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md3Export - The md3 Export Plugin for Maya

I started working on this plugin to help stecki, the modeler for Quake 3 Rally, export models from Maya to md3 easily. Prior to this plugin people modeling in Maya would have to export their model to OBJ and then import it into 3D Studio Max. Once in max they would have to export to an ASE file and then run it though a program to turn it into a MD3. This process was especially time consuming when creating animated models because each frame had to be exported individually from Maya and then imported into 3D Studio Max to create the animated ASE file.

This plugin relies on some of the code from id Software's q3data.exe program. q3data.exe is used to convert ASE files into md3s. Some of the source code for q3data.exe was used to help output the MD3 file in the proper format once the Maya model data had been converted to the format used internally in q3data.

Originally the plugin could only export directly to a md3 with one frame of polygons and no texture information. Now the plugin can export animated polygons with proper texture paths and UVs. The animation of the model is controlled through the export options in the plugin. The animations can be randomly scattered through the Maya scene file and the animation options allow you to select the order of the animations and arranges them into a single stream of frames for the MD3. The plugin can also write the animation.cfg file for player models automatically. These two features give the md3Export plugin extra flexibility over using q3data.exe.

Features
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• Output md3 geometry and tags from Maya meshes.
  
• Outputs shader name with directories based on projects\"projectname"\ directory. Note: The Maya file being exported must be in a directory under projects\"projectname"\.
  
• Outputs animations to MD3 with many options for player animation control.
  
• Support for item, player, weapon and hand models, scaling and ordered meshes.
  
• Automatically detects y-up or z-up and outputs the model in the proper md3 orientation.
  
• Automatically generates the animation.cfg for player models.
  
• "Export All" and "Export Selected" options.
  
• Includes many features available in q3data.exe including stripify and verbose.
  

• Add the few remaining features from q3data that are not implemented in md3Export.
  
• Implement release option to copy shaders to the proper directories.
  
• Add support for bones and md4s.
  
• Auto-Triangulate polygons.
  
• Ability to save and load the animation options.
  

Here are some screenshots of my plugin in action, click on them to see an enlarged picture:

Downloads
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The latest version of my plugin 0.6b can be downloaded at: www.quakerally.com/files/md3Export.zip. The plugin is in beta stages now so if you have any problems, bug reports or features you would like to see please email me at stonelance at quakerally dot com
The source code is also available here.
I am no longer supporting the plugin, and will not be releasing plugins compatible with any newer versions of Maya.

Last Updated: Sept 8th, 2002

Email me at: stonelance at quakerally dot com