LH_Weiss 1 Posted May 16, 2018 Hi all, I've recently decided to take a crack at modding Kotor, and upgrade from texture editing to meshes. I've done quite a bit of research on the topic but most forum posts are over a decade old! I was wondering what tools people are using nowadays. I know of the Kotor Tool (amazing btw) and after extraction the files come in .mdx and .mdl formats. From what I gather, 3d information is in the .mdx, I have no idea what the .mdl has... How do I convert to .obj or some other workable format? Milkshape does not recognise KOTOR models, only World of Warcraft... I'm familiar with Maya, so I can't import directly (as far as I know). How do I export back? Does it go in the override folder? Can I even mod PC Heads or am I just wasting time? Looking forward to some replies! -Weiss Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DarthParametric 3,782 Posted May 17, 2018 You'll have to decompile the binary model (MDL/MDX) into an ASCII version using either MDLEdit or MDLOps. This can be then be imported by KOTORMax for Max/GMax, or KOTORBlender for Blender. There's no native solution for Maya. You'd have to import it into either one of those first and then export it in some other format to get into Maya, but be aware that this is basically unworkable for skinned meshes while preserving their weights, due to the way KOTOR models work. You can modify heads, bodies, etc., or make completely new ones. This was somewhat limited in the past due to the tools available, but has changed significantly in the last 12 months. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LH_Weiss 1 Posted May 17, 2018 I see. Off to Max's download page then. Do we have a topic here around this sort of modding, where I can read up? Thank you for the reply! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DarthParametric 3,782 Posted May 17, 2018 There are bits and pieces all over, although MDLEdit at least does have in-built help functionality. More extensive guides and tutorials will be available in the coming months after the recently announced site upgrades are completed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pandoomic 0 Posted May 21, 2018 On the topic of the KOTORBlender plug-in, it seems to be selective in which ASCII mdl files it'll decide to open. I could get a longsword to open just fine but a lightsaber wouldn't work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DarthParametric 3,782 Posted May 21, 2018 If you want full model editing functionality, Blender is currently unable to provide it. That may change in the future, but for now you may have to use GMax (available for free here) with KOTORMax for certain operations. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CarthOnasty 214 Posted May 21, 2018 If you want full model editing functionality, Blender is currently unable to provide it. That may change in the future, but for now you may have to use GMax (available for free here) with KOTORMax for certain operations. Would you recommend using GMax over Blender? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
