I have not ever done anything with models, so I have no clue what goes on with them. I have gotten my hands on a model that is in 3ds format. I have no problem loading it into MED, but after I have the model in there, what exactly am i suppose to do with it? Is there a tutorial for this that I am unaware of?

As it is now, I have saved it as a mdl7 and tried to put it in my level. In WED I had no issues with this, and it compiled fine as well. But I do not see the model in the level. Does this mean it has no textures? Or what is it that I need to do so i can see the model?

either that, but it's more likely that it is set to a full transparency. as a quick test, go to MED>edit>manage skins>skin settings>and uncheck the "material setup" box.

ok I have like 130 skins you want me to uncheck each and every one of them?

a) this si not good at all. have fun with hte rtesulting speed.
b) i suggest then, you assign a simple material via script to the model. call this in the model's action, and set my.transparent=off;
c) check MED's File>Engine Preview. if the model is visible there, there's nothing wrong with the transparency. if not, try b).

I am not to worried about the speed, I just wanted to grab a model and see what will be required to make them usable from 3ds format. I am not an artist, nor a modeler, so I will most likely have someone make them, or else buy some..but most likely pay to have someone make em later down the road...all this is so I get the hang of what all has to be done concerning models in 3ds format and 3dgs....trying what you said now...will get back with ya

ok the engine shows no model, I amde a small action to remove the transparency, and buit and ran the level...still no model. Any ideas? maybe what I think are textures are not textures? here is what came with it:

mike.3ds

Text000.bmp

Text0a0.bmp through Text0a9.bmp

Text0aa.bmp through Text0af.bmp

Text0b0.bmp through Text0b9.bmp

and a bunch of sets with the same set up...all the way to the bottom of the list, they look about the same ending with Text125.bmp and no other files...so where do I go from here? If I have to do uv maps and such that's ok, but will need a little help with it...I have blender and milkshape 3d 1.7.10 but no idea how to do UV and such.

again this is all just for testing it out..see what the steps are, and how to go about importing a model fro 3ds to 3dgs mdl7 or whatever is best