Technical Artist / 3D Game Artist for Legacy MMORPG Asset Pipeline

I am looking for a Technical Artist / 3D Game Artist to help establish and document a practical, reusable asset workflow for an existing legacy DirectX 8/9 MMORPG.

This is a small pilot project related to an academic thesis/research project. It is not a mass asset production project, and available funding is limited.

The game uses proprietary/custom resource formats, including:

.msh — meshes / 3D models
.ani — animations
.chr — character-related data
.orm — world/map data
.itm — item/equipment resources
.eff — effects
.dds / .tga — textures
.rvf — legacy resource/archive container

Additional game-specific formats may also be involved.

The main objective is to determine and validate a repeatable workflow such as:

Existing game asset → extraction/conversion → Blender → editing or creation → export/conversion → game-compatible asset

I can provide working game files, examples, and relevant technical/source-code information where available.

Pilot scope

A small number of representative assets will be used to validate the workflow, potentially including:

one skin/outfit
one weapon
one NPC or character
one creature/mob or prop
optionally one basic aura/VFX example if it belongs to the same workflow

These are technical test cases, not a request for bulk asset production.

If several asset categories use essentially the same process, I am open to testing only what is actually necessary.

The workflow should support both:

modifying existing game assets
creating new assets compatible with the existing game pipeline

Main deliverable

The most important result is a reusable workspace and documented workflow that avoids having to rediscover the technical process for every future asset.

Depending on what is technically necessary, this may include:

Blender source files / reusable scene templates
correct scale, orientation and pivot setup
existing skeletons / rigs where applicable
materials and texture examples
folder and naming conventions
import/export configuration
conversion procedures
reusable presets
Blender/Python scripts, import/export tools or small converters where genuinely necessary
representative completed assets
brief technical documentation
documented limitations or requirements discovered during testing

I am not looking for a large standalone custom asset editor at this stage. I prefer first establishing the real production workflow using standard artist tools such as Blender, then automating only the steps that actually require it.

Project structure and payment

I prefer a fixed-price project divided into paid milestones.

I do not have a predetermined total project price and would like freelancers to propose their own estimate and milestone structure based on the actual technical scope.

Because this is an academic thesis/research project with limited funding, I would prefer to begin with a relatively small paid technical discovery/assessment milestone before committing to the remaining stages.

Please include in your proposal:

Your proposed price for the initial discovery milestone.
Your estimated total project cost, if enough information is available.
Your suggested milestone structure and price for each stage.
What you would deliver at the end of the first milestone.
Which representative assets you believe are technically necessary to validate the workflow.
Relevant experience with Blender, rigging, skinning, materials/textures and game-ready assets.
Experience with proprietary, undocumented or legacy game asset formats.
Experience creating Blender tools, Python scripts, import/export plugins or converters, if applicable.

The scope can be refined after the initial technical assessment.
The budget range selected on the platform is only an initial reference. Please propose your own fixed-price milestone structure based on the actual technical scope.