Exporter for 3dStudioMax

[r3i]

Hi guys, I was takin an eye to the ogre homepage and i see that it has an exporter for max that export in xml ( as I understand ) .max files... now there is no way to use this exporter also for irrlicht? We have irrXml

[Braneloc]

With access to custom nodes, it should be possible to write a node that loads the ogre stuff - however, the ogre art-path is horrible, and seems to require significant changes to modelling strategy art-side.

[r3i]

I would create an exporter for max file but don't know where to start

[Baal Cadar]

Braneloc, What's an "art-path"? an art-pipeline in the sense of how artists and programmers can interlock their workflow? If so, then I have to say, from personal exp, that it isn't that bad in Ogre at all. Quite the opposite. The homogenous formats for all things artistic make this rather pleasant. Material files can be written by artists too, contrary to Irrlicht code to create materials. At least modelling with Blender for Ogre is extremely easy and well supported in its entirety. But then, I am biased in that regard.

r3i, xml is not equal to xml, it is a meta-format after all, but nevertheless, writing a loader for ogre's mesh format should be easy. Using a special scene node sounds contrary to Irrlicht's design. I'd rather implement the IAnimatedMesh interface and maybe change CSceneManager to create instances of it.

Though imho, it is still easier to just use irrlicht's supported formats. So if you are unsatisfied with the result of an export, better improve said exporter. It should need much less effort. And Irrlicht community would profit more of this too.

[r3i]

Thanks for your explanation about Irrlicht policy : I've appreciated it.

I understand what you say, but now I'm not a good modeler and i see that many problem came back from the exporting op that i make on models that many times aren't mine.
You're right...but what can You say to a guy that have a model of 58Mb in max with 300 different materials where each material has 3 textures ( bump specular and normal ) and that are trying to complete is thesis compiling his project in Irrlicht?
I get stuck by textures that havent names less tha 8 char, stuck by material not supported, stuck by no tutorials on loading bump, spec and normal textures, stuck by unsupported jpeg grayscale and so on... it not easy export in a format when the model isn't yours.

I know: max isn't a standard, but can be an useful thing.

[Braneloc]

Braneloc, What's an "art-path"? an art-pipeline in the sense of how artists and programmers can interlock their workflow? If so, then I have to say, from personal exp, that it isn't that bad in Ogre at all. Quite the opposite.

Art-path means to me the whole process from model creation to it ending up in a 3D rendering engine and moving around.

I'm a programmer, not an artist though I can work art software. When attempting to use the ogre art-path, it seemed insanely complicated to export a properly textured cube, let alone an animated character. it was like relearning max from scratch without an art-guy translating art-language into english/programmer language.

Maybe it's all that extra material stuff. Texture mapping to me is dropping a texture onto an object and messing with the UVs and maybe rendering a lightmap. More than that is a bonus, a pain to get right, and something to pay someone else to do.

I've not tried the ogre path for a while though, maybe it's improved since I last checked.

it not easy export in a format when the model isn't yours.

That could not be more true. The art-guy always says something like "it's fine here... must be your problem." (if you can still contact them that is)

[vermeer]

I am an artist, but of the kind who earns a living with this and works in poor game studios, where one have to make life easy to coders.
Yup, there's such kind of artist, too

Unluckily, lately I have to invest my time more on uglier things rather than freely help.(which I like)

But some tips :

- There are already great scene formats, not fully or not supported at all in irrlicht. ASE and VRML. Good news is both support many scene features. ASE is the standard scenery asci export. You may parse from tehre easierly.

Another ways were a kind of maxscript that exported in a game ascii easy to parse (lol, I have done some programming, and were parsers, indeed, but very simple) so for you to extract from there what you need to put into you game/engine or own binary game format.


So you can use the work made by others to extract all what is evil from a huge Max scene...and just deal with what is dumped in that ascii file by certain plugin or by certain format (vrml, ase...)

So, if I remember later on (insert bunch of job hours here) I'll give here the url of the script, and also extra info.

To say I am allways CURIOUS (nothing more, nothing less) about pipelines for scenery in Irrlicht. If you give back your results later for irrlicht comunity (specially if is not something incredibly hard for comunity to go updating as Irrlicht versions get upgraded) , it then would be interested to see.

I cannot do a max scene for you, can do in other packages, or can do in Gmax (more similar to Max, but definitely not the same. Yet though, most of those materials are present, but export ins WAY cut in Gmax.There are some script that almost for sure can be used in max.)

I would not work really in any free project (other than help to Murphy's lightmapper) but can help in bits like giving u a BASIC scene with the needed features of your friend's scene but in gmax, just exported witha format or script also usable in max.

I don't ensure my collaboration.Just a possibility.But only if you are really desicded to solve your problem with scenery export and irrlicht and actually gonna give back the solution to comunity.Then I may help (I have -zero- gain here, like any help to irrlicht. Call me a freak, more than anything)

You're right...but what can You say to a guy that have a model of 58Mb in max with 300 different materials where each material has 3 textures ( bump specular and normal ) and that are trying to complete is thesis compiling his project in Irrlicht?

X,D

It made me really smile.
I feel your pain.
And can perfectly imagine the situation. The heck, I really know it.
List me the needed features of the scenery (ie: - bump, environment, multi subobject(let's hope is all simple standard materials!!) or single material,)

...then I *may* help.....You need an small scene, probably in a more human readable , ascii format, to parse from there, with basic cubes, but with all features. Then add your coded solution.Then go an try the big huge scene from your friend. Or those are my 2 cents of an euro.

ps: there are also some GREAT already done formats, ie the xml like one of my firend Murphy, MIM format, with tools like OBJ2MIM to help inusing any package. Would be painful though with a glorious huge max level with all those material specs and features; OBJ format is not that rich....and what is worse, obj exporters in 3d package are suporting terribly the format features, which are way better andmore powerful than it seems. Yet though, it has its limits, not the greates format for a really complex scene of these days. The way of hackery though, can be used to mount a pipeline based in OBJs, but the experience tells me is that with average user (not to mention the average coder) is WAY better a one button whole scene export.

[Vectrex]

I'm a programmer, not an artist though I can work art software. When attempting to use the ogre art-path, it seemed insanely complicated to export a properly textured cube, let alone an animated character. it was like relearning max from scratch without an art-guy translating art-language into english/programmer language.

Maybe it's all that extra material stuff. Texture mapping to me is dropping a texture onto an object and messing with the UVs and maybe rendering a lightmap. More than that is a bonus, a pain to get right, and something to pay someone else to do.

I've not tried the ogre path for a while though, maybe it's improved since I last checked.

it not easy export in a format when the model isn't yours.

That could not be more true. The art-guy always says something like "it's fine here... must be your problem." (if you can still contact them that is)

http://ofusion.inocentric.com/
well you obviously haven't tried ogre with 3dsmax for a while. The oFusion max plugin sets up an actual ogre window where all changes to materials and meshes are displayed realtime as they would appear in ogre, because it IS ogre. All ogre materials have their own types and shader support for direct shader editting and parameter adjustments are displayed realtime. Most 'real' engines don't have this unless it's in their own homebrew editor. Then it can export it all, animations/materials/scene layout including referenced meshes, camera animations etc which you can load in a few lines of code... anyway, even the old artpath (in max at least) was pretty painless I thought.
Speaking of artpaths, one thing about Irrlicht is I've no idea how to load a scene of seperately accessable objects/lights etc and how to export animations. All the searching I've done suggests that no-one really knows about it either... help?