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modelconverter

A command-line tool for converting between glTF/GLB and Quake 3 model formats (MD3, IQM, MDR). Built for the World of Padman project but works with any idTech 3 based game.

Features

  • Bidirectional conversion between glTF 2.0 and MD3/IQM/MDR
  • Skeletal animation round-trip through IQM, MDR and glTF skins
  • Player bundle support (head/upper/lower MD3 + animation.cfg + skins)
  • Shader round-trip — Q3 .shader stanzas survive a glTF round-trip via base64 extras
  • Mesh processing — Loop subdivision, QEM decimation, auto-LOD generation
  • PK3 support — reads .pk3 archives directly for shader auto-discovery
  • Validation — --validate checks format limits and exits non-zero on issues
  • Zero runtime dependencies (libc + libm only)

Quick start

# Convert a glTF to MD3
modelconverter -i player.glb -o upper.md3

# Inspect a model
modelconverter --info -i upper.md3

# Full player bundle round-trip
modelconverter --player -i models/players/padman/ -o padman.glb
modelconverter --player -i padman.glb -o models/players/padman_new/

See the Getting Started guide for installation and the CLI Reference for all options.