hey, im new to the creating halo maps and had a question about the HEK tutorial. the HEK tutorial says to use 3ds max, and the blitzkrieg plugin is made for 3ds max only (i think). i have gmax and i would like to use that because i dont want to pay all that money for 3ds max. so is gmax a suitable program for creating/editing halo maps?

yes, although i use 3dsm9/bluestreak, i'm pretty sure you use blitz or chimp with gmax

Chimp v1.6 (can be found on this site) works with gmax.

BStreak works with gmax. It's a maxscript like chimp.

Im the same i thought that hek was gonna come with a map maker though one that wouldn't need to change things but was for halo
It would actually be a good idea for site... I was also wondering why the tutorial was asking you to use an expensive program I felt like I had been ripped off till i found GMax which is alright a bit confusing sometimes

"...a bit confusing sometimes"
Same with any #d modeling, and the HEK's restrictions.
If you need help with gMax bsps or other models I can give some advice.

I just really want to make a working map can u help

Chimp is best with Levels. Bluestreak is best with bipeds, weapons, and vehicle related crap.

My post wasn't worthless. Chimp can't export weapon models and crap well. Bluestreak can and is good use for those reasons.

Yeah, if I remember correctly, Chimp can only support 1 frame, and it has to be named "frame" so if you try to export something like a weapon, with multiple frames, all with seperate names, it won't work. Which is why you use Bluestreak to export your more complex stuff. But, if you use Bluestreak, make sure you convert your model to editable mesh before you export it. (right click with your model selected -> convert to -> convert to editable mesh)

Darkhalo and Elefant are right. Chimp is better for gmax bsps for some reason. But the Bluestreak JMS exporter can and should be used for everything else, with multiple frames.
You also use chimp as a .wrl importer, because gmax doesn't import those by itself. Great for collision geometry too.
I still don't understand gmax and exporting animations, though. If anyone who knew how were to teach the community that would be great.

To answer your final question, Gmax is a great program for modeling and starting out. You can achieve nearly as much in Gmax as you can in 3ds. The only difference is that faces don't highlight as red when selected and texturing is a pain. There are also a few for detailed tools available in 3ds.
Edited by DarkHalo003 on Mar 13, 2010 at 02:44 PM

"The only difference is that faces don't highlight as red when selected and texturing is a pain." Deetdadee, press F2. Same in 3DS max.
So they are the same? it's still close.
Edited by SlappyThePirate on Mar 14, 2010 at 03:20 PM