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Guild Wars Map Browser v5.0
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@Jonathan-Greve Jonathan-Greve released this 14 Nov 17:26
· 254 commits to master since this release
v5.0
c9731af

Changelog

Many new and exciting additions in this update:

  1. Much better shading of "old" models (i.e. Prophecies, Factions and Nightfall models). Reversed the pixel shaders to get quite close to the original and added mipmapping so models should look better when viewed at a distance.
  2. Better shading of "new" models (i.e. Eye of the North models). Still haven't reversed the pixel shaders of these models but looks much better than before.
  3. Improved terrain shader.
  4. Export models and maps to Blender in their full glory.
  5. Various improvements and bug fixes.

Importing Maps and Models to Blender (tested with Blender 3.6.5)

Install the GWMB (Guild Wars Map Browser) Blender Add-ons

  1. Download 'map_import_addon.zip'
  2. Open Blender
  3. In Blenders top menu go to Edit > Preferences...
  4. Go to 'Add-ons'
  5. Press the 'Install...' button and select 'map_import_addon.zip' and then press the blue 'Install Add-on' button in the Blender window.
  6. Once installed (should only take 1 second to install) make sure to 'Enable' the addon by pressing the little Gray square next to the addons name.
  7. Repeat the above steps for 'model_import_addon.zip'

Exporting data from Guild Wars Map Browser

Before we can import into Blender we need some data to import. So open Guild Wars Map Browser and either export a Map or a Model.

Exporting a map

  1. Right click a FFNA - Map file in the 'Browse .dat file contents' window.
  2. Then click the 'Export full map' option. This will create a folder with a name like: gwmb_map_13565 with all the required data (where 13565 is just the File ID of the map in this case Lions Arch).

Exporting a model

  1. Right click a FFNA - Model file in the 'Browse .dat file contents' window. Note that not all FFNA - Model files contains 3D models.
  2. Then click the 'Export model as JSON' option. This will export all the required files (a .json file and some textures) into the selected folder. It will not create a new folder for you. The .json file should have a name like: model_0x121D1_gwmb.json (where again 0x121D1 is just the File ID of the modeland many textures with filenames like:66639.png` (where 66639 is just the File ID of the texture)

You don't have to worry about the File ID. I just mention it so the names won't feel as random.

Using the Blender Add-ons

Assuming you exported the map or model data as explained above you can now open Blender and import them.

Importing a Map

  1. In Blender in the top menu go to File > Import > GW Map Browser Map Folder
  2. Select the folder that Guild Wars Map Browser created for you when you imported the file.
  3. Press the blue 'Import GWMB Map Folder' button
  4. Wait a few minutes for the map to finish importing. Blenders UI will freeze during this time. If you open the System Console window before importing you can see some progress being printed. Go to Window > Toggle System Console.
  5. To view the models shaded select the 'Viewport Shading Mode` (either material preview or render preview mode. I prefer material preview).

Importing a Model

  1. In Blender in the top menu go to File > Import > GW Map Browser Model File (.json)
  2. Select the .json file in the folder you chose when exporting. E.g. model_0x121D1_gwmb.json. You can select multiple .json model files if you exported them all in the same folder.
  3. Press the blue 'Import JSON model file ' button
  4. Wait a minute for the model to finish importing. Blenders UI will freeze during this time.
  5. To view the models shaded select the 'Viewport Shading Mode` (either material preview or render preview mode. I prefer material preview).
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