[WIP] Q3ME: a 3ds Max Level Design Plugin

[AshuraDX]

So while patches are good for openGL 1, they suck ass for openGL 2.

If you make that assumption based on that you get no control over their smoothing - then brushes suck even more. Which brings us back to the discussion wether we should build the DF2 mod maps entirely as models.

 

But that is a topic that should be discussed elsewhere.

[AshuraDX]

Soooo I just added a "Custom Class" Entity to my plugin - which means that you can now setup about any entity if you know the proper classname and key:value pairs.

 

 

This also means that I am allmost ready to record a "Getting started" video series for the Beta Version of the plugin.

 

What should I do for the video series? I was thinking about doing a walkthrough of Rich Diesals tutorials in 3ds max. That way I can show some basic modeling aswell as setting up different Entities.

Does that sound like a good plan?

[Archangel35757]

Sounds good... start with his basics and progress to what power 3dsMax can bring-- Digital Elevation Model (.DEM) terrain from Satellite data, etc.

 

Also, since you have come this far-- you might as well take the JKO and/or JKA texture pack and create a 3ds Max Jedi Knight Material Library (you should be able to have it point to the extracted \base folder's extracted PK3 textures)... to further simplify applying the game's textures to assets.

[AshuraDX]

@@ArchAngel

Loading and parsing shaders to generate the library seems more appropiate.

[IrocJeff]

So, will what you are working on eventually replace the need for Radiant?

[AshuraDX]

So, will what you are working on eventually replace the need for Radiant?

Yes. It very well may do that.

I'm only missing bits before it can fully replace Radiant. The problem is that one of these still missing things are brush texture coordinates - which are a rather complicated topic when looked at from texture coordinates in 3ds max.

[AshuraDX]

I finally did it.

After taking a 2 Week break from the issue I finally managed to finish the part of my exporter that handles brush texture coordinates today.

[hopeufindyerdad]

This is amazing.

[AshuraDX]

Wellp. Here we go:

 

 

For the first time everything in this .map file was created within 3ds max and exported.

Radiant was only used to run q3map2 and check up if everything exported as expected - which it did.

 

Expect a basic instructions video and a first "alpha" release soon

 

These are the 2 UIs I created for my plugin.

[AshuraDX]

I chose to delay the isntructions video for these additions/improvements to my plugin:

• I added the option to configure and launch Q3map2 to compile your exported .map

  

   

• This allowed me to get Leak Tracing in 3ds max, the way this works as of now is a little hacky - but I'm sure I will find a way to improve this.

  

   

• I also rewrote a large portion of my brush export function to make it faster and allow for more advanced logging later down the road.

[z3filus]

This is really impressive! Waiting for the alpha release

[AshuraDX]

Okay so, just to give you guys an update:

I will delay the instruction videos a bit further.

 

As of now I can hardly explain the specifics of worknig with my script without covering to much basic 3ds max usage.

And I really want to finish my custom texture browser first. I also have a huge update to entities incoming.

[Archangel35757]

just refer your users to existing online basic 3ds Max user interface interaction training videos, etc. from Autodesk as prerequisite training.

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClS3gPxzFYgTUz6JOIruyqA?app=desktop

 

OR

 

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/3ds-max/getting-started?sort=score

[AshuraDX]

I have been silent for a while, but I have been busy behind the scenes:

Texture Browser

 

-Loads textures and shaders from your specified base and modpaths

-You can filter textures by directory and/or by name

-There is the option to store textures as favourites for quick and easy access.

 

TriSoup Exporter

 

The first step to implementing my visions for terrain Creation!

 

-creates a brush with variable thickness from every triangle on your model.

-can generate alpha fade brushes for terrain texture blending from the models vertex alpha

 

The Brush Validator

-a tool that you can use to check wether your modeling work can be exported as a single brush, or wether it has to be cut up to retain the shape.

(Not entirely perfected yet)

[RAILBACK]

Impressive. That is a $ht ton of work dude. I don't think I have 3DS anymore but I so want to try your plugin! I can certainly appreciate all the work you have done here. Do you have a name for your plugin or is it just Q3ME?

[AshuraDX]

@@RAILBACK as of now it's just Q3ME - but I'm open to suggestions.

[IrocJeff]

From the image of the road it looks like I'd be able to make some really great looking trenches with this tool. 

Now all we need are tree models and grass shaders. 

[AshuraDX]

An Update for you all, I sadly still havn't gotten the Brush Primitives format to export properly.

But I decided to mess around with my tool a little to make this:

 

I am consdiering to release a version of the Tool without support for different brush formats and finally get started on that tutorial series.

[RAILBACK]

Dammit! I'm just learning Blender! I have 3Ds. But if you could do everything in ONE program.... 

[AshuraDX]

Dammit! I'm just learning Blender! I have 3Ds. But if you could do everything in ONE program....

With 3ds max you can mod almost everything there is in jka.

It may be the best supported modeling software we have right now, we have:

 

native .ase export

Plugins to import/export .md3 models plugins to import/export .glm models plugins to import/export .xsi files (used with carcass to compile to .glm and .gla)

A .rof exporter

 

And soon my .map exporter aswell as a .bsp importer that someone I know is working on.

 

Currently we don't have:

.efx or .shader export capability and no working .map importer, allthough I have started to work on that aswell.

And scripting should stay outside of 3ds max anyway.

 

Did I miss anything important?

[RAILBACK]

native .ase export

Plugins to import/export .md3 models plugins to import/export .glm models plugins to import/export.

 

 

Yea Blender has that too but what I really want is an IMPORT! So I can model meshes I already have from Radiant. Anyhow, I'll just make some from scratch I guess. The reason why ( other issue post?) is because for some reason ingame, this is the first time I see ASE models ingame that wont show alphashadow. It's showing the full face plane instead of just branches. So that's why I'm sticking with MD3 models for now.

[AshuraDX]

Yea Blender has that too but what I really want is an IMPORT! So I can model meshes I already have from Radiant. Anyhow, I'll just make some from scratch I guess. The reason why ( other issue post?) is because for some reason ingame, this is the first time I see ASE models ingame that wont show alphashadow. It's showing the full face plane instead of just branches. So that's why I'm sticking with MD3 models for now.

Importing .ASE files from q3map2 is not recommended. They are an utter mess and require a lot of cleanup to be comfortably editable in 3d software.

[Archangel35757]

And I should add that the MD3 and XSI exporters (.xsi is used by Carcass to compile GLM/GLA) support accurate custom normals. Most other exporters for other software don't... iirc. @@AshuraDX I need to compile a 2016 version of the .ROF exporter for you to try out. AND I wonder how hard it would be to create a Maxscript exporter to write PFLOW to an .EFX file?

[AshuraDX]

And I should add that the MD3 and XSI exporters (.xsi is used by Carcass to compile GLM/GLA) support accurate custom normals. Most other exporters for other software don't... iirc. @@AshuraDX I need to compile a 2016 version of the .ROF exporter for you to try out. AND I wonder how hard it would be to create a Maxscript exporter to write PFLOW to an .EFX file?

Have you ever worked with .efx files?

Pflow is vastly superior and offers far more freedom than what a .efx file can represent. So I find it unlikely that this will be easy if even possible at all. .efx files contain sprites and basic geometric shapes and allows you to define basic linear transformations for these simple primitives.

 

I will gladly try out that .rof exporter though.

[RAILBACK]

That's what I thought @@AshuraDX. I know radiant likes all the vertices lined up to its grid. So I will stick to exporting as ASE files are so much smaller than MD3.