Battlefront II to RepCom Mesh Importing

[CommandoNikomer]

Hello,

I am having some trouble with importing meshes to RepCom's .ase format from Battlefront II using several methods of conversion. Fasty002 recommended me to these forums for an answer, so I will explain my dilemma. While creating maps for a mod my friend and I are making, I've come across the fact that I cannot model as good as I should, and I need to import Battlefront II objects. I'm pretty sure it can be done, but I have tried multiple converting methods. First, I tried 3D Object Converter to export to a UE3's .t3d format so I could import the brush and manually apply the texture to it, and convert it to a Static Mesh. It did not work, because only the "land" parts of the mesh converted, not the "Object" parts of it. Secondly, I tried converting it to a .dxf and a .stl format to import it the same way. This time, the brush had tears and holes when I built it. So now I understand that the only way to transfer it is through a direct .ase import to a Static Mesh Package. The 3D Object Converter didn't work, and Blender is giving me grief about incompatible Python scripts. I've searched all over Google, and found nothing. So basically, you guys are my last hope! I'm pretty desperate, so I'll try anything regardless of size or length in time.

Thanks,
Niko

Me vs. UnrealEd -->

[AceMastermind]

Converting one format to another is nothing special, you just need to make sure to preserve the features you want to keep by paying attention to the data types supported by each format during the process.

Star Wars Battlefront uses Pandemic's proprietary msh format. You must decide what tools you plan to use for the conversion process.
According to what i've read on Sandcrawler Network the Softimage Mod Tool(free) can export ase files which will import into UnrealEd. I think ase export was removed prior to version 7.5 so if you intend to use the latest Mod Tool then you will need to install the actorx plugin available from here.

You need a way to get SWBF msh files into Softimage Mod Tool which has obj import. You can convert SWBF msh files to obj with 3D Object Converter, Unwrap 3D or Mesh Tool(free). You could also convert msh to obj indirectly by converting to wrl with SWBFViewer(free) then converting that wrl to obj with Accutrans3d(free) or Blender(free).
Have a look at this tutorial on Unreal Modders Haven/Sandcrawler Network for more detailed information, there are other tutorials there as well.
This is the limit of what I know but I believe [Skirata] Atin [General] could fill you in on the finer details.

Also see:
http://www.pfwskip.bplaced.net/Forum/vi ... a078c1a52c
http://rcmodacc.fare-forum.net/
http://forums.sandcrawler.net/index.php ... 40#msg6840
http://forums.sandcrawler.net/index.php ... 19#msg3419
http://wiki.beyondunreal.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps0nXS8ib8Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uPBnq39Cts

[CommandoNikomer]

Alright, I tried exactly what you did and it did the same thing as the .t3d import... because there are so many verticies and faces, there are several rips and tears in the texturing which I don't think is fixable... my original question still stands, but now any possible way to get rid of the tears on the texturing??? Thanks for your answer, and I really do hope there is a way to fix this issue...

[AceMastermind]

Can you provide a screenshot of these rips and tears in UnrealEd? Maybe the ase import is choking on the object? What kind of object are you importing? You should experiment with simple meshes like a textured cube or something until you work out the correct procedure for importing, maybe UnrealEd expects a specific setup to work with the engine. You may need to invert the polygon normals of the object in Mod Tool prior to export to ase based on what i've read on RC modding forums.
I have no experience modding RC so I can't really help you beyond information obtained through Google unless I reinstall it and give it a try myself.

[DarthD.U.C.K.]

im pretty sure some people converted weapons from swbf2 to rc. i dont know who did exactly but im sure skip knows. you can probably find usefull information in this forum in case you speak german

[CommandoNikomer]

@AceMastermind Here's what I mean. The wireframe imports perfectly, but I think that the UnrealEngine2.5 isn't capable of building faces of this quality...

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/801/capturewde.png

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/707/capture1fx.png


@DarthD.U.C.K. Skip quit RC modding last year so... and I don't speak German, Mike and I are some of the few American Unreal modders haha...

Thanks again for the help!

[AceMastermind]

It looks like the geometry is fine but the UVs are fudged and therefore the texure doesn't display correctly. Check your ase file in another software to see if the UVs are messed up there too. That object is no more complex than many of the objects in the stock game. You should try a simple textured cube like I mentioned previously to see if you get the same problems.

EDIT
I exported several models to ase from Mod Tool and checked them in 3d Object Converter and they all look fine. I think i'll install RC and try to import them into UnrealEd.

[CommandoNikomer]

Yes, this is a common problem with UE2 brush imports... I never knew it would do the same for model model imports. I've seen several complex models imported before, much more complex models than this, without any problems. But I really appreciate the trouble you are going through to help me xD