MDLDecompiler

MDLDecompiler is a tool written by Cannonfodder for decompiling Source models back into their component parts; namely SMD, VTA and QC files.

MDLDecompiler only works with version 44 MDL files from the orignal HL2 or Episode 1 and cannot decompile newer Orangebox models which are version 48. A work around for this is to edit the MDL in a HEX editor (such as PSPad) and change the 5th byte from hex 0x30 to 0x2C or, in ASCII, from a "0" (zero) to "," (comma). If the 5th byte is a "." change it to a comma anyway, it still works!

For Dummies: Change IDST0 or IDST- or IDSTwhatever to IDST, NOTE THE COMMA

Animations: Certain mdl's only have animations in them, but come with a .ani file. Same procedure: Change the .mdl's header to IDST, and the .ani's header to IDAG, NOTE THE COMMA

Some issues with the original Cannonfodder decompiler were fixed by Erix920 but some bugs still remain.

Note:MDLDecompiler is not 100% reliable and has some issues with certain MDL files. It also doesn't produce a "perfect" decompile and you may need to rework the QC file to be able to recompile a model properly.

Note:When browsing for the .mdl file you wish to decompile it might give an error and shut down the program. When it does this try deselecting the "Use Steam File Access" inside the mdldecompiler program at the bottom. Once deselected then you should be able to browse for the .mdl files.

Note:When using Orange Box, don't place the mdldecompiler in "sourcesdk/bin/orangebox/bin/", this does not work. You need to place the mdldecompiler.exe in "sourcesdk/bin/ep1/bin/" at all times.

External links

You can download working versions of the tools from the links below.

• Hooch's fixed version of MDL Decompiler (No need to change "IDST0" to "IDST," and no more AppId error)
• Cannonfodder's original MDLDecompiler (for an updated version use studiocompiler)
• Erik's fixed version of MDLDecompiler
• StudioCompiler (updated 2011) - the official website.