how do I get rid of these things
Responding to old question..
You have to go into the Material Map and physically remove them from the materials on the mesh. Once that's done, the mesh should work in SFC 1.
I had an old tutorial up on it, but don't know if it's still accessible through the various iterations of my site..
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Hmm, got gmax 1.2 downloaded, it runs fine, but, if I put the winmm.dll in the gmax folder the application will not start.
If I remove it, it starts fine again.
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Without it the plugns won't work though. I'm not sure what is causing the problem. An alternative is to DL the niftools plugin and install that. It gives you a new .exe that should run the .mod plugins as well. You then don't need to use the winmm.dll.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/niftools/files/max_plugins/ (http://sourceforge.net/projects/niftools/files/max_plugins/)
So, keep the .mod plugins installed and install the niftools as well. Remove the winmm.dll and use the nifgmax.exe to start gmax
I hope it sorts it for you. Let us know if it helps.