Shaders won't get stored in file when exporting/importing

[mvort]

Describe the bug
I am trying to edit the course file of a mario kart wii track, I'll export as dae and reimport without having made any chances. shaders and materials are lost in the process
if i want to reimport the materials all shader information is gone and needs to be manually set to the original value

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Open course_model.brres file of any mario kart wii track (e.g. https://wiki.tockdom.com/wiki/Area_64)
2. Export material course_model.brres > 3DModels(NW4R) > course > Materials > dash_panel as dash_panel.mdl0mat
3. Export course.mdl0 as course.dae
4. replace course.mdl0 with exported course.dae
5. import asset > material > dash_panel.mdl0mat
6. shader information is gone

Expected behavior
original shader information should be restored

Screenshots
If applicable, add screenshots to help explain your problem.

Desktop (please complete the following information):

• OS: Windows 8
• Version v0.39 Hotfix 1

Additional context
Would be great to have an option to export all materials shaders beforhand and import/restore them all at once. otherwise we will have to manually compare and edit those values

I have tried using this plugin but it doesn't seem to work properly anymore:
https://github.com/zach-zajack/matshader-replace

1. BrawlCrate will crash if there are errors in the brres file (e.g. https://wiki.tockdom.com/wiki/Grassy_Plains)
2. materials and shaders will not be added/replaced at allhttps://wiki.tockdom.com/wiki/Grassy_Plains

is the api still correct and could be used as a temporary workaround?

[Gabriela-Orzechowska]

Considering the structure of MDL0 and how shaders are linked to materials using an array this is not a bug.
It's not really possible to store that information in material file efficiently.

[mvort]

If that is true, then one could possibly write an external plugin (or even implement a new feature) comparing the original mdl0 to the new mdl0 and restore all values in material/shader files. That's what I had to do manually.. if something could be done by an algorithm more efficiently, it should be :)