Only the source is available, and it looks like it's only been tested on unix/linux so far so you'll probably want to compile on either of those two platforms. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, so I have no clue if it will work
Hey Serg, I had the wrong mview. Apparently there's one other than the MS mview that also converts models (the one I posted the link for). However, I tried what you said using MView in the DirectX SDK. I opened the mesh I had exported from Blender, then re-saved as a text .x file, and voila, it rendered in the Irrlicht main window (albeit without textures, but that's the next thing to tackle). Thanks for mentioning it!
I got the directX 9 updated, and ran the mview, loaded up my .x files and saved them again as suggested. The resulting file was much larger, and Irrlicht loads them up now.
Getting various 3D file formats to work in various programs, is always uncertain, because of the varying inconsistancies with how the formats are saved from various programs.
In my experience, errors usually come down to 2 things;
1. Features included in a file format by the source program that are unsupported by the target program. So try disabling/enabling certain things before you export, in the save options for that file format.
2. Just the way the source program exports, or the target program imports, a certain file format.
Most of the time, you can get what you want by trying different programs, and different conversion programs, etc.
So for example, your 3D editor might not make an .X file that Irrlicht can load, but if you load that same file into another prog and re-save it as an .X, Irrlicht might like the way that prog saved it.
You have to experiment what programs will import what file types, and how reliable they export. When you find a combination that works, you can call it your "work flow". Even if it means; creating the object in editor A, loading into editor B as a 3DS, saving as an OBJ, using converter C to convert the OBJ to an .X, and that .X file works in Irrlicht, then it would still be worth it, cause you're still using your favorite editor.
Thanks for the suggestions Domarius, I'm pretty new to all of this so I can use all the advice I can get. Ever since I got DirectX on the brain, my mind has pretty much been on rails and I hadn't considered other possibilities like the .OBJ one you mentioned. I had tried obj earlier, but I was most likely making the mesh the wrong way anyway, which is why it never worked for me
At that same forum link I posted earlier, the author of the DirectX export script for Blender has made an updated version. All that needs to be done is to copy the code he posted to a text file, name it with a .py extension, plunk it in the Blender scripts directory, and it should show up on the export menu. The new one is much improved and makes the process a breeze. After exporting, the same MeshView wisdom mentioned earlier applies.
pheadbaq wrote:... I hadn't considered other possibilities like the .OBJ one you mentioned.
Just clarifying; that was just an example - what I was really saying is that you may have to make one or more transitions between different formats to get your mesh in and out of various programs, depending on what formats they will input. In my example above, "converter C" happens to only like .OBJ, or maybe it was the only good option since other formats that converter C supported, didn't keep your mesh the way it should be.
can anybody please mail me the meshviewer from the DX9 SDK. I have here only a ISDN internet connection, and 250 mb is a little bit to large for downloading. eMail: der.ludi@web.de
I use deled. If I wanted a .x file to display, I would have to use MeshViewer, right?
EDIT: You guys are geniuses! All I did was open it in MView and save it, then it worked! But I use deled. How do I get the texture from deled to work on the model in Irrlicht?
Here's the homepage anyway:
Thanks for mentioning it!