Beta Rune SuperCoolModel Exporter for Milkshape 3D
by Gwynhala 07/06/2001

This is an export plug-in for Milkshape 3D that exports skeletal models in the format used by Human Head's Rune action game. To install it, copy msRuneExporter.dll to your Milkshape 3D folder.

Rune uses a modified Unreal engine; one of the modifications made by Human Head is support for skeletal models and animation. The animation and model format is unique to Rune. To import a player model into Rune, open the Rune player model skeleton (RunePlayerSkeleton.ms3d) in Milkshape. Your model must use this exact skeleton. Then import your mesh into Milkshape, and assign the verteces of the mesh to the joints and bones you want the verteces to move with. Don't assign anything to joints named Base, base_xxx, or attach_xxx.

You don't need to add any animations to the model (this version of the exporter doesn't support them anyway). Instead, in the script for your model you'll make it extend RunePlayer and use the SubstituteMesh property to tell Rune to use all of Ragnar's animations.

When all vertices are assigned, export the model to Rune Super Cool Model (.SCM) format using the plug-in. The plug in will prompt you first for the name of an output file, and then for the name of a "tweak" file. The "tweak" file is a text file containing additional information about each joint, including the joint group and joint attribute information needed by Rune but not meaningful to Milkshape 3D. For Rune player models built on the RunePlayerSkeleton.ms3d skeleton, use the RunePlayerTweaks.txt tweak file.

Super Cool Model format is an intermediate format used by the Rune version of the Unreal module compiler, ucc. Human Head added a new compiler directive, #exec skeletal, that converts Super Cool Model format to the format Rune uses at runtime. The final file has a suffix of .UMS, and is an Unreal package file with some custom skeletal model objects in it.

For an example of how #exec skeletal and SubstituteMesh are used, decompile the System/JunModel.u package from the Rune 1.07 patch (or any of the new Rune HoV models) using RuneEd.

This version of the exporter has several limitations:

1. The materials set up in Milkshape are ignored, other than their names; the exporter replaces them with solid blue textures. You have to put your skins in a separate package, and then assign them to the correct body parts in your script.
2. Animations are not exported. This version of the exporter only works with the SkeletalMesh model property, and requires the 1.06 / 1.07 patch.
3. This version of the exporter does not output variable level-of-detail (LOD) information. Player models work OK without LOD information, but it works the engine a lot harder to display them

These limitations will be removed in future versions of the exporter.

Thanks!

Chris "Gwynhala" Burke
serotonin@earthlink.net
gwynhala@runenews.com For more information on Milkshape 3D, click here.