”It’ll be worth to wait..”

Here are some stuffs you need to know.

➤ So, This guide may be hard to do in your first time. But you'll probably become a professional at porting models later. My first time porting a model was also tough , bad and painful.. without any knowledges but you’re here filled with instructions to follow. Just think like you’re watching a tutorial from Youtube.

➤ Also, This guide will also learn you "Blender basics , Qc. coding , Common problems and basic lua codings for PM & NPC". There are alot of persons thanking me for these basic stuffs.

➤ And.. Remember to check ”Troubleshooting”section if you got any problems!. More troubleshooting methods and solutions has been added in current version.


➤ Never upload your ported VRC models into workshop.! Why?. Models from “Booth.pm , Gumroad , Jinxy , Payhip or any paid models” are copyrighted and not allowed to publish to public. If you did, I’m the one who’ll report to original creators.Yes. And GabryTheSniper will also does. I warned you.! Paid items are only for ”Personal-use. Give respect to them and understand how much they have to put efforts into models working hours and hours to create the models.! I’ll also hide the guide again if you did.. No more model porting. :D

➤ Never resell the model ports by making a patreon page or anything. I’ve seen some modders legendary rare amount of CN modders :| who resells model ports.

Best thing for you is : Make a Discord server and invite your best friends and share your works just like i do.

══════════════════════════════════════════

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.” - Steve Jobs

So don’t get bored when you see alot of sections and alot of stuffs to do! It’s nothing compared to real world!! It just a 30-2 hrs processes. But it depends on complexity of your model. :D

══════════════════════════════════════════

So, Before we starts diving into the deep pool of porting models. We should know about requirements. No strict restrictions like version before. Just clean and basic requirements.

⚠ Stop here if your model doesn't meet these requirements but mostly you'll be fine.! I guess ⚠

❖ Requirements ❖

• Model format must be “FBX , GTLF , GLB or DAE”.
  • ”FBX” is mostly recommanded!.
  • ”Blend” should be used if there’s one inside the model files!. (Only in Booth.pm models)
  
• Model’s textures must be “.PNG , .TGA or PSD”.
  • In some models, Only PSD is used for the model. You can use ”GIMP” or any photoshop softwares.. or some tools to convert into ”.PNG or .TGA”.
  
• Model must be rigged and every first bones parents must be ”Hips” bone. Pelvis must be the root bone and no bones should be beside the Pelvis, but they can be under it.
  • Every Unity/VRC models don’t need to worry about this.
  
• Model can't be have more than “4 Spine bones”. (Still need to be confirmed.)
  • Every Unity/VRC models and most models doesn’t have more than 2 spine bones.
  
• Fingers are optional.
  • Can be skip steps on making finger bones goes green in ”Proportion trick” section.

════════════════════════════════════════════

Also, You can see your model’s stats by doing this.

Viewport overlay & Statistics



Edit mode & bone counts while model "Armature" with green stickman icon selected..


════════════════════════════════════════════

★ If your meet all requirements, you're free to go.! ★

══════════════════════════════════════════

Yes, We need tools and softwares that will help us to get the mode into Gmod. There’s no magic tool that can port a model in one-click. Downlod the tools and softwares shown below. Some are required. Some are not.. Don’t miss anything. Keep your eyes closely while clicking the links and downloading.

⏚ Blender : Blender will be used for this guide but any 3d software that exports to DMX will work.
➤Link : blender.org/download

⏚ Blender Source Tools : A Blender addon needed to export DMX files from Blender.
➤Link : steamreview.org/BlenderSourceTools

══════════════════════════════════════════

⏚ Crowbar : A toolbox to decompile models and other useful tools.
➤Link : github.com/ZeqMacaw/Crowbar/releases

⏚ VTFEdit : An tool to convert images to VTF.
➤Link : github.com/NeilJed/VTFLib/releases

⏚ Notepad++ : A simple text editor.
➤Link : notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads

⏚ VS Code : A powerful text editor.
➤Link : code.visualstudio.com

⏚ Source Engine Support : A extension for VS code to support source engine files.
➤Link : marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=stefan-h-at.source-engine-
• You can choose which text editor you prefer. Notepad++ or VS Code. Don’t need to use both.

⏚ Unitypackage extractor : An efficient tool that can extract .Unitypackage easily.
➤Link : https://github.com/HakuSystems/EasyExtractUnitypackage

══════════════════════════════════════════

⏚ Bone naming script : To rename bones + save your time..
➤Link : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SppWmI_pmu5XsdDkPSlFSIlCHqQpyCc6/view?usp=sharing

⏚ Proportion Trick : One of most important scripts.
➤Link : github.com/sksh70/proportion_trick_script

⏚ Template : Essential for most steps
★ (Contains Dmx qc. Physic mesh + Size reference & Source tool plugins ★
➤Link : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XAm994QyV4IOZmS-hfl9KcsIm4nF8opY/view?usp=drive_link

══════════════════════════════════════════

This section is to show how to setup the project and tools.
• Written by Jakobg1215 , Not me..

════════════════════════════════════════════
To keep your files “organized”,you will want to create a root directory. Just manage as you needs. It can be named what you want it but keep it relevant to what the addon is going to be. This is were all your files that you will be working on will go. You should create 3 folders, “Exported” , “Proportioned” and “Complied”. You’ll work on these three folders like a professional..

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════
Crowbar has a most source engine games setup already, that includes Garry's Mod.
The main thing you want to setup is the Steam executable path and your Steam library directory.

• First for the Steam executable you want it to be the Steam.exe.
Then you should add the directory paths for your steam libraries.

════════════════════════════════════════════





════════════════════════════════════════════

• Also go into “Complie” tab, Select the option “Game that has complier” to “Garry’s Mod” or “Source Film maker”. Depends on how your model is complex. I’ll recommand downloading “Source Film Maker” to complie high polygon models easily.

════════════════════════════════════════════

There is only a few things to setup for blender.

Installing the Blender Source Tools addon.

• Open the preferences window with (CTRL + ,) and navigate to the "Add-ons" menu.



• Navigate to the top right of the window to a dropdown box, click on the button labled "Install from Disk..."



• Select the addon zip file and click "Install from Disk" and the bottom right.



════════════════════════════════════════════

After that, Your Blender will gain a ability to import Source engine files such as “SMD , DMX” etc.

Ah, The first station.. Starting up. Are you hyped?. Ok let’s start. But hey, One thing.. Please follow the instructions carefully without missing a single step.. or your model will be a abomination at the end. Every single steps can change the final result..!

Alright. Let’s import our beautiful model into "Blender" first.
I'll be using "Sara" as our tutorial model. I assume you already have your own models that will be ported into Gmod.Tell me that model isn’t R18 model..


Anyway, I bought this model just for this guide. A cute cat girl tho.Don’t call me an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

“https://booth.pm/en/items/5323373

OK,.. So in this model... I get these files.

• FBX.
  
• Textures (png.)
  
• PSD (photoshop textures but no need for our guide..)

════════════════════════════════

What i got..



FBX. ☑ checked!



PNG. ☑ checked!



════════════════════════════════

You’ll get different files depends on your model and model creators.
You should expect these files mostly.

• FBX - Model file
  
• Textures - PNG & PSD
  • Both at once or only one type in rare amount of models
  
• Unitypackage - Packed Unity asset files
  • Can be extracted using Unitypackage extractor tool i linked.
  • In rare amount of models, There’ll be only Unitypackage given.
  • Models from Gumroad , Jinxy mostly comes with only Unitypackage mostly. Femboys , E-girls and E-boys.. lol, Never ported one :)
  
• Licenses - PDF files
  • CN modders really should read them..
  
• Postors
  • Uhh just showcase images or some images from Booth.pm’s model page.
  
• Blend - Blender file
  • Blender file that already contains model with textures imported and edited some shapekeys to make models in best view and easier to work on.
  
• VRM - VR model files
  • Only use if you’re willing to go with VRM method or your model is a “VRM”
  • Can be imported by using ”VRM importer”[vrm-addon-for-blender.info] addon.
  • Model will have textures imported after imported which also make work easier.
  • Delete the collisions after imported the vrm model.

💡: Porting VRM model is also the same processes.

That’s all of files you’ll get.

• Oh, First step.. What do we gonna do?. Oh yeah, Open ”Blender”. A tool you installed first in line.

• When you're in, Press A and delete the "Light , Cube , Camera" by pressing "delete" on your keyboard bcuz we don't need them.
hen,

• Press "File" and choose your model type and import it by selecting your model file.
I'll import my FBX. file bcuz' my model is FBX.

★ If your model include .blend , Just open it.

════════════════════════════════





════════════════════════════════

• It says imported but where??. Well, Unity models have a very small scale compared to Source’s models. Use your “MMB” button and scroll down until you see your model.!

• Also, Delete the "Collection" by clicking the "Collection" with a box icon and press "Del" on your keyboard bcuz' we don't need collection. Leaving collections can cause an error when we import our model back into Blender. I’ve seen alot of persons got problem with it.

════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════

• Now, We do a little bit scripting.. Go to "Scripting" tab , click "Open" and import the script i linked before and press "Open text". Import the ”Bonerename.txt” from the template.

════════════════════════════════





════════════════════════════════

• You’ll see alot of yellow texts. You thought you were going to write a script?. Nope. Anyway, That’s the script that can save alot of times by renaming bones from model easily.

════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════

• Click the small arrow beside the “Armature”. It’ll expand and show another bone starting from “Hips”. Keep expanding starting from “Hips” to “Head” bone. That’s the main six bones.
• Hips , Spine , Chest , Neck and Head

• For other necessary bones , Click the small arrow of "Shoulder" to expand and then "Elbow , Wrist" and you'll see your model's finger bones. Upperarm and Lowerarm names can be different in some models due to model creators. Example as “Upperarm being Elbow” , “Hand being Wrist” etc.

════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════

• For leg bones, Click the arrow from “UpperLeg (L and R both). And keep expanding until you reachs “Toe L/R”. Remember bone names might be diffrent in your model. Use your golden brain. After all, You’ll see the bones you’ll need to rename. Only the bones we talked about. Not the hundreds of bones you see after expanding main bones.

════════════════════════════════

Here are examples..





════════════════════════════════

• Ok, You can’t press “Run” instantly.. We’ll do some copy + paste stuffs here. Mini guide will help you here. I’ma go sleep.

★ Mini guide ★

💡: Double click the bone name and press "Ctrl + C" and you'll copy the bone name. Now, Paste it inside the " " with their belonging places.

Target bones
• Hips , Spine , Chest , Neck and Head (Main six bones)
• Shoulder , Upperarm , Lowerarm , Hand , 15 Finger bones (L/R both)
• UpperLeg , LowerLeg , Foot , Toe (L/R both)

Unity —— Valvebiped
“Hips” → “Pelvis”
“Spine” → “Spine1”
“Chest” → “Spine4”
“Neck” → “Neck”
“Head” → “Head”

"Shoulder" → "Clavicle"
"UpperArm" → "Upperarm"
"LowerArm" → "Forearm"
"Hand" → "Hand"

"Thumb" → "Finger0"
"Index" → "Finger1"
"Middle" → "Finger2"
"Ring" → “Finger3"
"Pinky" → “Finger4"

"Upperleg” → "Thigh"
"Lowerleg” → "Calf"
"Foot” → "Foot"
"Toe" → "Toe"

• Must name for Left and Right both!.
• Finger bones order can be tricky but follow the correct order.
• Expect different names.

════════════════════════════════



Shoulder & Fingers section example



Leg section example



════════════════════════════════

• When ready.. Click “Run” button. Boom, Your model is now Gmod animation compatible model.
• Please recheck before you proceed. Any small mistakes can mess up really bad.!



💡: Swipe the corner a bit if your screen is too small and you can't see the play button.

════════════════════════════════

Here how it bone names looks after renaming.. Check your model bone names if it's correct like this screenshot.!



════════════════════════════════

Now, We're done with Bone renaming section!. High fives!.

This time, We’ll scale up the model to match with Source engine’s model scale. Also manage some shapekeys which are basically for faceposing in Gmod.

• Let’s import the model first, While blender is opened. Click "File" and then "Import".. then "Source engine". A menu will pops up.!

• Go into the template folder and Import the size reference file inside my template folder with "Size reference" named on it with bone append mode to "Make new armature". It’ll import the size reference with its armature.

════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════

• Let the Blender import in 3 seconds and you'll see the reference model imported. Now, you'll see your model is smaller compared to the reference model. Unity scale and Source’s scale are different.

• Delete the reference's skeleton cuz' we don't need it. To delete it, just click the "reference_skeleton" from right-side panel and press "Del" from your keyboard. Reference’s armature will say “Good bye.

• You'll have to select your model and your model skeleton by pressing "A" on your keyboard and hold "Ctrl" and then slowly double-click the "size_reference" and its collection to deselect the reference. Otherwise, It’ll also scale the reference model. You know it.

════════════════════════════════

It looks like this after you selected.!


════════════════════════════════

• Zoom in, Put your cursor in the middle of your small model. And press "S" and swipe up until your model perfectly fit the reference.
⏚ If model is a chibi / Loli whatever idc.. You can just scale to half of the reference or any you perfer.
⏚ Don’t need to be fit perfectly. But don’t be too small except for young characters.

════════════════════════════════

How i scaled.


════════════════════════════════

• Now we are done scaling, We can say “Good bye” to reference model now. Delete the reference and its collection. Select from right-side panel and just press "Del" from your keyboard.

• Blender doesn’t apply transforms automatically. Then let’s apply it. Press “A” on your keyboard to select all. Then Press “Ctrl + A”.. A small menu will pops up, Click “All transforms”. Done. Don’t misclick..

⚠ Don't forget this step or you'll get big trouble in next steps. ⚠

Now, We're done with size scaling and applied the scales. We'll move to “Shapekeys” section this time.


This part is most time consuming part. You’ll need to use your own ideas and decisions to decide which shapekeys are important for you to pose the model’s face in-game. Most of models play around ”200-600” shapekeys. Gmod has a limitation which only allows “95” face posing options.

• Let’s start, We’ll see how much shapekeys we have in our current model. To see it, Go into scene tab. Button example shown below.

════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════

• Click “Source engine exportable” and you’ll see all of your model parts with shapekey counts. Remember, More shapekeys = More difficulty for you.

• Alright, We can check the shapekey counts now. It will be useful for you when you manage shapekeys to adapt with Gmod’s limit. We’ll start from model’s face where most expressions are for.
Select the model’s face. Named “Body” in the panel. Almost 98% of VRC models and Unity model names model’s face as “Body”. But still unsure.

• Go into Shapekey tab. Button icon shown below.

══════════════════════════════════════════

Shapekey button


══════════════════════════════════════════

• Main part starts here, You’ll have to manage the shapekeys and remove most of shapekeys. I’ll put a ”Mini guide” for you.

★ Mini guide ★

Here are common shapekeys and tips for you.
• Shapekey names may different in different models
• Sometimes, Shapekey names may be in JP language. Use translator.
• Don’t need to follow the Mini guide exactly, It’s all yours. I’m just giving some tips.
• Regularly check the shapekey count to avoid losing a good expression. :(
• You can keep original only or L/R only if you want more complex face posing.
• In general, Shapekey names with “X” means “OFF” example as “Highlights X” will turns off highlights.
• You can leave some parts for a while to avoid losing good expressions. Example as deleting MMd shapekeys first.

• VRC. Shapekeys : Vrc.aa , Vrc.ff , Vrc.Blink (VRC models only)
  • Used for basic expressions inside VRC
  • Not useful for Gmod as there are already same shapekeys inside.
  
• Eye shapekeys : Eye Blink , Eye Joy , Eye Close , Eye Angry etc.
  • Can keep “Eye Blink” and both L/R , Same for “Eye Joy”. They’re common.
  • Can remove L/R of “Eye Angry” , “Eye Sad” type shakepeys. L/R are not used in most.
  
• Eyebrow shapekeys : Brow Up , Brow Down , Brow Happy etc.
  • Can keep “Brow Up” and “Brow Down” in original and L/R both if you want.
  • Can remove L/R of “Brow Happy” , “Brow Sad” type shapekeys.
  • Can remove “Brow Sharp” , “Brow small” shapekeys to save shapekey counts.
  
• Eyelid shapekeys : “Eyelid Upperdown” , “Eyelid DownUp” etc.
  • Can keep “Eyelid Up” and “Eyelid Down” shapekeys with L/R if you want.
  • Can remove unnecessary brow shapekeys.
  
• Highlight shapekeys : “Highlights Big” , “Highlights Heart” etc.
  • Can keep “Highlights Big / Small” if you want.
  • Can keep “Highlights Heart , Star” if you want.
  • Remove “Highlights X or Highlights Small”. Both are similar and almost the same in most.
  • Can remove “Highlights 1 , 2 , 3 X” type shapekeys to save shapekey counts.
  
• Mouth shapekeys : Mouth A , U , E , Wa etc.
  • Hardest part, Can keep most as mouth shapekeys are good.
  • Try to spot the shapekeys with almost same expressions.
  • Decide which shapekeys is best in shapekey with numbers. Example “Mouth A” and “Mouth A2”.
  • Can leave this part for a while if you want.
  
• Pupil / Iris shapekeys : “Pupil Small” , “Pupil Big” etc.
  • Can remove as you want to.
  • Can leave “Pupil small (one of best expressions) / Big” and “Pupil Heart , Star” type shapekeys.
  
• Teeth shapekeys : “Teeth Up” , “Teeth X” etc.
  • Can remove almost every Teeth shapekeys as they’re not necessary.
  • Can leave “Teeth Yaeba L/R” or “Mouth Yaeba L/R” type shapekeys. They’re also one of best expressions. You know.. Vampire ahh fangs.
  
• Morph shapekeys : “Jaw sharp” , “Mouth front” and “Face loli” (wtf..) etc.
  • Can remove every morph shapekeys if you’re not willing to edit the model to your own liking.
  • Can keep special morph shapekeys like “Face Adult” or opposite shapekey of it.. don’t ask me why.
  
• MMD shapekeys : Comes with JP names
  • Remove all. Not necessary..
  
• Preset shapekeys : “Expression Happy” etc.
  • Can keep if you want. Most common in models made by Komado.
  
  That’s all for Face expressions. Also, Shapekeys can be in body parts or clothes. You can edit them or remove them all but check below for a warning.
  
  ⚠️ In some Blend. file, Some shapekeys might be applied to “1.00” by model creator. If there’s one or more like that, Remove other shapekeys and then click the arrow from right side and click “Apply all shapekeys”. They are set up to avoid clipping.
  
  • You can also set “1.00” to any “Bodyparts , Hair or Clothes” shapekeys as you perfer and apply them. It’s all yours to customize the model parts.

Some model might be incorrectly named the materials of model or contains material with japanese names. This section will fix material names and avoid confusion when converting materials at the later parts. This part can be skipped if you think your model is fine.

• To check it material name problems , Click the arrow beside with orange triangle with model parts. And you'll have to click the arrow besides green triangle and you'll see your model part's material with its name. faulty material names example shown below.

══════════════════════════════════════════



══════════════════════════════════════════
We'll see that material is named to "Material #822" instead of hair texture for the model. Yours can be different.

• To correct it, Go inside of your original model folder and then check inside of textures files (png.) and check the name of textures and copy the name and go inside "Blender". Double-click the material's name and rename it . i'll rename "Material #822" to "Hair01" bcuz my hair (png.) file name is "Hair01.png".

══════════════════════════════════════════

My model's hair file name.


Double-click the material name.


Copy and paste the texture name.


══════════════════════════════════════════

• Other parts which using hair's texture may rename itself.
Check for other parts and correct the faulty names for other parts to make sure texture file names and model's material names are matched correctly!.

• After that, We'll export the model. To export, Go to "Scene" tab. Choose your export path.
And make sure "Engine format" is "Dmx". Never used DMX?. Let me tell you about DMX to SMD users. DMX has double limits than SMD and have more advantages such as not need to use “VTA” and alot of stuffs. I won’t be explaining alot here.

══════════════════════════════════════════





══════════════════════════════════════════

• Click "Export" and choose "Scene export". But You'll get some warnings for sure. To check, Click "Windows" and then click "Toggle system console". You'll see the warning shown below. That’s the only disadvantage of DMX.

══════════════════════════════════════════



══════════════════════════════════════════

• We'll have to use "Weight link cull threshold" option. Swipe it and set it to 0.5 first. If you still get the “X verts on Y have over 3 weighth links, Source doesn't support this!" Warning in console. Increase the number a little bit of "Weight link cull threshold". example : 0.05 to 0.06 or 0.07.. until you get the warnings log above.
Also don’t use “Weight link cull threshold” alot.. It can destroy armature on high poly models..!
When it’s exported correctly, try to lower down a bit until you get a perfect spot!.
⚠ Keep an eye sharply on error log to make sure there's no “source doesn't support this!" error lefts.
And again. Check console for errors. If you get these, You're good to go for next section.

══════════════════════════════════════════



══════════════════════════════════════════

What’s “Proportion trick”?. Normally, We can complie the mode already into Gmod. But models will be an abomination in-game. Bcuz’ , Source engine modes has 4 spine bones. While our model only has 2. But proportion trick can make the model have 4 spine bones without re-weighting the model and make the model more compatible with animations.

• Alright, Open the Blender. Click "File" and "Open". Go inside the "proportion trick script" file you downloaded before. and then find "proportion_trick_2.9.blend". Select it and click "Open file".

• You'll be in front-view. Use "MMB" to move around. We'll import the model by importing the model's face. Click "File" again and "Import". We'll choose "Source engine". Find your exported model and import the model's head first with bone append mode "Make new armature". I'll import the "Body.dmx" one first bcuz' that's my model's head.

════════════════════════════════════════════

Previews





════════════════════════════════════════════

• And then import the other body parts with bone append mode "Validate against target".
💡 : Hold “Shift” and select the parts to save your golden time..

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════

• After importing every parts, Double-click "Armature" and rename it to "gg"with no capital letters and click it to select the model armature. Press the button which is a button shown below.

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════

• Scroll your mouse wheel to get a closer view. And you'll see green bones and some white bones.

════════════════════════════════════════════

Here how it looks normally.


════════════════════════════════════════════

• But if you get more closer to the model's chest. You'll see a white bones. Click "Z" to change your model view and hover into "Wireframe mode" and unhold “Z”.. It'll change into "Wireframe mode", so you can see clearly.! Or you can use these small buttons in upper-right side.

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════

⚠ Search around for white bones, If you find white bones in fingers (Not included if your model only have less fingers.) , or others places such as arms , legs.. You may need to check your bone namings. That's mean you missed some bone naming process, So you might need to go back and rename them again and rename it. You can ignore the white finger bones if your model is a fluffy furry or any creature with less than 5 finger bones.

Step 8 : Now hold "MMB" to swipe around. and turn a little bit right-side view to see white bones. Target is near model's chest. There may be 2 white bones which are mean to be spine1 & 2.

════════════════════════════════════════════





════════════════════════════════════════════

• When you found white bones. Hold shift and left-click those white bones which are spine bones. And then also right-click the nearest green bone with those white bones. I recommand you to select the green bone which is nearest to the 2 white bones.

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════

• While those 3 bones are selected. Press "F3" on your keyboard. And type in "Copy constaints to selected bones". Then click it.

════════════════════════════════════════════

Command you need to choose.


How it'll happen when you clicked the "Copy constraints to selected bones". White bones will teleport to the green bone and they'll become green bones.



════════════════════════════════════════════

⚠ My guide got a bit quirky here when putting screenshots here, Scroll down to see screenshots of button locations and what to do!. ⚠

• Check if every bones of your model are green.! When all of bones are green, Click "Pose" and then "Apply" and choose "Apply pose as rest pose". You'll get a little warning but it's completely ok.

• Again, Press "F3" and type in "Clear pose constraints". and click it. All bones will goes to cyan colour. We’ll have to merge with other bones from model using "Proportion trick 2" from upper section. To select the "Proportion trick 2". click the button beside with "Proportion trick".

• After selecting, Run the script by clicking the run script button. You know how the button looks..

We’re done merging with main armature and we’re done with proportion trick. you may export your model now. But you'll have to use "Scene export" this time for proportion trick animation files.
⚠ You won't need to apply "Weight link cull threshold" again!
⚠ You must do “Scene Export” in order to get proportion trick animation files. Don’t forget about this!.

════════════════════════════════════════════
Apply pose.



Clear pose constraints.



Changing "Porportion trick 2".



Result after running "Proportion trick 2"



Scene Export



════════════════════════════════════════════

You may proceed.. to next step, Or you wanna lay here or go get something to eat?

When porting a model, We must add physic/collision model. Otherwise, Model will be T-pose when killed. This section will be easier for persons who used Blender before. If you’re ready, Let’s start with this section.

• Open “Blender” again and import the “pm_physics.dmx” from the “Physics mesh” folder inside my template folder with “Make new armature” mode.

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════

• After importing, We have to delete the "pm_physics_skeleton" by clicking it in right-side panel and press "Del" from your keyboard.. again. So it won’t conflict with our model’s armature.

════════════════════════════════════════════

Delete the skeleton..


════════════════════════════════════════════

• Import your model from your exported model with proportion trick done. Import model's head first with "Make new armature" and other parts with "Validate against target".

• We'll change to wireframe mode so we can see clear between physic mesh and model.
To do that, Press "Z" and move the cursor to “Wireframe” and then unhold “Z”. Or use the small buttons.

• After that , Click "pm_physics" from right-side panel to select the physic mesh only and press "Tab" on your keyboard to change to "Edit mode". So we can adjust the physic mesh until it fitted.

Step 6 : So, You'll have to make the physic mesh fit perfectly with model. The more you spend your time matching with the model, The more accurate collisions will be for your model’s ragdoll.
Here are some useful basic blender controls for you to edit physic mesh.

⏚ Basic controls ⏚
LMB : Select verts or parts
RMB : Move around
Middle mouse button : Spin around
A : Select everything
Shift + Mouse swipe : Select each verts with muti selectable
Ctrl + L : Select the linked verts (Combo : Select with mouse and press to select linked verts)
S : Scale the selected object
Use these tools as well. (Move, Scale , Rolate etc.)
G : While selected use "G" to move around (Use with Ctrl + L combo) and then click again to confirm.



Ok, Have fun doing it until it fit perfectly for you. It’s all yours.

• So some of model like small characters might need to be work a little bit hard with physic mesh but dont worry. Use “S” on your keyboard while physic mesh selected and use your cursor to scale it down and click “LMB” when you’re satisfied and you can adjust the other parts.. Don’t forget to apply transforms.!

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════

• After working on physic mesh, Go back to "Object mode" by pressing "Tab" Just delete your model's parts bcuz' we only need the physic mesh.
⚠ Don't delete the model's armature named "Proportions".
(From right-side panel..)

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════

Step 8 : Now, You'll have to go into "Modifiers" tab with blue wrench icon. Once, You're in.
Just click the black box beside with "Object" and choose "Proportion" which is model's bone.
⚠ Don't forget this step or you'll get T-pose when killed.

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════

• Phew!. We did it again. You can export your physic mesh now into your proportioned model's folder. not the old one.

Okay, We’re done with Blender stuffs. Now.. It’s time to complie our model into Gmod.! But wait a sec, We still need something left to do in order to complie. Oh yeah, The Qc.. I’ve given a example qc in the template folder. You have to tweak some and add jigglebones to dynamically simulate physics in your model. Like Hair physics , Ear physics and Skirt physics etc. Let’s get started.

• Okay.. Firstly, Copy the example “Qc.” from the template folder into your exported model folder. The folder we exported the proportion trick set up models with physic mesh.

• Right-click the "QC Example" and open with "Notepad++".

• First step, You have to rename the model mdl. name as you want. To do that,You'll need to edit the "$modelname" line. I'll edit "Yourmodel.mdl" into "Sara.mdl" as my model name.It’ll be the model file name after we complied the model.
❖ You can name anything you want.!

• Secondly, Edit "Name" with your model name again.. And then edit "Body.dmx" into your model's head dmx. file name. My model's head is already "Body.dmx" so i don't have to touch it.

• We'll edit material path to any path you want but path is also important. It’s one of most important thing. It’ll specify the material path for your model. Let me explain a bit for it and show some examples.

Let’s just say that i’ll specify the material path as
$cdmaterials “VRC/Sara/“

After we compiled, Model will grab the materials from the folder named “Sara” inside “materials” folder with “VRC” folder inside. Here is an example with addon folder structure including folder where model will grab materials from.

Addon folder
models
materials — VRC — Sara (material files goes in here)
lua

models , materials and lua are base folders. They don’t associate with the model. They just tell where materials are in , where models are in and where lua codes are in (For lua section.). Model’s materials path will associate with two folder. “VRC” and mostly on “Sara” folder.

If i specify path as
$cdmaterials “Sara/“ only

I’ll only need one folder named “Sara” in the “materials” folder. I assumed you understand what i’m saying by now. So give it as you want. i'm just giving examples. I’ll put $cdmaterials “VRC/Sara”.

════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════

• After messing with $cdmaterial command, We'll go to bodygroup commands. As you'll see i gave two type of bodygroup command. Toggleable and Untoggleable.

• $bodygroup without blank
  Example
  $bodygroup Socks — Name of bodygroup
  {
  Studio “Mymodelsocks.dmx” — model’s part/mesh file name with .DMX
  }
  
  • This command will complie the specified model part with a name “Socks” in-game.
  • Will remain static, Cannot be untoggleable.
  
  
• $bodygroup with blank
  Example
  $bodygroup Glasses — Name of bodygroup that’ll appear in-game
  {
  Studio “Glasses.dmx” — model’s part that’ll be toggle group in-game.
  Blank — Untoggle group
  }
  • This command will complie the specified model part with a name “Glasses” in-game while appearing inside “Bodygroup” option in-game.
  • Can toggle/untoggle.
  • Flipping Studio command with Blank orders to make the part untoggled at start but will remain as toggleable.
  
  
• $bodygroup with alot of studio commands
  Example
  $bodygroup Hats — Name of bodygroup that’ll appear in-game
  {
  Studio “Hat1.dmx” — model’s part that’ll be toggle group 1.
  Studio “Hat2.dmx” — model’s part that’ll be toggle group 2. Will untoggle group 1.
  Blank — Untoggle group. Will untoggle group 2.
  }
  • Can select between alot of groups.
  • One remains toggle. Others will untoggle. To make all toggle. Just take example 2 and copy + paste with the parts you want to toggle in-game as another bodygroup.
  • Can remove blank if you don’t want to untoggle all.

That’s all types of bodygroup commands. You have to use Examples wisely depending on your model’s parts. Use example 1 on main body , head and clothes.
Use example 2 on parts that’ll be toggle/untoggle.. such as accessories.
Use example 3 on parts that can be selectable.. such as hats variations , accessories variations.

Here is an example. I don’t have to use example 3 type commands bcuz’ my model doesn’t have bodygroups that were supposed to be selectable.

════════════════════════════════



Here is how i made bodygroups for my model.



════════════════════════════════

Ok, That's how i managed. Tails , Ears , Hair accessories with blank and others with no blank.


💡: Optional if you don’t want to add jigglebones or don’t have any.

• For now.. Jigglebones. Another one part that’ll eat your times depending on your model’s complexity and bones. Mostly common jigglebones are “Skirt , Hair , Acces and more”. Anyway, First thing you have to do is open “Blender”. Import your model in same way you did twice. And then, Expand your model’s armature to see all of model’s bones.*Yawns*, I’ma go sleep again. I’ll put a mini guide here for you anyway.

❖ Mini guide ❖

• You’ll mostly have to find most common jigglebones inside.
- Head : Expand it and you’ll see “Ear , Hair Front/Back/Twintail/Side , Head accessories”
- Skirt : Skirt bones with L/R mostly, Sometimes numbers
- Tail : Tail bones with numbers
And some bones that can be made into jigglebones. Use your golden brain to determine.
• Never use bone ends with “.end”, They’re not weighted and not necessary.. They will get unused!
• You can do many jigglebones as you like but it’ll consume alot of times.
• DMX has 255 bone limitation (127 in SMD). So be careful to avoid adding alot!.

Waa, Oh i’m back. I gave some presets inside example Qc to use the bones in their places.
Here are types and where to use

Ears : Cat ears , Dog ears etc. Not human ear!.
• Usually contains 2-6 bones.

Tail : Cat tail , Fox tail etc.
• Usually contains 4-16 bones.

Oppai : Uhh.. Breasts.

I won’t be explaining alot. Read the names tagged with the codes. You’ll know where to use.

════════════════════════════════

Example with tail. I grabbed Bip_tail07 and put it in jigglebone line like this,




Example with ears. I grabbed ear bones. and paste inside jigglebone lines for ears.




════════════════════════════════

• Alright, Glad to see you again after suffering copy + paste hell. You can already skip if your model is a female. Down section is only for Male models.

Good, Now find this line in down side of qc.
"$sequence reference "anims/reference_female" fps 1"
Replace “female” with “male” for male models

Scroll down a-bit. And, You'll see some "$includemodel" lines..
Replace "female" with "male" for male character.
E.g $includemodel "humans/female_shared.mdl" To $includemodel "humans/male_shared.mdl"

And replace " f " with " m " if your character is male
E.g $includemodel "f_anm.mdl" to $includemodel "m_anm.mdl"

════════════════════════════════





════════════════════════════════

Nice, We are only a bit far from the finish line. Keep going!.

So.. Most of Booth.pm and other Unity models might exceed the DMX bone limit 256 easily but you won't need to delete bones until you get 256 bones anymore!. Thanks to "Jakobg1215" for telling me the bone collapse method.

Update : Ignore the “Bone collapse” folder from template.

We’ll use default definebone lines from Gmod SDK base to collapse unnecessary bones + make the model more compatible with animations even more. Two birds with one stone!.

For female models
Link : https://github.com/robotboy655/gmod-animations/blob/master/humans_sdk/Female/commonbones.qci

For male models
Link : https://github.com/robotboy655/gmod-animations/blob/master/humans_sdk/Male/commonbones.qci

Copy all codes inside and paste into your qc under “$cdmaterials” line. Or upper jigglebone lines.!

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════

That’s it. Your model’s unused bones will unused to save bone counts. Also complier will not collapse jigglebones!.

⚠️ Current version haven’t fixed this section with better way and easier way to do custom arms yet.!

• Firstly, We’ll open “Blender” again.I lied.. Just one more Blender..
We'll have to import the model. But you'll only have to import the model's body (not head..) , Upper clothes. So, Choose wisely and import until you get a model for arm ripping.

Example : I imported the model's body and a cloth.. (It's enough for arms..)

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════

• Select your model parts. (Bones not included.!). and then press "Tab" to change into "Edit Mode".

• Then, Use your mouse and delete the middle part which is unnecessery.
★ Use "Delete" key on your keyboard and select "Vertices" to delete the vertices of middle part.

════════════════════════════════════════════

Example.




════════════════════════════════════════════

• After that, We’re done.! Export the arm with dmx. into my template "C_arms" folder, Go inside "C arms" folder from my template. and edit my qc with notepad++.

**Replace**

➜ "arm.mdl" to anything you want. I'll name it "sara_arms.mdl".

➜ "arms.dmx" to your arm dmx name. You can use one each If you have 2 versions. I'll go with gmod skeleton one so i'll name it "

➜ "Material path" to your model's material path you used in model qc before. Mine is "VRC/Sara/".

That's it. Open the “Qc.” with crowbar and select a export path you want and click complie.!
And click "View" so you can see the arms are okay or not.
⚠ Result will not good enough. Wait for the another update for the guide. :p
Also , You can go complie your model using “Crowbar” by opening “.Qc” with “Crowbar”. If there's any errors. Give a visit to ”Troubleshooting” section!.

If you’re a lua coder or any, You know that you can use “PNG” textures in Gmod to make lua addons for textures. Or spawnicons.. but models can’t use those type of textures. They needed to be converted into Source engine’s format which is “VTF” and “VMT”. And we’ll also need to tweak some settings as well.!

• Open VTFEdit that i linked before. Install if you haven’t with these two options checked!.

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════

Step 2 : Now, Click "File" and then "Import". Find your model's textures (png.) files and import it.
When this thing popped up, Just click "Ok". It may take a while depending on your device..
So i recommand you to open a lot of VTFEdit and import every materials. Uncheck ☑ "Generate normal map" if it's checked ☑!. but we'll need it later.!

Step 3 : When it done. Just click the save icon.

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════

Step 4 : You'll have to make the material path for the materials that you used for qc before. I used "VRC/Sara/" so i have to create two folder.
First one is "VRC" and then "Sara" inside again and then we'll save the materials inside of that "Sara" folder. So you might be understand what i mean. Your materials path u used will be diffrent depending on what you putted inside qc.!

Step 5 : Type the "filename" same as your texture's name. Im exporting body's texture (body.png) so i'll type "Body.vtf" in "filename".

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════

Step 6 : After saving the vtf. , Click "Tools" and click "Create VMT file".

Step 7 : Click "options" and choose shader to "VertexlitGeneric".Ignore other buttons bcuz we’ll put a custom parameters into VMt later.

════════════════════════════════════════════





════════════════════════════════════════════

Step 8 : Repeat the same process for other materials. After doing every materials. Re-import every materials and now check ☑ "Generate Normal map". And save them with other names. i imported "Body.png" for normal map so i'll save it as "Body_m.vtf", Do for other textures as well.. Just doing this to avoid confusion.!
Also you don’t have to do the VMT for normal maps.
⚠You don’t have to generate normal maps if model included “normals” inside texture folder ⚠

════════════════════════════════════════════



How it looks when normal map is generated.


════════════════════════════════════════════

Step 9 : After that , Go inside the material folder and edit the VMT with notepad++.
And we'll add some parameters.

Open the vmt. files and put these codes inside of them!. i mean replace the written codes.


Customization : You can adjust numbers as you wish. im just giving my parameters..

Step 10 : After pasting them inside of their own vmt.
We'll have to edit and replace some parameters.

Replace "$basetexture" "Materiel path/Material name" with your material path (path from qc) and material's name.
Example, Im editing body.vmt.. So I'll have to edit it to

"$basetexture" "VRC/Sara\Body" (vtf not included!, only name.)

And now, We'll edit "$bumpmap".
Replace "$bumpmap" "Material path/Normal map name" with your material path and material's normal map name.
Example, I have "Body_m" as normal map of body that i generated before. So I'll have to edit it to

"$bumpmap" "VRC/Sara\Body_m"

You might understand what you have to do now. So open every vmt. and edit those parameters with path and material names and save those vmt. files by clicking "Ctrl + S".

Finally as, "$lightwarp"..You have to go inside my template folder, Copy and paste it to your model's material folder or you can make one if you're a professional gmod modder. Ok, Go back inside to vmt. Replace the "Material path" with your material path (from qc).. Leave "basewarp" as lightwarp name is just same..

Example : "VRC/Sara\basewarp".
⚠ Lines for lightwap are same for every vmt. so you can just copy paste the "$lightwarp" line. ⚠

Update : If your model is filled with purple in-game, Make sure you put the basewarp inside material folder.!

════════════════════════════════════════════

Example (This example is outdated as i updated parameters.. but it’s still useful.!)


════════════════════════════════════════════

When you're done with every vmt. You can go to final section...

Step 1 : So, We'll create a addon folder. Create a folder and name it anything you want.

Step 2 : Go inside that folder and create three folders. And name them :

• models
  
• materials
  
• lua

⚠ No capital letters! ⚠

Step 3 : Go inside "models" folder first. Go copy the complied model's mdl and model's arm files.
And paste it inside "models" folder or create a another folder inside of "models" ,name it and paste them inside if you want. but it'll make lua line longer.!

════════════════════════════════════════════

So i created a sub folder and paste the model & arm files inside!.

════════════════════════════════════════════

Step 4 : When done, Copy your material folder that you created in last section and paste it inside "materials" folder.!

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════

Step 5 : Now, Go inside "lua" folder and create a new folder named "autorun".
⚠ No capital letters! ⚠

Step 6 : Go copy the lua file from my template inside "pm lua" and paste it inside "autorun" folder.

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════

Step 7 : Open the lua. file with "Notepad++". We'll do some codings but it's easy.

════════════════════════════════════════════

★ To write lua for work. You'll have to replace some codes. ★

**Replace**
➜ *Category* : to your desired category name. *You can change any*

➜ *Name* : to your desired model name. etc. Sara. *You can change any name*
⚠ "models/*Name*/*modelname*.mdl" Not included! ⚠

➜ *modelname* : with your mdl. name. etc. Sara.mdl *You have to put exact mdl. name from your model folder so go inside the model folder and copy the model mdl. file and replace with *modelname*, Wrong mdl. name will not work so check it's matched or not*

➜ *arm* : with your model arm mdl. name. *check your model folders and copy the arm mdl. name,Wrong mdl name will not work just like modelmdl name.*

➜ Mdl. path : Check inside your model's folder, As you saw before.. i created a sub folder inside "models" so i putted "models/VRC/sara.mdl". You don't have to put the middle one if you didn't created a sub folder inside "models". Check below for compared screenshots.
⚠ Don't remove "models" from line. ⚠

────────────────────────────────────────────

**Customize**
# Health = "100" *Change 100 to any amount you want*
# Numgrenades = "4" *Change 4 to any amount you want*

════════════════════════════════════════════

Here is comparison of **Uncompleted** one and **Completed** one.
Lines i modified will be shown with greens from left side.
⚠ To avoid confusion, Please look at those two comparison carefully! ⚠





════════════════════════════════════════════

Step 8 : After editing the lua. Press "Ctrl + S" to save the lua. Now you can name the lua file with your desired name. I named it "Sara.lua".

Step 9 : You can test the model now. Go to this path. Or browse the game file from steam and go inside "addons" folder.

" C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\GarrysMod\garrysmod\addons\ "
( Drive name may depends on your storage card. etc E:\ , D:\)

Step 10 : Paste the model folder inside "addons" folder and now you can launch your game to test it!.

════════════════════════════════════════════



════════════════════════════════════════════

Step 11 : You may need this addon to spawn ragdoll.. Or you can kill the Npc inside.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=104603291

Step 12 : Create any game. (Now, wait till it loaded.. also rip if you have 1000+ of addons).

Step 13 : Now, We'll spawn ragdoll first to see if there's any physic errors like stretchy ragdolls.
You'll see your addon at "Addon - Legacy".

════════════════════════════════════════════



────────────────────────────────────────────

Ragdoll also fine


Npc also seems fine.


PM also fine..


Arms also fine.!


Future 乃ㄖ乃爪卂匚 Ü : Model in screenshots might be bright, that was before i added lightwarp.. So you'll be fine.

════════════════════════════════════════════

Now, We're done! Congratulations!! You have ported the model into GMOD.! If you have some problems. Move to next section for troubleshooting the common problems.

**Common problems/mistakes**

Encountered vertex in delta state : Your model's face shapekeys might have the same name like “Moutho” and “MouthO”.. Remove the same named shapekeys or go rename them.

T-pose ragdoll : Make sure you did the "Modifier" thing at "Physic mesh" section. Please go double-check it. And view the model from crowbar.. while HLMV, check the Collision model. And see if it's ok or not.

Error model : Make sure you linked the model mdl name correctly in lua.
Example "models/VRC/sara.mdl"
Can be mistake with "model" without "s", no mdl behind modelfile name such as "models/VRC/sara".

Error model arms : Make sure you linked the arms mdl name correctly as well.
Same as above. Just need an sharp eye to check.!.

Lua corrections : use "/" instead or "\" in lua code if you copied from path shown in file explorer.

════════════════════════════════════════════

**Rare problems**

Stretchy model parts : Basically bcuz' model parts are heavy, try optimizing the heavy bodyparts by decimating & Un-Subdivision. I’ll make a small guide about it later :p

ERROR : EXCEPTION_STACK_OVERFLOW / VIOLATION (or whatever). : Check the vertice and bone counts of your model parts.
Check +*Requirements*+ to see how to check… it must be 12k or less vertices for “Each bodyparts”.
Not the whole model.. also bone counts must be 256 or less..

Stretchy tail : Most common on model with tail , All you have to do is merge tail with main body. To do that, Select the tail and main body and press "Ctrl + J" and it'll merge into one part. Remove the tail.dmx bodygroup line and complie it again.

ERROR! : R_addvertextomesh : bad vertex (numbers) : Same solution as above. Model just need some optimization. But even myelf still figuring it out..

Weird c_arm fingers : Well. Mostly issue came from bone not aligning the default arm bones position.. don’t worry. I’ll update the guide with a new section.

Stretchy C_arm fingers : make sure to name fingers in order. Thumb , index , middle , ring and pinky.

Too many material coordinates : Remove unnecessary UV maps from model. Models only needs one.
If still not helped.. Try optimizing model or reduce the UV island amount..

Unattached parts : Sometimes.. ported models can be a little bit quirky with bodyparts such as flying parts , unattached parts. All you have to do is do "CTRL + J" with the part that floating around and a good part. I mean join 2 parts in blender by selecting the part you want to attach to and select the part you want to join and then press the key i mentioned.

════════════════════════════════════════════

Bobmac - Writing guide & assets from template.
Jakobg1215 - Writing guide & Revamping sections (Big thanks.!)
Darkshoro - Bone naming script
K10[booth.pm] - Model author
Deadwater2 - Tutorials for proportion trick and other stuffs.

Make sure to give a credit to me if you used my guide for a workshop item!!
You can check out my another guide for l4d2 models

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3313639808

That's all folks. Like & comment down if you encountered any problems I haven't encountered.
Bye.!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

V1.1 : Material parameters update!
- Added “rimlight” and other additional lines for better lighting.
- Fixed some grammer issues (blame my fingers.)

Shorten version guide & “More” extension guides coming soon!

V1.2 : A little revamp update.!
- Added arm template and some sections revamped
- Fixed some spelling.
- Rewritten "C arm" section.
- Updated "Proportion trick" section with newer version of blender.
You won't need old blender anymore..

V2 : New sections and template update!.
- Added "Bone collapse" & "Reduce poly" sections.
- Updated template!. If you're still porting the model, You'll have to download the updated one!.
- Removed "Bone count" limit, You can collapse bones now!.

V2.1 : Bypass vertice limit per part update.!
- Added “Vert limit bypass” section to bypass vertice limit and fix stretchy parts!
That’s it.

Report any issues if found!.

⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿