Exporting from 3ds Max

These steps are absolutely crucial. Failure to follow these steps will most likely result in your content coming out in completely incorrect ways. The scale may be incorrect, they may appear way off in the distance, or cause Sirikata to crash altogether. Because the engine currently does not have a grid, it is important that you have a place specifically set up for where your object should be.

Setting the Pivot Point

Once you are COMPLETELY finished modeling, you’ll need to make sure the pivot point is set up properly. The pivot point determines how your object is moved within Sirikata. While it can be placed anywhere you choose, in order to avoid possible errors, the pivot point should always be placed at the base of the object. Make sure the bottom of your object is touching the grid, or is extremely close. Go to the “Hierarchy” tab, select “Pivot,” then “Affect Pivot Only” under Move/Rotate/Scale. Now, make sure you are using the “Move Tool.” You should see the Move gizmo, but it will look a little different than normal because you are affecting the pivot point of the object rather than the object itself. Now, set the Z value (the height) of the pivot point, if it is not already, to 0. The pivot point of the object should now be the object’s base, and on top of the grid.

Reseting the XForm

Once you have set the pivot point, you’re ready to do the last step before exporting. You need to reset the XForm of your object. Go to the “Utilities” tab and select Reset XForm. Make sure your object is selected and then choose “Reset Selected” under Reset Transform.

Go to the Modify tab. There should be a new XForm modifier on your object. When you select it, there should be an orange selection box around your object. If so, the Reset XForm worked. Right click on the XForm modifier and choose “Collapse All” from the drop down list. You should be left with an Editable Poly; if not, convert your object back to one.