12-13-2020, 04:52 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-12-2023, 12:02 PM by Keltoi.
Edit Reason: Updating tutorial for accuracy
)
Hi I will be sharing how to rip just about any model/map (and even some sound files) from the Halo games! I will try to put it into steps to make it somewhat easy to follow.
First things first, if you have questions or requests for me, you can reach me at my Discord where there are more guides like animation extraction, 1:1 Halo map porting to blender and Halo Infinite extraction:
[Halo Archive Discord Link]
discord.gg/haloarchive
The discord is full of very talented people who can help with getting just about any model you could ever need.
So far the group can help you get assets from Halo CE, 2, 3, ODST, Reach, 4, 5, and Halo Wars 1 / 2 and Infinite.
Most of the top Halo YouTubers, Artists, cosplayers, modders, and even some old Bungie / 343 employees are there. It is the largest Halo Creative art community on the internet and has lots to dive into so come check The Halo Archive out if you have some time.
TLDR: Here is a YouTube tutorial I made so you don't have to read this long tutorial:
https://youtu.be/aYnVWsOZHlE
[Halo Infinite Ripping Guide]
https://youtu.be/AOStYxiDLis
[Halo 5: Forge Ripping Guide]
https://youtu.be/i6qYS2EBuy4
[Halo Wars 2 Ripping Guide]
https://youtu.be/wYqUsnkrhTY
[Super Basic Guide on making your own Infinite Spartan in Blender] (beginner friendly)
https://youtu.be/y_lRfuCg1NA
I hope this tutorial is helpful to you!
Install Reclaimer
First things first you will need the program Reclaimer, made by Gravemind from this link here: http://forum.halomaps.org/index.cfm?page...icID=51331
Make sure you install Reclaimer to a folder on your desktop or on an external device like a HDD, or else your computer might have issues accessing the Halo .map file data and the settings file.
Make sure you read the instructions on the page carefully, as Gravemind has laid out what you will need to get it working and explains the formats it currently allows for! (currently supports .dae, .obj., .obj w/ .mtl, .amf, and .jms model filetypes as well as .png, .tif, and .dds bitmap texture filetypes).
Once it is downloaded and installed, open the program and go to settings and change the default extraction file type. It will default to .amf format, but you will want to change it to obj or dae (depending on your preference). The bitmap default file type will be tif, but you can change it to png if you want.
Once you have decided what format you want your bitmaps in (.png, .tif, or otherwise) go to Tools -> Settings and where it says "Batch Extractor" click that and change it to the "Model Viewer" setting panel. Here you will see a setting called "MaterialExtension" which defaults to "tif". If you are wanting your bitmaps in .tif format then leave it unchanged, but if you are wanting .png bitmaps then just change it to "png" instead. This will ensure that the .mtl files generated by extracting models in .obj format will point to the correct format, making it easier on you if you are using a 3D modeling program like Blender.
Before you close out your settings tab it is VERY IMPORTANT to ensure your "FolderMode" is set to "Hierarchy". This is in the "Batch Extractor" panel. Not doing so will for some reason cause your extracted textures to replace each other every time they are extracted and leave you with only one texture file at the end of the extraction (as of 12/13/2020 this is a bug, but Gravemind is working to fix it).
Get .map files
Now that your settings are all set, you will need some maps!
Halo Master Chief Collection hides it's map files in certain locations in it's install directory.
Note Certain .map files from the PC MCC won't work for some reason, most likely due to the porting process from 343. The ones that won't work are: Halo CE, Halo 2, and Halo 4. To get access to these .map files you will need the original Xbox .map files which I will provide below!
Note 2 I have gotten feedback from some users saying the Halo CE .map files they try to open look corrupted. This may be due to getting your .map files from various sources online and they could have gotten messed up somewhere along the way. The Google Drive link below will have fresh .map files from my personal Halo CE on my computer so those should all work perfect!
The directory for the .map files (in case you want to find them) are as follows:
Halo CE ->(install directory)\halo1\original\build\maps
Halo 2 ->(install directory)\halo2\h2_maps_win64_dx11
Halo 3 ->(install directory)\halo3\maps
Halo ODST ->(install directory)\halo3odst\maps
Halo Reach ->(install directory)\haloreach\maps
Halo 4 ->(install directory)\halo4\maps
Now if you don't have the Halo Master Chief Collection, then that is okay! I will provide you some links to the .map files
Google Drive
This link will be a Google Drive that I have gone through the trouble of grabbing all (working) CE .map files for you that work for Reclaimer in the correct file structure: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1...sp=sharing
Extra Link to original Xbox .map files
If for some reason my Google Drive gets taken down, or I stop paying for the additional storage, here is a link to all .map files from the Xbox and Xbox 360 discs themselves: https://haloce3.com/xmf/
NOTE: When you use .map files be aware that some models may have issues opening up or be grossly mistextured in the Reclaimer Model Viewer and will not extract, namely vehicles and character models. Gravemind explained to me that this is because the "Shared" files need to be in the same directory as the other .map files for that game. Once they are in the same directory it should work perfectly!
If you have any questions of what files are mandatory for a certain game I will write them below!
MANDATORY FILES (make sure these files are in your directory before using Relcaimer for the specified game)
Halo CE: ui.map, sounds.map, bitmaps.map
Halo 2: mainmenu.map, shared.map, single_player_shared.map
Halo 3: mainmenu.map, shared.map, campaign.map, bink.map, images.map
Halo 3 ODST: mainmenu.map, shared.map, campaign.map
Halo Reach: mainmenu.map, shared.map, campaign.map
Halo 4: mainmenu.map, shared.map, campaign.map
The above files will be found inside the google drive link here inside their respective folders:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1...sp=sharing
Your directory should look exactly like the Google Drive folders do for each game!
Now that Reclaimer is installed, settings how you want them, and you now have some .map files to play with... Open up Reclaimer (if it isn't already) and go to File -> Open Map in the top left.
Your .map file will open and you will see a ton of folders on the left side of the screen. There are two main folders to focus on depending on what you are looking for...
MODELS
If you are interested in extracting models from Halo Custom Edition find the folder named "gbxmodel" and if you are doing it for any of the other Halo games find the folder named "render_model". Once expanded you will see all sorts of files. These are ALL of the models for that given .map file. Have fun finding what you are looking for! But heed these notes below....
IMPORTANT! Every time you open a .map file from a new Halo game you will need to Right Click on a file and select "Open With". Here you NEED to select "Model Viewer" and click the button that says "Set as Default". If you don't do this then your model will not open up and you can't extract it or it's textures!
Note 2 Certain models may not open in the model viewer, or may look weird with bright yellow colors instead of their real textures until you open the correct .map file. For instance I had trouble opening up the Banshee model on Halo Reach, until I tried it on different .map files and eventually it worked!
Note 3 Sometimes you might click on a model file and the model viewer will open up, but you won't see anything displayed. This tends to happen because a model is small, or is a flat texture you can't see very well. To fix this in most cases you just have to click and drag your mouse on the blue space in the model viewer and that should refresh the Model Viewer and your model will show up (90% of the time).
MAPS
If you are interested in extracting the level geometry from the .map files find the folder "scenario_structure_bsp". Once expanded you will see a file (or files in some cases like Halo Reach and Halo 4). These are the level geometry models for a given .map file. Have fun looking at the map geometry! But heed these notes below...
IMPORTANT! Every time you open a .map file from a new Halo game you will need to Right Click on a file and select "Open With". Here you NEED to select "Model Viewer" and click the button that says "Set as Default". If you don't do this then your model will not open up and you can't extract it or it's textures!
Note 2 Certain map files will be BIG and they may make Reclaimer act kinda slow and say it isn't responding. This is normal in most cases and if you give it enough time Reclaimer will get ahold of itself and finish loading the data for the map and display it on the right once it is done!
Note 3 Sometimes you might click on a model file and the model viewer will open up, but you won't see anything displayed. This tends to happen because a model is small, or is a flat texture you can't see very well. To fix this in most cases you just have to click and drag your mouse on the blue space in the model viewer and that should refresh the Model Viewer and your model will show up (90% of the time).
Movement Controls for the Model Viewer
[REQUIRED: Holding down Left Click on Model Viewer display window]
WASD keys to move camera around
RF keys for up/down camera movement
[Controls that don't require holding Left Click]
[Use numpad arrow keys instead]
View distance control (up/down arrows)
FOV control (left/right arrows)
Extracting the Models and Textures
So now you are a pro at finding models and have the one you want. Next you will need to know how to extract the files themselves along with their textures (if you want those too).
Once a model is open in the Model Viewer there are three icons (out of seven) to pay attention to above the Model Viewer's "search" bar and they are the three on the right side! When extracting you can designate a folder for the files to go into.
3 Big White Squares (Export Bitmaps) - This button is for extracting all the bitmap textures for the selected model in the Model Viewer.
1 Blue Floppy Disk (Export Selected Geometry) - This button is for extracting all the model data from the list below the Model Viewer's search bar. Once you have the sections of the model you wish to extract by checking their check boxes you can then extract them with this button. This is helpful because things like Vehicles and NPCs have stacked models to show different clothing/faces/damage and unchecking the parts you don't want will get you something specific instead of all them at once.
2 Blue Floppy Disks (Export All Geometry) - This button is for extracting ALL sections of the model in the Model Viewer.
Note If you expand a check box in the Model Viewer you can double click on the sub-categories that expand and that will auto focus the Model Viewer onto that section of the model, then you can click and drag on the screen to move your camera around to view the model.
DONE!
You now have extracted your desired model from the Halo Master Chief Collection and are (hopefully) super happy with the result! I put a lot of time into this tutorial, making sure I include all the things I learned when doing this on my own (and with the help of Gravemind himself). I hope this is helpful to you Halo model extractors out there and please post your questions if you have problems with something, I'll try to check in from time to time to see if someone has a question. I did my best to be very thorough though so please if you have a problem with something PLEASE reread my tutorial, because I do believe I included just about everything you need to know about this process (especially in the Notes). If you can't reach me on here you can reach me on Discord, my username is: Plastered_Crab#1070
Happy extracting friends!
First things first, if you have questions or requests for me, you can reach me at my Discord where there are more guides like animation extraction, 1:1 Halo map porting to blender and Halo Infinite extraction:
[Halo Archive Discord Link]
discord.gg/haloarchive
The discord is full of very talented people who can help with getting just about any model you could ever need.
So far the group can help you get assets from Halo CE, 2, 3, ODST, Reach, 4, 5, and Halo Wars 1 / 2 and Infinite.
Most of the top Halo YouTubers, Artists, cosplayers, modders, and even some old Bungie / 343 employees are there. It is the largest Halo Creative art community on the internet and has lots to dive into so come check The Halo Archive out if you have some time.
TLDR: Here is a YouTube tutorial I made so you don't have to read this long tutorial:
https://youtu.be/aYnVWsOZHlE
[Halo Infinite Ripping Guide]
https://youtu.be/AOStYxiDLis
[Halo 5: Forge Ripping Guide]
https://youtu.be/i6qYS2EBuy4
[Halo Wars 2 Ripping Guide]
https://youtu.be/wYqUsnkrhTY
[Super Basic Guide on making your own Infinite Spartan in Blender] (beginner friendly)
https://youtu.be/y_lRfuCg1NA
I hope this tutorial is helpful to you!
Install Reclaimer
First things first you will need the program Reclaimer, made by Gravemind from this link here: http://forum.halomaps.org/index.cfm?page...icID=51331
Make sure you install Reclaimer to a folder on your desktop or on an external device like a HDD, or else your computer might have issues accessing the Halo .map file data and the settings file.
Make sure you read the instructions on the page carefully, as Gravemind has laid out what you will need to get it working and explains the formats it currently allows for! (currently supports .dae, .obj., .obj w/ .mtl, .amf, and .jms model filetypes as well as .png, .tif, and .dds bitmap texture filetypes).
Once it is downloaded and installed, open the program and go to settings and change the default extraction file type. It will default to .amf format, but you will want to change it to obj or dae (depending on your preference). The bitmap default file type will be tif, but you can change it to png if you want.
Once you have decided what format you want your bitmaps in (.png, .tif, or otherwise) go to Tools -> Settings and where it says "Batch Extractor" click that and change it to the "Model Viewer" setting panel. Here you will see a setting called "MaterialExtension" which defaults to "tif". If you are wanting your bitmaps in .tif format then leave it unchanged, but if you are wanting .png bitmaps then just change it to "png" instead. This will ensure that the .mtl files generated by extracting models in .obj format will point to the correct format, making it easier on you if you are using a 3D modeling program like Blender.
Before you close out your settings tab it is VERY IMPORTANT to ensure your "FolderMode" is set to "Hierarchy". This is in the "Batch Extractor" panel. Not doing so will for some reason cause your extracted textures to replace each other every time they are extracted and leave you with only one texture file at the end of the extraction (as of 12/13/2020 this is a bug, but Gravemind is working to fix it).
Get .map files
Now that your settings are all set, you will need some maps!
Halo Master Chief Collection hides it's map files in certain locations in it's install directory.
Note Certain .map files from the PC MCC won't work for some reason, most likely due to the porting process from 343. The ones that won't work are: Halo CE, Halo 2, and Halo 4. To get access to these .map files you will need the original Xbox .map files which I will provide below!
Note 2 I have gotten feedback from some users saying the Halo CE .map files they try to open look corrupted. This may be due to getting your .map files from various sources online and they could have gotten messed up somewhere along the way. The Google Drive link below will have fresh .map files from my personal Halo CE on my computer so those should all work perfect!
The directory for the .map files (in case you want to find them) are as follows:
Halo CE ->(install directory)\halo1\original\build\maps
Halo 2 ->(install directory)\halo2\h2_maps_win64_dx11
Halo 3 ->(install directory)\halo3\maps
Halo ODST ->(install directory)\halo3odst\maps
Halo Reach ->(install directory)\haloreach\maps
Halo 4 ->(install directory)\halo4\maps
Now if you don't have the Halo Master Chief Collection, then that is okay! I will provide you some links to the .map files
Google Drive
This link will be a Google Drive that I have gone through the trouble of grabbing all (working) CE .map files for you that work for Reclaimer in the correct file structure: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1...sp=sharing
Extra Link to original Xbox .map files
If for some reason my Google Drive gets taken down, or I stop paying for the additional storage, here is a link to all .map files from the Xbox and Xbox 360 discs themselves: https://haloce3.com/xmf/
NOTE: When you use .map files be aware that some models may have issues opening up or be grossly mistextured in the Reclaimer Model Viewer and will not extract, namely vehicles and character models. Gravemind explained to me that this is because the "Shared" files need to be in the same directory as the other .map files for that game. Once they are in the same directory it should work perfectly!
If you have any questions of what files are mandatory for a certain game I will write them below!
MANDATORY FILES (make sure these files are in your directory before using Relcaimer for the specified game)
Halo CE: ui.map, sounds.map, bitmaps.map
Halo 2: mainmenu.map, shared.map, single_player_shared.map
Halo 3: mainmenu.map, shared.map, campaign.map, bink.map, images.map
Halo 3 ODST: mainmenu.map, shared.map, campaign.map
Halo Reach: mainmenu.map, shared.map, campaign.map
Halo 4: mainmenu.map, shared.map, campaign.map
The above files will be found inside the google drive link here inside their respective folders:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1...sp=sharing
Your directory should look exactly like the Google Drive folders do for each game!
Now that Reclaimer is installed, settings how you want them, and you now have some .map files to play with... Open up Reclaimer (if it isn't already) and go to File -> Open Map in the top left.
Your .map file will open and you will see a ton of folders on the left side of the screen. There are two main folders to focus on depending on what you are looking for...
MODELS
If you are interested in extracting models from Halo Custom Edition find the folder named "gbxmodel" and if you are doing it for any of the other Halo games find the folder named "render_model". Once expanded you will see all sorts of files. These are ALL of the models for that given .map file. Have fun finding what you are looking for! But heed these notes below....
IMPORTANT! Every time you open a .map file from a new Halo game you will need to Right Click on a file and select "Open With". Here you NEED to select "Model Viewer" and click the button that says "Set as Default". If you don't do this then your model will not open up and you can't extract it or it's textures!
Note 2 Certain models may not open in the model viewer, or may look weird with bright yellow colors instead of their real textures until you open the correct .map file. For instance I had trouble opening up the Banshee model on Halo Reach, until I tried it on different .map files and eventually it worked!
Note 3 Sometimes you might click on a model file and the model viewer will open up, but you won't see anything displayed. This tends to happen because a model is small, or is a flat texture you can't see very well. To fix this in most cases you just have to click and drag your mouse on the blue space in the model viewer and that should refresh the Model Viewer and your model will show up (90% of the time).
MAPS
If you are interested in extracting the level geometry from the .map files find the folder "scenario_structure_bsp". Once expanded you will see a file (or files in some cases like Halo Reach and Halo 4). These are the level geometry models for a given .map file. Have fun looking at the map geometry! But heed these notes below...
IMPORTANT! Every time you open a .map file from a new Halo game you will need to Right Click on a file and select "Open With". Here you NEED to select "Model Viewer" and click the button that says "Set as Default". If you don't do this then your model will not open up and you can't extract it or it's textures!
Note 2 Certain map files will be BIG and they may make Reclaimer act kinda slow and say it isn't responding. This is normal in most cases and if you give it enough time Reclaimer will get ahold of itself and finish loading the data for the map and display it on the right once it is done!
Note 3 Sometimes you might click on a model file and the model viewer will open up, but you won't see anything displayed. This tends to happen because a model is small, or is a flat texture you can't see very well. To fix this in most cases you just have to click and drag your mouse on the blue space in the model viewer and that should refresh the Model Viewer and your model will show up (90% of the time).
Movement Controls for the Model Viewer
[REQUIRED: Holding down Left Click on Model Viewer display window]
WASD keys to move camera around
RF keys for up/down camera movement
[Controls that don't require holding Left Click]
[Use numpad arrow keys instead]
View distance control (up/down arrows)
FOV control (left/right arrows)
Extracting the Models and Textures
So now you are a pro at finding models and have the one you want. Next you will need to know how to extract the files themselves along with their textures (if you want those too).
Once a model is open in the Model Viewer there are three icons (out of seven) to pay attention to above the Model Viewer's "search" bar and they are the three on the right side! When extracting you can designate a folder for the files to go into.
3 Big White Squares (Export Bitmaps) - This button is for extracting all the bitmap textures for the selected model in the Model Viewer.
1 Blue Floppy Disk (Export Selected Geometry) - This button is for extracting all the model data from the list below the Model Viewer's search bar. Once you have the sections of the model you wish to extract by checking their check boxes you can then extract them with this button. This is helpful because things like Vehicles and NPCs have stacked models to show different clothing/faces/damage and unchecking the parts you don't want will get you something specific instead of all them at once.
2 Blue Floppy Disks (Export All Geometry) - This button is for extracting ALL sections of the model in the Model Viewer.
Note If you expand a check box in the Model Viewer you can double click on the sub-categories that expand and that will auto focus the Model Viewer onto that section of the model, then you can click and drag on the screen to move your camera around to view the model.
DONE!
You now have extracted your desired model from the Halo Master Chief Collection and are (hopefully) super happy with the result! I put a lot of time into this tutorial, making sure I include all the things I learned when doing this on my own (and with the help of Gravemind himself). I hope this is helpful to you Halo model extractors out there and please post your questions if you have problems with something, I'll try to check in from time to time to see if someone has a question. I did my best to be very thorough though so please if you have a problem with something PLEASE reread my tutorial, because I do believe I included just about everything you need to know about this process (especially in the Notes). If you can't reach me on here you can reach me on Discord, my username is: Plastered_Crab#1070
Happy extracting friends!