Classic or reforged

[JAVE]

Hi, I 'm a new member who started playing the old Warcraft gold version again.I'm a bit confused when I want to download a custom model, is the model made for reforged or classic? Is there a way to know that the models that appear are suitable for the old version?

 

[Yevhen Snizhko]

On Hive, reforged models are put specifically in Reforged HD section (should be seen above the big image).

Any model not in that section supposedly will work on old versions.

In other sources, unless it is marked as HD-specific or SD-specific, it is a matter of trust and testing.

 

[Retera]

Any model not in that section supposedly will work on old versions.

There are edge case models where this is not true at all.

For starters, for all the non-Reforged models that are "Classic" graphics, the Reforged game changed the format of every single file a total of 4 times. So if you think about something like the Footman Classic model, this has gone through 4 iterations of format changes from 2019 until 2025 when the most recent change was made.

As far as I can tell, most people retroport the model to the 2003 Frozen Throne game format before uploading to Hive, since those retroported models still load fine in the present day Reforged client next to its newer format files.

However if I do a survey of recently uploaded model files, I can see that a model such as https://www.hiveworkshop.com/threads/united-alliance-sentinel-tank.370970/#post-3713152 by the user @General Frank will not load on patches older than Patch 1.29 and we can detect this by looking at data and information in the model, without bothering to test the model in-game. But nobody has categorized which models depend on Reforged-only textures, so there is not a suggest patch version or warning number for you when downloading a model (unlike the map section which tells you a target version for maps).

Frank's model won't load on Patch 1.28 and below because it uses a texture file from inside the game database that those game versions do not have ( ReplaceableTextures\TeamColor\TeamColor20.blp ). However, you could just as soon have a model uploaded directly from the Reforged game that was in the 2022 format, and it would render fine on Hive and look like a Classic model but it would not load on game versions prior to 1.33. Or you could have a model in the 2020 format that would not load on game versions prior to 1.32. (But I went looking for an example of a model like that in the recently uploaded Classic models on Hive and did not find it -- most people uploading files to Hive are kind about using the retroported 2003 format.)

So it's certainly possible in multiple ways for a model to "sneak" into the Classic section that doesn't work on a truly classic CD game version of the game.

 

[General Frank]

There are edge case models where this is not true at all.

For starters, for all the non-Reforged models that are "Classic" graphics, the Reforged game changed the format of every single file a total of 4 times. So if you think about something like the Footman Classic model, this has gone through 4 iterations of format changes from 2019 until 2025 when the most recent change was made.

As far as I can tell, most people retroport the model to the 2003 Frozen Throne game format before uploading to Hive, since those retroported models still load fine in the present day Reforged client next to its newer format files.

However if I do a survey of recently uploaded model files, I can see that a model such as https://www.hiveworkshop.com/threads/united-alliance-sentinel-tank.370970/#post-3713152 by the user @General Frank will not load on patches older than Patch 1.29 and we can detect this by looking at data and information in the model, without bothering to test the model in-game. But nobody has categorized which models depend on Reforged-only textures, so there is not a suggest patch version or warning number for you when downloading a model (unlike the map section which tells you a target version for maps).

Frank's model won't load on Patch 1.28 and below because it uses a texture file from inside the game database that those game versions do not have ( ReplaceableTextures\TeamColor\TeamColor20.blp ). However, you could just as soon have a model uploaded directly from the Reforged game that was in the 2022 format, and it would render fine on Hive and look like a Classic model but it would not load on game versions prior to 1.33. Or you could have a model in the 2020 format that would not load on game versions prior to 1.32. (But I went looking for an example of a model like that in the recently uploaded Classic models on Hive and did not find it -- most people uploading files to Hive are kind about using the retroported 2003 format.)

So it's certainly possible in multiple ways for a model to "sneak" into the Classic section that doesn't work on a truly classic CD game version of the game.

People can always ask me to edit it to make it work in pre-Reforged maps. Some did.
I just use that texture because of aesthetic choice. That's it. It is still an 800 type mdx version.

EDIT: Most recent models now use a different texture and can be used without problem in pre-Reforged versions.

 

[Retera]

now use a different texture

I think Frank raises a good point here. If you have a model editor tool (such as Retera Model Studio) that can retroport the model to mdx 800 from future versions, then it becomes extremely fast and easy to "fix" if you happen to download, say, a "Classic" model that uses MDX1100 format and some texture like the one mentioned above that is not in the original 2003 game.

Because at that point, you can:

• Import any needed textures into your map, or edit the model to use a different texture
• Retroport the format from mdx 1100 to mdx 800 in an automated way. The visual output is identical so 1 to 1 lossless retroporting is 100% possible, and our fan tools do this automatically

So while the points I made in my previous post about the different versions and support are technically accurate, it is nevertheless the case that when you run into these sorts of problems they are technologically easy to solve.