3D Printing with LOTRO!!!

A general question here for anyone who MIGHT know how to POSSIBLY help me out in a NON-NEFARIOUS endeavor.

I have a home 3D printer, and I've printed a lot of Middle Earth content since setting it up. I've been very interested in possibly 3D printing models from LOTRO for home display. The Prancing Pony for instance, or many other iconic buildings. The possibilities are endless. I don't want to break any copyright laws, obviously, so I wouldn't be selling anything 3d printed, just displaying at home for my own pleasure.

My question is in regard to the game models. Are they saved somewhere on my PC in a particular 3d file format? I might be able to import and scale these files and 3d print them. Wondering if any of my programming-savvy coplayers might know how to help me out.

Westu-hal everyone!

Edit: I guess you minded.

Just for creative reference, would you mind posting some picture of your Tolkien-related printings?

I have had the same thought. I recently got a 3d Printer and would love to make figurines of my characters.

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Originally Posted by MitchYurko

A general question here for anyone who MIGHT know how to POSSIBLY help me out in a NON-NEFARIOUS endeavor.

I have a home 3D printer, and I've printed a lot of Middle Earth content since setting it up. I've been very interested in possibly 3D printing models from LOTRO for home display. The Prancing Pony for instance, or many other iconic buildings. The possibilities are endless. I don't want to break any copyright laws, obviously, so I wouldn't be selling anything 3d printed, just displaying at home for my own pleasure.

My question is in regard to the game models. Are they saved somewhere on my PC in a particular 3d file format? I might be able to import and scale these files and 3d print them. Wondering if any of my programming-savvy coplayers might know how to help me out.

Westu-hal everyone!

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Our PCs only save the direction to access that data, but the actual data is saved on a totally different computer from SSG. I don't think that they will give you the official codes that created the building external appearance. Maybe you can do something alike by saving a video of all the surrounding view of the building. Then have another program isolate the image of the building, from the objects that are nearby.

This is something I continue to hope to accomplish, some day, but it requires a significant amount of computer know how.

From my reading, the first step requires using a Direct X intercept program. Such a program monitors information sent to Direct X and allows the user to copy it. This provides access to mesh constructs and textures from a game like LOTRO. The next step requires importing the mesh or meshes into a three dimensional modeling program and cleaning up the model. Then the mesh needs to be corrected for stereo lithographic printing. This process may require yet another program that adds sprues to support the miniature during the printing process. With that done, the model can go to a printer. If the model is put together properly, the character (or whatever) will print correctly. If not, a horrible knot of silly string results.

The last time I looked, the Direct X intercept program some people recommended was infected with a virus. I stopped there.

I presume people in the industry have high end, expensive tools for this sort of thing.

Have you thought about using Blender to turn a 2D photograph into a 3D model? It might be easier just to take screenshots of the things you like. There's plenty of YouTube videos on how to do this and Blender is a free program to download.