Warcraft III Reforged - MDX format

[BlinkBoy]

So there are a few things we need to get out of the way, first the "Toggle Layer Explorer" is used to group together a bunch of objects, I attached the <L> shortcut to open en close it and is configured Vertically and sorted by layer and not by hierarchy. Here blizzard uses the LOD0 to LOD3 to seperate the objects for that level of detail. Just like they did with the SC2 models
Then there is the animation layer, not really sure how they work but the is exploited in SC2 as being a 'turret' animation
You also have UV Layers, they use a second layer to render out the Decal in SC2 and in Overwatch (now overwatch is a whole other thing because it was made in Maya)

And I believe the new Reforged models were also made in Maya

T.

In Sc2 they used STCs and STGs for animation groups, you just added groups with higher priority over others, the bones in that group would play the highest priority animation while the ones not on highest priority group, played the animation in the lowest priority group.

With the format changes I've seen, I highly doubt they implemented layered animations. It's 1 layer of animation still with Bone Turret still being hardcoded.

On "decals" MDX models could already use more than one unwrap and you had an id in the material layers to say which unwrap group you wanted to use. That was all possible in format 800. It's not well documented here, but it's possible to do in NeoDex, it shows how to set it up. One of the weird secrets about it. On version 800 it wasn't to useful because you could only use hardcoded textures but now that you have maps, if there's a decal map, you could use it in

 

[Taylor Mouse]

The Arthas model has 4 animation layers, basically using another name for a sequence but the same start and end frame, that is something anoying when you try to import it into max, so I had to create different animation tracks
And come up with a way to check if the next sequence doesn't overlap an existing one, and if it does, I added an addition layer (notetrack)
Only problem for the moment is that my animation selector ( or any existing one for that matter) does not support the selection of other tracks (yet)
So I'm looking into that next so you are able to select any existing track

T.

 

[GhostWolf]

@BlinkBoy Reforged materials are similar to M3 materials, you use the relevant shader, bind the textures, and do calculations in the shader. In other words, rather than every draw call being a geoset+layer, for materials with a shader it's geoset+material.
Also nice to see you are still alive.

 

[dzjugo]

any updates for the script?

 

[MajorHangover]

when i've tried to import (and i'm pretty sure i've done everything right) i got this error and the model won't open

i guess it got something to do with the mdx version or something like that but i have no idea what to do about it

 

[jessy]

@Taylor_Mouse there are issue with all elf building models, the bones are quite big and if you play the animation the glitches will happen.

 

[BlinkBoy]

The Arthas model has 4 animation layers, basically using another name for a sequence but the same start and end frame, that is something anoying when you try to import it into max, so I had to create different animation tracks
And come up with a way to check if the next sequence doesn't overlap an existing one, and if it does, I added an addition layer (notetrack)
Only problem for the moment is that my animation selector ( or any existing one for that matter) does not support the selection of other tracks (yet)
So I'm looking into that next so you are able to select any existing track

T.

In Sc2 you couldn't add animation layers in 3ds max, not even in Start Tools (Sc2's Art Tools), you had to threat them sepparately. Now I don't know what you mean, I personally don't know how they setup animation layers in the new format. Either way, try importing them sepparate and create an animation group manager to group them together, saving that data in the scene's custom properties. I suggest looking at Sc2's Art Tools maxscripts for that.

@BlinkBoy Reforged materials are similar to M3 materials, you use the relevant shader, bind the textures, and do calculations in the shader. In other words, rather than every draw call being a geoset+layer, for materials with a shader it's geoset+material.
Also nice to see you are still alive.

And how you do the classic way, geoset + layer? Do they use a shader to emulate it or by writting 0s into shader property?

I find it nice they added in the option to setup a shader. Not even in Sc2 you could change the rendering pipeline. Now people could in theory do cel-shading and other cool effects.

 

[Retera]

For me, I did not ever investigate to learn the Starcraft 2 format, so I do not have that added knowledge. To make models like the Reforged Sheep with Nether Dragon Wings, I am using the legacy MDX800 parser with literally just a small few modifications.
The MDX1000 newer stuff includes the exact same old SD model files with the newer format version. So, we have things like the Priestess of the Moon with 4 triangles making up her face as a MDX1000 model.

And I'm just using my MDX800 parser with a few slight tweaks written with tips from @GhostWolf 's code to parse it. The Reforged game renders the old SD materials as well as the new materials, differentiating apparently based only on whether the shader string is specified or not.

You guys are talking about these concepts of animation layers but when I was merging nether dragon wings into the sheep, I mostly just ignored any concept in that manner. I appended the skeletal nodes of the nether dragon into the list of nodes in the sheep, then appended the nether dragon wing geosets to the list of geosets in the sheep. Animation blending used my MDX800 algorithms and assumptions. I assumed that if "Stand" on the nether dragon specified a sequence from 800 to 1800, and "Stand" on the sheep was 1333 to 3333, then I would do the straightforward transform X'=((X-800)*2+1333) just like you would expect on MDX800 as a way to blend animation. What kind of layering are you guys actually seeing? I did find some circumstances where my blending mechanism did not work as expected. Are there overlapping animations on some units?

EDIT: "My mdx parser" is referring to my modified copy of OgerLord's MDX parser. To his credit, I did not write most of it and was simply updating it over time with support for new types of camera animation and particle emitter animation that he had not researched, even on mdx800.

 

[Taylor Mouse]

Take the last version guys, it is a whole menu that I created so you can use that, and it does support version 1000 of course

Exporter update:

Custom model (static single model tested for now ):

Custom model ( the almighty box ) with custom texture:

this is going the right way

 

[BlinkBoy]

hmn shading look weird.

 

[boskee]

Hello,

I've been silently working on yet another importer/exporter plugin - this time for Blender. It's still Work In Progress, but it's coming along nicely.

 

[Taylor Mouse]

That's because I used the test file ( tulips ) as a texture,

 

[feber13]

Hello,

I've been silently working on yet another importer/exporter plugin - this time for Blender. It's still Work In Progress, but it's coming along nicely.

It looks great, a question could you make a scripting of another game but with the same style as warcraft?

 

[MajorHangover]

Hello,

I've been silently working on yet another importer/exporter plugin - this time for Blender. It's still Work In Progress, but it's coming along nicely.

that's great news! i mainly work with blender and let's say 3ds max isn't my cup of tea so i'm 100% for it

 

[Zorrot]

thx dude

 

[Ghullie]

Thx for the tool!
But why am I getting this error?

Hidden

Tried opening several models, same thing.

 

[WollieWoltaz]

Same here, with the latest script version installed and after the latest patch update of Warcraft 3 Reforged i'm getting the same error.

 

[Ghullie]

Same here, with the latest script version installed and after the latest patch update of Warcraft 3 Reforged i'm getting the same error.

Try opening a portrait model, it worked for me.

 

[WollieWoltaz]

Wich portrait model? I tried the portrait model of the Undead Abomination but i'm still getting the same error.

 

[NexXer]

Hi all!
I`m exported footman model and I can`t import his in 3Ds Max.(v 2020)
I used 3D Model Viewer from Griffon Studios and export portrait in .obj
Importing in Maya and I have a model. But in scene I have a locked normals and flipped UV. May be who knows why is this?

 

[NexXer]

Three hours passed and I was able to get to the right kind of material in Marmoset...
Now I go install 3Ds Max 2017, may be tools work on him

 

[Ghullie]

Wich portrait model? I tried the portrait model of the Undead Abomination but i'm still getting the same error.

I tried Lady Vashj

 

[dzjugo]

Any updates?

 

[boskee]

It looks great, a question could you make a scripting of another game but with the same style as warcraft?

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean. I'm currently trying to integrate my plugin with some of the existing Blender importers (Heroes of the Storm, WoW, Starcraft 2) to simplify the process of exporting them to Reforged (and the classic client - my plugin supports all MDX versions released so far).

that's great news! i mainly work with blender and let's say 3ds max isn't my cup of tea so i'm 100% for it

Great to hear that! I'm not a modeller/graphics artist at all so I can't justify spending large amounts of money on software I won't use. I turned to blender because I found Retera (as good as it is) lacking in terms of functionality. I'm currently working on the GUI/options/settings side of things while we wait for the final release of Reforged, in case model specification changes yet again. Hopefully I'll be able to release it at some point in February, if my professional workload doesn't get in the way. Once I'm happy with it I'll make my github repo public so people can download/fork or whatnot.

------------------------------

While I'm here I also wanted to say thank you to this community as a whole, and specificall to (in no particular order) @Taylor_Mouse , @Retera , @GhostWolf and @Barncastle who are trailblazers and whose insight/source code/hard work makes additional integrations fairly easy to write.

 

[feber13]

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean. I'm currently trying to integrate my plugin with some of the existing Blender importers (Heroes of the Storm, WoW, Starcraft 2) to simplify the process of exporting them to Reforged (and the classic client - my plugin supports all MDX versions released so far).



Great to hear that! I'm not a modeller/graphics artist at all so I can't justify spending large amounts of money on software I won't use. I turned to blender because I found Retera (as good as it is) lacking in terms of functionality. I'm currently working on the GUI/options/settings side of things while we wait for the final release of Reforged, in case model specification changes yet again. Hopefully I'll be able to release it at some point in February, if my professional workload doesn't get in the way. Once I'm happy with it I'll make my github repo public so people can download/fork or whatnot.

------------------------------

While I'm here I also wanted to say thank you to this community as a whole, and specificall to (in no particular order) @Taylor_Mouse , @Retera , @GhostWolf and @Barncastle who are trailblazers and whose insight/source code/hard work makes additional integrations fairly easy to write.

what I mean if you can make a script for darksider and darksider 2 with blender is a game very similar to warcraft, I have a blender script of a very old version but what is missing are the animations, sorry for my English

 

[Deerslayer]

sorry for my English

feber13, what country are you from?

 

[feber13]

feber13, what country are you from?

from Argentina

 

[Tamplier]

For some reason I don't see the list of animation for imported model.
Does anybody have the same issue?

Spoiler: Screenshot

Also I have error in calculate tangets script upon 3dmax startup

Spoiler: Screenshot

 

[WollieWoltaz]

@Tamplier777
Works for me.. see video. Did you tried refreshing the animproperties script?

Orc Peon.mp4

About the error about the calculate tangets, just delete that specific script. Then you won't get that error message.

 

[Tamplier]

Thank you! I updated scripts from github and it worked!

 

[hybridremix]

Hello,

I've been silently working on yet another importer/exporter plugin - this time for Blender. It's still Work In Progress, but it's coming along nicely.

Hey, @boskee, curious about this tool.

Do you foresee it being a minimalist tool, or a comprehensive tool? What I mean to ask is, do you expect your import/export process will do as little as it needs to (minimalist), so that an artist can do what they need to do? Or do you expect it to be a comprehensive tool that let's meatheads like me push a few buttons and do a clean import/export?

 

[Trallor]

can't wait to see the blender version too, wanna sculpt some details before printing my character! =)

 

[Victel]

How do I recompile my models so I can put them back into the engine? Thanks

 

[TheBrightOne]

Loving the tool. I've been mostly using it to generate 3d prints. I was running into an error on some models for cannot convert Undefined to type Boolean.

Going through the debug it seems to be happening in loops like the one below. To temporarily workaround the import failing I can add try catches around these points and the model will import (with no color) and you can use animations.
I want to keep looking into the actual cause of the issue, but I'm newer to maxscript and I wanted to share this here for someone who might just want printable models.

After importing you'll need to hide some layers in the layer tool btw.

if ( isVisibilityTrackRequired == true ) then
(

cObj.Visibility = undefined
cObj.Visibility = on
cObj.Visibility.controller = on_off()

for anim in c.KPPV.KG do
with animate on at time ( anim.Time + 10 )
if (anim.point == 1) then
cObj.Visibility = on
else
cObj.Visibility = off

)

 

[Victel]

Anyone? I need a way of converter models to MDX. What tool do I use?

 

[Kostyarik]

@boskee, any update on your tool so far? =)

 

[Arkhfen]

boskee, THIS IS AWESOME!

Can you shere more screenshots?

Hello,

I've been silently working on yet another importer/exporter plugin - this time for Blender. It's still Work In Progress, but it's coming along nicely.

 

[Graesholt]

Hey guys, been lurking for a while.

I have a problem when extracting the game with cascview; all the normal maps are for some reason damaged, corrupted, or too large (I cannot pinpoint the issue further on my end).
Is this happening to anyone else?
Does anyone have an alternative way to extract the normal maps, which works?

Just to weigh in as well, I'm using taylormouse's script and it's working fantastic.
I do get an "-- Unable to convert: undefined to type: Boolean", but only after importing all the goemetry, which is the part I'm interested in anyway...
Other than that, like someone else said, the models are faced to the right when imported, but that's about all I have observed so far.

Keep up the good work!

 

[8Yaron8]

@Graesholt use Noesis, you can open this normal textures with this program and re-export in working format.
Download-> Rich Whitehouse

 

[Graesholt]

@Graesholt use Noesis, you can open this normal textures with this program and re-export in working format.
Download-> Rich Whitehouse

Noesis can view the files, which is a step forward.
However, when exported the files remain the same in the eye of windows and paint.
I can't fathom why the files would behave this way, when they don't seem larger than any other texture.

I guess They'll have to do ;P
Thanks for your help

 

[Tamplier]

Hi!
@Taylor_Mouse Any news regarding export?

 

[Deleted member 238881]

Does Allow Local Files works in Reforged?

 

[Bitterman]

Its possible to export the Models and textures into OBJ?

i tried to open in here but it didn't loaded the textures on 3ds

 

[feber13]

Its possible to export the Models and textures into OBJ?

i tried to open in here but it didn't loaded the textures on 3ds

Of course, with a change
Retera Model Studio Reforged Hack

 

[Deleted member 238881]

So? Anyone can answer me?

 

[feber13]

Does Allow Local Files works in Reforged?

as local files? I do not understand

 

[Bitterman]

as local files? I do not understand

Open the registry and enable local files loading like every other game like bethesda or id ones to add modifications like models and so on

it still works, though campaign maps wont

 

[Deleted member 238881]

it still works, though campaign maps wont

How custom folder should be named? I mean folder containing custom files.

 

[OmegaWeaponX]

Guys - I'm one of the project makers of the Starcraft: Mass Recall project. With the final versions of that complete, and in that same effort, I'm trying to work on a Warcraft 1/2 remake/remaster in the SC2 engine picking up on the mod made by Renee awhile back which already has a lot of the units/buildings/abilities fleshed out (albeit with some noticeable missing gaps I'm filling in). However, all the assets that exist in SC2 for War3 are the old SD versions (and a few random HD versions, but not reforged quality).

I'm trying to understand if the work folks are doing here would allow a full export of all the reforged assets, or at least a handful of ones I need, into the SC2 editor. I assume they need to be .m3 format and textures in the .dds format. Can someone clarify if that's possible with this work and if so - what's the status of that?

I'm building out the project using SD models but it looks pretty lame thus far I wanted to do this in the actual reforged client, but I was disapointed to learn the editor hasn't really been updated and thus is a lot less useful than SC2's (can't create custom launcher, can't load movies in-game, etc)

Thanks!

 

[LAM HAI DANG]

Error tool script (3d max 2016-2020)