Dark Ranger Effect?

ok I know nothing about editing models cuz i never tried.
You know the Dark Ranger black smoke effect? I want to add that on to different units. The smoke is on the model but i dont know how to add it on. Is it hard to do this is it is forget it if its not please tell me.

It would be easiest to use a trigger. Make it run when a unit of your type enters the playable map area, and have it attach the smoke effect to whereever you want. Use 'Special Effect - Create special effect on unit'.

A trigger won't work because that would attach the *entire* model. To isolate the smoke, I'm afraid you're going to have to find the particular particle emitter in the model that creates it. In this enlightend day and age, mdl editing isn't the chore it once was. You'll need yobgul's converter, and an mpq editor, but little else. My stickied post about particle emitters should prove helpful too (the emitters are at the very bottom of the mdl file). Once you've found the emitter, you can either create a brand new "unit" consisting of soley the emitter (or even a new unit with the other materials alpha'ed out) to attach to your unit via triggers or simply add that emitter to your desired unit. Reply if you have any specific questions.

I'll check your tutorial out. What program do i need to edit the mdx? 3d studio max? which ones should i get?

Notepad

I convert the mdx files to mdl files using yobgul's converter (do a search for his name and you should find it - it might also be stickied in the tools forum). The main advantages to notepad is that you don't need to worry about exporters or 3d programs. There are also (I think) curently things that can only be done in mdl language. The downside is that it takes a bit of getting used to, and that any serious model editing (as opposed to special effects) is difficult to impossible. Personally, I never create unit models from scratch, so it's not an issue for me. Your mileage may vary, though.;

okay i opened up the dark ranger mdl and i found the part where it says the black smoke.
Textures 6 {
Bitmap {
Image "Textures\BansheeRanger.blp",
}
Bitmap {
Image "",
ReplaceableId 2,
}
Bitmap {
Image "Textures\ShockwaveWater1Black.blp",
}
Bitmap {
Image "",
ReplaceableId 1,
}
Bitmap {
Image "Textures\Red_Glow3.blp",
}
Bitmap {
Image "Textures\Clouds8x8Black.blp",
}
This is the only place where i see it say something about it. Unless im suppose to look for something with texture 6. I doubt this is it but I dont know what to look for...
Wouldnt it be easier if i used a 3d program? I'm a complete newb with modeling but I know i can learn.

I meant the smoke model at Doodads\LordaeronSummer\Props\SmokeSmudge\SmokeSmudge0.mdx , not the Dark Ranger model. Unless I'm still wrong...emote_sweat

the effects look different but if i cant model I'll do that.

The emitter for the smoke is at the bottom of the mdl file. Look for a section called "emitters" in the model. There should be several of them, and one will most likely use the texture ID 5 (the 6th one, since counting in mdl-language ALWAYS starts at 0). You'll need to copy that emitter into your model (it's not quite as simple as that, but almost). You'll also need to make sure that the texture the emitter uses is copied into the target model as well. Look in my emitter post (stickied above this) for some more details in how emitters "tick."