3ds Max 2017 - SMD Exporter

[RadioRahim]

Hi there. I am looking for a way to export to SMD file in 3dsMax 2017. It looks like there was a pluggin for this for 2010-2012 but not sure if that has been maintained.

Would that older pluggin work in 2017? If not, are there are other resources for exporting to SMD file for 3dsMax 2017?

Cheers

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

I've run into those types of limits in the past doing what limited game work I have done in my career.  3 seems to be the magic number from my experience.   Thanks for the info @lightcube!

Best Regards,

[RadioRahim]

ok so good news I was able to export an SMD with Wallworm from 3dsMax with no bone problems with the parser, but... the textures seem to be mapped wrong, and the layers are not separated like they are in Milkshape.

When I re-open the SMD file that was exported form Wallwoym in Milkshape the layers are still there, so maybe there is a setting in 3dsmax to keep the layers separated? I need these seprated so that I can fix the textures that dont seem to be applying correctly. 

[lightcube]

Glad you got that working.

In terms of the textures, I'm not clear on what you mean by layers? I presume your materials are not correct? Wall Worm exports the Material name. So if you just name the materials as you want in the SMD, they will come out as expected. Please note that I am talking about the Material, and not the bitmap files. If you want WW to use the bitmap file instead, go to the global settings and turn on the Legacy Mat / Texture settings in the Materials tab before exporting. Using the Material name is the preferred method.

If this is not what you mean, you will need to post more information.

[RadioRahim]

thanks again for your reply and attention on this matter.
What i mean by layers is that in Milkshape when I open an SMD file, there are different groups (or layers) of the mesh that are separated by which texture they are applied to. So imagine that each layer is assigned to a different texture and those meshes are separated likw so:


In Milkshape we are able to work with each individual layer and by being able to do this we are able to adjust the texture mapping (UVW) for each texture separately.

When I import the SMD file in 3ds Max I am using settings:


As you can see the 'single Mesh' option is disabled but after import I am only left with one single mesh. What is odd (as I said in my last post) is that if i export this to SMD using WW export and import into Milkshape the layers are separated again.

None of this may matter as the end goal here is to be able to fix the texture mappings because presently the textures do not come out correctly in game after exporting from WW. I do not know if there are any setting for import or export that preserve the texture mapping that I should know about?

The way this works is that I export the SMD as the model and export the texture data in an MTL file created by exporting on OBJ file. Those two files (the MTL & the SMD) are what are used to make .BIN files which the game reads. Doing this with Milkshape works fine but in 3dsMax it seems that the layers are merged and that the texture data gets lost on export ). The textures look fine in 3dsMax, and are applied properly to the model, but they are not reflected properly in game using the WW export option. 

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello @RadioRahim,

Do all the materials have names in 3ds Max?  Are the MatID's consecutive?  (Meaning, is the 4th material ID 4?)  

Best Regards,

[lightcube]

Send me the original SMD file you are importing.

I am really confused now about what you are doing with this process. Importing an SMD to then immediately export an SMD... what is the real purpose?

WW will export everything as intended. But you have to know what you are end goal is and how to get there. Please provide an exhaustive step-by-step process, from begging to end, on what you are trying to do and the steps you are taking. Include your original files so that I can follow your steps.

[RadioRahim]

The materials are showing up fine in the viewport display, just not on export.
All the materials have names... but im not sure if the MatID's consecutive..  
Here is the order of materials in the multi material :

[RadioRahim]

thanks for your reply Shawn. 

"I am really confused now about what you are doing with this process. Importing an SMD to then immediately export an SMD... what is the real purpose?"

I am trying to import the SMD to 3dsMax in order to edit it with the tools available in 3dsMax, such as Pro Optimizer, etc. 
i will send you an email with 2 of the models (and textures) attached.

Essentially I am taking and SMD file, importing it into 3dsMax. It comes up blank with no textures, so I use the picker tool in the Material editor and chose the model. A MultiMaterial is created and the materials come out looking fine on the model in the view port. When I export using the WW SMD export pluggin the materials mapping on the model in game does not reflect what is seen in the viewport. 

There is still also the issue of not being able to see the layers of the model in 3dsMax as described earlier in this thread. 

Cheers

[lightcube · Accepted solution]

After looking at the model in Milkshape, I discovered the source of your issue. WW normally strips out non alphanumeric characters (like spaces, periods, etc) and removes the file extension to be Source friendly. The file extension was only included if the Engine is set to Goldsource in WW and then it was always using .BMP since that is the file type used by Goldsource. I have updated Wall Worm to have a new global setting to always write the extension. If you update WW, you can now export how you intend.

1. Update to WW 3.25
2. In Global Settings  (Wall Worm > Settings) turn on Extension in SMD in Models Tab
3. Turn on Legacy Mat Names in the Materials tab of global settings

Below is your scene in Max as well as Milkshape.

Note that I would still use the Single Mesh option on the SMD Importer. It works faster. Also you will work more efficiently if using Max 2018 because some functions were sped up in that version of Max. Moreover, your exports will be faster as well if using WW Pro.

[RadioRahim]

Thank you for taking the time to investigate this thoroughly Shawn. I am glad our experience was able to get your tools up to date. 

Im confused as to how to update though? I dont see anything on the website that shows where the updates are. I thin kit woudl be handy for future users who read this post if there was a link to this update. 

I look forward to trying this out. 
Cheers

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello @RadioRahim,

From the sound of it his tool was up to date and up to spec, but he expanded the toolset specifically to address your issue.  The only reason I point this out is because he's gone way above and beyond here and I wanted to make sure you knew that.  At any rate, I'm glad this is resolved.  

Best Regards,

[RadioRahim]

oh yes of course. Shawn has been nothing but accommodating & polite. I am very pleased how this might turn out. 

thanks you both for all your help

[lightcube]

Installing/Updating WW are very similar. Instructions on installing and updating are here: Installing Wall Worm.

To see if there are updates since your version, just click Wall Worm > Wall Worm Utilities > Check For Updates. This will let you know if there are updates and prompt you to go to the site.

[RadioRahim]

Thanks Shawn, but im still having trouble updating. When i go to Wall Worm > Wall Worm Utilities > Check For Updates  my web browser opens up and brings me here:

https://wallworm.com/store/

looking at that page there doesn't seem to have any links for updates. Could you help me figure this out?

thanks

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello @RadioRahim,

Try going to "My Account".   This store issue aside, did @lightcube solve your original issue?  If so, would you please Accept as Solution on any posts which helped there?  Thanks!

Best Regards,

[RadioRahim]

@lightcube- ok i was able to update and apply those settings, but now it says that the SMD importer is not present.

Am i missing something (figuratively or literally)?

I went to : http://dev.wallworm.com/document/121/smd_vta_and_qc_importer.html but cant see anywhere to download the importer. I cant remember how I did it last time. 

[RadioRahim]

ok so I was able to get the pluggin working (it just started working on its own), but there is still an issue with the WW SMD importer.

There are still no separated layers as there are featured in Milkshape 3D. Was this something that was going to be fixed or am I stuck with one mesh using these tools?

[lightcube]

The installation of updates is as simple as overwriting the original files with the new files (as in the instructions I linked above). If you do not overwrite the files (and put them into a different location than the original) then you need to make sure to run the install.ms script on the updated download.

In terms of the "separate layers":

This is not an issue of being fixed/not fixed. There is nothing to fix. The issue is that you are likely not yet familiar with Max and/or Wall Worm Model Tools. Max is not Milkshape 3D. You will need to learn the ins and outs of 3ds Max. Your best advice is to learn how rigging in Max works, along with a study of the Skin modifier. You will also likely need to learn how the Material Editor and the Unwrap UVW modifier work. The 3ds Max documentation on these is very good and extensive:

• Skin Modifier
• Unwrap UVW Modifier
• Material Editor

What material goes where on a model is controlled by these two things: The Material ID of any particular face and the order of materials in a Multi/Sub-Object material applied to the object. Those are your "layers" you are referring to in Milkshape 3D. If you wish to keep each material in a separate mesh, then don't use the Single Mesh option on the importer. I don't recommend that, however.

I understand that you may be frustrated that everything is not labeled/working as you are familiar with in Milkshape. But I beg you to not refer to things as broken because of this. I am always eager to address bugs as quickly as possible. But so far you have repeatedly referred to things as broken when they are working as intended. Effective use of Wall Worm tools necessitates that you are familiar with 3ds Max itself--remember that it is specifically a toolset that sits inside of 3ds Max. As a hint, almost all buttons and UI components in Wall Worm have tooltips that will pop up if you hover your mouse over them for a second or two.

At this point, you will get answers more quickly if you ask WW-specific questions in the WW forums or in the WW Discord Channel. You can find both of these in the Wall Worm > Wall Worm Online menus.

[RadioRahim]

after a couple of months away I thought id come back and give this a shot. It looks like I still cant have separated layers. 

Shawn, sorry to beat a dead horse here, but I am wondering once and for all... Can you confirm that the WW SMD importer will always merge all layers that are shown in Milkshape ? I need to explore other software if this is the case. 

[lightcube]

I believe that you may have a fundamental misunderstanding on how 3ds Max itself or Wall Worm works.

Yes, the materials are kept separate in the imported SMD. The representation of those materials in Max are not necessarily identical to how it is in Milkshape. You will need to learn Max techniques/terminology and not think of things in terms of Milkshape.

As for the "Layers" you mention, this is not the terminology that is correct in a 3ds Max context. In Max, there are two separate "separations" of the data. On one hand, there are Nodes (which in the SMD are defined as bones)--some of whom have vertices and some that don't. On the other hand, each node has an array of Material IDs that determine what material appears on each face of the node.

If the imported SMD has one bone with meshes, you'll get just one imported mesh.

If the SMD has multiple bones with associated meshes and you keep this options off (Single Mesh), then you'll get as many mesh objects as there are meshed bones in the SMD.

On each meshed object, you can get to each "layer", as you put it, by selecting the mesh, going to the Modify tab, change to either Polygon or Element sub-object mode and scroll to the Polygon:Material IDs rollout. From there you can select each "layer" as you'd call it. (There are other ways you can get to each set of material parts via modifiers... but I don't have time to explain them all).

I hope this helps you. The bottom line is that you need to learn 3ds Max itself to understand how to manipulate the imported models. Max and Milkshape are not the same programs and have very different ways of representing/manipulating the models.