Source and 3D Studio Max

[mrxskinny]

Hi, I don't know anything about 3d modeling and stuff so please don't flame me, but I have a question. Will you be able to use Source in 3d Studio Max to make you own 3d drawings?

 

[XenoSpirit]

i think you should get XSI and use that for makeinh hl2 content...

 

[Shuzer]

VALVe will release tools to export 3DS Max projects into the appropriate usable type for HL2

 

[mrxskinny]

Ah I see, so I can't use Source for my CAD 3d layouts?

 

[Rupertvdb]

urmmm....yeahhh.... maybe move to Modelling forum and not HL2 discussion?

 

[SMT]

To clarify...

Are you asking if you can create models in 3DS MAX and import them into the Source engine?

Apparently, yes. The developers have stated that along with the SDK will come plugins allowing you to convert the 3DS model format to the format used by the Source engine. Allow me to also recommend Softimage XSI... they have released a free version that is custom-built for use in Half-Life 2. Because of this, I imagine it will have the best compatibility with the Source engine. It can be downloaded here: http://www.softimage.com/HL2/

 

[Shinobi]

Ah I see, so I can't use Source for my CAD 3d layouts?

I'm pretty sure you can't because exported geometry doesn't block visibility

 

[The Dark Elf]

If your wanting to build locations in MAX for clients and show them in in Source in interactive demonstrations. Yes you can. there's a few CAD <-> .map convertors out there which will convert your objects to .map format. But bare in mind there are a lot of limits on what kinds of Brushes you can have. It's possible, just some limits you need to be aware of, not to mention overall limits on how much you can have.

There's a thread somewhere I did which had links to Max to .map convetors on this forum. It's an old one now.

 

[FictiousWill]

Gahr. XSI is stupid about resolution. Not all of us have a frikkin billion-inch monitor! They should release a max plugin to do the conversion, too - not some pathetic command line are convertedexcuse for a converter.

(whoops no uvw mapping is converted! - or something stupid like that) Jeez, it was next to impossible to mod for HL without downloading Milkshape. I bet chumbalum or whatever they were made a fortune with those $20 registrations.

 

[The Dark Elf]

Gahr. XSI is stupid about resolution. Not all of us have a frikkin billion-inch monitor! They should release a max plugin to do the conversion, too - not some pathetic command line are convertedexcuse for a converter.

(whoops no uvw mapping is converted! - or something stupid like that) Jeez, it was next to impossible to mod for HL without downloading Milkshape. I bet chumbalum or whatever they were made a fortune with those $20 registrations.

Eh? stupid resolution? Dude, don't forget Softimage XSI is a PROFESSIONAL app. 1280x1024 is far from high resolution.

and I'm pretty sure you must be doing something wrong for the UV mapping not to be converted also.

Oh well I guess this was expected and was honestly a bit of a ditzy move on Softimage's part, thinking Joe Public would understand their software, as if most can even afford the application to get the most out of it anyway, yeah, 14 year old modders are gonna find $8k or whatever it is today to buy the program. They'll just warez it. Damn this kind of gear should go back to SG machines only. Hardly anyone bothered to warez on that, cause the machines were such stupid prices with next to no games. Those were the days

You should all go back to gmax

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anyway whats this have to do with the thread? He was wanting to convert from MAX to map files, which MAX has been able to do for sometime, with a plugin like your asking, which I said in the post before yours. And I'm sure someone will write a plugin for MAX that converts to the right format eventually.

I guess the plus side is now MAX users get to see how shitty it was for us Lightwave, Maya and Softimage users before now. We had to do without, its your turn now :E

 

[FictiousWill]

Firstly, you answered your own question there about resolution. XSI for Half Life 2 should support lower resolutions (and it does, I just found a forum topic on it) - but to blow that off as being "PROFESSIONAL" is stupid and narrow-sighted. Sure the windows will be small as shit, but why would you care? You run it at a 100000x100000 and I'll run it at 1024. So what?

The uv mapping comment was a random example. Hence "or something". The 3ds max plugin should be fully-functional. I don't want to be a second-class modder because my models aren't converted fully or are somehow not as compatible, having built them in max.

You imply that I don't understand or are incapable of understanding how XSI works. I find the comments offensive and tactless. You have no idea of my capability as a software user, be it good or bad. My objections to XSI are based solely on my own reluctance to learn a completely new gui setup.

I wonder which category of your signature you fall into Fenric?

 

[The Dark Elf]

Firstly, you answered your own question there about resolution. XSI for Half Life 2 should support lower resolutions (and it does, I just found a forum topic on it) - but to blow that off as being "PROFESSIONAL" is stupid and narrow-sighted. Sure the windows will be small as shit, but why would you care? You run it at a 100000x100000 and I'll run it at 1024. So what?

The uv mapping comment was a random example. Hence "or something". The 3ds max plugin should be fully-functional. I don't want to be a second-class modder because my models aren't converted fully or are somehow not as compatible, having built them in max.

You imply that I don't understand or are incapable of understanding how XSI works. I find the comments offensive and tactless. You have no idea of my capability as a software user, be it good or bad. My objections to XSI are based solely on my own reluctance to learn a completely new gui setup.

I wonder which category of your signature you fall into Fenric?

meh i can't even be arsed arguing with you, I find your comments narrow sighted, ill informed and contradictive.

 

[FictiousWill]

so I guess I souldn't fecking bother.

 

[The Dark Elf]

so I guess I souldn't fecking bother.

Thats upto you, if your gonna judge an app without giving it a proper chance...

 

[Shinobi]

ok, let's clarify this now,, you can export from 3ds max to quite a few formats,, that XSI can probably read directly or indirectly (IE: export to a 3ds file (which retains texture info) then reopen in milkshape or wings or something then re-export to XSI)

all you need to do is a little experimentation

I'm curently modelling in maya and then UVmapping in 3dsmax then bring it back into maya for everything else,, works fine for me,, and I've had to do this with numerous 3d programs,, I'll try it with XSI this weekend and post the results

 

[glHalfLife]

Well, I don't like the idea of converting to XSI basically because I spent the last 5 years using 3dsmax and am not keen on moving. However, I do agree with Shinobi that modelling in max and then exporting to XSI will help and is a solution.

Remember its all about $$$ figures and VALVe and XSI go hand in hand now. So we either sit on the outside looking in until Halflife 3 or we get on with it now...

 

[The Dark Elf]

As an ex Lightwave user and since then Softimage. I can see the irony in this. For years Max users had it easy, almost all games used Max and the rest of us had to listen to "oh use Max it r00lz" and "if your app doesn't do it its sh*t" just because we didn't have plugins available to begin with. So the cruel part of me is loving this. Poor Max users, welcome to our world. Also known as 3D hell bwahahaha

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No but seriously, we all learnt that it doesn't really matter what app you use, there's always a way around it. I'm quite comfortable modeling for Max stuff without even using Max past actually loading it in to check it looks ok, at the most do a bit of fiddling with it to fix bits.

Softimage have been pushing their dotxsi format, which has an importer/exporter for almost all apps, apart from Lightwave funnily enough. So using dotxsi you shouldn't have any problems atall moving your objects from app to app to app. Failing that, wavefront .obj format is still pretty powerful, the most important part is it keeps its UV mapping and any good app will support the format. Throw in Deep Exploration and you'll be laughing when it comes to using any apps you want. It's much easier these days than it was even 5 years ago.

 

[glHalfLife]

I am currently programming my own OpenGL 3D Engine so it would be beneficial to me to use max as I have already written a custom maxscript to export models from max to my engine model format. This would mean that if I created a model for HL2 using max, I could also export it to my engine.

I will most likely learn XSI as it would be another addon to my CV anyway but start the model in max.

 

[[TBUK]apo]

heheheheheh