Unreal 3 editor import problem

OBlastradiusO

I'm having trouble trying to do the basic of things. Importing ONE box into Unreal 3 editor and i keep crashing. I created the box in max named it SM_Box and even just Box, put smoothing 1 on it, named the material SM_Box and my second try just Box, UV's flattened, then I export as a ASCII file. I then went into my max folder and tried to import it from there and it crashes. Could it be my computer? I have a laptop 1gb of ram with 80g of space.

Kawe

Uh.. what's the file type? ascii file doesn't say much sadly.

I think for static meshes you're best off using .ase iirc..

OBlastradiusO

It's ASE file type and im using max 9

Kawe

I'm not a max user myself but Ive gotten stuff in from Modo and Maya so and UE3 was kinda built for Max so I don't see why you would have such problems. Your computer description is really vague but it shouldn't really crash the editor. The only thing I can come to think of is that the information in the model file is causing the crash.. and thus...

Did you check out the export settings? I think this tutorial might got some:
http://www.3dtotal.com/team/Tutorials_3/Unreal%203%20Basics/unreal_3_basics01.asp

OBlastradiusO

Yep I followed that tutorial already, ill take a look at it again. Does the file have to be in a specific Unreal 3 folder?

Lee3dee

when exporting it as an ase, do you only have checked:

Mesh Definition
Materials
Mesh Normals
Mapping Coordinates
Geometric
Shapes

Those checked always works for me.

OBlastradiusO

Nope sigh.. Nothings working

whats_true

Did you convert t to an editable poly first before you exported it?

OBlastradiusO

yeah i did

Kawe

Uhm, what version of 3ds max and importer are you using? I assume there are different versions.

OBlastradiusO

Im using OBJ importer 9.5.0.33

Em.

Did you try making a new box, resetting xforms, merging your box into a new max file, etc? I know that's all obvious but...

OBlastradiusO

No |I didnt, ill try that

sprunghunt

Does the box have a bitmap in the texture? Something in the diffuse slot? Missing these things can cause problems - but not usually crashes.

Kawe

Yeah, I'd suggest removing all materials and just applying one in the editor instead. That material editor is sweet.

OBlastradiusO

In my launch log. I found this in there. "Critical: Vertex element type 11 not supported" anyone knows what that means?

Lee3dee

its recommended to have shader model 3. otherwise you will experience hang ups and weird glitches

can u post a link to the ase, so I can import it on my end? See what results I get.

butt_sahib

i have shader model 2.0 but it works fine.
but yes,what leedee said

OBlastradiusO

Here's the ASE file. http://download.yousendit.com/Q01ITmZVdkdEa1hIRGc9PQ

In my launch log. I found this in there. "Critical: Vertex element type 11 not supported" anyone knows what that means?

Kawe

Vertex elements are basically a vertex but there are different types that include different kinds of information (normal, tangent, color etc. etc.). What type 11 is in UE3 I don't think anyone knows. So here's two possibilities:
- Your model data exported is faulty
- Your graphics card can't handle the data

Questions:
Are you able to run the actual game?
What video card do you have?
Can you import other people's models?
Did you try exporting without materials?

OBlastradiusO

Im able to run the game but its very slow. I can also view the game's static meshes in the editor.

The video card i have is..ATI RADEON 200 XPRESS

I don't have a ready made model from someone but I can try to find some. Anybody here could help on that.

Yes I did export the max models without materials.

sprunghunt

I downloaded the file. It imports fine into UT3 UED on my laptop. Which has a ATI mobility Radeon X1400.

OBlastradiusO

Hmmm. Tell specifically how you did it. What folder did u have it in, naming,etc.

Kawe

try this "box"
http://www.filehosting.org/file/details/5375/HIUCJjs5Q5HDqa1V/Mesh.ase

erh.. apparently that link is only usable once. didnt bother finding a better file host. heh.

Saidin311

OBlastradiusO wrote: »

Yes I did export the max models without materials.

There's your problem right there.

Just load up a checker pattern bitmap. It has to be a physical texture file that you apply on to your mesh before you export it to the .ase file.

You can't just rename a default material in max, or apply some sort of max-generated checker/image. It has to be a physical file on your hard drive that you assign to the object in max before you export.

So the simple steps to get a box from max to UE3:
Create a box in max.
Open Material editor in max.
Find an image file on your computer and put it in the diffuse slot in the material editor in max.
Apply material to your object in max.
Select Box.
File-> Export Selected.
Make sure all the things in Lee's post are checked.
Save file somewhere.
Open up UE3.
Save Map file (just makes it easier so you don't need a package).
Open Generic Browser.
Import StaticMesh. (use your saved-file name for your package name)
Place StaticMesh into the map.
Save Map again.

At this point you should have a map with its own package and your box static mesh inside the package. At this point you can now import textures or just create generic materials etc etc.

Also, the UV's shouldn't matter as long as it has a texture file on it. Obviously objects should have UV's so I should have added a simple flatten step.

I think I have that right. I haven't imported in a few weeks though so I'm slightly cloudy.

edit: I might have misread you there. Sounds like you've tried both ways?

sprunghunt

OBlastradiusO wrote: »

Hmmm. Tell specifically how you did it. What folder did u have it in, naming,etc.

I imported it from my desktop. I didn't change the filename. Neither of these things matter in my experience - you can call a static mesh whatever you want and import it from any folder.

sebas

I got the exactly same problem ('Vertex element type 11 not supported') with an ATI Radeon 9600, about one year ago. I upgraded my video card to an ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO and everything works fine... UT3 editor seems to need at least Shader Model 3.0 to import meshes.

Vailias

also fyi's you do not need any specific folder setup or naming conventions for object importing.
The only name specific things are sockets,bones and team materials/texures

Lamont

It's not Max, it's Unreal. If a user took the same mesh that you're having problems with and got it into Unreal just fine, then Max isn't the problem.

Also, Unreal looks for how many materials are used, and how many UV's are on the surface, does not matter if it's the default material or not.

Try FBX, and see if that works.

OBlastradiusO

sebas wrote: »

I got the exactly same problem ('Vertex element type 11 not supported') with an ATI Radeon 9600, about one year ago. I upgraded my video card to an ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO and everything works fine... UT3 editor seems to need at least Shader Model 3.0 to import meshes.

Yeah I believe it's my video card. Soooo until I get a new computer altogether ill have to wait to use the Unreal 3 editor. I just switched to the Crysis editor which works fine for now, but now I cant use that either because the stupid exporter isn't out yet for max 2009!!?!? Isn't technology grand? Anyways guys thanks for the help.

Lamont

OBlastradiusO wrote: »

Yeah I believe it's my video card. Soooo until I get a new computer altogether ill have to wait to use the Unreal 3 editor. I just switched to the Crysis editor which works fine for now, but now I cant use that either because the stupid exporter isn't out yet for max 2009!!?!? Isn't technology grand? Anyways guys thanks for the help.

This is just a stab, but look at the default material that is applied to meshes on import. See what shader model it's using, and change it to a lower version.