Blender

Interesting article comparing the differences between blender 3 and 2.9, for those who are still using version 2.93 LTS or earlier

Blender 3.0 vs Blender 2.9: The Differences

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I've recently been importing CS:GO buy menu animations into Blender. The thing with buy menu animations is that they are actually two separate SMD animations blended together. I managed to come up with a workflow on how to do this in Blender (this only works player models located inside the custom_player folder):

1. First, I installed Blender Source Tools and io_import_vmf.
2. Then, using Crowbar, I decompiled animset_uiplayer_buymenu.mdl, which is located inside models/player/custom_player/uiplayer
3. In Blender, I imported my CS:GO agent from the custom_player folder using io_import_vmf's Source Engine Model (enhanced) option. In this example, you'll see that I imported John 'Van Healen' Kask (ctm_swat_variantg).
4. Using Blender Source Tools' SMD import, I navigated to the decompiled animset_uiplayer_buymenu_anims folder and imported a_buymenu_motion.smd. Before pressing the import button, I made sure the Bone Append Method was set to Make New Armature.
5. Selecting the imported model's armature, I once again used BST's SMD import and once again navigated to the animset_uiplayer_buymenu_anims folder, this time selecting a non-motion pose (they all start with either ct_ and t_). I also made sure the Bone Append Method was set to Append to Target. When the SMD is imported, you'll see your CS:GO model go into the buy menu pose. This model, though, will be completely still.
6. In a secondary viewport, I changed the viewport to NonLinear Animation, which at this point looked like this. Under the ctm_swat_variantg armature, I clicked the Push Down Action button, causing the buy menu pose to go onto a new track.
7. Now time to add the motion. With the focus still in NLA, I pressed N, which brought up this menu on the right.
8. In that menu, I clicked the Dope Sheet button and selected the a_buymenu_motion option .
9. Finally, under Extrapolation, I selected Hold Forward, while for Blending, I selected Add (the menu should look like this). Now you have a model that not only has a buymenu pose, but also looks alive.

I'm a noob at Blender, so it would be nice to see if anyone else here has a better way to combine animations.

@sn0wsh00I have no experience with the NLA editor myself, but would recommend asking for advice from users at blenderartists.

There are two main ways to directly import Source Engine model into Blender: SourceIO or io_import_vmf. In addition to importing meshes, both tools are able to import materials, to a certain extent. For CS:GO models, both tools import materials with no problems. For TF2 models, though, I've had to manually import head, eye and hand textures.

The way these two tools convert Source textures/materials into shader nodes are different. SourceIO uses the BlenderVertexLitGeneric node group in their materials, a node group that's pretty complex, while io_import_vmf uses a much simpler shader node setup.

I haven't seen anyone compare these shaders yet, so here's a comparison with the TF2 Demoman, rendered in Cycles. io_import_vmf shader is on the left while BlenderVertexLitGeneric is on the right:

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Here are the head texture shader nodes for io_import_vmf and BlenderVertexLitGeneric. For the io_import_vmf body textures, I set Specular Tint to 0 and Roughness to 0.700:

Spoiler [Blocked Image: https://i.imgur.com/W0nlKBI.jpg]

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And here's a comparison of the two shaders with CS:GO's Getaway Sally (again, io_import_vmf shader is on the left, BlenderVertexLitGeneric is on the right):

[Blocked Image: https://i.imgur.com/RJfRiMc.jpg]

Here are the head texture shader nodes for io_import_vmf and BlenderVertexLitGeneric. For the io_import_vmf body textures, I set Specular Tint to 0 and Roughness to 0.396:

Spoiler [Blocked Image: https://i.imgur.com/7kcXzkr.jpg]

[Blocked Image: https://i.imgur.com/7Max5st.jpg]

Overall, despite using fewer nodes, I think the io_import_vmf renders look really similar to the BlenderVertexLitGeneric render. If you don't like the shiny light in the io_import_vmf models, you can simply crank up the roughness.