Model Importing

by Windex

I n t r o d u c t i o n

If you've been writing UnrealScript for any length of time, you've probably started to find yourself wishing you could include new models in your mods. There are, after all, only so many ways Unreal's existing models can be used. I'm not going to explain here how to make your own models, since that's an entirely different art form in itself. If you already know how to make your own models, though, or know someone who does, then the next step is to figure out how to import these models into your UnrealScript package. That's what this tutorial is for.

3 d s 2 u n r

Those nice people at Legend Entertainment, in their infinite wisdom and glory, have written a nice little program that converts .3ds files into Unreal format. This program is called 3ds2unr, and can be downloaded for free here.

This program, along with your files in .3ds format, is all you'll need to get a snazzy new model imported into your UnrealScript package. Before going on, though, it would probably help to be familiar with the things I explain in the Using Unreal -make tutorial.

T h e P r o c e s s

Once you've got 3ds2unr, the importing process is not too difficult, although it can be a little difficult to figure out just by reading the documentation that comes with the program. Thus the need for this tutorial. Anyway, just follow these few simple steps, and you should be fine.

1:   D i r e c t o r y   S e t up

The first step is to get a special directory set up that will be used for importing your models. Exactly how you should do this is not set in stone, but this is the way I do it, and it's always worked for me. Anyway, make a new directory off of your Unreal directory called "Models". Within this directory, make three sub-directories: "3ds", "Models", and "Classes".

Within the "3ds" sub-directory, place your 3ds2unr.exe file, as well as your .3ds files. Note that there must be one .3ds file for each animation in your model. I won't go into too much detail about exactly how the .3ds files have to be prepared, since that falls more in the realm of modeling than coding.

2:   R u n   3 d s 2 u n r

Once you've got your directory set up, you need to run 3ds2unr. Go to Start > Run, and execute 3ds2unr.exe with a few parameters after it. The first parameter should be the name of the model. This is the name that the model will be known as in Unreal, and the name you'll reference it by in UnrealScript. The rest of the parameters are the filenames of all your .3ds files. For instance, if you were importing a model called "Gun" with one .3ds file called "Gun.3ds", your 3ds2unr command line would look like this:

Once you've got all this entered properly, hit "OK" and watch 3ds2unr work its voodoo.

3:   M o v e   F i l e s

Once 3ds2unr is finished, take a look in your "Models" and "Classes" sub-directories, and you'll find three new files waiting for you. In the "Classes" directory will be a .uc file containing the necessary import #execs for your new model. In the "Models" directory will be the actual model files. There will be two of them: ModelName_a.3d, and ModelName_d.3d. Put these two .3d files, along with the .pcx skin for the model, in the Models sub-directory of your mod's project directory (see Using Unreal -make for an explanation about project directories). Next, copy the model #execs into the appropriate UnrealScript class (usually the class that will be using the new model), run Unreal -make, and you're set.