Ported Model works in Gmod but is invisible in SFM

[psientist]

Hi, I am new to this stuff. I have finally successfully imported and exported some models from an Unreal 3 game to garrysmod with 3dsmax. When i load up gmod i am able to spawn them just fine and everything is good. Then i close gmod and move the necessary files from gmod over to SFM game folder so i can use them in SFM just like i would with any other model i download from the garrysmod site. But when i goto use it in SFM the model is completely invisible. The .mdl file is there and it lets me create the animation set for it but it is just invisible. Does anyone know what i am doing wrong?

btw its just basic props for now, no fancy stuff

[Gmod4ever]

Can you spawn the model in the SFM, but it's either [b]really[/b] far away from the camera, or you can't see it at all? When you go to move joints in the Element Viewer, do the boxes not seem to show up at all?

If so, then I get this problem from time to time when recompiling models to work properly with the SFM. Try this:

Import your reference SMD in your modeling program of choice, and then re-export it, without touching anything. Then, with your reference still open, also export it as your sequence SMD, whatever you have it named as ("ragdoll.smd", "idle.smd", etc). In both cases, you want to overwrite.

Then recompile, see if that fixes it.

If not, then we'll have to go into more detail.

[psientist]

well i seem to have solved this... it was some kind of problem with the texture files and nothing to do with the model files. As a test i just removed the texture files from the folder completely then went to load the model and bam it was there. No longer invisible but now it had the purple/pink missing texture skin. So i went into the materials and changed the folder name they were in then went into the VMT file and changed some line of code to that new folder name then put them back and now it's working.

But hey i really appreciate you responding and trying to help. Though i'm not sure how i would have gone about trying your advice since i am embarrassed to say i was not able to figure this stuff out the manual way so i downloaded wallworm model tools which exports the .smd, creates the qc, and compiles it all at the same time for me automatically.

I have one more general question about model porting: is it typical to have to color the texture files yourself? The only texture files i have been able to find for most of the props i want to port were not colored in, only black and white. This particular game lets you customize your colors in-game so maybe that is why the texture file is blank?

[aNoire]

Yes, that is why it is blank. If it were red and you tried to make it blue, it wouldn't come out as blue now, would it? What game is it by the way?

[psientist]

transformers fall of cybertron

[aNoire]

Ah. Well. congrats on fixing your problem.