Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your 4DS file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.
Convert 4DS to another file type
To convert 4DS 3D scenes to another format, you need ZModeler or other 3D software.
Convert a file to 4DS
To convert other file formats to the "Game Model File" file type, you need software like ZModeler or a similar tool.
About 4DS files
A .4ds file is primarily a 3D scene or model file used by the LS3D engine, developed by Illusion Softworks for the 2002 classic video game Mafia. These files store proprietary geometry, textures, and spatial data for game levels and vehicles. Alternatively, a .4ds file can be a volumetric video file created by 4DViews to store dynamic 3D captures of human performances. Players and modders often use tools like ZModeler to open and edit Mafia .4ds files, while volumetric videos require professional software like 4DViews HoloSuite. Users usually need to convert these files because they are highly proprietary and locked to obsolete game engines or expensive professional systems. This means modern 3D software cannot import them directly, making it impossible to share or reuse 3D assets outside of their specific ecosystems. To use these models in standard tools, you must convert them to universally supported formats like OBJ or FBX. This file format is difficult to open or convert because game engines use closed, compiled data structures optimized for real-time rendering rather than data exchange. Standard online converters fail because they lack the specific decoders for the LS3D engine or 4DViews compression. If our analysis detects standard embedded 3D data, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your 4DS file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert 4DS file to OBJ, FBX, DAE, 3DS, MAX, BLEND, MA, MB, C4D, STL, PLY or WRL, you can use ZModeler or similar software from the "Game 3D Scene Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DWG, DAE, X3D, IGES, WRL, JT, SKP, 3DS, 3DM, OBJ, STEP or FBX files to 4DS, try ZModeler or another comparable tool in the "Game 3D Scene Storage" category.
The 4DS Converter Story
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our 4DS converter.