DFF importer and exporter for 3ds max

[Tut98]

In MTA I have encountered a minor crash with the exporter:

Creating a vehicle in-game with variant works fine. If you then hide the variant when exporting with rwio (hide in hierarchy; not including it on export), the game crashes. One way to go about this is not just hiding it, but moving it out of the model's hierarchy completely.

I have tested this with other exporters (Kam's) and it does not cause crashes when following the same steps.

[Zeneric]

You tried selecting only items you want exported with the "Export selected" option picked (on 3dsmax: File > Export > Export Selected...)?

I know, not a fix, but a good other way.

Edited April 19, 2020 by Zeneric

[waknik]

50 minutes ago, Zeneric said:

You tried selecting only items you want exported with the "Export selected" option picked (on 3dsmax: File > Export > Export Selected...)?

I know, not a fix, but a good other way.

Hi you wrote that 2020 script works but its not working for me ? How did u installed it ? (I have 2021 version.)

[Zeneric]

5 minutes ago, waknik said:

Hi you wrote that 2020 script works but its not working for me ? How did u installed it ? (I have 2021 version.)

2021 version is the issue. This script works for 2020 and some older versions. This script needs to be updated to work with 2021.

Here, I bug @The Hero

Script update for 2021 when?

Edited April 19, 2020 by Zeneric

[waknik]

1 hour ago, Zeneric said:

2021 version is the issue. This script works for 2020 and some older versions. This script needs to be updated to work with 2021.

Here, I bug @The Hero

Script update for 2021 when?

So I installed 2018 version but somehow I have the same problem as in 2021, what is the folder you copy the rwio2018.dli scrip in ? I can see GTA helper in MAXscript but not Import Export, maybe i am just not using it right.

Edited April 19, 2020 by waknik

[Zeneric]

2 hours ago, waknik said:

So I installed 2018 version but somehow I have the same problem as in 2021, what is the folder you copy the rwio2018.dli scrip in ? I can see GTA helper in MAXscript but not Import Export, maybe i am just not using it right.

the dli file needs to be in 3dsmax\plugins\

the startup folder needs to be in 3dsmax\scripts\

 

To import/export you use 3dsmax's menu (File > Import... or File > Export...)

When exporting be sure "Renderware model (.dff)" is selected under "Save as type:".

Edited April 19, 2020 by Zeneric

[Tut98]

19 hours ago, Zeneric said:

You tried selecting only items you want exported with the "Export selected" option picked (on 3dsmax: File > Export > Export Selected...)?

I know, not a fix, but a good other way.

Thanks that's a great recommendation. Unfortunately this doesn't appear to work.

When I export my selection with the variant visible in Max hierarchy, but not selected, it's still included on export.

When I export my selection with the variant hidden in Max hierarchy, but not selected, it crashes when restarting resource ingame.

 

Moving it out of hierarchy completely solves it and it's not a big deal to me. It just took me a bit of time to figure that was the problem for my persistent crashes.

 

[Gmer]

@The Hero i uploaded 3DS Max 2021 SDK here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8vu8cw0prtzlrzj/maxsdk-2021.zip?dl=1

 

Can you update the plugin for 3DS 2021 compatibility, just like you did last time when I provided you with the SDK? Would be really appreciated 

 

Or else maybe we can ask @devmode.lua who did it in the past (for 2020 before you did it yourself), as he knows how to build the plugin.

Edited May 4, 2020 by Gmer

[The Hero]

Hm, there have been some bugs again recently. I wouldn't want to release a new version without at least taking a look at them. dunno when that'll be though.

[Gmer]

2 minutes ago, The Hero said:

Hm, there have been some bugs again recently. I wouldn't want to release a new version without at least taking a look at them.

Please man, at least compile it "as-is", due to practical reasons (disk space and needing 2021 for my study) i cannot switch to older version of 3DS. No guarantees..

And i dont know how to compile it myself. Plus i cannot bear the pain of using ancient DFF exporters.

Edited May 4, 2020 by Gmer

[The Hero]

Ok, use this for the moment: http://gta.rockstarvision.com/3dsmax/rwio2021.dli

 

[Gmer]

53 minutes ago, The Hero said:

Ok, use this for the moment: http://gta.rockstarvision.com/3dsmax/rwio2021.dli

 

Savior

[The Hero]

i uploaded a new version 3.2c. apparently there were still issues with unwanted prelight...i hope this bug is gone for good now. Also the 2021 version is in there.

[Tut98]

5 hours ago, The Hero said:

i uploaded a new version 3.2c. apparently there were still issues with unwanted prelight...i hope this bug is gone for good now. Also the 2021 version is in there.

Out of curiousity what were the issues? I don't think I've noticed any. Oh and thank you for your effort !

Edited May 8, 2020 by Tut Greco

[The Hero]

It exported prelight randomly on some models even though they shouldn't have had one. Someone made a change to specify whether to export prelight based on a user property and somehow that didn't work the way anyone thought it would.

[turret001]

thank you for such a great tool! I'm a total noob in modelling but thanks to GTA, 3DS and Plugin makers (like you!) I'm slowly learning how to model and use 3DS Max.

 

I'm using 3ds max 2020 and I've ran into an issue. This is how my model looks when it's imported. (this is a GTA SA model, it has not been modified, straight up exported from gta3.img)
 

 

When I change the angle, some of the faces become ghost-y looking.

https://imgur.com/2Gj1u36

 

EDIT: turning off "Enable Transparency" from Materials tab fixes the ghosting issue but it looks like this now >.< 

https://imgur.com/m1jbjO2

 

 

EDIT2: This whole block is messy for some reason. I think it's not related to this plugin but something's wrong with the .dff's.

https://imgur.com/ax6XezG

 

Edited May 25, 2020 by turret001

[Bane712]

Hi there!

I have a problem when exporting stuff with more than 1 UV channel.

So, i've been editing models, attaching new meshes and that sort of things, and the plugin works, i have successfully edited models that only contain a single UV map.

Now the problem is that i tried editing a model that contains 3 UV channels, different texture files for each part of the mesh, the model can be exported, but once exported the 3 UV channels disappear completely, and i only get the first UV map, the rest are deleted, then i tried exporting many models with multiple UV channels to see if the model that i was trying to edit was the problem but the same thing always happens, the exporter ignores all the UV channels and only exports the first channel.

Is there a way to avoid this?

Or perhaps i'm not exporting correctly?

Note: I only resized the models, didn't mess with UV maps at all but still the exporter ignores every UV channel except the first one (Using 3ds Max 2012)

[Tut98]

11 hours ago, Bane712 said:

Hi there!

I have a problem when exporting stuff with more than 1 UV channel.

So, i've been editing models, attaching new meshes and that sort of things, and the plugin works, i have successfully edited models that only contain a single UV map.

Now the problem is that i tried editing a model that contains 3 UV channels, different texture files for each part of the mesh, the model can be exported, but once exported the 3 UV channels disappear completely, and i only get the first UV map, the rest are deleted, then i tried exporting many models with multiple UV channels to see if the model that i was trying to edit was the problem but the same thing always happens, the exporter ignores all the UV channels and only exports the first channel.

Is there a way to avoid this?

Or perhaps i'm not exporting correctly?

Note: I only resized the models, didn't mess with UV maps at all but still the exporter ignores every UV channel except the first one (Using 3ds Max 2012)

San Andreas only supports 2 UV channels. First channel for diffuse mapping and second channel for environment mapping. The environment mapping is used for chrome and fake reflections on vehicles, weapons and rarely buildings.

In order to see the environment mapping you'll have to enable it in the material. 

Red = Select the section with "envmap" in it

Black = your texture. This can be a custom texture, not necessarily from vehicle.txd (if custom, it must use a unique name and be stored in your custom model's TXD)

Blue = your envmap strength

Edited June 3, 2020 by Tut Greco

[Bane712]

On 6/3/2020 at 1:17 AM, Tut Greco said:

San Andreas only supports 2 UV channels. First channel for diffuse mapping and second channel for environment mapping. The environment mapping is used for chrome and fake reflections on vehicles, weapons and rarely buildings.

In order to see the environment mapping you'll have to enable it in the material. 

Red = Select the section with "envmap" in it

Black = your texture. This can be a custom texture, not necessarily from vehicle.txd (if custom, it must use a unique name and be stored in your custom model's TXD)

Blue = your envmap strength

That ain't true, i have models that have more than 3 UV maps for a single mesh, this is a problem with the plugin.

I found a way to fix this anyways, i used the updated Kam's max scripts and exported those models with a bunch of UV maps successfully.

[Tut98]

3 hours ago, Bane712 said:

That ain't true, i have models that have more than 3 UV maps for a single mesh, this is a problem with the plugin.

I found a way to fix this anyways, i used the updated Kam's max scripts and exported those models with a bunch of UV maps successfully.

Please link to the reference and the material settings if you may. I assume you're on an unmodded game?

Ps. Thank you for correction

[Bane712]

On 6/5/2020 at 7:50 PM, Tut Greco said:

Please link to the reference and the material settings if you may. I assume you're on an unmodded game?

Ps. Thank you for correction

I do not mess with UV mapping, materials or whatever.

I only resized my models and added a muzzle flash for the weapons that didn't have one, however, all the UV maps are deleted after exporting the models.

This didn't happen when using the Kam's max scripts though, the scripts exported everything successfully.

[gold_fish]

On 6/6/2020 at 12:32 AM, Bane712 said:

...more than 3 UV maps for a single mesh..

... i used the updated Kam's max scripts and exported those models with a bunch of UV maps successfully.

3 UV maps? 

For the first time I hear about the third UV channel for GTA

 

At least not yet encountered this
When updating the script, I didn’t even think about the third channel, maybe 3 UVs can be exported incorrectly if done manually ...

Edited June 18, 2020 by gold_fish

[gold_fish]

by the way @Bane712 could you share in a personal message dff which have 3 UV channels so I can study them? I understand that these are gta sa models?

[kaichi]

Do you know how can i activate this Geometry Tristrip?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N5BOFjdnADRfe0ILkuCRH5MvtC3RbgaW/view?usp=sharing

Ps: This isn't GTA file, it's from an game that utilizes Renderware too, called Dragon Ball Online, your .addon it's the only one that import everything perfect into the 3DS, but i'm having problems with exporting. (The game recognizes the Rigging, but the mesh become invisible), if you can help-me more, to make an version to work in this game, go contact-me please, it's almost working, just need to fix these problems.
Email: [email protected]

[firedihm]

I'm having troubles importing models with Max 2021. They all have broken material IDs

 

[The Hero]

I bet this is a fault in the dff. KAM's exporter doesn't export material IDs properly, or at least it didn't use it.

[firedihm]

If I import it with KAMs, can I still export it with your scripts?

Edited June 21, 2020 by firedihm

[Tut98]

11 hours ago, firedihm said:

If I import it with KAMs, can I still export it with your scripts?

I'm sorry for not finding you already asked in here, but here's my reply on your other thread: https://gtaforums.com/topic/957367-incorrect-uv-mapping-after-imort-in-3ds-max-2021/?do=findComment&comment=1071257197

 

Quote

For OP: Is that a model exported by other plugins? It's something that generally happens when importing kam's models with The Hero's plugin. What you can do is import using kam's and then use GTA HELPER to convert to RW materials and you're good to go (in most cases). It imports game files correctly for me using Max 2021. But yeah this is better discussed on The Hero's thread.

 

Also while I'm here @The Hero do you happen to know how to prevent the ghosting materials from occuring? It's very frustrating to work with on larger scenes where every material flashes when orbiting around. It also happens when materials without maps are being displayed. Having this fixed would be very nice on the eye.  

Edited June 22, 2020 by Tut Greco

[The Hero]

I may implement fixing material assignment sometime, and also importing materials as standard materials. i still have a few other things on my mind though, but i actually am working on 3ds max stuff right now.

[gold_fish]

6 hours ago, Tut Greco said:

I'm sorry for not finding you already asked in here, but here's my reply on your other thread: https://gtaforums.com/topic/957367-incorrect-uv-mapping-after-imort-in-3ds-max-2021/?do=findComment&comment=1071257197

 

 

Also while I'm here @The Hero do you happen to know how to prevent the ghosting materials from occuring? It's very frustrating to work with on larger scenes where every material flashes when orbiting around. It also happens when materials without maps are being displayed. Having this fixed would be very nice on the eye.  

 

Materials may blink if duplicated polygons are used in the model, this is not a bug, this is an unusual way to create a two-sided render, you just need to enable the backface cull flag in the model properties

 

 

As with translucent models, in fact, the material becomes translucent, if the material uses the alpha channel (mask), this is not a bug, just the model textures are simultaneously used as a texture and as a mask, which leads to such a problem

Edited June 22, 2020 by gold_fish