How to get a .mdl character to open in Maya

[SebastianOsborn]

Okay, so I found an awesome Tracer rig (from the Blizzard game Overwatch) on Steam and want to open it in Maya.  So, I downloaded it and unzipped the folder and in it were several files listed:

tracer.dx90.vtx

tracer.mdl

tracer.vvd

tracer_hands.pre

tracer_pistol.dx90.vtx

tracer_pistol.mdl

tracer_pistol.vvd

I'm assuming the first 3 files are all the same but just different formats.

Unfortunately I couldn't open any of these in Maya (they were "unrecognized")

Does anyone know how I can convert these files so that I can open them in Maya and still have them fully functional (like, where I can actually animate the rig and not just load the geometry)?

That would be SUPER helpful!

Here is a link to where I got the file:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=685956699&searchtext=tracer

You shouldn't need a Steam account to download the file.

Thanks guys!

[santd]

Hi @SebastianOsborn,

Thank you for posting to the area forums.

It looks like there are quite a bit of converters for MDL to OBJ that you could use to get the model:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QceWnFoTVOc

Cheers,

[santd]

Hi @SebastianOsborn,

It might actually be better to go from MDL to FBX.

Some of the same converters that go from MDL to OBJ will also go to FBX. That way the rig might stay together better when imported into Maya.

Cheers,

[SebastianOsborn]

The software you directed me to wont even open up the mdl file.  I even tried importing all the other formats that were in the folder and none of them worked either.  I don't know what to do.  I really want to use this rig.

[_sebastian_f]

did you try other converters than the one in the video? google tells me there are a couple out there so maybe another one works...

[SebastianOsborn · Accepted solution]

I actually did some research and think I may have discovered a possible reason why it's not working.  You see, the 3 different formats in the folder I downloaded for the rig are different parts of the same rig (in a way).  It is broken up this way so the game making/animation/editing software called Source Filmmaker can open up the file and read it correctly.  The original model was probably created using either Blender, Softimage or some other external software that created an SMD file and then converted it or exported it into these three different parts.  So, basically, the reason why I can't convert the file is because I am trying to take a branch of the tree and plant it in the ground to grow a new tree - trying to take a piece and convert it to get a whole.  Thanks for the help anyway, looks like I will have to create this rig myself!