When you export a 3ds object from 3d Studio Max does the texture remain attached to the object; or do you have to manually attach it yourself? i was sure that you could import a 3ds file into gameSpace or 3D explorer and the texture remains attached? Basicaly, I didn't have to remap the texture to the object?

On a related note; are there any tools that will convert a max file to a .x file?

There are two elements to this. UV coordinates ( how the texture is mapped to the object ) and the texture name itself.

3ds Files do indeed store UV coordinates so no problem there. They also hold the name of the texture, but only the old dos-style 8.3 filenames. Anything longer than that will be shortened, requiring you to change the name of the texture. This is of little importance really though. Reapplying a texture is trivial, providing the uv coordinates are there and they will be.

However, 3ds is a very, very old format. I'm pretty sure it doesn't hold vertex normals ( AKA smoothing groups ) so your models will not look the same when exported as 3ds. .X is a preferable file format for sure.

The Pandasoft .x exporter for 3dsMax is pretty popular :

http://www.andytather.co.uk/Panda/directxmax.htm

I find it a huge pain to configure. It has a lot of complex dialog boxes and options. And I found it crashed a lot. Plenty of people swear by it though, so it may just be me.

Personally I use Ultimate Unwrap as a converter :

http://www.unwrap3d.com


You simply use the u3d exporter for 3dsMax to export to Ultimate Unwrap. Then you can convert to .x or any of dozens of other formats. This holds all kinds of information include vertex colors, vertex normals, uv coordinates, and even physique or skin animation.