Overview
This is a guide to importing models from PlayStation 2 Games.
Introduction
[link] [link]This is a guide I made to importing 3D models from Playstation 2 Games. This is just to document the methods that I used to get the models for other players interested in doing the same thing.
Note: Unfortnately, some PS2 games use a rendering option called “Backface culling.” This means that the game only renders the portion of the 3D model which is visible to the camera, and eliminates the polygons on the “back” of the model to save memory. This means that some games simply will not be able to import complete 3D models. You can try to assemble the model from several different imports, but so far I’ve never been succesful. That being said, it’s impossible to tell which rendering type your game uses until you try to rip a model.
DISCLAIMER: I do not use .ISO images to rip model from games which I do not physically own.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
-3DSMAX 2014+ (BLENDER MIGHT WORK, BUT STEPS WOULD BE DIFFERENT)
-GIMP (OR PHOTOSHOP)
-NINJA RIPPER
-PCSX2 1.4.0
-.ISO FILE OF YOUR PS2 GAME
OPTIONAL:
-TEXMOD, PCSX2 R4600
Ninja Ripper
NINJA RIPPER:
0. SET UP NINJA RIPPER WITH YOUR PREFERABLE DIRECTORIES AND OPTIONS. I RECOMMEND THE F10 BUTTON FOR RIPPING.
1. USE NINJA RIPPER TO OPEN PCSX2 1.4.0. LET PCSX2 DO ITS FIRST TIME SETUP.
2. CHANGE VIDEO PLUGIN FOR PCSX2 TO BE DIRECTX 9, HARDWARE MODE.
3. GO TO “CHANGE ISO” AND SELECT YOUR GAME, THEN GO TO FILE>BOOT(FAST).
4. PLAY THE GAME, AND FIND THE MODEL YOU WANT TO RIP, THEN PRESS YOUR RIP BUTTON. (THIS WILL CREATE A FOLDER OF TEXTURES AND .RIP FILES)
(I SUGGEST TAKING MULTIPLE RIPS OF THE SAME MODEL IN CASE OF SOME PROBLEM)
YOU CAN CLOSE NINJA RIPPER AND PCSX2 NOW IF YOU WANT.
3DS Max
3DS MAX:
1. USE THE “MAXSCRIPT” OPTION IN 3DSMAX TO “RUN” THE MAXSCRIPT (.MS) IN THE NINJA RIPPER FOLDER.
2. USE “GROUP” TYPE, OPEN TO THE FOLDER OF THE RIPPED POLYGONS.
3. TYPE IN WHICH RIP FILES YOU WANT (0000-XXXX) If you want all of them, XXXX SHOULD BE THE LAST RIP FILE. (YOU WANT ALL OF THEM)
YOU’LL NOTICE THAT THE MODEL IS VERY, VERY STRETCHED IN 1 DIMENSION, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE IN THE VIEWPORTS.
FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS TO TURN IT INTO A NORMAL MODEL.
1. HIT “CTRL+A” ON YOUR KEYBOARD TO SELECT ALL OBJECTS.
2. RIGHT CLICK ON THE TRANSFORM TOOL (OR “SCALE” TOOL, YOU MIGHT CALL IT). TURN THE Y:ABSOLUTE_LOCAL TO 0.038.
3. USE THE “ZOOM EXTENTS SELECTED” AND “ZOOM EXTENTS ALL SELECTED” BUTTONS (BOTTOM RIGHT, LOOK LIKE GREEN CUBES). THESE SHOULD HELP YOU LOCATE YOUR MODEL IN THE VIEWPORTS.
4. PLAY AROUND WITH THE Y DIMENSION IN THE TRANSFORM TOOL TO MAKE YOUR MODEL LOOK CLOSE TO NORMAL DIMENSIONS. THERE IS NO WAY TO GET THIS EXACT IT SEEMS. IT CHANGES DEPENDING ON THE CAMERA ANGLE WHEN YOU TOOK THE MODEL RIP.
5. DELETE ALL OF THE PARTS OF THE MODEL THAT YOU DON’T WANT. THIS WILL INCLUDE THE BACKGROUND, OTHER CHARACTERS, SPRITES, ETC.
6. MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE NO INVISIBLE OR HARD TO SEE MESHES THAT ARE STILL REMAINING (I RECOMMEND USING “SELECT BY NAME” FOR THIS AND THEN DELETING EVERYTHING THAT ISN’T WHAT YOU WANT)
7. MERGE ALL OF THE INDIVIDUAL MESHES USING THE “ATTACH” TOOL OR “ATTACH BY LIST” TOOL ALSO WORKS.
8. SELECT YOUR MESH, GO TO “EDIT” (TOP LEFT) THEN “TRANSFORM TOOLBOX”. THEN CLICK “ALIGN PIVOT – CENTER”. THIS WILL REALIGN THE ORIGIN OF YOUR MODEL TO THE CENTER OF THE OBJECT. (IT WAS VERY OFF BEFORE)
9. RIGHT CLICK THE “MOVE” TOOL (LOOKS LIKE ARROWS). CHANGE THE X,Y,AND Z OFFSET TO 0. THIS WILL BRING YOUR MODEL TO THE ORIGIN OF THE MODEL SPACE. (IT WAS VERY FAR AWAY BEFORE).
10. RIGHT CLICK THE “ROTATE” TOOL, CHANGE ABSOLUTE_LOCAL: Y TO 180. THIS WILL FLIP YOUR MODEL TO THE CORRECT ORIENTATION (KIND OF).
11. USE THE ROTATE TOOL TO ALIGN THE FEET OF YOUR OBJECT TO BE HORIZONTAL. THIS WILL CHANGE BASED ON CAMERA ANGLE.
12. EXPORT YOUR OBJECT TO .OBJ AND THEN OPEN A NEW SCENE AND IMPORT THE .OBJ AGAIN (THIS IS IMPORTANT, THIS RESETS THE SCALE)
13. RIGHT CLICK SCALE AND SCALE YOUR OBJECT TO 0.0015%
14. REPEAT STEP 12.
15. RIGHT CLICK SCALE AND SCALE THE HEIGHT (USUALLY Z) TO BE ABOUT 85%, THIS WILL MAKE THE MODEL LOOK BETTER.
16. CHANGE YOUR OBJECT TO AN EDITABLE MESH IF IT ISN’T ALREADY
17. USE THE DROPDOWN MENU “MODIFIER LIST” TO SELECT THE SKEW TOOL.
18. SKEW THE OBJECT IN THE Z-AXIS, DIRECTION 270, AND SELECT AN AMOUNT THAT LOOKS GOOD. THIS WILL FIX THE “LEANING” POSTURE THAT MOST MODELS HAVE AT THIS POINT. ***MAKE SURE YOUR OBJECT’S FEET ARE FLAT IN THE LEFT VIEWPORT FIRST***
19. IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE WAY YOUR MODEL LOOKS NOW, USE ANY COMBINATION OF SKEW,SCALE, OR EVEN BEND TO MAKE IT LOOK HOW YOU WANT. I STOP EDITING THE MODEL HERE.
20. SELECT YOUR WHOLE OBJECT, IN YOUR EDITABLE MESH PANEL, GO TO SURFACE PROPERTIES AND SELECT “FLIP NORMAL MODE”
21. CLICK ALL OF THE POLYGONS THAT ARE DARK RED, (MAKE THEM ALL BRIGHT RED). THIS IS A TIME CONSUMING PROCESS, BE PATIENT. YES YOU HAVE TO DO THIS MANUALLY. ***NOTE: SOME POLYGONS ARE VERY THIN, AND CAN ONLY BE BRIGHT RED ON ONE SIDE (CLOTHES/HAIR/ETC). PICK THE SIDE THAT YOU WANT THEM TO BE SOLID ON***
22. RIGHT CLICK YOUR MODEL AND CONVERT TO EDITABLE POLY.
23. IN THE MODIFIER LIST, CLICK ON “EDIT NORMALS”. USE CTRL+A TO SELECT ALL NORMALS, THEN CLICK “RESET.” THIS WILL FIX THE WEIRD REFLECTIONS ON THE FACES.
24. IN THE EDITABLE POLY WINDOW, SELECT THE RED BOX (ELEMENTS), AND PRESS CTRL+A TO SELECT ALL ELEMENTS OF YOUR MODEL. SCROLL DOWN TO SMOOTH GROUPS, AND PRESS CLEAR ALL. THIS WILL FURTHER FIX THE REFLECTIONS.
25. NOW, WITH EVERYTHING STILL SELECTED, I RECOMMEND SETTING NEW SMOOTH GROUPS. I USE AUTO 45. CLICK THE RED BOX (ELEMENT) AGAIN TO CLOSE THE ELEMENT VIEW.
26. SELECT YOUR WHOLE OBJECT, GO TO MODIFIERS, UNWRAP UVW.
27. SCALE, MOVE, AND FIX YOUR UV MAP TO ALIGN TO THE TEXTURE FROM THE GAME. ALSO, CHECK TO MAKE SURE IT’S THE RIGHT TEXTURE. (IF IT’S NOT THE RIGHT TEXTURE, YOU NEED TO RIP AGAIN, OR USE “TEXTURE ONLY” RIP IN NINJA RIPPER, OR USE TEXMOD)
28. MAKE ANY OTHER CHANGES YOU’D LIKE (I SUGGEST ADDING A HEX/ROUND BASE FOR TTS).
DON’T CLOSE 3DSMAX, WE’RE NOT DONE YET.
Gimp
GIMP:
1. IF YOUR MODEL USES MULTIPLE TEXTURES, ORIENT THEM AND COMBINE THEM TO BECOME ONE TEXTURE.
2. SWAP THE RED CHANNEL WITH THE BLUE CHANNEL. (THIS FIXES THE WEIRD COLORS) (COLORS>COMPONENTS>CHANNEL MIXER)
3. MAKE ANY OTHER EDITS YOU’D LIKE AND EXPORT TO .PNG FILE. (I RECOMMEND TRYING COLORS>HUE SATURATION, THAT TOOL IS VERY NICE, ESPECIALLY FOR RECOLORS)
4. GO BACK INTO 3DS, EDIT THE UVW COORDINATES TO MATCH THIS NEW TEXTURE.
5. EXPORT TO .OBJ
Importing to TTS
FOR TTS:
THERE ARE MANY OPTIONS FOR UPLOADING MODELS TO THE WORKSHOP.
FOR .OBJ FILES, THESE ARE THE AVAILABLE METHODS:
1. PASTEBIN / GITHUB / OTHER ONLINE PASTE SERVICES. (BEST OPTION IMO)
2. STEAM CLOUD (OKAY OPTION)
3. GOOGLE DRIVE / DROPBOX (TERRIBLE OPTION)
FOR .PNG FILES, THESE ARE THE OPTIONS:
1. DEVIANT ART (BY FAR BEST OPTION, HIGH QUALITY HOSTING FOR FREE)
2. STEAM CLOUD (OKAY OPTION)
3. IMGUR (BAD OPTION – FILE SIZE LIMITS AND WILL CONVERT TO .JPG WITHOUT TELLING YOU) (SAY GOODBYE TO THAT TRANSPARENCY)
4. PHOTOBUCKET / GOOGLE DRIVE / DROPBOX (“I WANT MY FILES TO GO MISSING” OPTION)
I WILL BE GIVING YOU ONLY THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR PASTEBIN / DEVIANT ART. (ALL METHODS ARE THE SAME REALLY, EXCEPT STEAM METHOD)
1. OPEN THE .OBJ FILE IN NOTEPAD AND COPY THE TEXT. PASTE THIS TO PASTEBIN.COM AND UPLOAD THE FILE. (IF YOU ARE A PASTEBIN MEMBER, YOU CAN JUST UPLOAD THE FILE!)
2. ONCE IT IS DONE, SELECT “RAW” ON THE PAGE AND YOU WILL SEE JUST THE TEXT. COPY THE URL, THIS IS YOUR MODEL URL FOR TTS.
3. UPLOAD THE TEXTURES TO DEVIANT ART.
4. ONCE THEY ARE UPLOADED, GET THE LINK TO THE FULL IMAGE.
5. INPUT THE MODEL AND TEXTURE URL’S IN YOUR CUSTOM OBJECT IN TTS.
6. COMPLETE!
Tex Mod
THIS IS OUTDATED! I ONLY RECOMMEND USING TEXMOD IF YOU CAN’T GET NINJA RIPPER TO GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TEXTURES FOR SOME REASON.
TEX MOD:
1. OPEN THE R4600 VERSION OF PCSX2 USING TEX MOD. (AFTER SETTING UP YOUR DIRECTORIES AND SUCH)
2. MAKE SURE TEXMOD IS WORKING (RED TEXT SHOULD DISPLAY ON YOUR SCREEN WITH INSTRUCTIONs). MAKE SURE YOU ARE USING DIRECTX 9 HARDWARE MODE.
3. NAVIGATE TO THE MODEL IN GAME, USE *, +, AND – TO SELECT THE TEXTURE(S) THAT YOU WANT (IT WILL TURN GREEN).
4. PRESS ENTER TO SAVE EACH ONE.
Final Notes
There are a few other ways to do this, but I’ve experienced inconsistent results.
It is possible to unpack PS2 games from the archives on the .ISO images, but it is very hard to find the right programs, and each game usually has its own compression and 3D model formats, complicating matters.
I highly recommend the Xentax gaming research community if you are looking for a method to unpack a particular PS2 game’s models, or any video game in general.
I’ve never developed my own unpacker, but some people in online communities can do it with Hex editors, so if you are skilled with Hex editors and can program in Python, you might consider doing this yourself. (Python is the script language used by Noesis)
If you are a model exporter and would like to pool knowledge with myself and other model exporters, please add me on steam and we can form a group dedicated to exporting model files.