ZModeler for Android

What the editor covers

If you need to change a DFF model, the first question is whether this app handles that file type and the edit you have in mind. ZModeler for Android is the renamed successor to SA File Editor. The developer says the new name comes with a more complex interface, which they tie to a set of functions that needed a different layout.

The developer names vehicles, skins and objects as the kinds of model the editor is for. The feature list itself is written around DFF files, so that is the format to check first.

The developer is a single person and describes the app as still in development. The feature list in the description is dated 25 December 2020.

Importing and exporting model files

Models can be brought in as DFF, OBJ or 3DS files. Export is narrower: the feature list names DFF and OBJ as the two formats for saving work out again.

OBJ appears in both lists, so it is the format the listing names for moving a model in and back out of the app.

Editing materials, geometry and node names

The material settings on a DFF model cover colour, texture, reflection and lighting. These are the four properties the feature list gives for editing materials.

Geometries can be moved or rotated with the transform function. A single geometry can also be split into fragments, which lets you work on part of a model without the rest of it.

Both geometry nodes and frame nodes can be renamed. This is the naming function the listing describes, and it applies to the structure of the model rather than to its appearance.

Playing animations on a skin with IFP

Animations play when a skin and a compatible IFP file are loaded together. The skin is the model the animation runs on.

Read together, the editing, renaming and animation functions point at one workflow. You bring a model in, change its materials and geometry, rename its nodes, and then export it as DFF or OBJ.