irrb 0.4 (Blender Exporter)

[drr00t]

hi,

i will try this, thanks for help.

[floppyfreak]

I can't produce a following entry in the .irr file using irrb v0.3

Code: Select all

   <node type="mesh">
      <attributes>
         <string name="Name" value="Cube.001" />
         <int name="Id" value="-1" />
         <vector3d name="Position" value="0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000" />
         <vector3d name="Rotation" value="0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000" />
         <vector3d name="Scale" value="3.500000, 3.500000, 3.500000" />
         <bool name="Visible" value="true" />
         <enum name="AutomaticCulling" value="frustum_box" />
         <bool name="DebugDataVisible" value="false" />
         <bool name="IsDebugObject" value="false" />
         <bool name="ReadOnlyMaterials" value="false" />
         <string name="Mesh" value="Mesh.010.irrmesh" />
      </attributes>
      <userData>
         <attributes>
            <bool name="collision" value="true" />
         </attributes>
      </userData>
   </node>

what I miss is the userData Section. It was produced by version 02, now it is not.
I have set these attributes in blender in the logic buttons: Add Property
What do I not understand in the new version of irrb?
Do I alway have to to throu the Blender ID proberty browser to achive this?

[pc0de]

Yes, exporting logic properties to UserData was replaced in 0.3 with ID properties. That was a bad move on my part because the logic property editor is much easier to use. I added it back in 0.4 so now both logic and ID UserData properties are exported as UserData.

0.4 update - finishing up the UserGuide updates... Here's a peek at the 0.4 iwalktest with exported collision data using Irrlicht's response animator:

[floppyfreak]

I love it
Fine to read you make both mothods available. I look forward to version 4.

[floppyfreak]

Problem: in irrb 0.3 I can't produce an output like this one (made with version 0.2)

Code: Select all

   <node type="empty">
      <attributes>
         <string name="Name" value="Empty.009" />
         <int name="Id" value="-1" />
         <vector3d name="Position" value="-12.042379, -1.848693, 12.346294" />
         <vector3d name="Rotation" value="0.000000, 0.000000, -0.000003" />
         <vector3d name="Scale" value="1.000000, 1.000000, 1.000000" />
         <bool name="Visible" value="true" />
         <enum name="AutomaticCulling" value="frustum_box" />
         <bool name="DebugDataVisible" value="false" />
         <bool name="IsDebugObject" value="false" />
         <bool name="ReadOnlyMaterials" value="false" />
      </attributes>
      <userData>
         <attributes>
            <string name="SpawnStation" value="laserpickupspawn1" />
         </attributes>
      </userData>
   </node>

(userData section is not produced for emtpy nodes, not with the logic buttons and not with the id browser) Bring this back in 0.4 and you make me happy.

[erwincoumans]

I had a look at irrb and tubras (http://code.google.com/p/tubras) and it looks interesting.

Anyone who uses irrb might also be interested in checking out latest bParse, a few C++ classes and headerfiles that can read and extract any information from most .blend files out there (currently optimized for 2.49b but backwards and forwards compatible).

It is part of gamekit right now, but we'll make it available as a small separate library if there is enough interest:
http://code.google.com/p/gamekit/
http://irrlicht.sourceforge.net/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=33668
Cheers,
Erwin

[pc0de]

@floppyfreak: Make certain that you are adding the ID properties at the appropriate level of the object:

Code: Select all

[object]
    ['irrb'] (subgroup)
        ['userAttributes'] (subgroup)
            <add user data props here>

Rather than manually creating levels in the Property browser/editor, you can select one or more objects and then click the irrb "Create irrb Props" button to automatically create a default ID Property infrastructure. You can then add additional elements to export underneath the "userAttributes" subgroup.

Note that the "Create irrb Props" defaults are loaded from "irrbmodules/iConfig.py" and may be overridden by creating a custom "UserConfig.py". Additional help on this can be found in the irrb 0.3 UserGuide ("ID Properties" section).

@erwincoumans: Thanks for looking at irrb.

Making bParse accessible through a separate library would certainly be attractive. Especially knowing that Irrlicht specific properties may be saved to the .blend and in turn accessed through bParse.

After I finish irrb 0.4, I'll head over to the gamekit thread with some questions.

[Jacky_J]

Why did you get rid of the ability to set mesh and texture paths in 0.4? I was excited to see that you added AmbientLight, but then you ruined the export process.

Well, looks like i have to create a branch of 0.3. Story of my life.

[afecelis]

wow! 0.4 looks awesome! great work Pc0de. Any news on release dates?

[pc0de]

@Jacky_J:
Sorry to disappoint you but most of the offline questions/problems were related to setting up and using those directories. Fortunately, you can still override the default "mdl/tex" directories in "UserConfig.py" so you shouldn't have to branch. I'll make sure the UserGuide contains info relating to this.

@afecelis:
Thanks. Tomorrow come hell or high water. The example collision/physics import app/source (irrbPhysics) will initially only contain Irrlicht collision functionality. After the release I'll finish up the Bullet & IrrPhysx code.

[pc0de]

and it's up... I'll be spending the next couple of days updating the wiki tutorials and then finishing the irrbPhysics example.

[Oktyabr]

Hi all,

I just read all 14 pages of this thread for the first time in one sitting (and two or three cups of coffee) and even though I haven't tried irrb >yet< I wanted to thank pc0de in advance!

Not only have you found the time to create such an obviously useful tool but you've released it to the public AND documented it fabulously AND supplied support for it on this thread with a great patience and polite understanding that I think can only be fully appreciated by reading the whole thread, as I have.

Your tutorials too cannot be ignored! The ones you have done for UV textures (for irrb) were the best ones I've found to learn the techniques for blender in general too! Short, with easy to follow instructions and plenty of examples. Kudos!

Anyway, for my first post on this thread (I'm sure there will be more as I get into trouble myself!) I just wanted to say "thanks!" and with a tip of my hat, so to speak, would ask if I can put a tip in the can too somewhere?

As my New Year's resolution this year (Happy New Year all, btw!!! ) I've decided to make a small donation each month to a free/open source project. Nothing huge (I'm unemployed at the moment) but it's about time that I started giving back *something* to the software I've been using all these years (anyone remember old school debian on a stack of 3.5" floppies?) and would like to start with irrb, if possible. Irrlicht itself, as well as Blender, are at the top of my list too.

With that out of the way I'll ask a more general question in the hopes of saving some time running into dead ends on my own... I'm diving into learning Blender *again* (third or forth attempt, this one seems to have taken) as an experiment in using it and associated tools primarily for architectural visualization, the ultimate goal being a standalone "demo" that will allow someone to "walk through" my architectural designs using mouse + keyboard.

I realize the Blender GE is the target here but suspect (correctly?) that an external realtime renderer such as Irrlicht may provide superior results. I've looked at work done with Blender + CrystalSpace as well as Blender + Ogre but this thread on irrb has caused me to lean heavily in this direction, at least first.

Question: Is Blender + irrb + Irrlicht my best option for this sort of project? Are Blender-CS and Blender-Ogre my only real alternatives or is there something else out there I'm missing? My requirements outside of the obvious are that the tool chain be crossplatform (I spend more time in Linux than in Windows actually), free and/or opensource, and ideally suited for rapid deployment in some sort of standalone binary as the finished example.

Suggestions?

[pc0de]

Hello Oktyabr and thank you for the compliments. It's nice to see someone that belongs to the elite group that "gets it" out of the gate .

Personally, I'm not interested in donations as this is a hobby for me. However, I would like to suggest that the next Irrlicht developer competition and/or one of the Blender Foundation books might be good candidates.

Question: Is Blender + irrb + Irrlicht my best option for this sort of project?

In my biased opinion - Yes! especially for an architectural "walk through". You may have already noticed that irrb's "iwalktest" is a single binary, config, and a small number of assets. Deployment can't get any easier than that .

I've personally spent time in all three spaces (CS, Irrlicht, and OGRE). In fact I originally started with Irrlicht, immediately dismissed it, and then eventually came back to it. They all have their strengths & weaknesses, so in the end it really boils down to what meets your needs. Good luck!

[afecelis]

wow wow wow wow wow! pc0de, this is amazing!
Thanks a lot! I'm checking it out right away.

wysiwyg, baby, lol!

[Oktyabr]

Hello Oktyabr and thank you for the compliments. It's nice to see someone that belongs to the elite group that "gets it" out of the gate .

Personally, I'm not interested in donations as this is a hobby for me. However, I would like to suggest that the next Irrlicht developer competition and/or one of the Blender Foundation books might be good candidates.

Question: Is Blender + irrb + Irrlicht my best option for this sort of project?

In my biased opinion - Yes! especially for an architectural "walk through". You may have already noticed that irrb's "iwalktest" is a single binary, config, and a small number of assets. Deployment can't get any easier than that .

I've personally spent time in all three spaces (CS, Irrlicht, and OGRE). In fact I originally started with Irrlicht, immediately dismissed it, and then eventually came back to it. They all have their strengths & weaknesses, so in the end it really boils down to what meets your needs. Good luck!

Thanks for the second opinion! Ok, like I said it's not a big donation amount but as I said I have a New Year's Resolution to comply with! I'll let you pick the destination for my donation... I would have done the competition but I see that one is already over! The Blender Foundation will be getting a token donation too but that's for another month

On a tangent I'm fascinated by the way the traditional "shareware" model has evolved with the growth of open source. Many projects that might have had just a "donation" button on their page now have elaborate "bounty" systems where users can help guide development by voting for feature priority with their donated dollars. I know specifically this is becoming the trend in much of the linux world. The Ardour music studio project, while perhaps a little aggressive in it's fund raising, is a great example: http://www.ardour.org/download

Many great "shareware" and "freeware" applications I remember from years ago just vanished like dust in the wind and I suspect lack of gratuity (in both the traditional and literal sense) a factor in most cases. Long winded, I know, and I know you are only working on this as a "hobby" but if there was anything I could do to help keep this from turnning into abandon-ware like some of the other useful tools in my past I would surely do it.