There have been quite a few questions about how to import and export 3d models via the CK to the game. After some scouting around the web I am not much wiser or better informed so I thought it might be an idea to post a thread where we can show the location of available downloads and tutorials, get to know at what stage development of 3d import and export tools is at, what tools are not being developed but are open for continued development etc.

If anyone can please add further links in posts I can cut and paste them into this header.

3DS MAX

Tutorials (some contain links to tools)

Nexus Tutorial discussion: http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/499673-import-export-skyrim-nif-3dsmax-tutorial/

YouTube Max to Skyrim tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVPicWtxTWk

The Enclave, Max and Blender tutorials (under construction) http://tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/forum/129-3d-craftworks/

Figments 3ds Max tools: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=5622


BLENDER

Currently very difficult and requires much tweaking, working around: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=3790

Blender is currently pretty much out of the picture.

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=3790 really clever tutorial describes how you can trick the version 2.5.8 NifScripts for Blender 2.49b into importing Skyrim meshes by making them look like Fallout meshes using NifSkope.
It also covers how to use NifSkope to edit what Blender exports for Fallout back into something usable by Skyrim.

... it is very tedious and has a lot of subtle pitfalls ... but it works. To a degree. The described method does not work with all Skyrim meshes and unless you're really comfortable with NifSkope editing, your shader options are extremely limited.

This is what took me three [censored] days to figure out. It's really not explained properly. I'd add it, but with a caveat to the effect of "Expect to do a lot of troubleshooting". The installation process for all of the stuff is a headache, alone.

By the way, Tefnacht, is it possible to then export an .obj from 2.49b to use in Blender 2.6, make whatever changes you need to, then reverse the process? I'd prefer to use 2.6 instead of 2.49b if at all possible. (Sorry, OP, I have to jump at whatever opportunity I can to get information on Blender stuff...) (Apparently, it's possible. Yay.)

I'm sure NifTools will release proper nif scripts for Blender 2.6 when they've finished decoding the Skyrim nif file format.

It will not be as simple as that.
Dont forget, New Vegas is implimented in a different way to Fallout3, and needs additional non NifTools tools like FNVedit and bsa builders to get some stuff - particularly hair - to work (which means rewriting ALL the instalation files to accept new bsa files).
Also both Fallout3 games have difficulty (or plain refuse) to accept user made meshes - I see the hand of the anti modding lobby (the 3dsmax floggers) here

There is the morphing issue to deal with, and they do things so differently in Skyrim; Skyrim does not use egms - which also means major changes to the geck/game engine and the modding requirements.

Thus, I doubt that anything will work right untill the Creation Kit is released so that Niftools can see just how things are actually utlilized by the Gameengine.

P.S. My avatar is a website pic of a tattoed bdsn Pictish/German actor that I would like to look like in the game (with a shaven head or mohican). But untill both tools and geck arrive there may be no point in attempting to do a tattoo mask - although I suspect that the UV mappings for Fallout3 and Skyrim are similar.

I have added the Blender link into the main post and tidied it up a bit, as before if anyone comes across tools, tutorials for any 3d software and different versions etc, or any links to current development threads for instance current Blender nif and Max nif development threads please post them and I will add them in.

Keep an eye on http://tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/forum/113-esv-skyrim-school/ too, we'll be adding more classes/tutorials for Blender

What is missing is that there are not enough people with software development skills that know how and are willing to do 3d modelling tool import/export and debug. My take is Amorilia is pretty burnt out on modding these days and does not have time for it and thus delays. Developers like to rewrite stuff and that tends to break things and slow down the process.

I looked at the 3ds max import/export tutorial and WTF. Why the hell do you have to do any of that? (Edit: ok they did that in December but I still think I had a release out before that)

Is there anything wrong with my version of the importer? (Rhetorical, as there is plenty wrong but you do not have to make it a fallout 3 nif to import/export)
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=5622

If you delete vertices using Edit Mesh modifier after BSDismemberSkinModifer is already in place you have to redo the dismember skin or it will crash tend to max on export.

Edit 2: For what its worth, I looked into what it would take to write a plugin for DAZ 3D Studio 4 since it is currently free. But they don't seem to be willing to release the SDK to the public. Also requires Qt which has always been a pain for me to compile with so I avoid it.

Updated

is there currently any way of creating bhkMoppBvTreeShape type collision blocks inside 3ds max? cause at the moment I am trying to edit some walls in markarth, but i cant create the new Mopp collision as my version of the wall.

At the moment in 3ds max the modifier for bhkRigidbody doesnt have an option to make the Mopp collision object. Is there a way around this? or an updated version of the plugin?

The 32-bit version of max can export a mopp shape though it does not generate a valid structure as far as I know. At least nifskope doesn't like it. (the 32-bit restriction comes from free havok libraries which generate the Mopp).

There also seems to be a scaling issue in Skyrim (in Oblivion the mesh was scaled by about 7x times).

The bhkRigidBodyModifier type should be Packed Strips Shape. The bhkCollProxy (under Helpers | Niftools) can also do this.

Don't know about hair specifically (never doe it), but I have no issue adding my meshes into FO3 or NV using nothing but Blender and nifScripts.

Now if only they'd release one for Maya. That would make me very happy.

Thank you good luck.

yeah so after some playing around I got 3ds max to export a bhkMoppBvTreeShape, but its child block was still a bhkPackedNiTriStripsShape block and not the CompressedMeshShape block that the vanilla meshes use. So is there any possible way that I can use to get these meshes into the game with the proper collision using Mopp?

I tried just the plain packednitristripsshape, but that didnt work either.