Can anyone tell me what a 3rd party 3d Exploration program is? I have just purchased the magnificent HMS Victory Sailing vessel. To import it into poser it says you need a 3rd party program such as 3d Exploration to convert the entire ship into an OBJ format.Cheers arrow1

I know 3D Exploration will maintain all mapping coordinates if you're converting a model from 3ds into Poser, but what program are you converting the model from (with 3d Exploration?) into Poser. Isn't this sailing vessel a Poser model? pam

3D Exploration is a file conversion utility. Now owned by Right Hemisphere it is called Deep Exploration. Their web site is http://www.righthemisphere.com. There are other conversion utilities out there. What format is the model presented in?

Just looked at the 3D Exploration site and saw that for Maya and 3DSMax it supports 'Animation and Softbody skin and bones import'. Does this mean you can get the bones and skin weights (Maya term for how the skin moves in relation to bones) that exist on a Poser model dumped straight into Poser ? Or is that the other way round. From Maya into Poser? Does that make sense?

Ack hate typos .. above should read ... Does this mean you can get the bones and skin weights (Maya term for how the skin moves in relation to bones) that exist on a Poser model dumped straight into MAYA

Many thanks for your replies.I am alittle confused at what I am supposed to do regarding converting HMS Victory into an OBJ.The instructions say"you need a third party program such as 3d exploration to hide or delete the optional parts,then resave and import into poser.You can also use 3d exploration to convert the entire ship into an obj format and then create a hierachy file so the optional parts can be hidden.The furled sails object will import properly into poser if converted to obj format." Can anyone understand and explain what they mean? Cheers Arrow1

I just had a look at Right Hemisphere site on Deep Exploration. That would cost me nearly $500 Aust. Is there anything cheaper that would do the job, as I am likely to only use the program once? Arrow1

Attached Link: http://www.3dlinks.com/software_converters.cfm

I see the model is in 3DS format. You can import the entire model into Poser as one figure using Poser's import 3D Studio file function. Exploration will let you open the 3Ds file and select parts of it to re-save as 3DS or export to obj format. It sounds kind of like the furled sails will only work in Poser if converted to obj format?? Exploration is the only converter I've seen that let's you select parts to export/convert but others may as well. Basically, it's 3DS to OBJ conversion he's talking about. Here is a link to several converters (some free).

Here's what I would recommend: 1) Get the shareware 3DWin4 program. It is available for about $38 (USD) at http://www.stmuc.com/thbaier/ . It will convert 3DS to OBJ files. (It will also let you rescale, rotate, translate...you'll probably need a -90 rotation on the X axis, by the way, because of the different way 3DS and OBJ files point their axies.) 2) Get UV Mapper Pro. It is available for $49 (USD) from http://www.uvmapper.com . Bring up your new OBJ file in UV Mapper Pro, select the parts you don't want, and delete them with the delete key. (BTW, the older, free, UV Mapper Classic does not have this feature.) Save the file, being sure to un-check the "export normals" box. 3DWin4 insists on adding normals to your file. You don't need them for Poser, and it will make your file twice as large. If you do this, you can get your file the way you want it, have two very handy tools, and don't have to spend the money for Deep Exploration. BTW, Deep Exploration is a very good product, even though it is kind of expensive to buy. I use it all the time, for splitting up OBJ files (it is easier to do it in Deep Exploration than the method I outlined), for previewing files, especially seening how texture changes will affect models, since it has full support for texture and bump mapping and materials characteristics. Hope this helps, Lynn Grant, Castle Development Group

Arrow1, 3D Exploration/Deep Exploration is available as a time limited (30 days) but otherwise fully functional demo. It's great at what it does, and it's the only thing I've found the can open .max files besides 3DMax. But like you, my only real use for it is the occasional conversion on files I can't open otherwise, and as a hobbyist I can't justify Right Hemisphere's asking price for it. :( Sar...

Attached Link: http://www.righthemisphere.com/products/dexp/index.htm

We've converted many 3ds models into Poser, and 3D Exploration (Deep Exploration I guess it's called now) is the program we use to do it. It works very well, and as I stated in my earlier post, this program maintains 3ds mapping coordinates perfectly. I've included the direct link to the page where you can download the trial version of this program. If you have any questions with your conversion, please feel free to contact Tom at knight@iw43d.com. He'll can help walk you through it if you run into problems. Best Wishes, Pam