C3 Blender Add-On

A Blender add-on for importing and animating C3 model format files, with support for multiple PHY types and animation keyframe formats.

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⬇️ Download Latest Release

Or browse all releases: Releases Page

Features

• Import C3 Models - Full support for PHY, PHY3, and PHY4 format variants
• Animation Support - Handles XKEY, KKEY, ZKEY, and legacy keyframe formats
• Shape Key Animation - Bakes vertex animations to Blender shape keys for smooth playback
• Texture Loading - Automatic texture detection and material setup (DDS, TGA, PNG, JPG)
• Multiple PHY Support - Imports all PHY objects from a single C3 file into organized collections
• Animation Replacement - Re-import animations on existing meshes without reimporting geometry

Installation

1. Download the latest release zip file from the link above
2. In Blender, go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons
3. Click Install and select the downloaded zip file
4. Enable the add-on by checking the box next to "Import-Export: C3 Add-On"

Note: Do not unzip the file - Blender will install it directly from the zip.

Usage

Importing a C3 Model

1. Go to the top menu bar and click C3 Add-On > Import .C3 Model
2. Browse to your .c3 file and select it
3. Options:
   • New Scene - Import into a new scene (enabled by default)
   • debugpy - Enable remote debugging (for development)
4. Click Import .C3 Model

The add-on will:

• Create a collection named after the file
• Import all PHY objects as separate sub-collections
• Automatically load matching textures from the same directory
• Bake animations to shape keys if motion data is present
• Set up the viewport for textured preview

Importing a Texture

1. Select a mesh object
2. Go to C3 Add-On > Import Texture
3. Select a texture file (DDS, TGA, PNG, or JPG)
4. The texture will be applied to the selected mesh

Importing/Replacing Animation

1. Select a mesh object that was previously imported from a C3 file
2. Go to C3 Add-On > Import Animation
3. Options:
   • Use Original File - Uses the stored file path from the original import (enabled by default)
   • If disabled, browse to select a different C3 file
4. Click Import Animation

The add-on will:

• Clear existing shape keys (except Basis)
• Bake new animation frames to shape keys
• Update the timeline length to match the animation

Technical Details

Supported Formats

PHY Variants:

• PHY - Standard PHY format with 4 morph targets
• PHY3 - Simplified format with 1 morph target and additional normal data
• PHY4 - Similar to PHY3 with 1 morph target

Keyframe Types:

• KKEY - Full 4x4 matrix keyframes
• ZKEY - Compressed quaternion + translation keyframes
• XKEY - Compressed 3x4 matrix keyframes (no rotation quaternion)
• Legacy - Full frame-by-frame matrices

File Structure

The add-on expects C3 files with the version header: MAXFILE C3 00001

Each C3 file can contain:

• Multiple PHY chunks (mesh geometry)
• MOTI chunks (motion/animation data)
• Texture references
• Keyframe animation data

Custom Properties

The add-on stores metadata as custom properties on Blender objects:

• c3_source_file - Original file path (on collections and objects)
• c3_phy_index - PHY index within the source file (on objects)

These properties enable animation reimport without manual file selection.

Known Limitations

• Bone-based skeletal animation is commented out in favor of shape key animation
• Maximum 16 PHY objects per file
• Maximum 16 motion tracks per file
• UV coordinates are inverted on the V axis (1-v)

Credits

• Author: abdouthematrix
• Development Assistance: Claude (Anthropic)
• Inspired by: C3-Operator by Tachyon-S

Version

1.0.0 - Initial release

Requirements

• Blender 3.0.0 or higher
• Python 3.x (bundled with Blender)

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.