If the first scene I sent is way too confusing of a mess, let me know, and I'll see if I can get my friend's scene for you which would be a little cleaner e.g. less redundant materials and stuff lying around.
I don't think I ever reported that bug, I just assumed it was some difference between how the wowmodelviewer exports models and how the 3ds max plugin imports them. That was at the end of my last production which was a while ago, when there was no one working on the plugin.
Reproducing the bug is as simple as exporting an m3 from the wowmodelviewer and then importing it into 3ds max.
Hopefully you can gleam some information from that scene. I have a friend trying to work on another model and he's having even more trouble than I am, so we're both pretty certain something changed between the old and current version of the plugin, perhaps some kind of setting or setup that we didn't need to do before.
That scene is a bit of a mess, by the way. Hopefully it won't be too confusing.
/edit
Here is some more precise information on the first problem we are having.
We have imported models from other games and set up the materials, attachments, etc. in max. Previously, we were able to get these models into the game (with some problems like I mentioned, like no multi-object smoothing, bone weight problems, etc), but they did import fine.
Now we cannot get geometry to export. I have run a few tests and literally geometry is just not exporting. The bones etc. all export but, for example in that first scene I sent you, only the staff geometry exports and not the body. We have no idea why this is happening.
You may get some errors about niftools and stuff, but these shouldn't effect the scene in any way.
Additionally, if at all relevant, stuff I've tried to export from the wowmodelviewer also have parts of the geometry invisible in sc2 now. (/edit nevermind, we figured out why that particular problem was happening. Unrelated.)
/e Oh, I think it's missing some attachment points.
It has been a long time since I last worked with this plugin (2010), and back then it had quite a few bugs. I could never get multi-object mesh smoothing to work (it'd only smooth the first channel), never could get alphas to work, there were some bone weighting issues, and one of the models I tried to export had very strange vertex bugs which caused vertexes to end up in the atmosphere somewhere. Oh yeah, and 5 hour long exports.
I decided to try out the updated plugin, which seems to export faster, but nothing we are exporting is showing up in the game. Even previous scenes with models I know worked, and still work in sc2, result in no geometry appearing in sc2. The cutscene editor reports bones and vertexes but missing materials and the geometry is totally invisible ingame and in the viewer. As far as I can tell everything is set up correctly in materials. Everything is editable mesh. So on so forth.
Has anything changed in the materials or exporting manner between the very old version of the plugin and the current one that could cause this to happen?
Very understandable. While I don't hold any hopes of SC2 living up to the original in terms of custom content, the fact you made source code available is already a tremendous step forward from past mindsets. Your efforts here are very much appreciated. Just the mere act of releasing a plugin that supports even a semi-recent version of 3ds max is outstanding in the Blizzard community.
I don't find Blizzard's laziness in releasing their 3d plugin surprising at all.
I'm guessing you weren't able to figure out any of those issues I PM'd you about a while ago, NiN? I just did a re-export of the Bandersnatch and I see the bone weighting issues remain. I know the model is fine as I have it in the UDK working, so... eh. I'm guessing multi-object materials and smoothing groups don't play nicely yet, either.
On the bright side I did get alphas to work finally. So, there is at least some progress (or maybe I was just stupid this entire time and since no one would tell me if alphas were even possible I have no idea).
/edit Nevermind, I thought alphas worked because they appeared semi-normal in Preview but ingame they're still black as ever. Feeling very stupid now.
Yeah, I understand completely. But any progress is still massive. It took until sc2 for someone (Again, NiN, what a hunk) to make an importer/exporter for warcraft 3 that worked for a version of 3ds max later than 5.1! Which doesn't even work on vista or windows 7 because it's so old!
I can't model or animate characters so it comes down to porting stuff from other games, so having solid tools is really important. For the most part they work with NiN's exporter, but there are issues that do occur, like the lack of multi-object material smoothing I pointed out a while ago, and some weird bone weighting issues Otixa and I tried to figure out for quite a while without any success. It would help if Blizzard was actually in any way serious about supporting custom content and took a stance like Epic, who regularly releases source code for their plugins in addition to their plugins quite often, for the UDK and such. But given their flabbergasted blank stares in response to questions about single player campaigns at Blizzcon, and ludicrous "sometime between now and LoTV" for releasing the max plugin they are using right this minute... well, when there's no competition for what you're doing, you can set the bar very, very low.
I've played pretty much everything, WoW included, for many years. I modded Starcraft since 1999, and d2 for a duration, though not as long as wc3.
SC2 is my greatest disappointment in all my time of gaming and modding. I still hang around in the vain hopes things that are possible in Brood War, like actual mods/campaigns, will one day be possible with SC2. But probably not before I switch off to Skyrim. I would love to help you guys research this further but I know absolutely no technical knowledge. I can only report the numerous bugs I've run into exporting, which I did a while ago to NiN. :(
Same reasons they use Diablo 1 code in warcraft 3.
I would personally argue against that anything Blizzard's released since Brood War was a "good game", but I guess that depends on what perspective you look at them.
Glazing over the technical bits that don't make much sense to me, were any of the issues I spoke of before ever addressed? Smoothing groups not working on multi object materials (only applying to the first texture and not the others) and such?
Quick question - did you check if your m2 importer can import WoW models from Cataclysm yet? I haven't been able to check myself but I was trying to pull models out of a pre-cata patch mpq (namely the Netherdrake) and the importer refused to import them. I figured the format changed... but I'm not sure.
Best regards.
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@Leruster: Go
Have you had any luck deciphering why our geometry isn't exporting yet?
If the first scene I sent is way too confusing of a mess, let me know, and I'll see if I can get my friend's scene for you which would be a little cleaner e.g. less redundant materials and stuff lying around.
Leruster, were those scenes I sent you of any value?
@Leruster: Go
I don't think I ever reported that bug, I just assumed it was some difference between how the wowmodelviewer exports models and how the 3ds max plugin imports them. That was at the end of my last production which was a while ago, when there was no one working on the plugin.
Reproducing the bug is as simple as exporting an m3 from the wowmodelviewer and then importing it into 3ds max.
Hopefully you can gleam some information from that scene. I have a friend trying to work on another model and he's having even more trouble than I am, so we're both pretty certain something changed between the old and current version of the plugin, perhaps some kind of setting or setup that we didn't need to do before.
That scene is a bit of a mess, by the way. Hopefully it won't be too confusing.
/edit
Here is some more precise information on the first problem we are having.
We have imported models from other games and set up the materials, attachments, etc. in max. Previously, we were able to get these models into the game (with some problems like I mentioned, like no multi-object smoothing, bone weight problems, etc), but they did import fine.
Now we cannot get geometry to export. I have run a few tests and literally geometry is just not exporting. The bones etc. all export but, for example in that first scene I sent you, only the staff geometry exports and not the body. We have no idea why this is happening.
I encounter this bug in 2010 as well.
@Leruster: Go
I have PM'd you a link to the scene.
You may get some errors about niftools and stuff, but these shouldn't effect the scene in any way.
Additionally, if at all relevant, stuff I've tried to export from the wowmodelviewer also have parts of the geometry invisible in sc2 now. (/edit nevermind, we figured out why that particular problem was happening. Unrelated.)
/e Oh, I think it's missing some attachment points.
It has been a long time since I last worked with this plugin (2010), and back then it had quite a few bugs. I could never get multi-object mesh smoothing to work (it'd only smooth the first channel), never could get alphas to work, there were some bone weighting issues, and one of the models I tried to export had very strange vertex bugs which caused vertexes to end up in the atmosphere somewhere. Oh yeah, and 5 hour long exports.
I decided to try out the updated plugin, which seems to export faster, but nothing we are exporting is showing up in the game. Even previous scenes with models I know worked, and still work in sc2, result in no geometry appearing in sc2. The cutscene editor reports bones and vertexes but missing materials and the geometry is totally invisible ingame and in the viewer. As far as I can tell everything is set up correctly in materials. Everything is editable mesh. So on so forth.
Has anything changed in the materials or exporting manner between the very old version of the plugin and the current one that could cause this to happen?
We are using max 2010. 2012 throws frame errors.
@NiNtoxicated01: Go
Very understandable. While I don't hold any hopes of SC2 living up to the original in terms of custom content, the fact you made source code available is already a tremendous step forward from past mindsets. Your efforts here are very much appreciated. Just the mere act of releasing a plugin that supports even a semi-recent version of 3ds max is outstanding in the Blizzard community.
I don't find Blizzard's laziness in releasing their 3d plugin surprising at all.
I'm guessing you weren't able to figure out any of those issues I PM'd you about a while ago, NiN? I just did a re-export of the Bandersnatch and I see the bone weighting issues remain. I know the model is fine as I have it in the UDK working, so... eh. I'm guessing multi-object materials and smoothing groups don't play nicely yet, either.
On the bright side I did get alphas to work finally. So, there is at least some progress (or maybe I was just stupid this entire time and since no one would tell me if alphas were even possible I have no idea).
/edit Nevermind, I thought alphas worked because they appeared semi-normal in Preview but ingame they're still black as ever. Feeling very stupid now.
@NiNtoxicated01: Go
Keep up the good work bro. Much respect.
@Varine: Go
Yeah, I understand completely. But any progress is still massive. It took until sc2 for someone (Again, NiN, what a hunk) to make an importer/exporter for warcraft 3 that worked for a version of 3ds max later than 5.1! Which doesn't even work on vista or windows 7 because it's so old!
I can't model or animate characters so it comes down to porting stuff from other games, so having solid tools is really important. For the most part they work with NiN's exporter, but there are issues that do occur, like the lack of multi-object material smoothing I pointed out a while ago, and some weird bone weighting issues Otixa and I tried to figure out for quite a while without any success. It would help if Blizzard was actually in any way serious about supporting custom content and took a stance like Epic, who regularly releases source code for their plugins in addition to their plugins quite often, for the UDK and such. But given their flabbergasted blank stares in response to questions about single player campaigns at Blizzcon, and ludicrous "sometime between now and LoTV" for releasing the max plugin they are using right this minute... well, when there's no competition for what you're doing, you can set the bar very, very low.
@Varine: Go
I've played pretty much everything, WoW included, for many years. I modded Starcraft since 1999, and d2 for a duration, though not as long as wc3.
SC2 is my greatest disappointment in all my time of gaming and modding. I still hang around in the vain hopes things that are possible in Brood War, like actual mods/campaigns, will one day be possible with SC2. But probably not before I switch off to Skyrim. I would love to help you guys research this further but I know absolutely no technical knowledge. I can only report the numerous bugs I've run into exporting, which I did a while ago to NiN. :(
Same reasons they use Diablo 1 code in warcraft 3.
I would personally argue against that anything Blizzard's released since Brood War was a "good game", but I guess that depends on what perspective you look at them.
Glazing over the technical bits that don't make much sense to me, were any of the issues I spoke of before ever addressed? Smoothing groups not working on multi object materials (only applying to the first texture and not the others) and such?
Quick question - did you check if your m2 importer can import WoW models from Cataclysm yet? I haven't been able to check myself but I was trying to pull models out of a pre-cata patch mpq (namely the Netherdrake) and the importer refused to import them. I figured the format changed... but I'm not sure.
Best regards.