UpSpring Development

[KaiserJ]

could gmax export the required formats for ASSIMP? there's a nice free solution if so

[SpliFF]

@smoth. I'll take your word for it that 3DS isn't an ideal format so I guess the general rule for assimp would be use Collada if possible or maybe even FBX.

With regards to handling textures the assimp importer already has the ability to handle S3O texture 1 in a more intuitive way. By default it will use the transparent part of the image for teamcolor instead of the opaque part (with a metafile option to use the old way). The advantage is you can open the texture in any paint or modelling software and actually see what you are doing without messing with layers (your teamcolor areas will look transparent).

With texture 2 the next improvement to the assimp loader could be to handle "materials". These are the specular/diffuse/etc values that most 3D editors and model formats support. Assimp already provides these values to spring, we just need code to use them in the rendering pipeline. The downside is materials may not be as flexible as texture 2 (i think materials are per mesh or per vertex rather than per-pixel). I'm also unsure if there's an equivalent way to supply transparency via materials.

A final option is the Collada format supports embedded OpenGL shaders and bumpmaps. Using these with a supported editor would probably be the ultimate pipeline.

I did a quick search for some GUI tools that could fill UpSpring's role as a hierarchy builder. Interesting candidates that met the basic requirements (supports hierarchy editing and exports at least one assimp format) are:

FREE
* dim3 inspire
* Blender
* ModelConverterX
* Animeeple (Commercial but seems to be free unless you need FBX export)
* Google Sketchup Free
* Art Of Illusion
* Quake Model Editor (lite) (Exports MDL rather than collada but assimp doesn't care)
* Avimator (Exports BVH but again assimp doesn't care)
* Gmax (Exports MD3/MDL)
* OpenFX
* GPure
* DAZ Studio (Commercial but free version seems to allow export)
* 3D Editor list on WikiPedia (Free Package section)

NON-FREE
* Milkshape 3D
* Google Sketchup Pro
* 3DSMax and Maya - Collada plugin
.. actually screw it, any commercial modelling/posing/animating package should do it.

[smoth]

Like I said, pretty much whatever tool flow I need to learn, I can. I was only worried about 2 things:
1) new users having to learn something like blender..
2) current projects having to manually convert 100s of models away from s3o because it becomes unsupported.

[SpliFF]

Like I said, pretty much whatever tool flow I need to learn, I can. I was only worried about 2 things:
1) new users having to learn something like blender..

That may become a non-issue under Blender 2.5. Its interface is a complete rewrite/redesign/rethink deliberately intended to be an easier transition from other software. I've used it and I love it (I hated the old one).

2) current projects having to manually convert 100s of models away from s3o because it becomes unsupported.

Actually there's no reason the conversion can't be a fully automated process since the existing Blender import script simply needs to be modified/batched to operate on folders rather than individual files like it does now. I'm so sure of that I'm offering my own vouchers to convert all existing models* for any project that asks. The AssimpMod actually contains a model called tank.dae that is the core raider S3O from BA converted via the blender import script. Its height/radius/nodes were preserved and the existing COB script works flawlessly when the exported Collada file is used. As far as I can tell the model is visually and functionally identical to the original.

* Offer not valid for 3DO's due to significant differences in the model and texture formats. In theory 3DO's can be batch converted via UpSpring and then the resulting S3Os passed through Blender but I'm not committing myself to dealing with the 3DO->S3O stage.

[smoth]

Lol love the disclaimer at the bottom.

Sounds neat. Will have to wait and see when spring gets assimps if it has to gO to a proctologist.

[smoth]

does not even compile anymore...

because of bad code or missing libraries? because either you can fix.

it seems tehre was a misunderstanding...

I am not making fun or being short... the post was meant to read:

does not even compile anymore...

because of bad code or missing libraries?

FULL STOP, I finished the sentence, why didn't it compile...

followed with:

because either you can fix.

because you can, you can do it! be encouraged etc.

just make sure this is clarified.