Guild Wars Map Browser v5.0.1

Changelog

• Updated the Blender map import add-on to support both Blender V3 (tested with 3.6.5) and the newly release Blender V4 (tested with 4.0.0)

Both model_import_addon.zip and GuildWarsMapBrowser.exe is the same as in the previous release (Guild Wars Map Browser v5.0). Only map_import_addon.zip has changed.

To update the add-on simply install the map_import_addon.zip in Blender and restart Blender. If you didn't already have the add-on installed from the previous release you do not have to restart Blender.

Importing Maps and Models to Blender (tested with Blender 3.6.5 and 4.0.0)

Install the GWMB (Guild Wars Map Browser) Blender Add-ons

1. Download 'map_import_addon.zip'
2. Open Blender
3. In Blenders top menu go to Edit > Preferences...
4. Go to 'Add-ons'
5. Press the 'Install...' button and select 'map_import_addon.zip' and then press the blue 'Install Add-on' button in the Blender window.
6. Once installed (should only take 1 second to install) make sure to 'Enable' the addon by pressing the little Gray square next to the addons name.
7. Repeat the above steps for 'model_import_addon.zip'

Exporting data from Guild Wars Map Browser

Before we can import into Blender we need some data to import. So open Guild Wars Map Browser and either export a Map or a Model.

Exporting a map

1. Right click a FFNA - Map file in the 'Browse .dat file contents' window.
2. Then click the 'Export full map' option. This will create a folder with a name like: gwmb_map_13565 with all the required data (where 13565 is just the File ID of the map in this case Lions Arch).

Exporting a model

1. Right click a FFNA - Model file in the 'Browse .dat file contents' window. Note that not all FFNA - Model files contains 3D models.
2. Then click the 'Export model as JSON' option. This will export all the required files (a .json file and some textures) into the selected folder. It will not create a new folder for you. The .json file should have a name like: model_0x121D1_gwmb.json (where again 0x121D1 is just the File ID of the modeland many textures with filenames like:66639.png` (where 66639 is just the File ID of the texture)

You don't have to worry about the File ID. I just mention it so the names won't feel as random.

Using the Blender Add-ons

Assuming you exported the map or model data as explained above you can now open Blender and import them.

Importing a Map

1. In Blender in the top menu go to File > Import > GW Map Browser Map Folder
2. Select the folder that Guild Wars Map Browser created for you when you imported the file.
3. Press the blue 'Import GWMB Map Folder' button
4. Wait a few minutes for the map to finish importing. Blenders UI will freeze during this time. If you open the System Console window before importing you can see some progress being printed. Go to Window > Toggle System Console.
5. To view the models shaded select the 'Viewport Shading Mode` (either material preview or render preview mode. I prefer material preview).

Importing a Model

1. In Blender in the top menu go to File > Import > GW Map Browser Model File (.json)
2. Select the .json file in the folder you chose when exporting. E.g. model_0x121D1_gwmb.json. You can select multiple .json model files if you exported them all in the same folder.
3. Press the blue 'Import JSON model file ' button
4. Wait a minute for the model to finish importing. Blenders UI will freeze during this time.
5. To view the models shaded select the 'Viewport Shading Mode` (either material preview or render preview mode. I prefer material preview).

Guild Wars Map Browser v5.0

Changelog

Many new and exciting additions in this update:

1. Much better shading of "old" models (i.e. Prophecies, Factions and Nightfall models). Reversed the pixel shaders to get quite close to the original and added mipmapping so models should look better when viewed at a distance.
2. Better shading of "new" models (i.e. Eye of the North models). Still haven't reversed the pixel shaders of these models but looks much better than before.
3. Improved terrain shader.
4. Export models and maps to Blender in their full glory.
5. Various improvements and bug fixes.

Importing Maps and Models to Blender (tested with Blender 3.6.5)

Install the GWMB (Guild Wars Map Browser) Blender Add-ons

1. Download 'map_import_addon.zip'
2. Open Blender
3. In Blenders top menu go to Edit > Preferences...
4. Go to 'Add-ons'
5. Press the 'Install...' button and select 'map_import_addon.zip' and then press the blue 'Install Add-on' button in the Blender window.
6. Once installed (should only take 1 second to install) make sure to 'Enable' the addon by pressing the little Gray square next to the addons name.
7. Repeat the above steps for 'model_import_addon.zip'

Exporting data from Guild Wars Map Browser

Before we can import into Blender we need some data to import. So open Guild Wars Map Browser and either export a Map or a Model.

Exporting a map

1. Right click a FFNA - Map file in the 'Browse .dat file contents' window.
2. Then click the 'Export full map' option. This will create a folder with a name like: gwmb_map_13565 with all the required data (where 13565 is just the File ID of the map in this case Lions Arch).

Exporting a model

1. Right click a FFNA - Model file in the 'Browse .dat file contents' window. Note that not all FFNA - Model files contains 3D models.
2. Then click the 'Export model as JSON' option. This will export all the required files (a .json file and some textures) into the selected folder. It will not create a new folder for you. The .json file should have a name like: model_0x121D1_gwmb.json (where again 0x121D1 is just the File ID of the modeland many textures with filenames like:66639.png` (where 66639 is just the File ID of the texture)

You don't have to worry about the File ID. I just mention it so the names won't feel as random.

Using the Blender Add-ons

Assuming you exported the map or model data as explained above you can now open Blender and import them.

Importing a Map

1. In Blender in the top menu go to File > Import > GW Map Browser Map Folder
2. Select the folder that Guild Wars Map Browser created for you when you imported the file.
3. Press the blue 'Import GWMB Map Folder' button
4. Wait a few minutes for the map to finish importing. Blenders UI will freeze during this time. If you open the System Console window before importing you can see some progress being printed. Go to Window > Toggle System Console.
5. To view the models shaded select the 'Viewport Shading Mode` (either material preview or render preview mode. I prefer material preview).

Importing a Model

1. In Blender in the top menu go to File > Import > GW Map Browser Model File (.json)
2. Select the .json file in the folder you chose when exporting. E.g. model_0x121D1_gwmb.json. You can select multiple .json model files if you exported them all in the same folder.
3. Press the blue 'Import JSON model file ' button
4. Wait a minute for the model to finish importing. Blenders UI will freeze during this time.
5. To view the models shaded select the 'Viewport Shading Mode` (either material preview or render preview mode. I prefer material preview).

v5.0_alpha_0

Still missing exporting to Blender.
EotN models still not shaded correctly in all cases.

Guild Wars Map Browser v4.7

New in this release:

• Picking: When you hover your mouse over a prop a window Picking Info will show up with data about the prop. The window might be closed by default.
• Added some missing map names:
  • The Underworld (PvE)
  • The Fissure of Woe (PvE)

Guild Wars Map Browser v4.6

New to this release is:

• .obj files use clockwise triangle winding (rather than counter-clockwise like before). This seem to be how .obj files are expected to be encoded.
• Added shadows to the terrain based data from the .dat file. (the unknown terrain per-tile data from the previous release)

Guild Wars Map Browser v4.5

In this release I've implemented the following:

• Can export the terrain heightmap as .tiff.
• Can export the terrain texture indices per tile as .tiff (this tells you which texture should be used for each terrain tile).
• Can export some unknown terrain per-tile data as .tiff (might be some shadow stuff).
• Bug fix where selecting default terrain shader didn't do anything.

Guild Wars Map Browser v4.4

New in this release:

Audio Features:

• Play AMP and SOUND files: Various controls available - Play, Pause, Restart, Repeat, Volume, Playback Speed and Seek bar.
• Export audio to mp3: Right click an entry in the dat browser to save the audio file as mp3.

Text and Hex Editor:

• Display TEXT file contents: Now you can view the contents of the TEXT files.
• Hex editor/viewer for all file types: Includes Hex + ASCII view and a couple other options, powered by the Dear ImGui hex editor.

Model Parsing and Rendering:

• Parse and render more models: The program is now parsing most, if not all, model files that contain models. Note: not all model files contain models.

Guild Wars Map Browser v4.3

In this release I've implemented the following:

• Showing more models.
• Showing textures for most Nightfall and EotN models now.
• Potential fix for cursor not showing/disappearing.

Guild Wars Map Browser v4.2

New to this release is:

• Can export terrain mesh as .obj file. It doesn't include props or textures. Just the heightmap as a mesh.
• Can export model files, either export all models as a single model, or export all submodels into a folder individually. As .obj files. No textures.
• You can now properly select files in the dat browser using your arrow keys.
• Added more map names thanks to reddit user Varorson.
• Bug fixes. The texture atlasses shown would sometimes not render the second time a model or texture was selected.

Guild Wars Map Browser v4.1

This release contains various bugfixes and better terrain and texture rendering. I also adds back in many models that were broken with the 3.0 release. The biggest additions and changes are:

• Fixed terrain offset which was very slightly wrong.
• Much better terrain texture rendering.
• Parse many more models (primarily EoTN and Nightfall) that were broken since the 3.0 release.
• Show texture atlas containing all textures for a single model, when the model is selected individually in the dat browser.
• Fixed a bug where you could not select another dat file if the first one chosen was wrong (like if you chose Gw2.dat).
• No longer setting alpha to 1 for some textures.