IMPORTING TO MAX
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Import an existing model to MAX

Fishbone, Feb.2002

To import an existing model to MAX, you have to make sure it is in a MAX compatible file format. The probably most frequent use for this will be to modify already existing XSI models. To import an XSI model:
  1. open the model in 3Dex and convert it to the 3D Studio Mesh format (.3ds).
  2. Import this format in MAX.
  3. Click "Select by name" and highlight all objects that have "frm" in their name. Click on select and delete the selected objects. (these objects have been created by the XSI PLUGIN and are only boxes that are needed for BZ2. But since we want to modify the model before exporting it, we need to get rid of those boxes, really.)
  4. make sure to set the hierarchy and pivot settings according to the Basic Shipbuilding Tutorial
  5. Sometimes its better to remove the animations in order to start fresh with clean animations. The easiest way to clear the animations is to open the 'Trackview' menu (top of the screen). Right click on the 'object' key at the bottom, then hit 'Select All', and then tap the 'delete' key. Answer 'yes' and you've wiped all of the animations for your object.
Now you can have a ball modifying the mesh. When you're done, save it as MAX file so you can reuse it again and again.