Guide: Exporting Zones + Textures

[Tabidzukare]

Hi All,

This is a very simple method for extracting Zone data (with textures) into 3DSMax9.

• This Guide Assumes:
  • Knowledge of how to install and run a MaxScript
  • You will read the details of ZoneConverter from the site link provided
  • You have basic computer/problem solving skills (no sarcasm here)

• What You Will Need:
  1. Some .s3d files of zones you enjoy!
  2. ZoneConverter
  3. 3DSMax 2009
  4. .POV Import Script

• What You Will Do:
  1. Install the 3DSMax9 Trial
  2. Install the ZoneConverter
  3. Install the PovImport2 MaxScript
  4. Extract the desired .S3D's contents via ZoneConverter
  5. Open the .WLD of the zone who's .S3D file you just extracted (it will be in the folder with all the extracted contents of the .s3d)
  6. Convert the .WLD to .POV via ZoneConverter
  7. Run the PovImport2 script from within 3DSMax9
  8. Enjoy your zone! It's ready to be saved or exported in anyway you would like from within 3DS.

Credits obviously go to Kaiyodo (Import Script), Jeremy Wilson (Zone Converter). Secondarily they go to the EQEmu team for facilitating these programs creation and for their assistance in helping me locate some of these files (Secrets, GeorgeS).

If more in-depth descriptions are needed let me know, I'll be happy to put more polish on this, but this is more specifically intended for Orison Seven and his excellent team.

Kindest Regards~~

[OrisonSeven]

Thanks a ton for this tutorial. It is greatly appreciated especially so quickly and easily used. With this we will be able to revamp zones of the game that we have all known for so long.

THanks again, and soon, oh so soon, will we be unveiling some more great stuff for the community!

[OrisonSeven]

Ran into a snag. Running max 08, and dont think this would be a problem, but the after getting as far as the max script... nothing happens. Looked though the code and found nothing that jumped out as being 09 specific but im not a maxscript code expert and havent had time to give it to anyone who is better at coding then i am.

As for zone converter, it works perfectly, and all files and texture as well as .pov files export perfectly.

Thanks for everything!

[Tabidzukare]

Hi Orison,

Sorry is that part wasn't clear.. Are you just running the script as is? What I mean is.. just opening up listener and then File->Run Script->PovImport2.ms?
If you use this method then I think that is why it's not working. What you need to do (and my apologies for assuming you haven't done this) is add the script to your 3dsMaxXXXX\Scripts\Startup path. Then in 3DS under the 'Utilities' Tab (right side of the screen assuming a default install) select 'MAXScript' it will expand a new menu in the tab. There is a drop-down box there, and in that drop-down select PovImport2 from the list (it will show up if in the proper scripts\startup path (may be different depending on your install of 3DS). This will open up the GUI for the POV importer, select the options you want then navigate to the appropriately exported .POV file and voila it should work.

Your version of 3DS should also not cause a problem as this script was created years ago by Kaiyodo. I hope this works, but if not let me know. I'll be up for hours and I'll get back to you asap my friend. Best of luck, I can't wait to see your newest ground-breaking work!

Kindest Regards~~

[Tabidzukare]

Sorry Admin / Orison,

That last post was before formatting, and for some reason when I previewed it it posted itself.. I clicked edit but I got some message about editing after 5 minutes wasn't allowed so I'm re-posting the polished submission. Again my apologies for the double post.

Hi Orison,

Sorry if that part wasn't clear.. Are you just running the script as is? What I mean is..

• 1. Running 3DS
  2. 'MaxScript'
  3. 'Run Script...'
  4. Browsing to the loc of 'PovImport2.ms'
  5. Running the script

If you use this method then I think that is why it's not working. What you need to do (and my apologies for assuming you haven't done this) is this:

• • Add 'PovImport2.ms' to your c:\pathto3ds\scripts\startup
  • Run 3DS
  • Click the 'Utilities' tab (on the right side of the screen assuming a default workspace)
  • Select the 'MAXScript' button
  • From the drop-down in the MAXScript panel (still in the utilities tab) select 'POVImporter'
  • Select any options you'd like
  • Click 'POV Import'
  • Browse to your zones .POV file and select it
  • Wait and enjoy the results!

Your version of 3DS should also not cause a problem as this script was created years ago by Kaiyodo. I hope this works, but if not let me know. I'll be up for hours and I'll get back to you asap my friend. Best of luck, I can't wait to see your teams newest ground-breaking work!

Kindest Regards~~

[OrisonSeven]

I actually did infact use both of the listed methods. First run through I used the first, i.e. run maxscript, and then searched within "customize UI" to look for the associated "button" if u could call it that to no avail.
After that didnt work, I tried the stated second way which I now believe I messed up one part on simply through lack of sleep. Thank you for the update.

And thank you for the quick response!

[Tabidzukare]

Hey Orison,

No problem! Post some shots once you get a zone open to render.. my computer is so slow and I have a particular love of FreePort, but I'd love to see some other cool renders of the zones

Kindest Regards~~

[OrisonSeven]

As it is now working, I attempted to output greaterfaydark(gfay) and found that even though the models themselves exported, the textures did not... also, seeing as i dont have the best PC (old amd machine athlon 64 1.8ghz with 2 gigs ram and an AGP based video card(yea yea yea i know)) I have found that it does take a while to export. Rendering after changing a few more settings did get the textures, albeit the trees were not seethrough (alpha chanels didnt work) though this was to be expected.

Screens will be posted soon.

[Tabidzukare]

Hey Orison,

Sounds good.. and boy do I hear you on the 'old' computer. Mines a good chunk worse than yours.. I have less than 128MB graphics (built in intel card on my laptop), my 512MB of RAM is shared with that video card, and I have a 1.4GHZ processor... Running 3DSMax and getting a zone open is literally one of those 'order pizza, pop a beer, kick your shoes off, turn on a movie' kind of nights lol. Good times, so don't worry.

The alpha channel that holds the lights actually does exist.. If you noted when extracting the texture it renames them all to .bmp and even some of the .bmps themselves are really .dds's in disguise which hold alpha channel data. If you wanted to tinker with the script or just hand texture them with the .dds's then you could get it to work. This is way over my 3D modeling head, however if you search and read all of 'Kaiyodo' 's posts you'll see that he had gotten around this issue and his improved script/solution may be out there somewhere. If you need help on solving that end of things let me know, right now I've got my head buried in C++ and Math books.. ugg, so any break from that is welcomed.

Kindest Regards~~

[OrisonSeven]

Let me start once more by thanking you!!!!! and everyone whos effort came to amount to the ability to do all of this.

As for texturing right now, im not so worried about exporting trees as much as I really need to figure out how to makes trees such that 2 sided texturing works. As of right now, we actually double the polys for the trees leaves and then invert the normals so that in essence we end up with two polys taking up the same space just facing away from one another. This does work, but as I have said before, the poly count is doubled when it shouldnt need to be.

The eventaul goal is both to create a whole new game, everything, and i mean everything, along with keeping/modifying the exhisting content to make it our own. We hope to bring back the old feel of adventuring through the lands without haveing a map to tell you where everything is, as well as making it more like you "are" the character exploring the world.

Thanks again.

[Tabidzukare]

Hey Orison,

You know I got goosebumps a little bit when you mentioned your idea and I couldn't help but throwing this out there. You know Sakrateri is trying to do almost the same exact thing as you.. tired of redesigning an 'emulator' he's trying to recreate the old game using the torque engine and some other things.. you should get in touch.. also, if you all do get in touch and think about merging your projects (even if you don't...) let me know!!

I would love to help with what I can do well at which is namely content / quest / story writing. I'm a history/lore guy and seeing what you've been doing with the size and scale of those trees.. *whistle..* I'm impressed. Let me know if you ever need any content people / other help. You'll have another member!

Kindest Regards~~

[OrisonSeven]

Hey Tabidzukare,
The idea of merging projects would be pretty cool using the torque engine. As of right now we are still developing alot of content. Using the eq engine with a working server allows us to get a feel for the run of the terrain. I have yet to get in touch with him yet, but, if he is looking at these posts and messages, by all means chime in and leave some imput Sak.

As for content, quests, lore and such, we would love the extra help once we get a little more developed. We are still in the process our selves of developing the plot and actual feel of what we want. As we get more out there, we would be more then happy to have you join us.

After Ferringor, I believe we will be creating an open planes/desert zone, as well as a large number of others already stated for creation. Personally, I have about 5 notebooks as of now that have sketches, notes, and other content based ideas that still need to be both created/textured as well as fine tuned to the eventual goal of a brand new world to explore.

We also plan to have a whole new array of weapon models that will be replacing the old ones. We plan to have both the weapon and the image of the weapon match (not hard at all) but also have the name correspond to the look and feel. For instance, rusty weapons, though basically junk, look like most other basic weapons. We currently have a new set of rusty specific textures and some models that will make rusty weapons... well... rusty. This is both a small and huge undertaking as it means increasing the overall number of possible item models drastically.

The crafting system also needs some revamping as it really lacks in comparison to that of other games as well as to what it "could" be. One of our ideas is to actually make it so that you can create a weapon to look how u want based around hilt blade and so on. By this I mean that we would create a large number of blades, hilts, etc. that when placed within the forge with the proper skill and the right ingrediants could make whatever look you want. This would also increase the range of looks for weapons as well meaning we would have to precreate all the combinations and load them in, which if u think about it, having 5 blades and 6 hilts alone means 30 weapon types and if that is just longswords, imagine now adding shortswords, hammers, 2handed swords, axes, 2 handed axes, staffs, and clubs to start. That would mean 30 x 8 = 240 weapon models for simply crafted weapons. This is where the numbers begin to get crazy. We have ideas that go far beyond this to include weapon types that are custom to mobs around the world as well.

On another note, armor, which we had though would only be a single choice has been taken into consideration in terms of a new idea on how to make many variants. If we could have multiple textures for a single armor type, say plate, which i believe is possible, then we could simply "stack" meshes ontop of one another and simply give all the meshes we didnt want showing an alpha making them invisable so that they would appear not there when infact there would be like 4 meshes interwoven. This then makes it possible to have different armor feels too. (This part is pretty far out there as we are still trying to see is this is possible, tho i know for a fact that having seperate meshes isnt possible as the engine limits the total to i believe 4 (cloth, leather, chain, and plate) with the exception of monk races with have an additional 1 for the monks.

So, as you can see we do have alot on our proverbial plate right now!!!! which is always fun as once we get a "portion" meaning something beyond just ideas, that it should be much easier to see what we are heading towards.

[Tabidzukare]

Hi Orison,

Sounds excellent, I think you've got a lot of great ideas and it would be great to see collaboration with Sak. When you get to the point of needing content help you know how to reach me, I won't be posting much on the boards for a while since I'm studying the code and will be for - quite some time.

Kindest Regards~~

[toddfx]

Yes that's right i've brought it back from the dead!

I'm currently having fun playing with EQ zones in 3D Studio Max, and using VRay to render them up with some nice lighting and atmospheric effects. Check out some of my renders over at Project1999 forums if you like: http://www.project1999.org/forums/sh...ad.php?t=18950

HOWEVER up until this point I have been capturing my data in-game using the utility 3D Ripper DX. It only allows me to capture small sections at a time, so I'm hoping to use this Model Viewer to import ENTIRE zones at once which will allow me to do 3D camera flythroughs!

Anyway, the problem I am having here is that the Model Viewer seems to display zones not as a whole, but as individual zone meshes stacked together at 0,0 coordinates like so: http://toddkumpf.com/images/renders/...na-example.jpg

This obviously is a problem. Am I missing something, or is this just how it is?

Also, when I import the .POV file, it doesn't appear that any textures are applied to the models. Sure they are UV'd and sure you can export the BMPs/DDSs separately from Model Viewer, but is the only option to manually apply them back onto the model in Max?

Thanks so much, guys! This will be a real life-saver once I get it hammered out!

[Akkadius]

Originally Posted by toddfx

Yes that's right i've brought it back from the dead!

I'm currently having fun playing with EQ zones in 3D Studio Max, and using VRay to render them up with some nice lighting and atmospheric effects. Check out some of my renders over at Project1999 forums if you like: http://www.project1999.org/forums/sh...ad.php?t=18950

HOWEVER up until this point I have been capturing my data in-game using the utility 3D Ripper DX. It only allows me to capture small sections at a time, so I'm hoping to use this Model Viewer to import ENTIRE zones at once which will allow me to do 3D camera flythroughs!

Anyway, the problem I am having here is that the Model Viewer seems to display zones not as a whole, but as individual zone meshes stacked together at 0,0 coordinates like so: http://toddkumpf.com/images/renders/...na-example.jpg

This obviously is a problem. Am I missing something, or is this just how it is?

Also, when I import the .POV file, it doesn't appear that any textures are applied to the models. Sure they are UV'd and sure you can export the BMPs/DDSs separately from Model Viewer, but is the only option to manually apply them back onto the model in Max?

Thanks so much, guys! This will be a real life-saver once I get it hammered out!

I just wanted to say, those looked amazing. I'd be surprised to see if you can get them actually working as direct replacements.

EDIT: I think it was Sakraateri or something to that extent that would be a good person to talk to. They use Open Zone to import/export alot of that stuff, maybe even a user by the name of Packet. Maybe even Windcatcher, but these are all users that are not here very often at all.