help importing models in to unreal

[utra]

ive got 2 days to do this programing assignment for unreal2004, the assignemtn is to make a custom weapon and get it working in unreal.

ive made a model, textured it and created the animation folowing the tutorial below

Tutorial 1 (http://wiki.beyondunreal.com/Legacy:3D_Studio_Max_Weapon_Modeling_And_Import#Qu ick_Explanation_of_Vertex_Animation)

ive got all animations saved as .3ds and folowing the part 2 (below) of this tutorial i downloaded an aplication called 3ds2unr.exe however this tutorial seems to be seriously outdated and dosent help mutch, ive followed it exacly howerver instead of converting the .3ds file types and placing them in to the assigned folder i just get a messege saying 0 imported frames, ive read over the help document 3 times and nothing explaines this.

Part 2 (http://wiki.beyondunreal.com/Legacy:3ds2unr)

if anyone knows what ive done wrong or a better way to import .3ds in to unreal than please help thanks.

[lucidjit]

You should really use ActorX which is available as a free plugin for various versions of both Max and Maya. You can get the one you need here:

http://udn.epicgames.com/Two/ActorX.html

There are a number of tutorials that explain how to use it. It will essentially allow you to export .PSK files (which is the mesh) and .PSA files which are the animation sequences. I just figured all this out recently, and used it for creating custom characters/animations - but haven't tried it for weapons.

Another way to import a mesh into UnrealEd is to use the ASE format which UED can import natively. Just be sure to apply your UV to the model before exporting it. Once you've done that, the UV mapping info will go with the ASE into UED where you can then reapply whatever texture you want to it (ideally the one you mapped to it in Max).

Hope this helps!