Requesting help exporting car parts from 3DS 2010 to GMT for rFactor 1.

Cyrax71

I really did not want my first post here to be asking for help but I am at a total loss. (Please skip to the bottom of this post for my actual question/request if you do not want to be bothered with the details or explanation of what I have been going through.)

I have spent the past 6 months or more searching, watching tutorials, bugging friends, trying and failing at trying to make my own cars or even car part geometry and have everything work/show up successfully in rFactor. I see a lot of video tutorials involving how to create tracks but when I find a car tutorial it's almost never in English and even then it's near impossible to follow.

I have become pretty familiar with modding physics, creating new car groups, understanding how rFactor customization works and even teaching myself how to use 3DS, 3DSimED, and the MAS utility.

All I want to do is be able to modify geometry, Re-UV Map (or Unwrap UV) specific parts or geometry of car mods in 3DS Max 2010 and have it show up correctly how it looked in the 3D software when I modified/created it.

I started out with 3DS 2014...

I would take a part from 3DSimEd, export it out in .3DS format, import that into 3DS only to notice the smoothness of the geometry had been destroyed. I would UV Unwrap the mesh and Map the textures to how I would want. I then would try multiple export options including .DAE, .3DS and .OBJ until I got something that 3DSimEd would not mess up when it tried to read and export it back to .GMT.

I have noticed people making very smooth and clean car mods using ONLY 3DS for EVERYTHING involving geometry and mapping said geo and realize that I MUST be doing something wrong.

I then realized a week ago that part of my problem was I did not have the GMT developer plugins for Max, then I noticed the latest version of Max that those plugins were supported by is 2010.

So fast forward to now, I have Autodesk 2010 including 3DS Max 2010 and have uninstalled 2014 for now. But even though I have the proper plugins installed and working in 3DS, I still am having trouble reading or understanding how to even export anything I create out to rFactor's .gmt file-type.

I realize this game is old and I know it is hard to find anyone still interested in modding or even helping someone else learn to mod but this is my attempt to reach out to ANYONE in the community that can help me understand the best/most efficient workflow in 3DS Max 2010 to create a car part, map this part, and export it to something that rFactor can read. That is ALL I want.

I apologize for asking for help on my first post and for the long complaint.

Thank you for reading.

-Bobby
 
Hi Bobby,
I typically have not used 3DSMax, but rather one of several other 3D programs.
But if you don't want to export from 3DSMax directly to the .gmt file format using the plugins, then I would suggest exporting to .dae collada (or open collada from 3DSMax).
From 3DSMax export to .dae then import the .dae file into 3DSimEd.
//=
The .3ds file format has always had some odd issues.
Using the .3ds file format you had to have all material names, and texture names, be 8-characters or less.
And if you exported only one material (or one object) from 3DSMax to .3ds and imported this file to 3DSimEd then it would lose the smoothing. You had to always export several objects (or materials) to retain the smoothing.
//=
Do you have the mesh now open in 3DSimEd?
 
Hey GFraser,

Thanks for your help! I do not have the item currently open right now because I am at work. I will be home around 5-6 PST (about 5 hours from now) and can open up my file then. Right now, I would like to take an existing hood or bonnet, cut a hole and add an extruding Air filter (which I have created a texture for) and use this part in rFactor. I can hop back on and message you somehow if you are available to help. I also have Skype and can share screens if you are willing to do that.

Either way I appreciate your help even thus far!

-Bobby
 
Issue with max

Cyrax71 said:
Hey GFraser,

Thanks for your help! I do not have the item currently open right now because I am at work. I will be home around 5-6 PST (about 5 hours from now) and can open up my file then. Right now, I would like to take an existing hood or bonnet, cut a hole and add an extruding Air filter (which I have created a texture for) and use this part in rFactor. I can hop back on and message you somehow if you are available to help. I also have Skype and can share screens if you are willing to do that.

Either way I appreciate your help even thus far!

-Bobby
Click to expand...

Not sure if yu solved your issue but if you get the plugins for rF2, export the part as a GMT and then use simed to save as rF1. This way you can use a later version of max, not sure which version that rF2 caters for however but this method will work and cut down all of your other converting ad losing values.
 
I can not help you much with modelling, but i could show you how to convert from Max2010 to rF1 gmt and also import rF1 gmt to Max.

The only "problem" is, that i would only do it by using the Teamviewer, because writing it here in the forum would be too much.
And i only use Teamviewer, no Skype or other programs.
 
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