Crowbar vs Project IGI Game Converter

Crowbar is a free modding tool for working with GoldSource and Source models and game packages. It can decompile MDL and related files into QC, SMD, and other related files, and can compile models when the game’s authoring tools or SDK and Crowbar’s studiomdl.exe are available. Viewing models likewise requires the game tools or SDK and Crowbar’s hlmv.exe. For archives, Crowbar can unpack, view, and search Valve VPK, Garry’s Mod GMA, Bloodlines VPK, Tactical Intervention FPX, and Fairy Tale Busters APK files. It can pack folders into VPK and GMA packages and supports batch extraction. Workshop functions allow downloading and publishing items for supported games. Game setups can link a game folder to its compiler, viewer, and package tools. On Windows, file associations and drag-and-drop can open VPK, QC, MDL, and folder inputs. The requirements page lists.NET Framework 4 and Windows XP or later, or Linux or Mac OS with a way to run a.NET Framework program. Crowbar is listed at free; donations are optional.

Project IGI Game Converter is a standalone tool for inspecting and converting Project IGI 1 files, intended for modders and researchers working with game assets. It handles proprietary textures, meshes, scripts, archives, terrain, fonts, animations, audio, AI graphs, and lightmaps, with workflows for editing assets and putting them back into the game. Its GUI offers a searchable file tree, 3D model and 2D texture viewers, a texture editor, script and hex inspectors, and conversion actions. It can render MEF and OBJ models, export MEF to OBJ, convert TEX, SPR, and PIC images, and save texture edits in native formats. It also converts between QVM bytecode and QSC source and exports DAT mappings to JSON or binary packages. The CLI supports scripted builds, batch work, and recursive folder processing. Available on Windows and macOS, it is free under an MIT license. The Windows release retains the GUI; the macOS release is an Apple Silicon CLI build for macOS 12.0 or later. Applying model textures in the GUI requires choosing the active level folder in Settings.