Hi everyone I'm going to give a short tutorial on how to get models from videogames whether they are PC, Gamecube, Dreamcast, Wii, XBox360, etc. With all games it all depends on the style of game engine that the game uses on whether or not you can extract from the game.
So to start with PC/Wii/Gamecube/Dreamcast:
Most likely the scenes will come out squeezed or stretched in some way. I use the scale tool in a 3d software(for me Blender or SketchUp). Also it rips the whole scene so you will need to clean all the 'junk" geometry around the model you want.
Something to know before starting is that it only supports DirectX9 games or emulators. For emulators you can change the graphics plugin that uses directx9. If you need help on a emulator just let me know here or a PM. Preferred on this post.
First you need to download the two programs.
http://www.deep-shadows.com/hax/3DRipperDX.htm
Just found out they have a forum also
http://www.deep-shadows.com/hax/forum2/index.php
They have a quick tutorial as well. Might be useful but I'll be explaining it a little different.
The textures you rip will be .dds format so you will need the DDS Converter to convert them to .png, jpeg or whatever you choose. Go here to download
http://www.filefront.com/4470512/DDS-Converter-2.1/
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
After you install the program its time to run it.
Photo shows how I set it up when ripping. I put frames, textures, shaders in the same directory. You don't need to but thats just how I do it. Make sure "Also Capture to Wavefront .OBJ is checked. Very important.
Note: Some games/emulators may use the "F12" key and that can give you problems when you want to rip a scene sense F12 is the capture button as well. So I make sure F12 key isn't used on the game/emulator. Or you can change what "F" key to use in 3D Ripper DX where it says "Capture key". I think some emulators might use F12 to exit so its good thing to know about.
After you click Launch you will see in the top left corner in yellow the words "Ready to Capture". The program you see here is called Dolphin it's a Wii Emulator. But this technique should work with just about any emulator or game that's running under DirectX9.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Thats how you will know if everything is working. If it doesn't say that then more than likely its becuase its not directx9 or plugin settings aren't set for directx9(emulators).
After you press the capture button(F12 default) it should be Capturing the scene. You will see red words that say something like "This could take up to 5 minutes.....". Most the time it doesn't take long at all. If its a newer game and/or you got a slow computer it might take longer.
Sometimes it goes so fast I don't even see if it captured. You will know if it freezes for a sec or sometimes I just goto the folder I saved the scene to and if I see files there then I know I ripped it right and can exit without having to redo everything.
After that is finished you can exit out of it and start your editing.
I first convert the .dds textures files using that DDS Converter program.
Then I open the .obj in Blender and so on from there.
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Now that covers the PC/Emulator type games, for XBox360 games those can be even more tricky but I'm going to give a quick tutorial on how to extract models from a game such as Mortal Kombat 9.
First use PowerISO to extract the ISO when you put the disc into your computer and once the ISO is extracted from the disc use Xbox 360 ISO EXTRACT to extract all the files from the ISO. But then you arent finished, the files are in xxx format not psk. So you have to download UModel: UE Viewer | Gildor's Homepage
Use that to take the Source files out of the xxx files, import the .psk character file for each character with Milkshape it will be in the Skeletal Mesh folder, and have something like Rain.psk for the file name, remove the skeleton from the model, break down the armor sections, that's where it becomes a real challenge most of the models will have over 100 model groups, and it's like a puzzle. After you break down the sections you want you will more than likely have to do some more cleanup with a alternate 3D program like for me I use Metasequoia LE or Blender, save the MQO or OBJ file and then open up in Pepakura Designer, and take your time unfolding the file. Getting the DLC characters is a bit more of a challenge, but essentially the same process.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask me here or send me a PM and I'll see what I can do to help.
So to start with PC/Wii/Gamecube/Dreamcast:
Most likely the scenes will come out squeezed or stretched in some way. I use the scale tool in a 3d software(for me Blender or SketchUp). Also it rips the whole scene so you will need to clean all the 'junk" geometry around the model you want.
Something to know before starting is that it only supports DirectX9 games or emulators. For emulators you can change the graphics plugin that uses directx9. If you need help on a emulator just let me know here or a PM. Preferred on this post.
First you need to download the two programs.
http://www.deep-shadows.com/hax/3DRipperDX.htm
Just found out they have a forum also
http://www.deep-shadows.com/hax/forum2/index.php
They have a quick tutorial as well. Might be useful but I'll be explaining it a little different.
The textures you rip will be .dds format so you will need the DDS Converter to convert them to .png, jpeg or whatever you choose. Go here to download
http://www.filefront.com/4470512/DDS-Converter-2.1/
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
After you install the program its time to run it.
Photo shows how I set it up when ripping. I put frames, textures, shaders in the same directory. You don't need to but thats just how I do it. Make sure "Also Capture to Wavefront .OBJ is checked. Very important.
Note: Some games/emulators may use the "F12" key and that can give you problems when you want to rip a scene sense F12 is the capture button as well. So I make sure F12 key isn't used on the game/emulator. Or you can change what "F" key to use in 3D Ripper DX where it says "Capture key". I think some emulators might use F12 to exit so its good thing to know about.
After you click Launch you will see in the top left corner in yellow the words "Ready to Capture". The program you see here is called Dolphin it's a Wii Emulator. But this technique should work with just about any emulator or game that's running under DirectX9.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Thats how you will know if everything is working. If it doesn't say that then more than likely its becuase its not directx9 or plugin settings aren't set for directx9(emulators).
After you press the capture button(F12 default) it should be Capturing the scene. You will see red words that say something like "This could take up to 5 minutes.....". Most the time it doesn't take long at all. If its a newer game and/or you got a slow computer it might take longer.
Sometimes it goes so fast I don't even see if it captured. You will know if it freezes for a sec or sometimes I just goto the folder I saved the scene to and if I see files there then I know I ripped it right and can exit without having to redo everything.
After that is finished you can exit out of it and start your editing.
I first convert the .dds textures files using that DDS Converter program.
Then I open the .obj in Blender and so on from there.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that covers the PC/Emulator type games, for XBox360 games those can be even more tricky but I'm going to give a quick tutorial on how to extract models from a game such as Mortal Kombat 9.
First use PowerISO to extract the ISO when you put the disc into your computer and once the ISO is extracted from the disc use Xbox 360 ISO EXTRACT to extract all the files from the ISO. But then you arent finished, the files are in xxx format not psk. So you have to download UModel: UE Viewer | Gildor's Homepage
Use that to take the Source files out of the xxx files, import the .psk character file for each character with Milkshape it will be in the Skeletal Mesh folder, and have something like Rain.psk for the file name, remove the skeleton from the model, break down the armor sections, that's where it becomes a real challenge most of the models will have over 100 model groups, and it's like a puzzle. After you break down the sections you want you will more than likely have to do some more cleanup with a alternate 3D program like for me I use Metasequoia LE or Blender, save the MQO or OBJ file and then open up in Pepakura Designer, and take your time unfolding the file. Getting the DLC characters is a bit more of a challenge, but essentially the same process.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask me here or send me a PM and I'll see what I can do to help.