Bridge Commander Universe

bes12000 · Lieutenant Joined: 05 Apr 2006 Posts: 402 Location: Texas

I just found this link to an .NIF plug-in for 3Dmax 5-9, but I just tried it and getting an error..it cant read the .NIF in BC..

http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=149157

so could someone who know about this stuff explain to me why it wont open the ones in BC?

Sandtrooper · **Posted**: 01-26-2007 11:26 PM

They had at least 5 years to crack the NIF used by BC, and they still get errors of a string it doesn't like when importing...and I have Max 5 (only good thing it can do is make very good icons)...

Paegus · **Posted**: 01-27-2007 09:31 AM

well if you can afford the several hundred or thousand that max costs shell out for Milkshape. its NIF import/exporter is almost flawless.

bes12000 · Lieutenant Joined: 05 Apr 2006 Posts: 402 Location: Texas

Yep, I have that aswell...some of my models crash in milkshape when I import from 3Dsmax , so I can change it to .nif, something about too many polys..too of some items and it still whines about being too many polys....if I take off anything else the model will be crap..

Some of my models were downloaded and ive asked permission to use, so thats why I tried the plug-in for max...it dont work for BCs .NIF...but it works for any of the other versions, like the one DAOC uses..

Cube · **Posted**: 01-27-2007 08:48 PM

CaptainRussell · **Posted**: 01-27-2007 11:07 PM

The NIF exporter for Milkshape doesn't work too good for extremely detailed models either - I wouldn't recommend exporting anything from MS3D with more than 30000 triangles.

Also, anything exported from Milkshape cannot have any groups that have any sharp edges in them - in other words, any model that you put into Milkshape must be cut into a group for each smooth surface on the model, which will likely result in hundreds of groups.

-CR

bes12000 · Lieutenant Joined: 05 Apr 2006 Posts: 402 Location: Texas

Thanks for the responses..and the tips, most of the models im dealing

with come from an .iff format,then I open an extremely old program

called 3DExploration(only program that can open .iff)to read the .iff to

see if the model is worth using or not,then I have to find all the .mat

textures that go with the .iff mesh and convert them to .Bmp, then I

have to convert it to .3DS and at the same time I have to have the

textures converted to .TGA for the end result, then I have to plug it into

max and do a little modifying(or try to as im not very good at it yet),then

I have to plug it into milkshape and do a cleaner and try to make it look

better then convert it to .nif.

At the same time im dealing with real crappy textures(256colors-very

low qua 16bit), plugging them into Illustrator 10 and PSP10 and rasterize

and try to up the res abit to 24bit, with some filters etc..

so just to get a general Idea I have to work alot to get the models

halfway decent, then ill make my own later close to how they were

originally.

Lord_MalaK · **Posted**: 02-12-2007 01:42 PM

As stated above the NIF importer for milkshape chokes when importing high poly count models, BUT the MOD exporter for MAX works great (as does Milkshapes MOD importer).

From what I've learned BC's NIF v.3.1 is rather custom and a mostly unused and undeveloped version of the NIF format.

So you might try a Milkshape import from another format (MOD, DXF, or 3ds) from Max, then export in the NIF format from milkshape.

Importing directly from the NIF format is a crap shoot.

I also found that Milkshapes cleaner, scaler, and even the statistics tools crash on me if I have more than 1 texture applied to a model, or multiple groups. I don't like Milkshape, but it's the only thing that exports NIF 3.1 correctly (mostly).

M@DM@X · Commander Joined: 04 Dec 2003 Posts: 797

actully 3ds max 3.1 works for me i just have to find the disk, good thing is it is the only 3ds max version that will allow you to import to bc Grin

but like i said i need to find my disk