How to import blend or fbx file into {Data/Models/} ?

[crystaldev3d]

Hello developers, I would like to know how the process of importing models into the engine?
I made a blend file with a cube and placed it in the Data/Assets folder, but then I don't know what to do to get the mdl file of the model from blend file.

[iSLC]

Checkout the tools Source/Tools folder AssetImporter is probably the one you're looking for unless you're using the editor. It's a command line utility that can be used to convert third-party model formats (supported by assimp) to a format supported by the engine.

You need to compile the tool tho.

[crystaldev3d]

Checkout the tools Source/Tools folder AssetImporter is probably the one you're looking for

Thank you, yes I saw that toolkit. but I wanted to use the new import tools in the editor, but for some reason they don't work for me, or I just don't know how they work(

[eugeneko]

@crystaldev3d check out Editor Settings/ExternalTools. You need to specify path to blend executable, or (alternatively) add it to the system path.

[eugeneko]

@crystaldev3d I think the problem is that Editor cached failed import. So if you set up paths after adding blend file, it just remembered asset state. Does it sound plausible for you?

[crystaldev3d]

@eugeneko maybe so, but then why newly added blend files have the same problem?
*.glb file shows the structure, always.
*.blend file shows the structure only if you run the editor and copy the *.blend file to data/assets.
Next time you run the editor again the *.blend file structure is not shown.
So you have to constantly delete/copy to see the file structure.

Besides, the main problem is that it is not possible to Save/Extract *.mdl from these files (glb/blend) into Data/Model/

[eugeneko]

@crystaldev3d oh, I have an idea
try swapping these two lines in Project.cpp

[crystaldev3d]

@eugeneko Yes it worked.
However, for the data of the first file to be visible, I had to delete it once and copy it again.
Now all the data are always visible, even after restarting the editor. it seems that it was a bug?

[eugeneko]

@crystaldev3d yep, Editor validated cache before loading external tools settings, so your paths were ignored on the first run.
I always used default paths and didn't notice this.

Besides, the main problem is that it is not possible to Save/Extract *.mdl from these files (glb/blend) into Data/Model/

It was intentional. Cache is read-only by its nature, so you cannot really change files there or move them.
The natural solution would be to implement simple file copying in Resource Browser.
However, it is recommended to use imported files as is because it will save you manual work on asset iterations.
There are other (and better) solutions, but they all require time to code, and my time is in short supply.

[luciddream-tsin]

Ubuntu22.04, The Editor can not recognize the blend file :

[eugeneko]

It is inconvinient behaviour than I didn't have time to fix.
You do need to have configured AssetPipeline.json to execute any kind of operation on assets in the folder (or nested folders).

[luciddream-tsin]

okay, I will try to fix it.

[eugeneko]

Wait, I did fix that! I just forgot about it because there was another bug.
Editor should actually import models in new projects because it creates AssetPipeline.json in Data/.
I just messed up filtering and this file was ignored.

[Erupuran]

How can I import .mdl files in Blender?
I found some add-ons on GitHub, but they only worked for certain games.
Do I need a dedicated add-on for each game?
By the way, the game I want to edit the .mdl file for is Accel World vs Sword Art Online.

[eugeneko]

".mdl" is just an abbreviation for "model", it's not a file format per se, just a naming convention.
So, if you need to edit model files for specific game, you should direct this question to people related to this game.
I know nothing of this game, directly or indirectly.