LithTech Models (.abc, .ltb, .dat)

[onelove1210]

@jfwfreo: http://www.mpgh.net/forum/242-crossfire ... -info.html

you mean this?

[zZaRDoZz]

Hello and greetings from the far corners of the internets. I'm new as you can probably tell, and was a little worried about necroposting until I realized my newbie status limits this account to posting in old threads (at least I think that's how it works).

So on with the request. Every lithtech model format has the ability to have child models added or removed to and from nodes except for the first one(s), abc version 6-8. (blood2, kiss psycho circus, shogo MAD) There are 3dsmax plugins that come with the tools which are quite worthless save for 3dsmax version 2, a hard to find item. So my request is this:

Are there any kindly-type coder folks out there who would like to take a try at making us a pluggin for noesis? There are more than a few modders out here who would be mighty grateful.

In kindness and good will,
zZaRDoZz

[zZaRDoZz]

For those of you out there who might be curious as to why anyone would want to work with such an old and clumsy format, I can only point to this:

http://www.autodesk.com/products/softimage/overview

ImageSoft was the software used to create many of the original models for early lithtech games. Now that they're shutting down, there is no way currently to edit or create abc models, at least not in the old format..

[shakotay2]

who would like to take a try at making us a pluggin for noesis?

there are some Noesis py scripts from finale00: fmt_LithTech_abc.py and fmt_LithTech_ltb.py for example

[zZaRDoZz]

there are some Noesis py scripts from finale00: fmt_LithTech_abc.py and fmt_LithTech_ltb.py for example

First off, thank you shakotay2 for replying.

I've dl'ed some of finale00's scripts and have used them to view models from nolf 1 and 2.
I haven't been able to find a py script for Shogo m
ad or Kiss psycho circus though (abc versions 6-8). Also, while converting such models to obj. format is great for extensive modifications, I'm hoping to save changes to the actual abc model, like adding new nodes, changing meshes, maybe even new animations. I know that's a tall order, so my chances are slim.

Still, our small community would be grateful for even the ability to add child models, as the model viewer for nolf and avp2 can already do.

[shakotay2]

I haven't been able to find a py script for Shogo mad or Kiss psycho circus though (abc versions 6-8).

If you uploaded a model sample I could have a look at.

Still, our small community would be grateful for even the ability to add child models, as the model viewer for nolf and avp2 can already do.

Do you know what that does mean technically, "add child models" to a model?
It's not just like creating a submesh, is it?

[zZaRDoZz]

Please bare with me on this as filefactory has been less than fully cooperative.

This should contain 2 versions of lithtech modeledit and 2 folders with models in them. I only say that because I've had filefactory upload a correctly labeled folder that had something else from my desktop in the distant past. -fun, fun.

http://www.filefactory.com/file/6pa05pa ... ples6-9.7z

Not sure about the child model being a sub mesh. The sample models above are from the demo versions of blood2, ShogoM.A.D, and Kiss psycho circus. Unlike lta files of later lith games, these are compiled if that makes a difference.

EDIT: Sorry about no following the file attachment protocol. If this file were small enough, it would have saved me an hour of hassle from ff. 512k size limit, that's tight.

[shakotay2]

while from 1X1_SQUARE.ABC the format seemed to be simple I couldn't get a decent obj from sanjuro.abc, for example.

sanjuro.JPG

Since the source for ModelEdit is to be found in the net my question would be:
is there a source for the exe files you uploaded?

If 'no' maybe there's a convertor from .abc to .ltb?

[zZaRDoZz]

shakotay2 said:

Since the source for ModelEdit is to be found in the net my question would be:
is there a source for the exe files you uploaded?

The only source released for modeledit is for the Jupiter version, see attachment.
The source for the format is available though.
http://bop-mod.com/download/docs/ABC-Format-v6.html

http://www.bop-mod.com/download/docs/Li ... ormat.html

If 'no' maybe there's a convertor from .abc to .ltb?

There are plugins for abc version 12 that allow models to be converted. Version 6
plugins don't function even with the right software. There is one app that can load meshes for both abc v 6 and 12 called Ultimate unwrap3d. The demo version uses a plugin listed under shogo to open both 6, 12, and claims to do ltb although I could never get an ltb to load.

http://www.unwrap3d.com/u3d/index.aspx

[shakotay2]

thx for your infos - sadly it doesn't help with my sanjuro problem.
Not sure whether this TransformationIndex byte in the vertex block might help.

From the BERETTA_PV.ABC I got the hand at least. Searching for the rest...

beretta_hand.jpg

[zZaRDoZz]

That is truly awesome to see. Thank you for all this. If you knew how many modders had gone up against the infamous early lithtech file formats and gone away defeated, it would blow your mind!

Well played sir.

[shakotay2]

If you knew how many modders had gone up against the infamous early lithtech file formats

For the LithTech ABC v6 File Format description it is said: "Last updated on June 19, 1999"

So the most important format infos seem to be available since many years.
But I guess the modders lost interest in the games which use this engine.

Since the last version update was 2005 it might have lost the competiton against
other popular 3D engines (although it uses Per-Pixel-Lighting for example).

The cause might be the missing of an official SDK, who knows.

Then I realized that there is one for F.E.A.R. (fear_publictools_108.exe)
but the tools did not install with the F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate demo despite registry hacking.
Then I tried manually installing and 1.3 GB of data were unpacked -
ModelEdit.exe and all cpps were missing - of course (although appearing in the uniextract.txt).

That's the point where it's becoming too time consuming for me.

Well played sir.

I got vertices and face indices only - that wasn't too hard.
I think I'll release a tiny .ABC extractor as soon as I solved the sanjuro prob more or less.

[zZaRDoZz]

Shakotay2 said:

So the most important format infos seem to be available since many years.
But I guess the modders lost interest in the games which use this engine.

Since the last version update was 2005 it might have lost the competiton against
other popular 3D engines (although it uses Per-Pixel-Lighting for example).

This is true, After Nolf 2 lithech settled into its role as a 'budget' engine. By the time Fear rolled onto the scene there were publicly available, open source engines that could do most of what Jupiter EX could do.

Shakotay2 said:

The cause might be the missing of an official SDK, who knows.

Before anyone goes off linking to the SDKs for Shogo & Blood2, those releases contained tools and the source for the game dlls, not the binaries.

For the curious:

http://www.moddb.com/games/blood-2-the- ... ource-code

http://www.moddb.com/games/shogo-mobile ... r-division

If anyone suffers the same allergy to 16 bit installers that I do, let me know.


Shakotay2 said:

Then I realized that there is one for F.E.A.R. (fear_publictools_108.exe)
but the tools did not install with the F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate demo despite registry hacking.
Then I tried manually installing and 1.3 GB of data were unpacked -
ModelEdit.exe and all cpps were missing - of course (although appearing in the uniextract.txt).

I have most of the Jupiter source release minus all the game code. That includes the source for various tools. If Shakotay2 or anyone would like me to upload anything specific, just say so.

Shakotay2 said:

I think I'll release a tiny .ABC extractor as soon as I solved the sanjuro prob more or less.

Then I will thank you for your time and diligence again Shakotay2.
btw, VGames, modder for doom3 perfect -ted, says He can get the 3dsMax 2 plugin working for blood2 models. I'm a little skeptical, but if he can do it, then its just another mad hunt for the right software.

[shakotay2]

first step done - I succeeded in separating the submeshes:

separateSMs.jpg

Just tested it with sanjuro giving decent submeshes, too, by the sorting of the faces, very strange, since it's the same vertices.
Also half of the vertices are unused so the char is uncomplete.
I'll upload the exporter (mesh only) tomorrow so that you can test it and maybe have an idea concerning sanjuro.

[shakotay2]

here a test version (v0.0)

ABC2obj.zip

todo:

• calculate absolute positions
• uvs

Note that sanjuro has 694 vertices but maximum face index is 390. Dunno why.