M3 Import plugin

Starcraft 2 Model (.M3) import plugin for 3ds Max

A Starcraft 2 Model (.M3) import plugin designed for 3ds Max 2010.
Currently Imports:
– Geometry
– Bones
– Materials
– Animation

If you use any of the code, please provide credit where it's due.

Install instructions

1. Must have 3ds max installed

2. Extract the script (.ms) into your 3ds max '…\Scripts' directory, optionally you
can place the script in your '…\Scripts\Startup\' directory to have it automatically load
when you launch 3ds Max.

3. Click on the hammer icon on the default right hand side pane, and click on the MAXScript
button. If you didn't have 3ds max automatically load it upon launch, click 'Run Script' from
the rollout dialog and locate the script.

4. Select 'M3 – Import' from the Utilities drop down menu. From there, use the UI to locate
the M3 you wish to import and so on.

Note: When importing models, .dds maps can be automatically applied to the model but you must first
setup a map path in 3ds max. To do this, use the menu 'Customize->Configure User Paths…',
click on the 'External Files' tab and add the path. The script will check each path until it
finds the correct map.

5. Control the Animation Sequences through 'M3 – Sequences' found in the utilities drop down
menu.

Enjoy!

Known bugs

• Model mesh still does not bind to the bones properly for some models (eg. Immortal.m3).

• 3ds Max can be slow importing some of the larger models if you choose to import animation sequences. This is due to the inherently sluggish nature of maxscript, import animations at your own peril.

• Some animations are still not animating correctly.

• Vertex normals at the moment are SLOW to import due to 3ds max being crappy about how to manually set them. For large models it will slow down the import considerably.

Special Thanks

Volcore (http://volcore.limbicsoft.com/):
For help with vertice flags and initial architecture of the M3 format

Teal (starcraft.incgamers.com):
For UV's and his PHP converter source, helped with geometry importing

Witchsong (http://code.google.com/p/libm3/):
Providing a great open source library for documenting the M3 file format and designing the
M3->Obj converter. Head to http://code.google.com/p/libm3/ for more M3 file spec details.
Helped immensely figuring out the details of the M3 file format.

Sixen (http://www.sc2mapster.com/):
An awesome website for hosting SC2 development tools and vast XML documentation.

der_ton (http://www.doom3world.org/):
Has done some incredible work with the MD5 format. Alot of his work has been adapted for
the M3 file format with great success. Big thanks goes out to him!

ufoZ: One of the original crew to reverse engineer the M2 format and provide a good
maxscript importer from which my importer/exporters are based. Huge thanks to his efforts.

Related maps/assets:

Video player Heroes M3 To Sc2 M3 Converter Weather DeP’s M3 Model Editor Cliff Height Scaling Utility StarCraft2 normal map converter Blizzard Official Cutscenes file M3 Plugins for 3ds Max