SC2Mapster

Here's a little tool that will convert some heroes of the storms models into Sc2 HotS M3 version.

Just drag your Heroes M3 files to it and it will create a new one with Sc2 specs.

It works on some models, not all.

@TaylorMouse: Go

download version 0.6. It´s a little down there like on 8th post. It creates Bones or Helpers depends on what you want. It also imports a lot more things. You need to run it twice though, it bugs first try.

Also carefull with some models that have animated textures. It can crash Star Tools but if you save your scene and tweak the animaions a bit, it works.

@penguinwars: Go

mainly because Sc2Composite is used for cinematic models. If you use it on normal game models, it means the model must be rendered in more than one pass, so it's a costy material. Not only that but models using Sc2Composite bug out if you try to apply a displacement effect (cloaking for example)

I doubt you'll find an student edition of max 2011 now-a-days.

Oh just in case. In order to browse HotS files, you require CASCView: CASC Storage It's a tool made to look into Blizzard's new CASC file system. With that you can extract models, music, etc. Have in mind that HotS m3 format is a little bit newer than the one in current Sc2 build, so you may experience some bugs.

@TaylorMouse: Go

I don't get it, the script already creates layers.

@penguinwars: Go

oh, I think the m3 exporter does not support Sc2Composite as Art Tools do. Try figuring out a way to apply your efect without Sc2 composite.

Type m, select each of your material and click on Standard, change that for Sc2Material.

Okey guys new version:

• Improved animations
• Added Visibility Animations (does not work on some particle emitters)
• Added Parameter Animations
• Added Texture Animations
• Added Global Sequences.

IMPORTANT NOTE: if you import a model and it has global sequences. Open the animation Prop and go to each Glstand Animation and delete the default trackset. Afterwards SAVE your scene and try previewing it. Art Tools may crash, but if you reload your scene they should work after that.

Here's a preview of an Exported Model:

Quote from Zolden: Go

I think normal map generation must be improved, wow diffuse maps aren't good source of using them as height map.

Instead, their normalized grayscale could be used as inverted top-down channel for normal map. Probably. Becaause diffuse map in wow kinda include lightning from top.

I use the max RGB value to get the height (the NVidio tools already gets the heights from a certain value). It's a good aproximation, but if you want perfect results you need to do it by hand or find a way to generate a bitmap with heights rescaled according to the vertex uv on z scale.

That's because his importer wasn't designed for Art Tools. Yomust remake attachments, materials and reset animations as Art Tools work.

I'm working on an import script for Art Tools but it's still pending as I still need to finish reverse engineering the M3 format.

New version!

Feutures:

• Implemented Ribbon Emitters.
• Fixed Particle Emitters way more (actualy the conversion is better than Wow Model Viewer's now, but still not perfect)
• Rescripted materials
• Rescripted animations. Models should be a bit less buggy.
• Billboarded bones are autoset now.
• HitTestFuzzy and HitTestTight are autogenerated (approximated).
• Basic attachments are autogenerated.

Have in mind that the importer is still not perfect, but it's coming along pretty well to that purpose.

I'll try to get done for next week:

• Global Animations.
• Parameter Animations
• Texture Animations
• Visibility Animations.

With that, transforming a WoW model will be a piece a cake.

The best you can do is make editing your map such a pain in the ass, that anyone would refuse to steal it.

Yesterday I took some time to look into the Sc2 Art Tools files, I then noticed a file called SC2ArtTools.mzp. It's actualy a zip file with a bunch of maxcripts in .mse format. I later extracted those and decrypted them (3ds max's encryption algorithm is terrible).

Inside of that I noticed a lot of interesting things:

1. all the helper plugins are scripted in maxscript.
2. Data comunication between 3dsmax and sc2editor is done through command line operations.
3. All of the functions are accesible without hacking by using the global: StarTools in maxscript (open the listener and write it, then use "show StarTools" to browse it).
4. The liveUpdater is also managed using maxscript.
5. The only code which is version dependant is the Exporter itself (the one that writes the file) and the next plugins: All Effects plugins (Sc2Particle, Sc2Ribbon, etc), All Material Plugins and Sc2Omni, Sc2Camera and Sc2Spot.
6. Identifying install directories for Sc2, logging and configuration is all version independant. It all runs on maxscript.

Some important information:

• All the version dependant plugins are scriptable through maxscript.
• The code is very well organized, it's easy to just replace the hardcoded exporter with a maxscript coded exporter.
• The data gathering from the scene is already made by StarTool's maxscript only conversion of the data gathered to m3 file is hardcoded.

The hardcoded library is called Sc2ExporterLib, it's job is:

• Setup image conversion.
• Generate M3 file from the data gathered.
• Generate ConvexHulls for Sc2Physics.
• Commit models into a mod file.
• Prepare some files for previewing? (Still not sure how it works).

Mainly anyone interested on making them compatible with any 3dsmax version. Would need to redo those jobs on maxscripts or through standalone aplications.

@IskatuMesk: Go

you've mastered the extrude, now master the target weld, collapse, slice, cut, snap, chamfer and bridge.

Okey. Took your feedback and made an improved version of the importer.

Feutures:

• Improved Material interpretation.
• The importer will try to look for Sc2 maps by default, if they aren't present, it won't create them.
• Particle Emitters are now partialy imported (I still need to figure out the many unknowns on them).
• Fixed Attachments and only necessary Attachments are imported.
• Bones can now be imported as MaxBones or as Points.
• All the objects are now set up in layers.
• Ribbon Emitters and Lights are read but not created.

Future Feutures:

• Add visibility Animations
• Fix up multimaterials and multivariation models.
• Fix up weird rotation problems.
• Add texture animations.
• Fix up the particle emitters (as I figure them out).
• Add support for Ribbon Emitters, Lights and Cameras.
• Add support for NeoDex.