Milkshape .ms3d importer/exporter for 3ds Max and Gmax, version 1.1

[KnightErrant]

This is an update to the importer/exporter of Milkshape .ms3d files into
3ds Max and Gmax. Monkwarrior and I have added two new buttons
for importing and exporting geometry only parts of a model and along
the way found and corrected three bugs (described below). You can
find the script and some other files here:

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/downl...o=file&id=1745

The zip file contains the MaxScript ms3dimportexport_ver1_1.ms,
the original readme.txt file, now called readme_ver1_0.txt, a
readme_ver1_1.txt file which contains the information from this post
in a little more detail, and two files needed by Gmax users but not
by 3ds Max users. The script can be placed in your scripts
subdirectory or any place convenient to your workflow. Click
the Max Script menu item, then Run Script, then mouse to the
directory containing ms3dimportexport_ver1_1.ms and double click
to run it. It will display a simple rollout with "import ms3d file",
"export ms3d file", and the two new buttons, "import geometry only"
and "export geometry only".

The two new buttons can be used this way. Suppose one likes a shield
on one model and wants to use it on another model or several other
models. Import the full model using "import ms3d file" and then click
"export geometry only". This will display a listbox containing the meshes
in the scene. Double click an entry to select it. Your selection will be
echoed in the listener. You are not limited to a single selection so
double click all the meshes you wish to export; they will also be echoed
in the listener. The script does check if you select an item twice which
it doesn't allow. Click the "finished selecting" button when done.

(1) If you are a 3ds Max user the script will open a file chooser for you to
enter a name for the .ms3d file to save to. It will then write the file.

(2) If you are a Gmax user the script exports the data to the listener just
like exporting a full model. You then have to use the supplied
GMaxSLGRAB.exe utility to copy the data from the listener into an
ASCII text file that you name. Then you have to run the Python
ascii2ms3dconverter.py utility to convert it into a binary .ms3d file with
the same name but .ms3d extension.

You can then reset and import a desired model you want to add your
saved shield to. Delete the shield you don't want and then click the
"import geometry only" button and select the file you saved previously.
The desired object should appear in the scene. If you exported a
fully defined object, that is, one with uv coordinates and bone assignments
and weighting, that information is preserved and a skin modifier will be
put on the object.

-------------------------------------------
MORE ERROR CHECKING
-------------------------------------------
On export the script now checks for defined grouptypes and groupflags.
Rather than just stopping with an error, it now prompts you to enter
these. On exporting a full model without a bounding sphere, it tells you
it is supplying a default one. If it finds an unassigned vertex, it will
inform you which mesh the problem occurs in and then terminate.

-------------------------------------------
BUG FIXES
-------------------------------------------
Fix 1: Most glaring bug is that the uv maps are upside down in version 1_0.
The correct transformation was in Vercingetorix's script, I just didn't
see it. Monkwarrior showed me how to see uv coordinates on textures
through the UI where it is pretty obvious what is going on. It is
v -> 1 - v when converting from meshes and Milkshape to
3ds Max and Gmax. This is now done for all imports and exports.

Fix 2: A more subtle bug, again correctly done in Verc's script, is that
texture vertices and geometry vertices have no 1-1 correspondence in
3ds Max. You don't notice this if you just import a model and then export
it because they do have a 1-1 correspondence in a mesh file. Here's the
documentation on the subject.

It is very important to note that

A - There can be more or less texture and color vertices than there are mesh vertices

B - There are always exactly as many mesh faces as there are texture and color faces!

So there is no one-to-one correspondence between mesh vertices and texture and color vertices.
You cannot take vertex number 10 from the mesh and expect that texture vertex 10 will store
the information about its texturing or color vertex 10 would define its vertex color.

As mentioned in B , the number of faces is always identical. Not only this, the indices of
the mesh and texture resp. color faces have a one-to-one correspondence! If face 5 has 3 mesh
vertices you are interested in, their corresponding texture vertices will be the 3 vertices
referenced by the texture face number 5.

This is the key to access to texture and color information in 3ds Max!


Finding the corresponding vertices

In order to find out which texture vertex corresponds to a mesh vertex, you have to do the following:

1. Take the index of the mesh vertex.

2. Find out which faces reference the index of the face.

3. Note the number of the vertex (1st, 2nd or 3rd - .x, .y or .z) inside each face.

4. For each face referencing the vertex, get the texture face with the same index.

5. Get the index of the respective texture vertex from the face - 1st, 2nd or 3rd / .x, .y or .z

6. The vertex you got corresonds to the mesh vertex we started with.

7. Repeat steps 3 to 6 for all faces found.

Same applies to color vertices.

The release notes in the header comments of ms3dImportExport_ver1_1.ms
have the commands you have to use to implement the above algorithm.


Fix 3: For animated files I said I had computed the basevert_array so that
on back conversion you obtain the basepose when you open the file in
Milkshape. Well, that was half true, you get the basepose if you are a
Gmax user but I forgot to implement that for the 3ds Max side. There
you get the regular vert_array which would be whatever animation frame
was displayed when you exported. The animation data in the bones was
still correct, you just got a distorted mesh that would look terrible if you
played the animation in Milkshape. Now on the 3ds Max side, it looks at
a flag to decide if there is animation data present and stored in the root
bone (an animheader entry). If so, it writes out the basevert_array.

[filip_f]

Hello ! there

KNight Errant you have make a amazing tool can you make a manual / tutorial to use this tool ? Iam very need this tutorial because iam very new in modding and to make new attatachment , make a spear more longer (in step by step please )

[Alletun]

Awesome, thanks KE

i got the import thing to work with the trolls, and been working on a wood elf model in max. Milkshape is a fine modeling program but nothing beats 3dsmax.

i'll update the tome to 1.3 soon with a part dedicated to this script (now i just gotta find some time to write it ..)

@filip_f
for a modding related perspective i recommend this:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/downl...o=file&id=1672
it's quite good, but then ... i wrote it so im biased

for a tutorial on 3dsmax i can strongly recommend the Swordmaster e-book from www.3dtotal.com. it's only 10£ i think

[filip_f]

for Aletun
I have already downolad it very nice tutorial !

thanks for the link
for your recomandation for tutorial .what i need as the begginer in modeling unit and add new attatchment ?

[Alletun]

try this:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/downl...o=file&id=1283

[KnightErrant]

@Alletun
Bought the e-book today and skimmed it at lunch, excellent.
($17.10 in US dollars, if anyone is interested.) The chapter on
uv unwrapping looked really good.

@filip_f
I can't do tutorials because I only know how to get numbers in and
out of Gmax. But Monkwarrior taught me how to see textures with a
multi jpeg tutorial so to return the favor:
I'll do armored_sergeants but pick any unit you like. The texture is
en_lmail_hail_england.texture for this example. Convert to DDS format
with alpaca's converter or edit with a hex-editor and delete the first
48 bytes (up to the ASCII letters "DDS") and save as dds. GMax doesn't
read .dds files so it has to be converted. Open with Photoshop and you
get this DDS read properties dialog. The load Mip maps checkbox is
checked by default so uncheck it (circled in red)



(the Mip maps stretch out the uv coords
so they don't display properly) and load. Should have a 1024x1024 image.
Now save it as a targa .tga file, GMax can read these.



Call up the material editor by pressing m and you should see the following.
Press the new button circled in red:



You'll get the New Material dialog, pick standard, and click OK.



Back in the material editor click on the maps rollout circled in red:



On the second entry, diffuse color, click the none button circled in red and
the GMax material navigator appears. Double click on the black box labeled
bitmap to get to a filechooser. Select your .tga file.



You should see your texture on the sphere like below:



Now select all the meshes that are part of the figure, i.e. everything but
weapon and shield.



Then click the apply button followed by the show texture in viewport icon
button (both circled in red). Then your texture appears in the perspective
viewport:




To see a uv map click a mesh, here I've selected head_01, and then in
the modify panel I've clicked out the modifiers and selected
Unwrap UVW



Now click the edit button circled in red:



You will see the uv coords in the Edit UVWs dialog. Click the drop down
and select pick texture. Now choose the .tga you made before.



You should see something like the figure below.



Same thing for a body mesh:



That's the only thing I know how to do in GMax, courtesy of Monkwarrior.

[killerxguy]

Does this mean I can use 3dsmax instead of MS3D!? OMG! If this is true I'll be so happy!!!

EDIT: In short words, Rise of The Caliphate is not dead .

[KnightErrant]

@killerxguy,

I was going to reply to your Milkshape query in the other thread by
sending you to Allentun's Milkshape tutorial. But this works too. Please
post if you run across any bugs.

[killerxguy]

I downloaded Alletun's tutorial yesterday night, but the reason I downloaded it was to discover how to use the text files of M2TW (which are different than RTW text files).

The importer/exporter works perfectly and I actually changed a model and it worked in-game 100% with no bugs...I'm so happy now .

+rep KnightErrant.

[Babur]

+rep KnightErrant.You have saved ROC

[killerxguy]

For some reason the importer/exporter doesn't import smoothing groups.
EDIT: Oops, just found out it does, and I was doing something wrong...mods can delete this post if they want.

[Code_Knight]

i get an error is says undefined to type:integer, why do I get this?

[Atman]

allright guys, I have some newbie questions.

Milkshape 1.8.2 seems to be able to export to just about any format, including 3ds; so your script is only meant to add some functionality to this, like exporting only a piece of geometry - is that right? Or is it necessary to properly export/import?

I'm a modo user. Milkshape seems to be able to export to obj, which I'd normally use for getting my model into another 3d package.

So I assume Milkshape doesn't do that right, otherwise you guys would simply use obj's to get the model to MAX or whatever (?)

Can you sort out my confusion here..

thanks!

[KnightErrant]

Most of those other formats like obj don't support the bone information
like assignments and weighting. The importer/exporter is for bringing
over a complete model. The import/export geometry bits are just meant
as a convenience, sort of like the merge function for GrumpyOldMan's
converter for Milkshape. You can switch out weapons for example.

[SigniferOne]

Oh KE, this is NICE. Big reps!!!


"You must spread some reputation around before giving it to KnightErrant again."

[born2dive67]

wow saw what the company sells the 3ds max for is there lol a cheaper way to get it?

[Icedie El Guaraní]

Well, to bump up this thread with another question.
@ KE i use gmax to make a new celtic chariot model, i uvmapped , set the bones in skin modifier, but when i try to export it with the script, i have this error.

--runtime error: array index must be +ve number , got 0

I can do the export geometry thing, but it make things much longer i suppose.
more thing, when i export the model , grab it, and convert it to ms3d, in milkshake prompt me that has an invalid group of triangules, do you want to remove it? when i hit yes i delete the whole thing, it work normally after i add bones and all the things but its just 1 of those things that keep me wondering that is all.
Edited
Come on Guys, somebody? KE?

[Icedie El Guaraní]

BUMP

[Raiken]

Hmm... Don't know about Icedie's problem, but my problem (i think) is simpler. I get a MAXscript rollout handler exception saying: --Incompatible types: 0, and "

When first exporting i got some bone comment error and it asked me to enter new ones, and something about 0 being all the time and 1 being optional. So i called them all 0. Yea, i probably screwed up...

So, how do i change this, what does it need to say, and last but not least, what the heck is a bone comment? (I've done a lot of modeling in max, but that's for animation films, so i'm in waaay over my head when it comes to game implementing)

P.S: It's a full model rigged to a skeleton imported with an animmerged file via the GOAT toolbox. I just skinned another mesh to the one i animmerged. I'm sure there's an easier way of doing this, but it this way seemed to work, and i got animation to see if the skin deformation looked good.

P.P.S: Big thanks to Knight Errant for all the Wonderful tools he's made. And every other person in here thats ever written a program or tutorial. Would never have got this far without you.

EDIT: Meh, messed up again. What i was missing was group comments. Figured out from deleting what it said in the user defined tab in the mesh object properties, and doing the export over again that it needed separate names and flags, wrote some descriptive names, and yay it worked! (I think...)

HOWEVER: Now i got a message after choosing which file to save it in that i exceeded vertex count. I've made sure that all the verticies are skinned to a bone. What gives? I haven't exceeded the allowed face count of the engine (which should be about 6000 or so).

EDIT 2: (Heh, this is gonna be one long post of edits isn't it?) Dunno what it was but i restarted MAX and the export worked. Now i actually got into milkshape. This time i get an error message about the MS3D file having invalid groups/triangles and if i want to remove them. Saying yes removes the entire mesh, saying no gets it in, but when i try the animation the skin behaves like crap. I suppose its the group comments thats messed up. Does it need some special format or so?

[dome]

it does not works for me ! I use 3dsmax2010
can someone help me?

d.