Maya

Maya is a popular 3D modeling/animation/rendering suite from Autodesk (formerly from Alias). It is a powerful tool for modeling, texturing and animating props and characters. It also contains many advanced features which are not applicable to Source modding (dynamics, rendering, etc.). While Valve favors XSI for modeling and animating, some users may prefer Maya's rich feature set.

A free version of Maya called the Maya Personal Learning Edition (PLE) is available to all for non-commercial use. It is a feature-complete version of Maya Complete with render watermarks and export restrictions. These constraints do not inhibit Source modding in any way.

Plugins

• .smd Exporter by Prall
• Steam\SteamApps\username\sourcesdk\maya Valve's .smd scripts supplied in the Source SDK

Installing Valve's Maya 7 Plug-in

1. Edit the sourcesdk\maya\7.0\runmaya.bat and make sure that the path setting to maya.exe is correct. The default is C:\Program Files\Alias\Maya7.0\bin.

2. Run C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\ \sourcesdk\maya\7.0\runmaya.bat

3. When Maya comes up go to Window|Settings/Preferences|Plug-in Manager...

4. Look for vstSmdl0.mll and check the "loaded" and "auto load" boxes.

5. When you go to export you should see the new choices:

Valve SMD Model

Valve SMD Animated Model

Valve SMD Physics Model

Valve SMD Animation

See Also

• Modifying a Source Model in Maya
• Palmer's Maya Prop Exporting Tutorial
• Obsidian's Maya --> Source Tutorial
• Introduction to Custom Props for Source Powered Games with Maya Noesis Interactive video tutorial.

External links

Autodesk Maya Official site.