Many people already tried to make modelling in Blender possible, but we face so many unknown problems that I don't know if such a thing will ever be possible. I guess our best bet right now is converting the SC2 3dMax plugin into something else, even despising the fact that it uses 3dMax specific routines that can't be translated into python nor anything else :S
I am curious though .... How would you convert a Blender model into a 3dMax model without using 3dMax? I have a feeling such things wouldn't be possible xD
Unless ... I could replicate the 3dMax routines engine ... which would be silly ...
I read the pdf file you wrote, but unfortunately the truth is that it didn't help much. For me, random characters and structure data are not quite what I need. Instead of saying "hey, this is a 4 character data", I am more interested in the "Hey, this 4 character data represents feature X in a real model". My problem is that I can't link the Hex information with the real world models. And google is no longer enough :S
The plugin you are referring was actually suggested by me, irrc, along with a list of non-working plugins for the Blender community. I thought the mail had been ignored, but I am happy it didn't. Bad thing is that the plugin is no longer .. well ... maintained.
Converting things to Blender is nice, but to be honest I am way more concerned about completely understanding the .m3 file format. If we can do that, we will be able to convert the .m3 file format to any other program or format.
And I say that the .m3 Blender plugin is abandoned because the owner on the thread (the thread here at sc2mapster) actually said he had no time time to continue the project.
I am going to read your pdf file because that's really the only new thing for me. let's hope I can find something useful there.
In the last BlizzCon I saw I remember seeing someone asking for a Blizz 3dModel editor, and they said it was not in their plans. So, I don't really think it is a possibility (it kinda sucks I can't find the youtube video, sry about that :S ).
As for the cube .m3 file, I am amazed about the quantity of information it has.
I assume you can all see the same information I can, so I was wondering if anyone could guide through the header structure, since it seems to be static (it never changes, at least in the 2-3 models I recall seeing).
I am looking into the 3dmax script. I am scared like hell. As far as I can tell from the code, that script is a very big mixed salad. It has code to import WoW models, some sort of WoW2 (I can't figure how that even exists) and somewhere it must have something about with Sc2. Turns out that NiNtoxicated used a 3dmax script for WoW as a base, and then he just fixed some issues and added some new information, mixing it all together in a great mess.
As for collada, I never heard of it xD
Perhaps collada is more used in USA and X3D is more used in Europe (where I live). If I manage to even learn something from this 3dMax script I will definitely give it a look.
For now I will be more than happy to just import something as easy as the geometry (vertexes). If I manage to do that, maybe I can go further, but I can't make any promises. I still need to divide the code into "WoW" code and "Sc2" code because it's all mixed up.
EDIT:
Never mind ... the 3dsmax plugin is simply a plugin for the WoW m2 file that has been changed ... I fail to see the connection between all the wow code and the sc2 code ...
EDIT:
Can someone give me the .m3 file of a cube? For some gay reason 3dmax kills my computer :S
There have been changes to the thing. Now total map size is 20 MegaBytes per map. But that does not include mod files. So you can put 20 MB of info into a mod file, and have up to mod files. So you could have 100 MB in a map, provided you could upload that in 2 minutes. Normally you put all the imported assets into a mod file, so only the terrain, data, and triggers take up space.
Thank you for the clarification sir! I had no idea about this. Looks like I can also make a project of my own as well :D
PS: is there a way to give rep to people around here? Sorry but I am new xD
He meant dowloading this template, which is used by the 010 Hex Editor to structure the data within the .m3 file.
Thank you kinda sir!
I installed the program together with the template. As a result I get random structures with hexadecimal content. I am not sure the use I can give to that :S
What is the most basic and easy model Sc2 has? I tried the bunker and the armory, but obviously it is too big.
Also, what is the .m3h file supposed to do?
It sounds like this will be a standalone program, right? Maybe you can check out what the AssImp team are doing and help out, by helping them with adding .m3 to their list of exportable and importable formats. Once that is done, we'll be able to import and export to many formats. http://sourceforge.net/projects/assimp/
Well, it was first intended to be a plugin for blender. But then I realised that Blender had an X3D import plugin that was working. This led me to questioning my objective: X3D is a standard to transfer modelling information and scenes. If I can convert .m3 do X3D, not only will I help the blender community, I will also help everyone else along with the process. Therefore I plan on making a small and simple java application (to work on all operating systems) that would convert a .m3 file into a X3D with all the needed information.
As for the Assimp project it seems that it aims to be a program to open as many different formats as possible. However, after a quick test, the Assimp Viewer didn't even work properly, contrary to the advertised, it couldn't, per example, load properly my earth model from earth made on Blender (has a .blend flie extension that was supposed to be supported). Thanks on the link however I may try contacting the team.
Finally, as for the Blender script ... if all goes well I wont be doing one. That's the thing of making standards, should I succeed, not only blender, but every other program that imports the X3D format will be able to read files. And since X3D is a standard, I must say I am excited.
Still, I will read it. I like learning :D
Alevice beat me to it, yeah I meant uuse the 010 hex editor and open the template then open several .m3 files and run the template on them. It will parse the model, help you understand the fileformat of what we know about the fileformat and such.
But yeah, that's about all we have, you could also try looking at NiNtoxicated's code for m3 exporting/importing. They're on MAXSCRIPT but it's very similar to C so you'd kinda get it.
there's a lot more in the M3 models than just vertex data. Those things should be pretty easy to get and parse with just a few knowledge of programming and some bits of modeling but things like particles, ribbons, hair and such would be the most difficult to explain and figure out in the format :P But we'll walk you through it ;o
Get used to the m3 format, open a few models with said template, see what information is missing in the template and then we figure it out and we'll teach you how models work :P
@JackRCDF: Go Unfortunately the m3 format is much more complex than the obj format, to start with the m3 is a dynamic binary file and the .obj format they're making the example exporter is just a plain text format which takes no account on things like length of bytes, variable types, and so, so kinda useless really.
As a heads up, if you're going to be making it a standalone program you're going to be needing an input format which is really standard(I really have never before heard of x3d being standard or heard about it at all), I'd recommend collada (dae) or fbx. and you're obviously going to need to know the m3 format well to output information to it.
So, those random structures are all you know about the file format?! Dang :S I'm pretty much screwed.
As for the plugin, I assume you are referring to this:
http://www.sc2mapster.com/assets/m3-export-plugin-3ds-max/?page=2
I don't know how that is going to help me, but I guess I can sure try ... Let's hope they have the code commented xD
As for m3 being complex ... well ... you are starting to scare me ... I hope the X3D standard is strong enough to hold it :S
As for the input format ... I plan on making something simple, like you give the program a .m3 file and the program outputs a X3D file and vice-versa. As for X3D, here is the link of the consortium:
http://www.web3d.org/x3d/
So far, knowing the .m3 file seems to be the greatest problem to me :S
Thank you all for the support.
Well, I know a few things about programming, trust me on that :P
My problem is that I have no idea how models work. I know they use vertexes and stuff like that, but that's about it. Your suggestion seems to be a program. Are you suggesting I should reverse engineer that exe file and see what's behind it? I am not sure how good that would do, but still thanks. I searched all over Google for some sort of API about the .m3 file format, but it simply doesn't seem to be one. Is there anything else useful you can let me know? I would really appreciate it.
Hello fellows. I come to you all seeking help on understanding the sc2 model file. If I can understand it, maybe I can make a plugin that exports it to X3D format (a standard for models) and thus every modelling program like Blender and x3vision will be able to use it and to model for Sc2. Further more, because X3D is a free standard, you will be able to import all types of models, no matter from what game into Sc2.
But it offers little information and I am not sure if it is abandoned, or maybe it's just because I am a newb... I never modelled before in my life, so I will be most happy to see if someone can help me.
Mr Cloud_Wolf .... forgive me my ignorance but ... aren't you that same guy who was doing Diablo3 for wc3? If so, long time no see. I am happy to see you became quite an icon around Sc2 moding :D
On the other hand ... isn't it the total map size for multiplayer games 8MB? I ask this because with all the imports it looks like you are going for a higher limit. Correct me if I am wrong however.
Hey guys, I read some threads about people making a script for blender to convert .blender files to .m3
However the thread is old and I didn't see any results. Did anyone make any extension for blender? Are there any other communities working on it ?
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Many people already tried to make modelling in Blender possible, but we face so many unknown problems that I don't know if such a thing will ever be possible. I guess our best bet right now is converting the SC2 3dMax plugin into something else, even despising the fact that it uses 3dMax specific routines that can't be translated into python nor anything else :S
I am curious though .... How would you convert a Blender model into a 3dMax model without using 3dMax? I have a feeling such things wouldn't be possible xD
Unless ... I could replicate the 3dMax routines engine ... which would be silly ...
0
I read the pdf file you wrote, but unfortunately the truth is that it didn't help much. For me, random characters and structure data are not quite what I need. Instead of saying "hey, this is a 4 character data", I am more interested in the "Hey, this 4 character data represents feature X in a real model". My problem is that I can't link the Hex information with the real world models. And google is no longer enough :S
0
The plugin you are referring was actually suggested by me, irrc, along with a list of non-working plugins for the Blender community. I thought the mail had been ignored, but I am happy it didn't. Bad thing is that the plugin is no longer .. well ... maintained. Converting things to Blender is nice, but to be honest I am way more concerned about completely understanding the .m3 file format. If we can do that, we will be able to convert the .m3 file format to any other program or format.
And I say that the .m3 Blender plugin is abandoned because the owner on the thread (the thread here at sc2mapster) actually said he had no time time to continue the project.
I am going to read your pdf file because that's really the only new thing for me. let's hope I can find something useful there.
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In the last BlizzCon I saw I remember seeing someone asking for a Blizz 3dModel editor, and they said it was not in their plans. So, I don't really think it is a possibility (it kinda sucks I can't find the youtube video, sry about that :S ).
As for the cube .m3 file, I am amazed about the quantity of information it has.
I assume you can all see the same information I can, so I was wondering if anyone could guide through the header structure, since it seems to be static (it never changes, at least in the 2-3 models I recall seeing).
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Yes, totally, he didn't even changed the comments for the M2 file format ...it only has 3000 lines, how bad can it be? xD
Thanks for the cube :D
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I am looking into the 3dmax script. I am scared like hell. As far as I can tell from the code, that script is a very big mixed salad. It has code to import WoW models, some sort of WoW2 (I can't figure how that even exists) and somewhere it must have something about with Sc2. Turns out that NiNtoxicated used a 3dmax script for WoW as a base, and then he just fixed some issues and added some new information, mixing it all together in a great mess.
As for collada, I never heard of it xD Perhaps collada is more used in USA and X3D is more used in Europe (where I live). If I manage to even learn something from this 3dMax script I will definitely give it a look.
For now I will be more than happy to just import something as easy as the geometry (vertexes). If I manage to do that, maybe I can go further, but I can't make any promises. I still need to divide the code into "WoW" code and "Sc2" code because it's all mixed up.
EDIT: Never mind ... the 3dsmax plugin is simply a plugin for the WoW m2 file that has been changed ... I fail to see the connection between all the wow code and the sc2 code ...
EDIT: Can someone give me the .m3 file of a cube? For some gay reason 3dmax kills my computer :S
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Thank you for the clarification sir! I had no idea about this. Looks like I can also make a project of my own as well :D PS: is there a way to give rep to people around here? Sorry but I am new xD
0
Thank you kinda sir! I installed the program together with the template. As a result I get random structures with hexadecimal content. I am not sure the use I can give to that :S What is the most basic and easy model Sc2 has? I tried the bunker and the armory, but obviously it is too big. Also, what is the .m3h file supposed to do?
Well, it was first intended to be a plugin for blender. But then I realised that Blender had an X3D import plugin that was working. This led me to questioning my objective: X3D is a standard to transfer modelling information and scenes. If I can convert .m3 do X3D, not only will I help the blender community, I will also help everyone else along with the process. Therefore I plan on making a small and simple java application (to work on all operating systems) that would convert a .m3 file into a X3D with all the needed information. As for the Assimp project it seems that it aims to be a program to open as many different formats as possible. However, after a quick test, the Assimp Viewer didn't even work properly, contrary to the advertised, it couldn't, per example, load properly my earth model from earth made on Blender (has a .blend flie extension that was supposed to be supported). Thanks on the link however I may try contacting the team. Finally, as for the Blender script ... if all goes well I wont be doing one. That's the thing of making standards, should I succeed, not only blender, but every other program that imports the X3D format will be able to read files. And since X3D is a standard, I must say I am excited. Still, I will read it. I like learning :D
So, those random structures are all you know about the file format?! Dang :S I'm pretty much screwed. As for the plugin, I assume you are referring to this: http://www.sc2mapster.com/assets/m3-export-plugin-3ds-max/?page=2 I don't know how that is going to help me, but I guess I can sure try ... Let's hope they have the code commented xD
As for m3 being complex ... well ... you are starting to scare me ... I hope the X3D standard is strong enough to hold it :S
As for the input format ... I plan on making something simple, like you give the program a .m3 file and the program outputs a X3D file and vice-versa. As for X3D, here is the link of the consortium: http://www.web3d.org/x3d/
So far, knowing the .m3 file seems to be the greatest problem to me :S Thank you all for the support.
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@xcorbo: Go
Well, I know a few things about programming, trust me on that :P
My problem is that I have no idea how models work. I know they use vertexes and stuff like that, but that's about it. Your suggestion seems to be a program. Are you suggesting I should reverse engineer that exe file and see what's behind it? I am not sure how good that would do, but still thanks. I searched all over Google for some sort of API about the .m3 file format, but it simply doesn't seem to be one. Is there anything else useful you can let me know? I would really appreciate it.
Thanks anyway.
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Hello fellows. I come to you all seeking help on understanding the sc2 model file. If I can understand it, maybe I can make a plugin that exports it to X3D format (a standard for models) and thus every modelling program like Blender and x3vision will be able to use it and to model for Sc2. Further more, because X3D is a free standard, you will be able to import all types of models, no matter from what game into Sc2.
Over my research I found this link: http://code.google.com/p/libm3/w/list
But it offers little information and I am not sure if it is abandoned, or maybe it's just because I am a newb... I never modelled before in my life, so I will be most happy to see if someone can help me.
Thanks in advance, Flame_Phoenix.
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Mr Cloud_Wolf .... forgive me my ignorance but ... aren't you that same guy who was doing Diablo3 for wc3? If so, long time no see. I am happy to see you became quite an icon around Sc2 moding :D On the other hand ... isn't it the total map size for multiplayer games 8MB? I ask this because with all the imports it looks like you are going for a higher limit. Correct me if I am wrong however.
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Maybe that happens because Galaxy editor is not supposed to read Kanji!?! I am just saying ... It probably works better if you use an ISO format...
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Hey guys, I read some threads about people making a script for blender to convert .blender files to .m3 However the thread is old and I didn't see any results. Did anyone make any extension for blender? Are there any other communities working on it ?