I've been struggling with this too. It's a real pain in the ass. Using the command prompt and manually creating text files is sooo 20th century. There's really no excuse for not having a nice GUI to automatically do all the behind the scenes stuff for you. But enough with the rant, here's some links that might help:
Plus, there's some minimal documention with the SDK. I finally got a model to show up with its textures in the model viewer using a combination of these links.
If you have any specific questions, I might be able to help.
The workflow that I've been using is this:
1. Model/UV in 3ds max
2. Export to .xsi using Softimage's dotXSI plugin
3. Import into XSI EXP for HL2.
4. Export from EXP for HL2 using the .smd exporter (would do this in XSI 4.0, but no SMD exporter)
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The MaxScript only supports rigid 1 link weighting though, right?
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Unless it specifically says that somewhere in that thread, I don't think so. Did you read somewhere that it said it only supports one link, or is that just an assumtion?
But if you're doing the animation in XSI then of course you'd export from there. I don't know how you'd get the animation data from XSI to Max, or vise versa. Maybe using the Filmbox plugins, but I haven't tried it myself.
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Unless it specifically says that somewhere in that thread, I don't think so. Did you read somewhere that it said it only supports one link, or is that just an assumtion?
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I think I was mistaken. I remember reading somewhere that the old .smd exporter for max would work for static props, and that exporter only allows 1 link rigid. My mistake.
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But if you're doing the animation in XSI then of course you'd export from there. I don't know how you'd get the animation data from XSI to Max, or vise versa. Maybe using the Filmbox plugins, but I haven't tried it myself.
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The dotXSI exporter for max works like a dream going from max->XSI. It brings EVERYTHING over. You can assign a colored material in max, and that even comes across. It will also export animations as actions, or just plain animations. The only problem is all the bones are converted to nulls (same as 3ds max dummy object) so it makes your rig kind of broken. I believe this exporter was written specificaly for Valve to bring their assests into XSI.
Also, if you've loaded up any of Valve's rigs in XSI. You'll notice that all the bones are prefixed with ValveBiped.Bip01 which makes me laugh because if you use character studio, everything is Bip01. Valve just brought the character studio rig into XSI and built onto it. I laughed.
I haven't had much luck going from XSI to max though. I doubt they really want you to do that though
I had no idea it was so easy to go from Max to XSI. That's pretty cool. And, yeah, I noticed the bones' names too and it made me smile.
If the exporter was indeed made specifically for Valve to export from Max to XSI, then it's even more bizarre that there wasn't a new exporter made to go from Max to an .smd file directly. I smell a conspiracy.
I'm just guessing that it was made for them. I read an interview with one of Valve's animator's and the Softimage engineer that worked with Valve and they talked about the dotXSI plugin and how a lot of its features can from Valve's needs. You can also download the source code for the plugin on Softimage's website I believe, which is cool, if your into that coding thingy.
I think the reason why there wasn't a new exporter made for max is becasue Valve added a lot more onto their Biped rig once they got it into XSI and therefor redid a lot of animation work making max obsolete. Look closely, and just the bones are named Bip01, all the controllers are unique. And for static props, you don't really need multiple link support, which is what the SDK's 3ds max 3.1 source code gives you.
If you use XSI EXP for HL2, you can create a new rig with all the helper boxes that the Source engine handles internally. All of these helper boxes on the Valve's rig are driven by expressions, something I don't think you can do with cs's Biped.
I did talk with the Discreet rep here in Phoenix and asked him what happened with Valve. He said quite a bit of money was exchanged, which I'm sure was. With my experience with XSI, I've found it to be a far superior animation package, so I can see why the switch was made. Getting use the that interface is a little difficult though.
Oh, one more thing, anyone know if you can save a file without it needing to be placed in a "valid project". Man alive this really pisses me off.
E_X you should try FBX plugins like FatAssasin mentioned. Compare their functions with the XSI plugin. In general fbx exports and imports geometry (triangulate or Quad), materials, cameras, bones, skinning(Skin and Physique Modifier), bone and morph animation.
You can also export Character Studio Bipeds and convert them to Bones. In Max Character Studio Help files there is a little tutorial how to do it. Try it and maybe your workflow will be improved.
I tried fbx to go from Max to Maya and back again and it works. I never tried it with softimage, but I guess the functions are available in all fbx plugins. I hope Alias will continue to develop fbx after their acquisition of Kaydara.
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All of these helper boxes on the Valve's rig are driven by expressions, something I don't think you can do with cs's Biped.
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I don't want to start any kind of 3D app war here, but people often overlook the fact the Max has a full skeletal system that's completely independant of Character Studio. You don't need to ever touch CS if don't want to, and it's not required for making characters for the Source engine. The script exporter I refered to earlier doesn't even support Biped yet. With Max bones you can use expressions, wiring (same as Connections in Maya), reactor controllers (same as Set Driven Keys in Maya), script controllers, etc. It's a very powerful system that often gets overlooked because CS is hyped so much.
So if you're using XSI becuase you really like it, that's cool, but if you're using it because you don't think you can do the same things Max then I would highly suggest giving Max bones a look. I can't say I've used XSI, but I have used Maya and didn't see anything there that I couldn't also do with Max. I'm defenitely not saying that Max is better than other apps, but is does have a bad rap in the animation department carried over from older versions that it doesn't really deserve any more. Both Blur and Blizzard are doing great things with it these days.
And about saving files in "non-valid" folders, as far as I know you do need to follow their set directory structure, but it doesn't necessarily need to be within the main Valve folder. I'm not totally clear on this either though. But I know what you mean when you say it pisses you off.
Could someone go into detail on how they get a model from max to XSI? I haven't been able to port one over. I am using the dotXSI exporter for max, but for some strange reason XSI for HL2 won't import that dotXSI file, even if I place it in my valid project folder. Could it just be that I have a malfunctioning version of XSI/HL2?
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Could someone go into detail on how they get a model from max to XSI? I haven't been able to port one over. I am using the dotXSI exporter for max, but for some strange reason XSI for HL2 won't import that dotXSI file, even if I place it in my valid project folder. Could it just be that I have a malfunctioning version of XSI/HL2?
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Here are the steps that I take:
1. Model in max. I also UV map here, but I don't rig or do anything else.
2. File->Export, then choose Softimage|XSI and save from max. I save it to my desktop. The default export options should work.
3. Goto File->Import->dotXSI. Again, the default import options are fine.
4. You now should have your model in XSI. I've tested this in 4.0, EXP, and the new Mod-Tool 4.2, all versions work.
If you are still having problems, I can write up a more detailed tutorial, with fancy screenshots and everything.
Has anyone gotten a max-readable version of the default half-life 2 or cs rig(s) into max, so that you can model to fit it. Or better yet, a link to a max plugin that can import an SMD or SCN file?
I'm working on a character right now that I'd like to put in the source engine, but I dont want to have to model it in max, export to XSI EXP and then edit it in there to fit to the rig, or at least I'd like to avoid as much editing in XSI EXP as possible (sorry but I just dont dig the navigation in its interface thus far).
Replies
Tutorial 1 - Exporting a model
Tutorial 2 - Directory Structure
Tutorial 3 - Max Exporter plus a mini tut on exporting in general
Plus, there's some minimal documention with the SDK. I finally got a model to show up with its textures in the model viewer using a combination of these links.
If you have any specific questions, I might be able to help.
Good luck.
The workflow that I've been using is this:
1. Model/UV in 3ds max
2. Export to .xsi using Softimage's dotXSI plugin
3. Import into XSI EXP for HL2.
4. Export from EXP for HL2 using the .smd exporter (would do this in XSI 4.0, but no SMD exporter)
From there, I've followed this tutorial here: http://www.hl2world.com/wiki/index.php/Importing_Custom_Models
I've been able to get things into Hammer, but man did it take a while....
I mainly export out of EXP because I do all my animating in there.
The MaxScript only supports rigid 1 link weighting though, right?
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Unless it specifically says that somewhere in that thread, I don't think so. Did you read somewhere that it said it only supports one link, or is that just an assumtion?
But if you're doing the animation in XSI then of course you'd export from there. I don't know how you'd get the animation data from XSI to Max, or vise versa. Maybe using the Filmbox plugins, but I haven't tried it myself.
Unless it specifically says that somewhere in that thread, I don't think so. Did you read somewhere that it said it only supports one link, or is that just an assumtion?
[/ QUOTE ]
I think I was mistaken. I remember reading somewhere that the old .smd exporter for max would work for static props, and that exporter only allows 1 link rigid. My mistake.
[ QUOTE ]
But if you're doing the animation in XSI then of course you'd export from there. I don't know how you'd get the animation data from XSI to Max, or vise versa. Maybe using the Filmbox plugins, but I haven't tried it myself.
[/ QUOTE ]
The dotXSI exporter for max works like a dream going from max->XSI. It brings EVERYTHING over. You can assign a colored material in max, and that even comes across. It will also export animations as actions, or just plain animations. The only problem is all the bones are converted to nulls (same as 3ds max dummy object) so it makes your rig kind of broken. I believe this exporter was written specificaly for Valve to bring their assests into XSI.
Also, if you've loaded up any of Valve's rigs in XSI. You'll notice that all the bones are prefixed with ValveBiped.Bip01 which makes me laugh because if you use character studio, everything is Bip01. Valve just brought the character studio rig into XSI and built onto it. I laughed.
I haven't had much luck going from XSI to max though. I doubt they really want you to do that though
If the exporter was indeed made specifically for Valve to export from Max to XSI, then it's even more bizarre that there wasn't a new exporter made to go from Max to an .smd file directly. I smell a conspiracy.
I think the reason why there wasn't a new exporter made for max is becasue Valve added a lot more onto their Biped rig once they got it into XSI and therefor redid a lot of animation work making max obsolete. Look closely, and just the bones are named Bip01, all the controllers are unique. And for static props, you don't really need multiple link support, which is what the SDK's 3ds max 3.1 source code gives you.
If you use XSI EXP for HL2, you can create a new rig with all the helper boxes that the Source engine handles internally. All of these helper boxes on the Valve's rig are driven by expressions, something I don't think you can do with cs's Biped.
I did talk with the Discreet rep here in Phoenix and asked him what happened with Valve. He said quite a bit of money was exchanged, which I'm sure was. With my experience with XSI, I've found it to be a far superior animation package, so I can see why the switch was made. Getting use the that interface is a little difficult though.
Oh, one more thing, anyone know if you can save a file without it needing to be placed in a "valid project". Man alive this really pisses me off.
You can also export Character Studio Bipeds and convert them to Bones. In Max Character Studio Help files there is a little tutorial how to do it. Try it and maybe your workflow will be improved.
I tried fbx to go from Max to Maya and back again and it works. I never tried it with softimage, but I guess the functions are available in all fbx plugins. I hope Alias will continue to develop fbx after their acquisition of Kaydara.
http://www.alias.com/eng/products-services/fbx/download.shtml
All of these helper boxes on the Valve's rig are driven by expressions, something I don't think you can do with cs's Biped.
[/ QUOTE ]
I don't want to start any kind of 3D app war here, but people often overlook the fact the Max has a full skeletal system that's completely independant of Character Studio. You don't need to ever touch CS if don't want to, and it's not required for making characters for the Source engine. The script exporter I refered to earlier doesn't even support Biped yet. With Max bones you can use expressions, wiring (same as Connections in Maya), reactor controllers (same as Set Driven Keys in Maya), script controllers, etc. It's a very powerful system that often gets overlooked because CS is hyped so much.
So if you're using XSI becuase you really like it, that's cool, but if you're using it because you don't think you can do the same things Max then I would highly suggest giving Max bones a look. I can't say I've used XSI, but I have used Maya and didn't see anything there that I couldn't also do with Max. I'm defenitely not saying that Max is better than other apps, but is does have a bad rap in the animation department carried over from older versions that it doesn't really deserve any more. Both Blur and Blizzard are doing great things with it these days.
And about saving files in "non-valid" folders, as far as I know you do need to follow their set directory structure, but it doesn't necessarily need to be within the main Valve folder. I'm not totally clear on this either though. But I know what you mean when you say it pisses you off.
Could someone go into detail on how they get a model from max to XSI? I haven't been able to port one over. I am using the dotXSI exporter for max, but for some strange reason XSI for HL2 won't import that dotXSI file, even if I place it in my valid project folder. Could it just be that I have a malfunctioning version of XSI/HL2?
[/ QUOTE ]
Here are the steps that I take:
1. Model in max. I also UV map here, but I don't rig or do anything else.
2. File->Export, then choose Softimage|XSI and save from max. I save it to my desktop. The default export options should work.
3. Goto File->Import->dotXSI. Again, the default import options are fine.
4. You now should have your model in XSI. I've tested this in 4.0, EXP, and the new Mod-Tool 4.2, all versions work.
If you are still having problems, I can write up a more detailed tutorial, with fancy screenshots and everything.
I'm working on a character right now that I'd like to put in the source engine, but I dont want to have to model it in max, export to XSI EXP and then edit it in there to fit to the rig, or at least I'd like to avoid as much editing in XSI EXP as possible (sorry but I just dont dig the navigation in its interface thus far).