[Guide] Getting 3D Models into Garry's Mod
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Getting 3D Models into Garry's Mod


[b]The Wall Worm Method[/b]


COMING VERY SOON!



The Manual Method
This is a manual way of compiling the model, I wouldn't recommend doing it this way as things are more likely to go wrong. The Wall Worm method is much better

You should really only use this method if you have to.


Changelog
  • 10/06/2014 - Added a forum post version
  • 09/06/2014 - Listed some common mistakes for missing models/materials and how to fix them.

To do:
  • How to setup the different software required
  • More ways to check for mistakes and how to correct them
  • Video tutorial(?)

Introduction
This is a guide for exporting a model from 3DS Max to Garry’s Mod as a static prop (no moving parts). This guide assumes that you already have a model created that you wish to export, it does not teach you how to create a 3D model.
This was written using the 2015 version of 3DS Max however any recent version should be identical in the process. If you are using different software such as Maya or Cinema 4D I’d suggest that for the purposes of this guide you export your model as an fbx and import it into 3DS Max. However Max is mainly only used for the .SMD export, if there is a .SMD plugin which supports your chosen software feel free to use that but I can’t give support for it.
The process is fairly simple but it’s easy to make a small mistake which’ll mess everything up. It’s basically this -

[Image: 2f86453258.png]

For a simple prop like this I’d also recommend keeping the same file names for everything to avoid any errors. Also use all lowercase names.

Preparation
The software you will need are as followed:

3DS Max (optional) - You may get it for free as a student at the link below or of course there are other ways of getting it free *cough*
http://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/all
Crowbar Compiler -
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/CrowbarTool
VTF Edit - http://nemesis.thewavelength.net/index.php?c=178
Wall Worm Model Tools - http://dev.wallworm.com/topic/2/wall_wor...tools.html
Notepad++ (optional) –  http://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Exporting as a .SMD
Once you’ve loaded your model in Max we’re going to rename the material assigned to it. By default Max may have given your material a name like “Material_42” for example.
Because we’re going to keep the same filenames for everything throughout you’ll need to change this to whatever your model is. In my case I’ll change it to “wallet”.

[Image: cf5139feeb.jpg]

Now we’re going to click the Wall Worm menu at the top of 3DS Max, go down to Exporters and select SMD/VTA File.

[Image: a6f95d2f54.jpg]

A window will pop up, the only thing you’ll need to change here is enabling static prop. After that you’ll export it to the folder of your choice.

[Image: d2a9840db6.jpg]

Compiling the Model in Crowbar
Open up the “template.qc” file which I have provided in Notepad++ and you’ll need to replace all of the MODELNAME with the name of your model and all of the AUTHORNAME with your name.
Remember to use all lowercase to avoid errors later on.
Save the .qc file out to the same folder you have your .SMD file.

Now we’re going to open up the Crowbar compiler and click the compiler tab. Click browse and find the .qc file you have edited.
Click the Compile QC File button at the bottom of Crowbar, it should work without any errors. This has now created the model files needed in your Garrysmod/Garrysmod/Models folder, you may want to open up Garry’s Mod and check that its in-game but it’ll have pink/black texture. We still need to apply the textures to them…

Export Textures to .VTF
Open up the template.vmt file provided and edit the MODELNAME/AUTHORNAME where necessary just like with the .qc file before and save it out. Still within VTFEdit, go to file – import and select the texture you want your model to use, save that out as a .VTF.
Now you’ll need to create some folders in the Garrysmod/Garrysmod/Materials folder which match the structure of the .VMT.
For example my .vmt would have the line
"$basetexture" "griim/wallet/wallet"

So I would have the folder structure -
GarrysMod\garrysmod\materials\griim\wallet

Once those folders have been created you’ll then need to copy over your .VMT and .VTF to the last folder in the structure.
Test the Prop in Garry’s Mod
That should be everything done with no errors such as pink/black material if you’ve followed followed the instructions exactly.
Your new model will be in the prop menu under
Browse/garrysmod/[Your folder name]

Finding and Fixing Common Errors – Model doesn’t appear

1. This is most likely an issue with the .SMD file, check the file size of it. If it’s very low such as just a few kb then it hasn’t exported properly.  Re-export the model making sure that your model is selected and pick the ’selection’ option in Wall Worm

Finding and Fixing Common Errors – Pink/Black Textures

1. Open up the SMD you exported with Notepad++. There should be lots of lines of code which look something like this –

[Image: 0c6c64b47c.jpg]

Where it says “wallet” on the example, it should say “[Your model name] in lowercase letters. If it’s like that for you then that’s correct.
If it doesn’t say that then press ctrl+F, click the replace tab set it to find “[wrong name]” and replace with “[your model name]” then click replace all.
Re-compile the .qc file in Crowbar and test the model in-game.

2. Check the .qc file, make sure that you have replaced every “AUTHORNAME” and every “MODELNAME” as appropriate using all lowercase letters.

3. If you still have any issues then feel free to contact me on the Fearless Forums or add me on Steam.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/GRiiMMY
The following 5 users Like GRiiM's post:
  • Floodify, RockHunter, Burnett, Blurr, NIGGERCUNTFAG
#2
I'll be definitely attempt to do this! Thanks a lot man!
Kind Regards,
Floodify
The following 2 users Like Floodify's post:
  • GRiiM, NIGGERCUNTFAG
#3
Does this work in Softimage? If not I'll have to get a copy of 3DS Max
The following 1 user Likes Rain's post:
  • NIGGERCUNTFAG
#4
You're the man!
The following 1 user Likes RockHunter's post:
  • NIGGERCUNTFAG
#5
(06-08-2014, 05:10 PM)Rain Wrote: Does this work in Softimage? If not I'll have to get a copy of 3DS Max

In the guide I only really use the 3DS Max for Wall Worm tools's .SMD exporter. If there's a different SMD exporter you could use for Softimage then it should be fine.
The following 1 user Likes GRiiM's post:
  • NIGGERCUNTFAG
#6
Thanks to Griim I've brought some religion to Evocity...

[Image: F93FEFA43DA9F423AD74E117CF353013704DD394]
The following 4 users Like RockHunter's post:
  • Floodify, GRiiM, Noble, NIGGERCUNTFAG
#7
I vote for this either to be stickyed or to be put in useful docs
Kind Regards,
tmes2000
The following 1 user Likes tmes2000's post:
  • NIGGERCUNTFAG
#8
Another example of Griim's guide being incredibly useful (and the man himself - his patience with dealing with numpties like me) .

[Image: 77A2BD74CF343DF4F42B349D0F537168D810DAFA]
The following 3 users Like RockHunter's post:
  • GRiiM, Floodify, NIGGERCUNTFAG
#9
Moved to useful docs.
Kind Regards,
Floodify
The following 3 users Like Floodify's post:
  • GRiiM, RockHunter, NIGGERCUNTFAG
#10
Broken media, moving to archive.
[Image: 8TTYBHM.png]


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