3da Max converters?

Anyone know of any free converters for the .MAX 3d file format? Milkshape is never going to support it. I want to ideally convert to standard .3ds or .x file formats.

Bah, my title should have been 3ds not 3da.

I don't think Discreet allow anyone to use the max format. The only program that has ever done it is 3d Explorations, and that did it by loading 3dsMax in the background, which kinda defeats the object if you have to own 3ds max, huh?

OT: Are you back then? I noticed you'd renamed yourself to . and said something about you were off a couple days ago.

Yeh, I'm kind of distancing myself from the Blitz community - but still using Blitz - This site takes up too much of my time (because I hang around it) and I get wound-up everytime I get kicked or banned in IRC. So, I basically hang around the enemy now - they seem okay - new people - makes a change - however, they don't program games related stuff - I am trying to get them into Blitz.

I was just working on new stuff and had downloaded some good .MAX objects - if there are no freeware converters then I may go down the Deep Exploration route - certainly cheaper than buying Max - I have an older version of it somewhere called 3D Exploration (that had a .MAX plug-in built into it) - I'll resurrect it and take a snifter.

I keep visiting the site - mainly in work - but I think there is more to life than spending all day here or on IRC.

As I said, I'm pretty sure the Deep Exploration convertor still requires you to have 3dsMax installed before it will work. Now, it might be possible to get away with the trial version, but I'm not sure about that. Worth a try anyway.

to read .max files you have to have be abl to load several max DLL's in order to create the object as .max is a procedural format and doesn't actually contain a static mesh as such. Thats why nothing loads it without loading max first. same goes for maya

Sybixsus is right, the beta version of the excellent tool Deep Exploration (www.righthemisphere.com is their current homepage) does the job with earlier versions of max, but I'm not sure which version it will work up to.

The real question is, can you locate it anywhere?

IPete2.

still u have a chance....

(with me hanging around also , hehe)

there's a kindda beta/shareware, non nagged, non limited version that doe snot end with days, is not feature limited either...is just way old, and no more avilable from deep site...Still, is not illegal. Deep took the rute of hotlinking some time ago, but previously was just that nice deal of not needing max....also, was the last version to be non time limited...I have it, but is also avilable online; many of the gmax mods comunity have used it to make the conversion of md3 from gmax tempest (while that md3 exporter is not allowed for comercial and has technical probs, dunno why ppl don't use the one without those lowdowns, mojo.gmaxsupport.com..lack of info, I guess...) to x format, as this version also supports md2 and md3...I kindda used it in the past to see randomly models from polycount...but imho it does no kind of animation conversion...still, a gret viewer...

Sorry, seems I have no way to make a short post.

It opens max files, I guess even the recent ones, as I donwloaded from turbosquid(I think, not sure now..) one I was curious about way long ago, and was the only viewer that could open it...

The key thing is...surely no animation, more than surely no bones, no particles no nothing more than mesh, uv texture, I suppose...which sure is just what u need...so, no way for something way more advanced (ie: pro designer or game company) , that's probaly why some indies and modders are th most to use it yet...

Exploration is imho one of the greatest converters, if not the greatest...

Another very cool one, and also no nag shareware, is Accutrans, at www.micromouse.ca
It's the only one to do batch conversion, rather cool when one make an occasional edit of a bunc of 3ds files, and not one by one..as it allows some basic editing....

oops, that old 3d exploration version download, if still is there...

http://www.davidhsmith.net/Essential_Tools.htm

Dig the page. It'd NOT deep exploration ( www.righthemisphere.com ) is the way older and worse 3d Exploration 1.5 ! , and is a bit buried there....

good luck with ur games.. :)

nope, evak, that version opened without max installed...

oops, seems probably gab was refering to it already...
EDIT: no, he wasn't....

btw, 1.5, as 1.6 was already limited in days.. ;)

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but will a .max scene created in v6 load into 3dsmax v4? There is a model I wish to buy, but I dont want to pay for it & have to fork out for a max upgrade. Sorry to leech onto your thread like this...

Shawnus

back from five? dunno if that script or plugin allows this, not sure.

Usually at job I prefer use an obj or other standard format, *.x, depending on what i wish to port...