Map2Mdl
This was meant to be the open source version of map2prop but let just say the other dude beat me to it.
Functionality wise, it should be the same. You convert a map into a studio model and use it in the map. You can also convert some marked entities in the map as well.
Also this one uses a proper hull clipping algorithm so you can clip tens of thousands of triangles very fast if you want (map2prop uses 3 planes and I think it will change anytime soon).
- Simple select .map file and be done without any further setup
- Convex hull clipping algorithm: You can make a model out of a brush with tens of thousands of planes.
- CLI and GUI support with map compiling process integration
- Converting selected brushes rather than the entire map
- Generating CLIP brush for the model
- Ignore nodraw textures such as NULL and whatever I may not forget
- Transparent texture!!!
- Moving the models into the game directory as long as you read the documentation
In your gchimp folder, you will find gchimp.fgd. You need it to conveniently convert brushes to models.
If you don't intend to convert an entire map into a model but only a few selected brushes, you need to mark them with this entity.
But before that, you need to create a new gchimp_info point entity and fill in the data there. It helps with not repeating yourself and portability of the map. gchimp_info will ask you for location of your hl.exe binary and then your gamedir directory (which is typically cstrike but feel free to use cstrike_downloads). It does not matter where the gchimp_info is on the map as long as it exists.
Then, you mark your favorite brushes into gchimp_map2mdl. Remember that one brush entity means one model so make sure to create a correct entity.
CLI is meant for integrating Map2Mdl into your map compiling process. Map2Mdl step should be right after export step. Keep in mind that running Map2Mdl would overwrite the map.
Running CLI is equivalent to running in GUI with "marked entity" enabled where only gchimp_map2mdl brush entities are converted.
To invoke Map2Mdl over your map, this is what you have to do.
/path/to/gchimp map2mdl /path/to/your/map.map
This means, the parameters are simply
map2mdl /path/to/your/map.map
Lots of tooltips, take a good read.
One cool feature is that you can copy Trenchbroom worldbrush into the textbox and you can convert that into a model. The model will be inside the folder where (gchimp's) studiomdl.exe is located.