Making a Quake MDL in Blender: for dummies, NOT TOTAL MORONS

Discuss the creation of various model formats for Quake engines, and related matters to modeling.
OneManClan
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Re: Making a Quake MDL in Blender: for dummies, NOT TOTAL MO

Post by OneManClan »

Hey guys.

I can't get the mdl exporter to show up in Blender (2.66a) -> user preferences->Addons

I downloaded "io_mesh_qfmdl-0.7.2.zip", and put it in:
C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\2.66\scripts\addons - no go.
I tried unzipping the ..er zip (even though I rtfmed that you don't have to) - no go.
I tried "install from file", and selected the __init__.py file - no go.
I tried "install from file", and selected ALL the files - no go.

any ideas?
toneddu2000
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Re: Making a Quake MDL in Blender: for dummies, NOT TOTAL MO

Post by toneddu2000 »

I downloaded from here the 0.72 version, put in my C:\progs\blender-2.66-windows64\2.66\scripts\addons folder, clicked on User preferences ->search "mdl" in the addons tab, checked the addon, exported and voilà!

EDIT: just a stupid question: excluding nostalgic reasons (which they prevail on my logic most of the time), why, WHY an artist should use in 2013 a mdl exporter?
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leileilol
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Re: Making a Quake MDL in Blender: for dummies, NOT TOTAL MO

Post by leileilol »

You could ask "Why, why WHY" an artist in 2013 is working with Quake and not UDK/Unity/etc.... ?


There is the IQM format and appropriate exporters and some sourceports that support IQM if you want that. MDL export however has been a long-stagnant pipeline of (ab)using qME 3.0/3.1, which quite frankly, is rather unstable and outdated shareware.
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OneManClan
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Re: Making a Quake MDL in Blender: for dummies, NOT TOTAL MO

Post by OneManClan »

toneddu2000 wrote:I downloaded from here the 0.72 version, put in my C:\progs\blender-2.66-windows64\2.66\scripts\addons folder, clicked on User preferences ->search "mdl" in the addons tab, checked the addon, exported and voilà!
I tried it - still nothing shows up in the list of addons, and I did search for mdl, and look through every single addon.

Q1: Did you unzip the file first?
Q2: By "\progs\", do you mean "\program files\"?
Q3: Before pasting did you have to first give windows permissions to paste in that folder?
Q4: Is there a way to pause the python window which briefly pops up before and after Blender is run? I *think* I see a bunch of extra text (errors?) in the python window .. but it's too fast for me to read, or even use PrtScn to capture it.
toneddu2000 wrote:EDIT: just a stupid question: excluding nostalgic reasons (which they prevail on my logic most of the time), why, WHY an artist should use in 2013 a mdl exporter?
Because I'm making things for my AGR (Quakeworld TF) mod, whose ('old skool') players still insist on using clients such as Ezquake, and Fuhquake.
toneddu2000
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Re: Making a Quake MDL in Blender: for dummies, NOT TOTAL MO

Post by toneddu2000 »

You could ask "Why, why WHY" an artist in 2013 is working with Quake and not UDK/Unity/etc.... ?
Well, I use UDK and I should say that its art pipeline is splendid but its lighting system is outdated a lot (LightMaps?! Fake Reflections?! AGAIN?!). I prefer DarkPlaces one! :)
Q1: Did you unzip the file first?
yes, in Desktop
Q2: By "\progs\", do you mean "\program files\"?
No, by "progs" I mean "progs"! I always create a folder named progs in C: to avoid UAC S**T
Q3: Before pasting did you have to first give windows permissions to paste in that folder?
No needed. In Program Files folder it would need though. I don't understand why Microsoft made the permissions thing so difficult compared to Linux! CHMOD? Really?
Q4: Is there a way to pause the python window which briefly pops up before and after Blender is run? I *think* I see a bunch of extra text (errors?) in the python window .. but it's too fast for me to read, or even use PrtScn to capture it.
Top buttons, fourth from left: Window -> Toggle system console
here
Meadow Fun!! - my first commercial game, made with FTEQW game engine
OneManClan
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Re: Making a Quake MDL in Blender: for dummies, NOT TOTAL MO

Post by OneManClan »

Ok this is what the Python screen says (over and over):
fake_module: addon missing 'bl_info' gives bad performance!: 'C:\\Users\\Bon\\Ap
pData\\Roaming\\Blender Foundation\\Blender\\2.68\\scripts\\addons\\quakepal.py'

fake_module: addon missing 'bl_info' gives bad performance!: 'C:\\Users\\Bon\\Ap
pData\\Roaming\\Blender Foundation\\Blender\\2.68\\scripts\\addons\\ajmdl_export
_055.py'

I uninstalled Blender [EDIT: *and* deleted the folder above], then reinstalled the latest version 2.68a into c:\progs, no diff :(

any ideas?
toneddu2000
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Re: Making a Quake MDL in Blender: for dummies, NOT TOTAL MO

Post by toneddu2000 »

see this and this. Both threads seem to point the attention to a corrupted or non-standard addon installation. My suggestion is to remove EVERY folder in "C:\\Users\\Bon\\Ap
pData\\Roaming\\Blender Foundation" and start all over again. Next time put your MDL add-on in the addons folder in c:\progs\Blender and not let Blender to install it by itself in the C:\\Users\\Bon\\Ap
pData\\Roaming\\Blender Foundation folder! This procedure could cause your blender to hanging.
Let us know if it worked
cheers

edit: check in your windows folder settings for hidden folders in Appdata\Blender and delete them all!
Meadow Fun!! - my first commercial game, made with FTEQW game engine
OneManClan
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Re: Making a Quake MDL in Blender: for dummies, NOT TOTAL MO

Post by OneManClan »

toneddu2000 wrote:see this and this. Both threads seem to point the attention to a corrupted or non-standard addon installation. My suggestion is to remove EVERY folder in "C:\\Users\\Bon\\Ap
pData\\Roaming\\Blender Foundation" and start all over again. Next time put your MDL add-on in the addons folder in c:\progs\Blender and not let Blender to install it by itself in the C:\\Users\\Bon\\Ap
pData\\Roaming\\Blender Foundation folder! This procedure could cause your blender to hanging.
Let us know if it worked
cheers

edit: check in your windows folder settings for hidden folders in Appdata\Blender and delete them all!
Yes it worked (!!) - the Blender <-> mdl import/export is working!! Thanks!! :)

ps. mdls do appear HUGE in Blender, the grid becomes tiny, BUT (for those who don't know) all you have to do is hit 'N' to bring up the properties (?) panel, scroll down to 'display', and adjust 'scale' to suit, and you're back in business!
Good news: animations are loaded as well!
Bad news: skins are not, though IIRC Leileilol discusses that earlier in this thread, so I'm off to rtfm. Thanks again!
Last edited by OneManClan on Sun Oct 20, 2013 12:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
leileilol
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Re: Making a Quake MDL in Blender: for dummies, NOT TOTAL MO

Post by leileilol »

ajmdl's for 2.49, not 2.68. Blender's APIs have changed drastically in 2.5x and 2.6x versions (especially after when Bmesh was introduced) and a whole lot of stuff got regressed because of it. I still keep 2.49 for proper MD3 export even, since all the MD3 scripts for 2.5x and 2.6x are partial implementations (they leave out the whole tags and multiple surfaces thing which is kind of the point behind MD3).

For newer blenders, use Taniwha's Quakeforge MDL export. For 2.49, you could use ajmdl.

This thread is for ajmdl btw. Taniwha's script wasn't mature at the time.
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