[General] Can you import ripped models into WC3:Reforged?

[Sully_]

Hey there, i'm pretty new to the WC3 Editor, but it went well up until now when i actually tried to get into custom models. I'm trying to create a custom map for only me and my friends as a means of getting to know the editor better and improving on an old WC3 map concept we used to play back then. I have no idea if the WC3:Reforged editor is any different from the old one, but i couldn't find a lot of infos about it since it's quite new.

I tried using ripped models from old Pokemon games for example from 'Colosseum'-a Gamecube game, because i have no experience in 3D modelling and didn't want to learn it just for a small project like this.
I get an .obj file, .mtl file and multiple .png files which are the materials i guess?
I then put the .obj file into blender, model looked fine with all the colors and shapes intact, export it as .obj and i get .obj + .mtl back. I then convert these files with numerous tools that i've found in Internet. Import the converted files in the file manager from the WC3 Editor, make a custom unit and link the Art - Model path to the right files. When i place the units they are just invisible, i also saved the map afterwards and started it up again since i've read somwhere that this could be an issue, but it wasn't.

So i wanted to ask if you guys have any idea if using said models is even possible or not. I'm not trying to use these copyrighted models for making a public map, i just want to enjoy a fun WC3 Custom Pokemon map with my friends, with our own ideas/twists integrated into it while having nice looking Pokemon as units.

I'd also be glad if anyone could link me tutorials which are the most helpful and still relevant up to this date.
I've seen and read a couple, but it's honestly a lot stuff for me at once and alot of the software is not available anymore...

 

[Dr Super Good]

I have no idea if the WC3:Reforged editor is any different from the old one

It is just World Editor. Like it always has been and always will be.

I then put the .obj file into blender, model looked fine with all the colors and shapes intact, export it as .obj and i get .obj + .mtl back. I then convert these files with numerous tools that i've found in Internet. Import the converted files in the file manager from the WC3 Editor, make a custom unit and link the Art - Model path to the right files. When i place the units they are just invisible, i also saved the map afterwards and started it up again since i've read somwhere that this could be an issue, but it wasn't.

Possibly because the model rigging is incompatible with WC3. There is no standardized way for games to do 3D models and especially older console games would likely use obscure ways.

So i wanted to ask if you guys have any idea if using said models is even possible or not. I'm not trying to use these copyrighted models for making a public map, i just want to enjoy a fun WC3 Custom Pokemon map with my friends, with our own ideas/twists integrated into it while having nice looking Pokemon as units.

One would have to convert the meshes and animations to be compatible with Warcraft III. This includes giving the model animations names that WC3 expects, adding model attachment points so effects appear correctly on the model, making sure the model bone structure is what Warcraft III expects, giving the model correct extents so that Warcraft III's clipping algorithm knows when it is the field of view, renaming texture paths to be sensible for Warcraft III adding any required hit geometry so the model can be interacted with.

Texture conversion should be pretty easy. If it is png export it as .DDS. I think paint.net natively supports this format, otherwise there is a free GIMP plugin that can do the same.

 

[Sully_]

Thanks a lot Dr Super Good, so you're saying that it could be possible? For me it sounds like i should extract a unit model from WC3 and look at how the model animations are called, what the texture paths are, bone structure should look like and if need be, edit it all? I guess i could do that with blender/War3ModelEditor, or atleast try it.

I have an old map where someone used a couple Pokemon models for his units, is it possible to extract these models from the map or is it not feasible since im missing the correct source files?
Again, thanks for your helpful advice!

 

[Dr Super Good]

I have an old map where someone used a couple Pokemon models for his units, is it possible to extract these models from the map or is it not feasible since im missing the correct source files?

You can extract the models using MPQEdit. If there is no (listfile) then they will be assigned some generic name along with all other files and so will have to be searched for by finding the path they were assigned inside the map MPQ. Once the model file is found, the texture paths can be extracted from it and then used to extract the textures. The model path will be referenced in the unit data object editor files, which might have been converted to SLK. Either that or in the JASS trigger script file if used as a special effect.