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Blender Painkiller MPK geometry plugins

Warning

Blender constraints: the current max ID names size is 63 usable bytes (for example, a mesh name). This limit should be increated in Blender 5. It means that some Painkiller mesh names could be cut during the map import; it's the usual case with the maps from Painkiller Resurrection but can happen in any PainEngine/NecroEngine game. Since some mesh names might contain specific key words for the engine, like "barrier", you need to pay attention to those cut names and rename them accordingly after the import.

Warning

Painkiller only supports meshes that have 2 UV map texture channels (colormap and lightmap). If a mesh have more channels, the plugin will use only 2 of them.

Blender add-on that imports and exports Painkiller (PC game 2004) MPK geometry files.

PainEditor is not capable of editing geometry files for Painkiller. It's mostly designed to create gameplay and atmosphere.

In order to edit an MPK geometry files for Painkiller, you need a 3D editor like Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3ds Max, or Blender. This guide is aimed at Blender.

The plugin was created by dilettante. Tested on Blender 4.2 LTS.

Note

The guide was edited on May 04, 2025 and is actual at the time of writing. Some information may be outdated by the time you read it.

The main plugin repository.

Backup repository.

Installation via GUI

  1. Download the latest plugin version from GitHub. Pick the latest relese.

  2. Either use the prepared ZIP archive from the GitHub release assets or create a ZIP archive that should contain the io_scene_mpk folder and the plugin python scripts inside:

    io_scene_mpk\__init__.py
io_scene_mpk\export_mpk.py
io_scene_mpk\import_mpk.py

  3. In Blender, open Edit > Preferences and switch to the Add-ons section.

  4. Click on the drop down menu at the upper right, select Install from Disk..., and choose the ZIP archive with the plugin.

    Blender Plugin Installation
    Blender Plugin Installation

  5. Search for the add-on on the list: enter Painkiller MPK format and tick it to enable.

Manual Installation

  1. Download the latest plugin version from GitHub.

  2. Put the unpacked io_scene_mpk folder with the python scripts to C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender 4.2\4.2\scripts\addons:

    C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender 4.2\4.2\scripts\addons\io_scene_mpk\__init__.py
C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender 4.2\4.2\scripts\addons\io_scene_mpk\export_mpk.py
C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender 4.2\4.2\scripts\addons\io_scene_mpk\import_mpk.py

    Alternative path:

    %AppData%\Blender Foundation\Blender\4.2\scripts\addons\

Import

Once the addon has been installed, you will be able to import Painkiller MPK geometry.

  1. Extract a PKM or a PAK archive with the map geometry and textures.

    Note

    The texture folder usually has the same naming as the geometry file name. For example, Maps.pak/4x02_Babel.mpk geometry has corresponding textures in Textures.pak/Levels/4x02_Babel.

  2. Create a new folder and copy the MPK geometry file and all the map textures to that folder.

  3. In Blender, delete the default scene: in the upper right of your screen, right-click on Collection > Delete Hierarchy.

    Blender Delete Collection
    Blender Delete Collection

  4. Make sure you deleted everytihng from the Blender default scene collection. Save the new defaults so that Blender default example objects won't interfere with your imported geometry. Because you always import on top of something, the workspace should be clean. Go to File > Defaults > Save Startup File.

  5. Import Painkiller MPK geometry file via File > Import > Painkiller World Mesh (.mpk).

    Blender Plugin Options
    Blender Plugin Import Options

    Notes

    • Merge verticies is enabled by default and recommended. It will join all the closest separated geometry.

  6. Deselect all objects Alt - A.

  7. Click Shading > Display render preview in Blender. Now you will be able to see the map with textures and lightmaps.

  8. Find the collectoin with the __zone__ name and click on the eye to disable it from Viewport. This collection includes portals (do not confuse it with teleports), antiportals, and zones.

    Blender Shading View
    Blender Shading View

  9. If the map is too big to observe, you need to increase the View End distance in the 3D View area's Properties N menu > View tab. Consult the official Blender documentation.

    Blender View
    Blender View

  10. Navigate with the fly/walk mode Shift-~ and use the mouse scroll wheel to control the speed. If you are new to Blender, start learning from navigation basics. There are plenty of tutorials online.

Export

  1. Export Painkiller MPK geometry file via File > Export > Painkiller World Mesh (.mpk).

    Blender Plugin Options
    Blender Plugin Export Options

    Notes

    • Choose the export mode. Default is only recommended for testing maps to reduce export time. Optimize is what you need to choose for final maps - it'll reduce the .mpk size.
    • You can choose whether to export All, Only selected, or Only visible objects to .mpk.

Prepare map for PainEditor

A simple Painkiller map has the following structure (check inside default Painkiller PKM and PAK files as examples):

../Painkiller/Data/Levels/Mapname/
../Painkiller/Data/Maps/mapname.mpk
../Painkiller/Data/Textures/Levels/mapname/

Another example:

.
├── Levels
│   └── CTF_Ruins
├── Maps
│   ├── MOPPCode
│   └── ruins_mini.mpk
└── Textures
    ├── Levels
    └── Skies

You need to create those folders manually when you prepare a map.

  1. Put the untitled.mpk into the Painkiller/Data/Maps folder.

  2. The ../Data/Maps/MOPPCode folder is generated automatically each time you load your map in the game. Make sure you don't have any Havok MOPPCode of the similar .mpk file generated before. If so, delete the Painkiller/Data/Maps/MOPPCode/untitled.mpk folder. Also, make sure that you don't have any duplicates of your complete PKM map with the same MPK name inside in the Data directory or there will be geometry conflicts.

    Warning

    You always need to remove the automatically generated MOPPCode each time you create a new geometry within the same file name before running a map. MOPPCode can lead to unexpected results when it does not match the version of the .mpk file.

    It is safe to remove the whole ../Data/Maps/MOPPCode directory before testing a map.

  3. Open Painkiller/Data/Levels/DM_Untitled/DM_Untitled.CLevel with a notepad and change the following line to match your new geometry file:

    o.Map = "untitled.mpk"

  4. The folder with the textures should match the name of the MPK file: Painkiller/Data/Textures/Levels/untitled. If it does not match, you won't see textures on your map.

  5. Run your map in PainEditor to check if the map configuration was correct. Put all the items, gameplay, effects via the PainEditor.

  6. Pack your map properly to distribute it.

Uninstall plugins via GUI

  1. In Blender, open Edit > Preferences and switch to the Add-ons section.

  2. Search for the Painkiller MPK format plugin.

  3. Click on the dropdown menu and remove the plugin by clicking Remove.

Uninstall plugins manual

Remove the following files from the Blender folder:

C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender 4.2\4.2\scripts\addons\io_scene_mpk\__init__.py
C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender 4.2\4.2\scripts\addons\io_scene_mpk\export_mpk.py
C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender 4.2\4.2\scripts\addons\io_scene_mpk\import_mpk.py

Alternative path:

%AppData%\Blender Foundation\Blender\4.2\scripts\addons\