[Guide] Source engine(HL2,CS:S,Portal) models to .m2

[joeyshinobi88]

Programs needed:
mdldecompiler
VTFedit

3ds To M2 Converter
Cryects Tools
My Warcraft Studio
Milk Shape 3D
BLP Converter
WoW Model Viewer
Ultimate Unwrapper 3D

In this guide I will give step-by-step instructions on how to convert a Source model into a .m2. I will not give instructions on how to actually put the new .m2 in World of Warcraft because there are enough fine guides out there on how to do that already =)

First thing you need to do is find a model for any Source engine game (includes Half Life 2, ep1, ep2, Counter Strike: Source, Portal, Team Fortress 2 and others) that you'd like to bring in to World of Warcraft.

A good site to look is garrysmod.org - Garry's Mod Related Files!

in this guide i'm going to be taking the katana from the Melee Weapon Pack and putting it into a .m2.

Step 1: Find your .mdl!

The Source .mdl is a compressed file containing a few different mesh files (.smd), including The reference .smd file, the The physbox .smd, and the The animation .smd. Each model will have a .mdl, so if you download a pack with multiple objects in it, be sure to find out which .mdl is which. The .mdl files will be found in the "models" folder of the downloaded file.


Step 2: Decompiling you .mdl!

Before you can get to the .smd files you need to decompile your .mdl.

Open up mdldecompiler and find the .mdl you want to decompile.



Select an output folder and hit Extract.

Step 3. Converting the .vtf to .tga!

Open up VTFedit and click tools -> convert folder

Select the folder containing your .vtf file (typically in the Materials folder in the Source model's downloaded folder) as your input folder, and select the same output folder you used when you decompiled your .mdl. Make sure you've set the settings to "to .tga" and click "convert"



Most models have a .vtf for their base skin and a few other .vtfs for their lighting effects. The same holds true for the .tgas converted from the .vtfs. If your model has multiple files for it's base skin you'll need to combine them. I cover how to do this in Step 6.

Step 4. Converting the .smd to .3ds.

Open up Milk Shape 3D and click file -> import -> Half Life SMD.



Now, navigate to the output folder where your .smd is located and select it.

Next, got to file -> export -> Autodesk 3ds. Name your .3ds and click save.





Step 5. From this point you'll be following Glitchy's Complete Guide to Getting Custom Models In game almost to a T.

However, most of the time when you open a 3ds converted from a Source model in Ultimate Unwrapper 3D it'll already have a UV map like so ->



You're going to need to arrange it so they'll fit onto one sheet. like so ->



Now that you've got the map arranged, go file -> save as and save the 3ds. Then, go file -> export uv map.

You'll be given a lot of options. ignore them. Just make sure it's 512 x 512 and save it as either a .bmp .tga or .psd.

Step 6. Setting up the skin.

In some cases the Source model will come with multiple skin files the same model like so ->



You're going to need to combine them using the texture map you've just made in Ultimate Unwrapper 3D as a guide.



like so ->



Save the file as a .psd and convert it to .blp using BLP Converter.

There! now you have a .3ds and a .blp for your new model. All you have to do now is convert the .3ds to .m2, link the .blp to the .m2 and then put them both into a .mpq!

I wont cover that in this guide, but rather direct you to Glitchy's Complete Guide to Getting Custom Models In game because he does a much better job explaining it than I could =)

Converting 3ds to M2

Installing The Application
For this Tutorial we are going to make a new folder on the "C:/" Drive called "ME" and put "3DSToM2.exe" in that folder. So go ahead and do that now. the file should now be located at "C:/ME/3DSToM2.exe".

Converting The File
1. Put Your 3DS File in the ME Folder I'm going to call mine "model.3ds"
2. Goto the start menu and Click run
3. Type in "cmd"
4. In the CMD Prompt type in "cd "
5. In the CMD Prompt type in "cd me"
4. In the CMD Prompt type in "3DSToM2 model.3ds model.m2 30"



Explanation
3DSToM2 XXXXX YYYYY ZZZZZ
Where X is the 3ds Model Y is The M2 File your saving it as and Z Is the Size Multiplier of the model. You will need to mess with this value as some times your model is too big or to small this is where you can fix it the fastest.

Linking The BLP to the M2

What you need
You are going to need Cryects Tools to do this. Your going to need One tool to impaticular "M2Modder". To use this tool all you have to do is Drag your newly made M2 file onto the program and a prompt will pop up.



Where now?
From here you have a couple options But we are only going to use one.
1. Push "t"
2. Now Push "n"
3. Now type "0"
4. Now here you are going to type the name of your blp. My Blp is named "model.blp"
5. Type -1
6. Hit "q" 2 times and your done this part

IMPORTANT!!! ONCE YOU PUT THIS NAME IN HERE YOU HAVE TO KEEP YOUR BLP THE SAME NAME OR YOUR MODEL GOES TEXTURE LESS!!!

Adding the Files To a Mpq

My War Craft Studio
Open up MyWarCraftStudio and do the following.
1. Goto the Toolbar and click Pack --> Create MPQ Archive
2. Name your Mpq as you wish.
3. Pack --> Add File to archive
4. Select your BLP File and Put it in. YOU MUST NOT PUT IT IN A FOLDER OR RENAME IT!
5. Pack --> Add File to archive
6. Now select your M2 File. (Don't rename it or put it in a folder unless you what you want to replace a Certain model)
7. Pack --> Save And Close Archive

Viewing Your New Model
If you would like to view your new Model with out replacing a model in game you can follow the folling steps.

1. Open Wow Model Viewer
2. Click on Option --> Settings
3. Click Add
4. Select the Mpq that you made
5. Restart the Program and your model With now Show



Important!!
When adding the files to a MPQ the M2 file can be named anything. HOWEVER the BLP files has to stay the same name as it was when you put it in the M2Modder program. Also the BLP has to be in the root of the MPQ. When i say that i mean The BLP cant be in any folders.

Your Done!!
Your done! Time for you to take that fancy new M2 and and BLP and show them off to the world!! You can take the M2 now and rename it to what ever you want. Just remember don't rename the BLP!

FAQ

Q. My model Is Green in game.
A. You Renamed Your BLP wrong or you didn't place it in the main folder of the MPQ

Q. My Model is textured in Model View But is Green in game.
A. Your texture is to big and you need to size it down a little.

Q.How do i place a Weapon so it lands on a Pearson?
A. I made my self This LEET Picture to help myself Remember



And a Special thanks to Andrige for giving me feed back and helping me making my guide more user friendly.

I hope this helps somebody out =)

Thanks to Glitchy for his amazing guide!

Enjoy!

[Zevx]

Holy Crap Nice Man!

[Nidhogg,]

I already knew about this but I can't figure out how I get my Char to actually hold the weapon I converted in his hands
Glitchys picture doesn't help and he's not replying in his thread

[Evolution]

Nice guide! I do got an issue tho... When I start mdldecompiler.exe it wont start and a pop-up window comes up and it says it can't find vstdlab.dll.
Do I need to install garry's mod to get this program to work or something? I've recently changed hard disk so I don't have Garry's mod installed :/

+Rep for the guide.

[Nidhogg,]

You need Steam, a Steam Account (blank, just create a new one), Source SDK

Then you HAVE TO run Source SDK once so it creates some files.

Then place mdldecompiler in *steaminstalldirectory*\steamapps\*ACCOUNTNAME*\sourcesdk\bin\ep1\bin\ and run it from there.

[joeyshinobi88]

what he said.

You need Steam, a Steam Account (blank, just create a new one), Source SDK

Then you HAVE TO run Source SDK once so it creates some files.

Then place mdldecompiler in *steaminstalldirectory*steamapps*ACCOUNTNAME*sourcesdkbinep1bin and run it from there.

[Phygar]

And where is the portal and HL2 files stored? This is in my steam folder.


Where do I look?

[L'Lawliet]

yea what do we need and also yea i dont know either on how to make them hold it.

[joeyshinobi88]

if you want to take files directly from a game you're going to need to extract the .mdl files from the .gfc files in the Steam\SteamApps\source models.gcf using gfc scrape

you can also find models at garrysmod.org - Garry's Mod Related Files!

And where is the portal and HL2 files stored? This is in my steam folder.


Where do I look?

[Phygar]

Ok thank you.

[berryman13]

I love it!
Thank you so much!
+muchos Rep

[techniquees]

there are a lot of issues with MDLDecompiler since Steam keeps updating and the decompiler isn't. I hit every issue possible along the way with it. So for you guys that have any of the orange box installed (or possibly others too? I don't know the extent it affects) And you get an error message when attempting to select an input or output folder about an app not having a steamappID, you will need to run a search on your steam directory for Gameinfo.txt and comment out (with // ) the line that says "ToolsAppId 211" in every file it appears in.

[L'Lawliet]

yes i dont find Source SDK in my tools fodler help plz

[berryman13]

Download it through steam, it's free.

[joeyshinobi88]

yes i dont find Source SDK in my tools fodler help plz

open up steam and click on the Tools tab and then click on Source SDK and Source SDK base and download them. BAM! problem solved =) ty to berryman13 for answering. thought i'd just clarify it a little more <.< i remember i couldn't find where to download Source SDK in steam for a long time.

there are a lot of issues with MDLDecompiler since Steam keeps updating and the decompiler isn't. I hit every issue possible along the way with it. So for you guys that have any of the orange box installed (or possibly others too? I don't know the extent it affects) And you get an error message when attempting to select an input or output folder about an app not having a steamappID, you will need to run a search on your steam directory for Gameinfo.txt and comment out (with // ) the line that says "ToolsAppId 211" in every file it appears in.

as for this... i've NEVER had that problem o_O and all my Steam stuff is up to date. weird. ohwell looks like you found a way to fix it so +Rep mofugger! way to be a badass and fix your own problems =D