I downloaded a couple of freebies from Archive3d.net yesterday, and most of the time when I import 3ds into Vue there's no problem with the texturing.

These boats (it is a sailing boat and a motorboat) I just can't figure out. I've tried the textures that came with them (pictures) but no matter what I do I can't get them to map correctly.

Since I'm not a modeler I'm dumb when it comes to these things.
Can someone please help? What do I do?

Christa

which version of Vue, what operating system and do you have a screen print of the incorrect mapping.  That'll help us figure out what went wrong

Version of Vue is Vue 6 xStream, OS is Windows XP....and I'll take a screenprint in a bit.

Will be back :)

C.

Attached Link: Screenprint

This is a screenprint.

There's only one mapped picture and it seems to be for the boat itself, not the sails.
But there's no way I can split the model so I can apply the texture on the boat only.

It's why I stick to .obj format! ;)

You could try exporting as .obj, with textures, and then UV mapping it, with UVmapper or some such? :)

alas, over the years I've had numerous such problems with .3ds, some are in old, crappy formats, not sure if the .3ds format varied (which it has), or the original program used ot make the models sucked.
Maybe 3DMAX or it's freebie verison could fix it, bar that or re-mapping, I'd alas, just bin them :/

my uvmapping tutorial :)
http://www.silverblades-suitcase.com/tutorials/htm/14.html

Thanks, I'll give it a try.
And 3ds is not my favotie format either.

If it gets too complicated, I'll bin them.

C.

NPB :)
yeah the older the .3ds model is, higher risk of it being crap seems to be :/

Did you try changing mapping coordinates to object parametric? Most of the times, it does te job.

Quote - Did you try changing mapping coordinates to object parametric? Most of the times, it does te job.

Yes, I've tried that too.
It simply won't matter what I do in Vue to make this work.
And I've decided to bin it. It's not worth the hassle.

C.

Actually, there's nothing wrong with the *.3ds file format or UV maps loaded into it - I prefer it for its universality and small file size. However, some model-builders and some modelling tools don't do a good job, particularly if they are attempting to create single "normal map" in which the model-builder trys to get every part of the model mapped out onto a single image file. The "normal map" ends up being poorly made, usually with overlapping polygons on the image, or other poor separations between the model's components, ... and the *.3ds file header ends up with an illogical set of coordinates for the UV mapping points. Some cheap UV mapping tools do this, and some UV mapping tools built into inexpensive modelling programs do this. But, this is a problem with the modeller and/or his choice of UV mapping tool - it is not a problem with the *.3ds file format. (Not to mention a brokering site or web site that allows posting of models without checking to see if they pass minimum quality standards.) Sorry if this is long-winded. I'm an admitted techie, and it just bugs me a bit when people blame a file format as a general rule and don't cut to the actual source of the problem. Looking at your image, I'd say that you have a model with exactly this kind of problem, although it is possible that the image file part of your package was damaged, rather than damage to the model itself. My guess is that you have a product made by an inexperienced model-builder who used an inexpensive modelling program with a built-in UV mapping function. The sailboat problem looks fine in his or her program, but not in anyone else's program. Since you've tossed the sailboat object, is it possible for you to post the exact URL linking to the source of your bad sailboat model? (There are a lot of uninedxed models on Archive3d.net. If you had not tossed it, I would have liked to have taken a look at it to see if I could examine the UV map itself, and possibly rectify it, or tell you for certain that its a "lost job." Sorry I didn't see your post earlier - was babysitting a sick grandson for a coupe of days. Respectfylly, Forester

Forester - I found 3 models that has a similar problem and as you just said, at least for the motorboat they squeezed in the entire texture - two sides and the top texture - on a small jpg.

I've tried these models without any luck.

http://archive3d.net/?a=download&id=13367
http://archive3d.net/?a=download&id=13366
http://archive3d.net/?a=download&id=13364

I never intended to use them for any closeups, so the detail in them are rather irrelevant, but I liked the way they looked. And the colors would still be visiable when the sun is shining on them, so I can't use them without it.

Thanks for your reply :)

Christa

Thank you for the links, croxie. This is an interesting grab bag of problems, and the short version of what I found will be that you are correct to "bin" these models. But not because models using a *.3ds file format are always suspect. Here's what I found....... It is good that you sent all these links, as one of the first problems encountered is in the model "packaging." That is, the maps for the speed boat (apparently the Roamer 43) are not included in the package for it, but instead are included in the package for the "yacht." So, one has to spill out all these models components into the same directory (file folder) before they can even begin to sort themselves out. (It must be that this is what you did to get as far as you have.) The second problem for these models lies in the fact that the model builder, Bireli Lagrene, is using the character set for a written language that is probably not installed on your machine, and isn't on mine, even though I do have the bi-directional character facility installed on mine. You probably noticed that some of the images files have names like "¤®áª¨ ¯¨àá .jpg." This is the operating system's way of telling you that it cannot interpret the character set being used. I opened up the *.3ds file format header of the speedboat and the first sailboat to read it (using a standard programmer's editor), and the headers calls for two each of the image files. But the characters appearing in the names of those files are different than those showing in the directory of image files. The operating system for our computers in not able to accurately read the character set in use, so it is fluctating in its use of characters, and therefore cannot associate the image files with the UV mapping coordinates called for throughout the *.3ds model file. Third, the yacht wants the image file for "Darfour_34_-152". I was able to determine that by looking at the model file's header file, reading it, and then applying that file manually to the model. (The model gets confused because of thoses multiple image maps being included in package, and the above mentioned character language problem). BUT, Mr. Lagrene apparently used a simple planar UV map to apply the texture to the model. Here's what he did - and here's the consequences of using this kind of mapping technique - see attached picture. (Sorry about the label in the picture - I do mean "planar" mapping.) And finally, the program used to make the model is creating curved surfaces with single-sided polygons. Without going into the technical problems of what happens when you use a cubic mapping technique to apply a texture file to a single-sided set of polygons, let us just say that this is why the boat hull map ends up getting applied to the sails, as well, in a particularly ugly fashion. OK, so this is a very good illustration of a model-builder using an inexpensive modelling tool (actually, probably AutoCad or one of its brethren, which is not thought of as being cheap), and taking a default UV mapping process in that program and applying it willy-nilly to the model. I bet this model looks great in his original program, and he just exported it into the *.3ds file format and called it "good." But it won't work for us. So, in the end, the reasons for your problem have little to do with the worthiness of the *.3ds file format, and a lot to do with some other kind of model-builder-made errors. Kind of a shame, because Mr. Langrene went to some trouble to construct this in the first place.

Forester - thank you :)
I've used a lot of .3ds models, but I've never seen anything like this before. And yes, the texture files ended up looking as if someone closed their eyes and given them a file name on a keyboard from Star Trek or something.

But what you just told me explains a lot.

And they have all gone into the bin.

Thanks again for all your help :)

Christa

You're welcome. Sorry that I wasn't able to also fix them.

Not to worry. There are other sailing boats out there :)

Quote - Actually, there's nothing wrong with the *.3ds file format or UV maps loaded into it - I prefer it for its universality and small file size. However, some model-builders and some modelling tools don't do a good job...

 

Poor modelers tend to use 3ds format.  Better modelers tend to use obj format.  The 3ds format already has enough problems of its own without end-users having to add to them.

I guess you'll have to count me as one of those "poor modelers" then. Pretty much all my models for commercial purposes are converted into that file format for both technical and practical reasons. Shonner, you're not really hurting my feelings, but you are damning a lot of us professionals, and this would either make us mad or make us think that this was a reasonably ignorant statement. However, I do not want to get into any kind of flame war - I hate those and so I'm ending my comments here. My intent was only to try to help croxie, and help anything having to do with sailboats.

Not all users of the 3ds format are poor modelers, though.  But their models would be better if not triangulated.

...

See!   Now that is the perfect example of a non-triangulated model.

Come to the polygon side, you will, young Jedi! :D

Hooooomm! Triangulate, we must!

Forester - Thank you so much for your explanation. I was following this thread and found it very interesting and eductional. I appreaciate your "long winded" explanations because they taught me a lot.

Pam,

Great posts, very informative, just like all your others. You add much to this community.

Shonner, you say:

"But their models would be better if not triangulated."

This is the Vue forum. You probably don't know, but Vue triangulates ALL models on import. Stay tuned and you'll learn something :-)

Go just a bit easier, Chipp. They were just trying to help - a genuine effort on their part. And they are certainly entitled to their opinions. I think this thread is done, yes guys?

I agree with Pam here.
You have all been to a lot of help in your own way, but lets move on :)

C.

I believe that the 3ds object included in this yacht object zipfile was meant to be as an added (simple) convert.  Since the zip includes a ".gsm" file, probably the construction and texturing was done in the special 3D CAD software called ArchiCAD.
Loading and using this yacht in ArchiCAD might be working perfect, together with the included textures - it just doesn't work right with the 3ds conversion.
To make it work, you would have to load this 3ds object into a modeler, take it apart (cutting out sails, boat top, boat side - whatever) and retexture it, maybe using the free UV-Mapper as an easy to use mapping tool.
But because it's someone elses model, this for sure would violate copyright laws ...

All good points. BTW, I did de-construct it into its component parts when I was examining it to see it would have been reasonable to try re-mapping it. But, whew! this model has got an awful lot of "parts" - about 125 of them. Not a reasonable use of time, given the relatively crude nature of the model. With, or without potential copyright violations.