Just making sure, with IrrLua, you can code your own classes in C++ and then call them from IrrLua without much trouble, right? We want to use IrrLua as a general scripting language for all our non-programmers, since our group is mostly artists, and I would like to make sure this is a good idea first. Also, with IrrLua, you can type in commands and have them run during the game right? Does this work with, say, loops?
Second, is it possible to split the bone animation files from the models themselves? Reason is, we have a lot of different models that we plan to make use the same animations. I would hope that we wouldn't have to attach every single animation to every single mesh, as that would seem to be a huge waste of resources and a lot of needless copying.
Third, what is the approximate poly range you'd use for a bone-animated model? We have some 3000 poly models, and some 16,000 poly models. Much of the team wants to use the higher-poly ones, but I'm not sure this is a good idea. Is anyone who understands this engine able to make a recommendation? What's the approximate maximum of polygons you'd want in a scene?
Fourth, would it look weird to apply a lightmap to a static object and then use bump mapping or parallax mapping on that surface? I'm not sure if this has been tried before or not.
Fifth, I noticed all the animated meshes I've seen have had a really weird bulging effect going on with their skin. I think it has to do with the low precision of animation in MD2 models, but I'd like to make sure. If this bulging carried over to other models, like those with bones, that would not be acceptable at all.
Finally, I rebuilt IrrWizard as an Inno Setup installer for the members of my team to use. The version I made took up like half the space and installed a bit easier. Does anyone think this is worth giving to the guy who made it?
Thanks for reading all that! We haven't decided on an engine yet, and if someone could answer some of these questions, that would really help us decide.
IrrLua, IrrWizard, Bones animation, and polycount
!. No. IrrLua is a binding to the Irrlicht engine (and is not complete according to the author). You can call functions however directly from Lua...
2. No. You need to understand better how bones animation works.
3. Use the lowest polycount possible.
4. Try it and find out. Then tell the rest of us...
5. ??? No idea...
6. Contact him and find out...
2. No. You need to understand better how bones animation works.
3. Use the lowest polycount possible.
4. Try it and find out. Then tell the rest of us...
5. ??? No idea...
6. Contact him and find out...
Thanks for responding! I'm still a bit confused though.SiriusCG wrote:!. No. IrrLua is a binding to the Irrlicht engine (and is not complete according to the author). You can call functions however directly from Lua...
2. No. You need to understand better how bones animation works.
3. Use the lowest polycount possible.
4. Try it and find out. Then tell the rest of us...
5. ??? No idea...
6. Contact him and find out...
1. No? To which of my questions? Would it be a good idea to use IrrLua so that our non-programmers would have an easier time with it? That is my main question.
2. I've used bones animation in the past, and that implementation used keyframe files and mesh files. Models all used the same keyframe files, and skinning data was stored in the mesh files. I think I do need to understand the way .x files work a bit better though.
3. I know that fewer polys is good as a rule, but I'd rather not make "Mr. Cube meets the Tetrahedron Family". I guess what I really need to know is what sort of polygon count to shoot for in a scene, as well as whether bone-animated models have a disproportionate effect on the rendering speed. I would test this, but it would take me several days and I was hoping someone could save me the trouble.
4. Yeah, actually I found out the answer to that one, and they can be combined. I've seen engines where this is not the case, but thankfully this isn't one of them.
5. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? With the MD2 meshes, and how they have this weird bulging on their skin? This seems to be a characteristic of vertex animation, but I can't be certain.
IrrLua is a Lua binding to the Irrlicht Engine and as such, is not yet complete. Most of the Irrlicht functions are there, but it's not a "finished" effort. You will have to do some work to use IrrLua in your project. I don't think you'll have any time or effort savings using IrrLua over C++ as it is right now. No offense to the author Zenaku...
I'd suggest searching the forums thoroughly on the IrrLua subject before committing...
I looked at using IrrLua in a project I'm working on. However, I found it just about as easy to code in C++ and use plain Lua to load .lua scripts and call functions from custom made .dll files.
If you want to call functions from .dll files, you can do so using plain, non-Irrlicht Lua. You'll have to be able to embed Lua in your own source and compile .dll files properly. I'd suggest looking at the Lua site for more details.
My next project will be to embed the Lua interpreter into Irrlicht and call Lua scripts...
I'd suggest searching the forums thoroughly on the IrrLua subject before committing...
I looked at using IrrLua in a project I'm working on. However, I found it just about as easy to code in C++ and use plain Lua to load .lua scripts and call functions from custom made .dll files.
If you want to call functions from .dll files, you can do so using plain, non-Irrlicht Lua. You'll have to be able to embed Lua in your own source and compile .dll files properly. I'd suggest looking at the Lua site for more details.
My next project will be to embed the Lua interpreter into Irrlicht and call Lua scripts...
6. Yes certainly, I would be very interested to see this. Any possible improvements are welcome.Finally, I rebuilt IrrWizard as an Inno Setup installer for the members of my team to use. The version I made took up like half the space and installed a bit easier. Does anyone think this is worth giving to the guy who made it?
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