View source for Styxx's POF Conversion plugin for 3D Studio Max

Still a Work In progress, Styxx has created a plugin for 3d Studio Max versions 4 through 6. Available here: [[http://dynamic4.gamespy.com/~freespace/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26260]]

The readme tells the basics of how this plugin will work. However, some issues aren't addressed by the readme. So here is a general Guidline to follow for your models.


* Edittable Poly Mode works best for conversions. Edittable mesh is advised in the readme, but users, such as Raa, have had alot more success with the Edittable Poly mode.

*There can be absolutely no capital letters in the names of the objects!
*Turrets get linked to detail-0, as do thrusters and shields, if applicable. Other detail levels do not get linked to anything. If you wanted to place turrets on the second LOD, then you would attach the turret model to detail-1. Etc.
*Debris follow the same rules.
*Turrets can be whatever name you choose. Though for the sake of organization, it is reommended that you name them 'turret-N' without the quotes. Multi-part turrets should be linked as follows: Turret barrels are linked to the Turret Base. The Turret base is linked to the LOD. However, if you have a problem with turret barrels being out of position, you can link them to the LOD and then manually assign them to the Turret base in a third party program.
*If you do fighters, and want to get primary and secondary points, you create a dummy named gunbank-N (or missilebank-N) anywhere in the scene. Then you make a group of points, and link them to the dummy object. Anywhere a point is located will become a gun point with it's normal set to 0,0,1.


All information is based upon the Max 6 version of the Plugin. However, it should be relatively similar, if not completely, for the other versions.

The Max 6 plugin will work in 3D Studio Max 7, as well, without complication.

===Known Issues===

* Many surfaces are fly-through, turrets are out of position, or paths are completely out of place after conversion.
**In its current revision, the plugin does not reset transforms on everything before conversion.  The process of rectifying this manually is difficult, though nonetheless possible.  Before setting up any heirarchy (so make sure you have nothing set up as a subobject to anything else in the entire scene, including turret barrels and firepoints),  select everything and use the "reset X-form" button in the utilities menu.  If anything is in a heirarchy beforehand, the positions, orientations, and scales of anything on a lower subobject level may get messed up, so make sure everything is cleared beforehand.
* The warp-in animation doesn't time correctly with the ship in-game.
**The plugin does not properly calculate max_radius, a value in the header section that cannot be edited by any modding program available.  The results of this error can take a variety of forms, though the most common is to have the warp hole open a few seconds before the ship starts to emerge, and then close about 2/3 the way down the ship's length.  Unfortnately neither PCS nor Modelview allows us to edit the necessary value, and fixing it otherwise requires a bit more technical expertise than your average user has, so for the time being this is just an untreatable bug.  If it is important that the warp-in error gets corrected, as it may be if timing or location issues are important, contact StratComm through ~HLP's ~PM system for details or assistance.

//StratComm: added a known issues section.  Incomplete, probably, but these are the two biggest and hardest to correct afterwards.