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How to convert LightWave (.lws,.lwo) to Unreal Engine?

PolyTrans|CAD+DCC performs mathematically precise CAD, DCC/Animation, GIS and BIM 3D file conversions into all key downstream 3D packages and file formats. Okino software is used and trusted throughout the world by many tens of thousands of 3D professionals in mission & production critical environments, backed by respectable personal support directly from our core development team.

LightWave

LightWave is a well known and respected DCC/Animation system which has been around since the early days of the Amiga. It continues to be developed by Newtek Inc.

Okino implemented the main system to read and write LightWave .lwo and .lws files as of 1993, with the peak demand for our LightWave converters being throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, after which other animation systems became more popular (3ds Max, Maya and Softimage).

Fortunately a copy of the LightWave software is not needed to convert to/from the .lws and .lwo formats (as otherwise is the defacto case for the 3ds Max and Maya animation systems). The general scene data is stored in the ASCII .lws scene file whereas the binary .lwo file contains the geometry and material information.

Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine (UE) is a popular 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games. It is available as open source and is free to use until a title earns a specific dollar value in revenue.

Okino has long supported Unreal Engine as the first and main 3D conversion program to do so. In the simplest terms possible, conversion from Okino software to Unreal Engine is done via the FBX file format.

For those who may be unaware of Okino software, for over 30+ years we have been the pioneer 3D conversion company that wrote the rule book on how DCC, animation and MCAD data is to be cross-converted between all major 3D programs and file formats. Key uses of our software for Unreal users has been for the conversion of all major MCAD data formats into a highly optimized and efficient form for realtime usage within the Unreal Engine. We also invented the processes for animation + skinning/bones cross conversion so that is well supported for Unreal Engine. As a minor point of interest, Okino was also the very first implementor of the FBX file format as of 2002, long before Autodesk bought the bankruptcy assets of Alias Research and provided free access to the FBX SDK; hence, we provide highly reliable and robust FBX v5/v6/v7 support.

LightWave import converter's overview

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FBX export converter's overview