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War3 Model Editor

This bundle is marked as director's cut. It exceeds all expectations and excels in every regard.
//MOD EDIT// - PLEASE CHECK "UPDATE 2" below before posting if you have ISSUES USING MAGOS

This Model Editor is not made by me, but is made by Magos.

War3 Model Editor is as the name suggests a Model Viewer and a Model Editor dedicated to Warcraft 3. It supports both loading and saving of .mdl and .mdx model formats which are used in Warcraft 3. It also supports .bmp, .tga, .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .pcx and .blp texture formats.

There is a built-in MPQ Browser that allows you to browse any MPQ archive, which also includes Warcraft 3 map files (.w3m and .w3x). The MPQ Browser has been optimized for speed and is very fast to load and use. The Browser is customizable so you can add/remove your own icons and filters.

Features

* Model Viewer
* Model Editor
* Geoset Importing/Exporting
* Can save/load the model formats *.mdl and *.mdx
* Can save/load the texture formats .bmp, .tga, .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .pcx and .blp
* Can import other model formats (importers stored in DLLs)
* Ability to convert between the model formats
* Ability to convert between the texture formats
* MPQ Browser (very fast loading)
* Support for custom listfiles
* Support for custom MPQ filters & icons

Extras

* Loading Screen Creator
* A tool to create colored text for Warcraft 3

Supported Importers

* md2 (Quake 2)
* ms3d (Milkshape)


UPDATE 1 //by Rui​

Hey people, it's Rui. I have updated the tool to v1.07 and added some keywords for searching. Enjoy!


UPDATE 2 //by Khyrberos​

In recent years, both with modern OSes & with Reforged, W3ME might require a few adjustments to work properly.

(Made redundant by update 3)
One common issue over the years was missing DLLs; as described in this post by Hero_Lief and this message by Pyf, the DirectX Installer can be downloaded here. (Alternatively, as Hermit describes here, you can Google & download the specific file 'd3dx_9.dll' needed by W3ME.)

(Doesn't apply to beta v1.08)
A new issue with 1.30+ is its use of the CASC data system, replacing the old MPQ system. As described by Hermit in this post, you will need to have/find a copy of the old MPQs & put them where War3 Model Editor can find them in order for it to work properly. It appears 1.28 files work the best in v1.07

UPDATE 3 //by BogdanW3​

The v1.07 zip has been repacked to include the dll needed to make it run without having to install the DirectX runtime, thank you to @Dr Super Good for noting that that's the proper way to do things now with deprecation of Direct3D9 taking place.

You can now also download a new version, v1.08 beta, which was updated by me (@BogdanW3) and has some nice new, albeit still to be thoroughly tested, features:

* Edit texture paths directly from the textures window (no need for MDL for this)
* Support for v1000 (1.32) and v1100 (1.33, only loading for now) SD MDX models
* DDS texture support
* Hierarchical loading of textures (a texture referenced as tga in a model will no longer fail to load if the file is for example blp)
* Loading assets from CASC (no CASC browser at this time due to library limitations)
* 24 team colours
* Replaceable IDs 36 and 37, as well as a few more event objects are added from entries in the game data (thank you @Hermit)
* And more!

Feel free to contact me if there's any bugs or regressions you wish to report. MagosX has given me permission to post it, so I would like to thank him for that as well as making a great model editor with a very readable codebase!
This version currently works best with 1.29 MPQs or 1.31+ CASC.
Requires the 64-bit Visual C++ 2015 runtime.

PS, applies to all versions of W3ME:​

To set up the War3 Model Editor to load data (be it MPQs, or CASC in v1.08) from a specific folder, you will want to set up the string Registry value InstallPath in the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\ to point to the Warcraft 3 data folder you wish to use.
For a more step-by-step explanation, check this comment by StormKnight.

Keywords:
warcraft, 3, III, magos, w3me, editor, model, war3, wc3, mdx
Contents

War3 Model Editor v1.07 (Binary)

War3 Model Editor v1.08 (64-bit, beta) (Binary)

Reviews
PurplePoot: Approved for extreme usefulness, whether as a mapper or a modeler.
Level 31
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
194
The tool will look for a Warcraft 3 installation first by using registry, reading from HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\InstallPath. If it doesn't get files from there or can't read it, it will try to search the current folder.
Thanks. Ill try setting it in the registry.
Edit: Just checked it in a another page. The path is HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III
 
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I get an error when I try to open a model, what's going on?
As Bogdan said, the model you are trying to open is in the Reforged format. You can open the model with Retera Model Studio then convert it to the legacy 2002 game format by using the menu option "Scripts -> Assign FormatVersion 800" then saving the model from within my software.

By doing that, it will convert the model to the 2002 game format just by saving, and then your other tool should be able to open it.
 
Level 17
Joined
Oct 10, 2011
Messages
459
Thank you for your really fast useful answer.

Here is the link for future asks:
 

Dr Super Good

Spell Reviewer
Level 63
Joined
Jan 18, 2005
Messages
27,180
Thank you for telling me this is the guidelines.
It seems this change is quite recent with the article below being updated within the last year or so.

References:
Not So Direct Setup
Legacy D3DX on NuGet

Important quotes:
NOTE: For game developers looking to repackage older games, consider using the Microsoft.DXSDK.D3DX NuGet package which provides a side-by-side shippable version of D3DX9_43.DLL, D3DX10_43.DLL, D3DX11_43.DLL, and D3DCompiler_43.dll under a new license per this blog post. For XAudio2 on Windows 7 SP1 or later, consider updating your audio code using the Microsoft.XAudio2.Redist NuGet package as detailed on Microsoft Docs. These packages do not make use of legacy DirectSetup and are shipped ‘application local’.
Furthermore, the runtime DLLs required are now licensed for “application-local” deployment -and- are SHA-2 Authenticode signed. These are functionality the same binaries as the DirectX SDK (June 2010) release so there’s no bug-fixes or other changes.
 
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Level 17
Joined
Nov 12, 2016
Messages
780
For anyone who struggled to set up W3ME like i did :grin:

To set up the War3 Model Editor to load data (be it MPQs, or CASC in v1.08)

Open the Registry Editor
Go to this path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\
Highlight the Warcraft III Folder
Right-click on the right hand side of the window
New > String Value
Name it InstallPath
Fill the value field with a path of any given Warcraft III installation or a folder that contains your MPQ files.
(For example: C:\Users\Peon\Desktop\Wc3 Archive\MPQ Files.)
 
Level 17
Joined
Feb 25, 2013
Messages
303
hello. please add support for 32 bit version
1.07 is 32-bit, 1.08 is a beta that was made 64-bit to support larger, newer, assets. Feel free to use 1.07 if you're not on a 64-bit system for some reason
(and before anyone mentions it, I know it's hard to max out the 32-bit RAM limit with just one model, but not impossible, and updating to 64-bit also allowed me to more easily compile dependencies)
 
Last edited:
Level 3
Joined
Aug 14, 2019
Messages
28
1.07 is 32-bit,
1.07 version does not work correctly on windows 7 32bit. It produces errors unlike the 1.05 version. If you use the Chinese version, then this version works correctly there and even windows xp works without problems. The original English version is clearly with some kind of bugs and I have to use only 1.05
 
Level 17
Joined
Feb 25, 2013
Messages
303
These issues happen because of how Windows does filepaths for old apps.
At least one of these two should only happen when you double-click models because of incorrect registry, and the other probably happens because of "8 dot 3" paths being enabled for your C drive

In short, don't put files for old apps in long paths, paths with long folder names, nor paths with special characters.
Hopefully that helps you with some of these model files not being loadable
 
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Kyrbi0

Arena Moderator
Level 44
Joined
Jul 29, 2008
Messages
9,487
These issues happen because of how Windows does filepaths for old apps.
...
In short, don't put files for old apps in long paths, paths with long folder names, nor paths with special characters.
Hopefully that helps you with some of these model files not being loadable
Man I wish someone had taught me that early on in my computer-life... xD
 
Level 40
Joined
Feb 27, 2015
Messages
523
why does v1.07 has two different "Open Model or Texture" menus

if i open magos and then "file->open" it will bring up the regular one with windows theme of your choosing and the sidebar
but if i open magos, open mpq browser and then go "file->open" from the main window, then it will bring up blocky white windows classic without the sidebar
last open directory can be made different between the two of them and that is annoying
it's not much of a problem, it's just weird
 

Kyrbi0

Arena Moderator
Level 44
Joined
Jul 29, 2008
Messages
9,487
why does v1.07 has two different "Open Model or Texture" menus

if i open magos and then "file->open" it will bring up the regular one with windows theme of your choosing and the sidebar
but if i open magos, open mpq browser and then go "file->open" from the main window, then it will bring up blocky white windows classic without the sidebar
last open directory can be made different between the two of them and that is annoying
it's not much of a problem, it's just weird
This has been a problem for literally forever, as far as I've used Magos... No idea why.
 
Level 2
Joined
Mar 3, 2021
Messages
8
So where can I find registery editor? Show with picture I can't do it. where is registery editor?
 
Last edited:
Level 2
Joined
Mar 3, 2021
Messages
8
For anyone who struggled to set up W3ME like i did :grin:

To set up the War3 Model Editor to load data (be it MPQs, or CASC in v1.08)

Open the Registry Editor
Go to this path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\
Highlight the Warcraft III Folder
Right-click on the right hand side of the window
New > String Value
Name it InstallPath
Fill the value field with a path of any given Warcraft III installation or a folder that contains your MPQ files.
(For example: C:\Users\Peon\Desktop\Wc3 Archive\MPQ Files.)
Where is registery editor?
 
Level 28
Joined
May 14, 2021
Messages
1,095
Where is registery editor?
Please don't make a double posts in this thread. You might get an alert from the moderator, which increases the risk of being banned from this forum.
InstallPath W3.jpg

You need to create it yourself in "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\", then specify where Warcraft 3 installation folder is situated on (see picture above).
 
Level 35
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
6,392
Please don't make a double posts in this thread. You might get an alert from the moderator, which increases the risk of being banned from this forum.
View attachment 418452
You need to create it yourself in "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\", then specify where Warcraft 3 installation folder is situated on (see picture above).
To add to this, be very carefull that you only edit this intended part. Messing about in the register editor can cause severe issues with your pc.
 
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