I'm not sure how many milkshape users are out there. But a common problem with the .b3d exporter in milkshape is the loss of smoothing groups. One solution is to fix the exporter. That could take years. So....
I know some people may already know this, but I didn't.
A good pipeline is:
Milkshape->Unwrap3d->Blitz3d
Create the model in milkshape and export as a .ms3d file.
Load into Unwrap3d and be sure to put a tick next to Reweld Vertices under the Smoothing Group options. Now texture your model. Export from Unwrap3d as a .b3d. To preserve the animation be sure to export as a single mesh. Also I have all the options ticked on the export window but none of the extra entityfx options.
This works really well.
I know some people may already know this, but I didn't.
A good pipeline is:
Milkshape->Unwrap3d->Blitz3d
Create the model in milkshape and export as a .ms3d file.
Load into Unwrap3d and be sure to put a tick next to Reweld Vertices under the Smoothing Group options. Now texture your model. Export from Unwrap3d as a .b3d. To preserve the animation be sure to export as a single mesh. Also I have all the options ticked on the export window but none of the extra entityfx options.
This works really well.