Lightwave .lwo conversion?

[maver1k_XVII]

Can anyone tell me how to convert or export Lightwave's .lwo files to any 3DS max\Milkshape\Blender compatible format without losing rigging and UV? I suppose it's not the most suitable place to ask this, but I know that the only way to get Hyperdimension Neptunia models is through howfire's ripper which outputs lwo files so I thought that I may find some help here.

[Random Talking Bush]

Can anyone tell me how to convert or export Lightwave's .lwo files to any 3DS max\Milkshape\Blender compatible format without losing rigging and UV? I suppose it's not the most suitable place to ask this, but I know that the only way to get Hyperdimension Neptunia models is through howfire's ripper which outputs lwo files so I thought that I may find some help here.

It's actually a bit of a lengthy process. Of course, since I use 3DS Max, the tutorial's gonna be based around that.

1. Export the model using howfie's ISM2-to-LS program.
2. Import the LS in LightWave.
3. Add a new, blank weightmap, call it "root".
4. Use this script and select "root" as the target weightmap, choose "leftovers" for the action and click on "OK". Let it run and then the model will be highlighted in certain spots. Unless it has rigging set up for the "hip" bone already, in that case it might not show any change.
5. Save it as a LWO file.
6. Send that model to the Layout.
7. Open up the *_bones.ls file in Notepad++ or whatever kind of text program you happen to use.
8. Change all "BoneType(2)" entries to "BoneType(1)". From my experience keeping it like that buggers up the rigging upon exporting.
9. Import the *_bones.ls in Layout, then export that as an FBX.
10. Make a copy of the *_bones.ls, and first thing's first add this on top of the other SelecyByName, BoneWeightMapName and BoneWeightMapOnly sets in the center of the file:

Code:

SelectByName("root");
BoneWeightMapName("root");
BoneWeightMapOnly();

11. Look through the bones in Layout and delete all instances of the ones that aren't rigged to anything in the *_bones.ls file. Don't worry about re-linking the bone structure to incorrect bones, that's what the first FBX file is for.
12. After deleting all of the "dummy" bone entries in the new *_bones.ls file, re-import that into Layout. If done correctly, there shouldn't be a single bone without a weight map applied to it.
13. Export that as another FBX.
14. Import the FBX you just made in something like 3DS Max.
15. Rotate the model by its root bone (which should be named 002, or whatever the ISM2 was called), mirror the model horizontally and flip the normals.
16. Export the rigging envelopes and collapse the mesh.
17. Rename the model to something else so that it doesn't conflict, and delete all of the bones, as well as the light and camera.
18. Import the first FBX file, rotate the root bone and mirror it like you did before, since this is the correct bone structure.
19. Delete the model that came with that, we're gonna use the other one.
20. Apply the bones to that model and import the rigging envelopes, matching the bone names.
21. Finally, rotate the spine bone or any of the other ones. If done correctly, it should bend properly instead of pinching around.
22. And now, flip the textures upside down, flip the UV mapping on the V axis, and apply the textures... mainly because they shouldn't actually be upside down like that, judging by how the custom textures look. It should keep the "elements", which means you should be able to apply the textures to the model through the "Edit Mesh" modifier.

Now please don't step on my toes with this knowledge, I'd still like to export the rest of the character models (ROM, RAM, Chika, J.K, Mina, CFW Trick and Magic, CFW/DOS Arfoire, Pirachu and Linda Underling, and the alternate costumes) for The Models Resource as soon as I possibly can.

[maver1k_XVII]

Thank you very much!

Now please don't step on my toes with this knowledge, I'd still like to export the rest of the character models (ROM, RAM, Chika, J.K, Mina, CFW Trick and Magic, CFW/DOS Arfoire, Pirachu and Linda Underling, and the alternate costumes) for The Models Resource as soon as I possibly can.

Sorry, I was I in a rush so I could not finish my post properly. I was not going to rip models exactly from Neptunia, I just got the source code of the ripper and managed to figure out how to compile it. I thought I'd try extracting models from some game (happened to be Mahjong Dream Club) and got completely stuck with this lwo format. The best I could get by myself was UV less mesh with skeleton but no rigging. I just thought that the way of conversion should be more or less the same as with Neptunia.

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Split from Random Talking Bush's Model Rips. maver1k_XVII, please don't hijack other people's submission threads to ask questions, but ask them where they belong. Thank you.