ASE is an AutoCAD file format. It is an ASCII text format, which differs it from 3DS binary format. It has many similarities to the 3DS format, but data size is not restricted to 16-bit.
3DS format information and examples from John Burkardt
Author: John Burkardt Change: 04 Mar 2007 Tomasz Lis adjusted to new core A list of supported elements follows. Please modify if you'll enhance something. Format support note - reading: - 31-bit vertices support - 31-bit faces support, max face order 4 - No meshes support - Full 32-bit materials support, per vertex - No textures - No texture UV - No camera/view support - No Environment or lights support - No shapes/lines support Format support note - writing: - Full 32-bit vertices support - Full 32-bit faces support, max face order 26 - Full meshes support - Full 32-bit materials/textures support - Material support - colors, alpha, two textures per material - Texture UV supported (per vertex) - Cameras supported, no default view support - Environment and lights supported - No shapes/lines support Copying and copyrights: This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.