Off the wall Importing question

# 1 11-01-2007 , 11:24 AM

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Join Date: Sep 2006

Posts: 2

Okay,

I'll be the absolute first one to point out the fact that I'm about as bright as a burned out light bulb in a dark room. I've been self teaching myself Maya for about the past year plus. And I'd like to try to work from the realm of smarter than harder.

Is there a way that I can import an item that is in a game, into Maya?

The details. There is a flight sim game called IL2, and the flight models of the planes is what I would like to get my hands on. And since they are there, I was wondering if I could bring them here.

Please let all the flogging begin.

Brake

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# 2 14-01-2007 , 02:05 PM

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No comments user added image

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# 3 14-01-2007 , 04:30 PM

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Join Date: Oct 2006

Location: Melbourne

Posts: 313

Am beginning to get the idea that a 1,000,000 Watt Arc-Lamp wouldn't illuminate the topic any further, I'm afraid.

I've just had a look around, niiice game btw, and all I could find were installation instructions, a couple of posts in a forum somewhere, in which somebody suggested the use of IL-2 models in his own game, and got flamed and no help for it. Additionally, a small exerpt in a home-brew flightsimulator page.

Flight Sim pages
All the relevant text from the above link is below.

IL:2 Sturmovik AEP

The 2.01 patch to the Ace Expansion Pack adds a UDP server that will export a variety of instrument readings. UDP is a network protocol that can be accessed through use of Winsock, a Windows networking API. The 2.01 patch includes the file "devicelink.txt" that documents this feature. (Thanks to Jari-Matti for alerting me to this.)

Mike Couvillion has an extensive C++ wrapper for device link. Check the forum on the Wing Walkers site for the code, sample applications and helpful comments.

You might take a look at SimHQ.com in the IL:2 Sturmovik FB forum. There was a thread in early August, 2004 about "UDPSpeed", a program that makes use of the UDP server. It may serve as an example.

It's a rather large and complex game. Although I'd love to hear of one, it may well be the case that there has been no concerted effort has ever been made in this regard.

I couldn't tell from my quick look, but if the game uses the same game engine as found in another game by Ubisoft, you may cheat your way around it by finding a model extractor for the other game, before applying or attempting to apply it to IL2.

Man, it really was easy when IDSoftware released the technical and programming info behind Quake, not to mention the 100kb document put together that documented 95% of the data file formats and game engine considerations of DooM.. I used Doom editors to mod DoomII, Heretic, Hexen and a few others that utilized the doom engine back in the day.

Good Luck!
Simon.

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# 4 14-01-2007 , 04:49 PM

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Join Date: Jan 2005

Location: Livingston, Scotland

Posts: 1,701

Taking an asset from a game to maya, is not as easy as first thought.

The game engine that IL2 uses will have a native file format, or may use .x or similar. TBH, until we know what we can't advise 100%. But I can state that you would need software that is capable of converting the file format into one Maya can import. IF it is .x then grab the DirectX SDK, as it has a pluygin for import./export of DX stuff. If the developers of IL2 support modding then they have already developed tools for this to assist, but these may not be native to Maya, and is more than likely to be for Max, as most games studios use Max for modelling etc... Althought Maya is starting to came more of an appreance now with the Next Gen Stuff.

Please let me know what the forlamt IL2 uses, then I may be able to point you in the right direction.

Chris (formerly R@nSiD)
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