Blender .m3 Plugin

Blender .m3 Plugin

5.2k Downloads

blendm3 - Blender plugin to work with Blizzard .m3 files

The latest version of this plugin and additional information can be found on this site:

http://code.google.com/p/blendm3/

You should regularly check this website for updates. New features are continuously added. The project aims to fully support the .m3 file format.

Latest Release

0.14 on 2010-09-07

  • Works now with Blender from trunk (tested with r31786)
  • Can now be used with the Blender add-on installer
  • Option to search for texture asserts added
  • Much more improved import of material (diffuse, specular, emissive and normal)
  • Added import of decal texture layer
  • Imports now all UV layers

Acknowledgment

This plugin would not be possible with the tons of information about the .m3 provided by the libm3 project. The project homepage is 'http://code.google.com/p/libm3/' and is a great source for information about the file format. Also a big thank NiNtoxicated who developed a 3DS Max plugin which is also a great source to understand the .m3 file format.

Installation

The following files are included with the distribution of the plugin:

.
|-- COPYING              Copy of the GPLv2 license.
|-- README.TXT           Description and installation instruction.
`-- import_shape_m3.py   The actual plugin.

To install the plugin just copy the file 'import_shape_m3.py' into your blender plugin directory. After restarting Blender the import menu should contain a 'Blizzard M3 (.m3)' entry. The plugin is tested with Blender version 2.53.

Usage

To load textures assure that the 'Assets' directory is in the same directory as your model. After selecting import assure that the 'Create Material' in your file selection window is set.

Loading textures is experimental and does not work correctly on some models. Furthermore, to show the models textured in the preview window you have to manually assign the texture to the models faces.

Screenshots

Importing geometry data: Import finished

UV editing: UV editing Terrans armory in Blender