LEGO Drome Racers Drome Racers Model Extraction

[epicabsol]

Here's some models extracted from Drome Racers, imported into Maya. I have been wanting to build an extraction / modding tool for Drome Racers for a long time, so it makes me very excited to see this working! I think it would be pretty neat to make a proper modding program, but that's a pretty tall order - we'll see how far I get.

 

Zipfile of all the model geometry in the game extracted to obj: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5hvtu43-inlSGhvZWJnRWZvQkk/view?usp=sharing

(This is an automated process, I haven't checked that every model is 100% correct)

 

Some notes about the models:

- Sometimes the normals are good, sometimes they need to be reworked

- I haven't built texture extraction yet, so everything is grey

- Some models (like the cars) come in multiple pieces, and the main mesh has triangles that specify where the sub-models should be positioned

 

Large misc. scenery pieces:

 

ATDTO2 car models (Optimized mesh on the left, individual parts laid out on the right, as found in the game files):

 

Huge thanks to JrMasterModelBuilder for their reference ungtc code, and to WillKirkby for the LibLR2 dll.

[tomfyhr]

Cool! Cant you just use 3Dripperdx for the texture extraction?

 

It is good that you extracted all models, though I would have preferred if you had included the textures too!

 

May be you could take a look at LEGOLAND, LEGO Chess or LEGO Creator Knights Kingdom next? 

 

[epicabsol]

Yeah, but this project is all about extracting data from the game files alone - and then modding that data.

However, you're welcome to rip textures that way and use them yourself (just a heads up, different modeling software treats texture coordinates differently, if you end up seeing garbled textures, try flipping the UVs in one direction)

[tomfyhr]

6 minutes ago, epicabsol said:

Yeah, but this project is all about extracting data from the game files alone - and then modding that data.

However, you're welcome to rip textures that way and use them yourself (just a heads up, different modeling software treats texture coordinates differently, if you end up seeing garbled textures, try flipping the UVs in one direction)

How is it with scenes or levels? Are the racetracks you see in-game still intact or are they scattered as individual parts?

 

Does your tool also work the terrain in LEGO Racers 2, which you cannot extract using WillKirby´s tool?

[epicabsol]

Just now, tomfyhr said:

How is it with scenes or levels? Are the racetracks you see in-game still intact or are they scattered as individual parts?

 

Does your tool also work the terrain in LEGO Racers 2, which you cannot extract using WillKirby´s tool?

 

I haven't started looking at level geometry, but I haven't found them in the mesh (.MD2) files, so the geometry is probably in the level files.

However, levels have plenty of props that are in the extracted zip I posted.

 

I don't have LEGO Racers 2, so I can't add support for it.

[Fluffy Cupcake]

Oh neat, a tool for Drome Racer's models! This topic excites me.

[tomfyhr]

4 minutes ago, Xir said:

Oh neat, a tool for Drome Racer's models! This topic excites me.

Haven´t you already ripped the models already for your Garrys mod?

[Fluffy Cupcake]

Rips from rippers are crappy in comparison to converters. And those were only the vehicles.

We can also find unused models easier this way.

[tomfyhr]

1 hour ago, Xir said:

Rips from rippers are crappy in comparison to converters. And those were only the vehicles.

We can also find unused models easier this way.

Yes, if there are anything unused to begin with. I can´t recall anything unusued in Stunt Rally, Island 2, Racers 2 or Racers 1. Do you?

[Fluffy Cupcake]

LEGO Racers 2 had unused things, yes.

I didn't examine the other ones well enough, or at all.

[tomfyhr]

Ok. What were the unused things? 

14 minutes ago, Xir said:

LEGO Racers 2 had unused things, yes.

I didn't examine the other ones well enough, or at all.

 

[Fluffy Cupcake]

I don't have a list off the top of my head, but there are some listed (and photoed) in a topic in the currently closed section of the forum. Try the Car Craze folder, there was a few in there.

[tomfyhr]

Ok. Just wondeirng, do you know why developers not just put the unused models in the game as "secrets", like they did in Rayman 3? 

 

Speaking of, is there anything that you can do in the game after you have beaten them? 

5 hours ago, Xir said:

I don't have a list off the top of my head, but there are some listed (and photoed) in a topic in the currently closed section of the forum. Try the Car Craze folder, there was a few in there.

 

[epicabsol]

Here's most of the character models in Drome:

 

Texture work starts soon, but I want to get model reading / writing down first.

[tomfyhr]

The only one that is missing is the model for the driver. All drivers have the same models, just different textures. 

[Fluffy Cupcake]

What language are you writing your tool in, epicabsol?

[epicabsol]

8 hours ago, tomfyhr said:

The only one that is missing is the model for the driver. All drivers have the same models, just different textures. 

Well... all the drivers have unique model files... that happen to have the exact same mesh data.

 

1 hour ago, Xir said:

What language are you writing your tool in, epicabsol?

 

C#, using WinForms for the editor

[tomfyhr]

Speaking of, didn´t you, @Xir try to rip stages from Drome Racers and LEGO Racers 1? Did you rip all of them?

[Fluffy Cupcake]

Drome Racers tracks were an unusable mess. LR1 was very sloppy stuff from the N64 version. There has since been some tool for the PC version though I think it was incomplete or something.