3DMAX to .map.....

[julz127]

i first started my modding with the game halo 1, what i liked most about it was that

1. you could pretty much mod anything about it without having to code

2. you could make your levels in 3d max


anyway. i am proposing we get together some programmers and try and create a program that converts .3ds (or something) to .map or vmf.

i can program ok in visual basic .net, ive been working on the doom 3 material editor recently

http://doom3.filefront.com/file/Doom_3_Material_Editor;86228

ive seen a few .map exporters for max hanging round the internet but they all seem to be for max 4...

thanks in advance

 

[Shinobi]

IMO it's just not worth taking on.. the amount of work to make something that the compilers will use well just seems like too much to me

 

[Donut]

.3ds cannot go directly to a .map. there is an exporter called blitzkrieg for 3ds max 3-8.
it exports the level geometry to a .jms file which is them compiled into a .scenario_structure_bsp using tool.exe.
from there all of the editing is done in sapien.
im your know-it-all for anything halo custom edition

 

[mindless_moder]

What is the file format for 3ds ? i've been playing around with a small obj importer written in c# using directx . working with the verts and faces is a right pain in the ass, i've got it up to a point where i can import a simple cube. if 3ds is an open format like obj then you could potentialy write a parser but i have a strange feeling that compiling it to .map is going to be another hurdle i dont think they've officialy released the layout of the binary. its more trouble than its worth tbh.

edit: do you want to covert 3ds to map or just export to map ? the two are not one and the same...

 

[Shinobi]

What is the file format for 3ds ? i've been playing around with a small obj importer written in c# using directx . working with the verts and faces is a right pain in the ass, i've got it up to a point where i can import a simple cube. if 3ds is an open format like obj then you could potentialy write a parser but i have a strange feeling that compiling it to .map is going to be another hurdle i dont think they've officialy released the layout of the binary. its more trouble than its worth tbh.

edit: do you want to covert 3ds to map or just export to map ? the two are not one and the same...

3ds's native export format (like obj) is called "3ds"


there's a format I use at work called collada which is supposed to be this kind of universal XML file format that will take the planet by storm, hopefully it does, then a lot of these issues could be solved

 

[mindless_moder]

3ds's native export format (like obj) is called "3ds"


there's a format I use at work called collada which is supposed to be this kind of universal XML file format that will take the planet by storm, hopefully it does, then a lot of these issues could be solved

sorry about that , i wasnt being clear . i meant whats the structure of the format is it just a plain text file or is it a binary ?. i've heard a lot of good things about collada , a lot of open source game engines are integrating with it.

 

[Shinobi]

sorry about that , i wasnt being clear . i meant whats the structure of the format is it just a plain text file or is it a binary ?. i've heard a lot of good things about collada , a lot of open source game engines are integrating with it.

ah sorry, I believe that .3ds is binary

 

[mindless_moder]

yeah thats what i thought , does anyone know their way around the 3ds max plugin sdk ?
edit:this is actually really interesting , the map format is plain text which means that writing an exporter/importer is fairly simple if you understand the specification
http://collective.valve-erc.com/index.php?go=map_format

 

[Shinobi]

yeah vmf and map are plaintext


whenever we do a folder restructure which screws up all the model paths you can solve it with a simple find and replace with word pad thank god