GR2 Editor/Viewer/Extractor/Importer - Page 24

TheDarkWraith · 12-26-11, 12:18 AM

That characters file also sorted out my mesh bindings. I never thought I was reading them totally correctly

Here's the skeleton of our crew members:

skinned characters I've never coded before. I have the bone weights and indicies for each vertex now I have to do some serious reading on skinning. Amazon delivered me 8 new books just recently on real time rendering, skinning, shaders, shadows, etc. I feel like I'm back in school...

You'll notice that when these characters render they are small, very small. I'm going to code in a global scale under the world tab. This way you can adjust the world scale without having to scale any meshes or anything.

TheDarkWraith · 12-26-11, 01:32 AM

v1.0.474.0 released. See post #1

Includes fixes for errors found while trying to load the characters gr2 file

Added a world zoom (%) to the world tab page. You can zoom +- 1000%. Default is obviously 100. Reset button also added to quickly take you back to 100. This will make it much easier to view small objects (like the characters)

Fixes bug of not being able to open the clouds GR2 file. This was due to DirectX complaining about the size of the bounding sphere it had to generate.

TheBeast · 12-26-11, 04:30 AM

I thought I would give a go at changing the Control Room ObsPeriscope Height Position to raise it from Belt level to Eye Level.
When I tried to raise the height of this node +0.02 from stock.
The Interior ObsPeriscope renders on top and aft of the Control Room.
Returning to original value for "Y" Position does not return ObsPeriscope to starting Position.
I think I am attempting to move the wrong Node but I not really sure.

Any Suggestions?

Please Advise!

TheBeast

TheDarkWraith · 12-26-11, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBeast

I thought I would give a go at changing the Control Room ObsPeriscope Height Position to raise it from Belt level to Eye Level.
When I tried to raise the height of this node +0.02 from stock.
The Interior ObsPeriscope renders on top and aft of the Control Room.
Returning to original value for "Y" Position does not return ObsPeriscope to starting Position.
I think I am attempting to move the wrong Node but I not really sure.

Any Suggestions?

Please Advise!

TheBeast

I wasn't able to change the height position but I did change where it stops when lowering. I adjusted cfg#O02 up. This caused the periscope to stick out of it's holder up top when viewed from the bridge.

Not sure how to adjust that look glass to eye level

What node were you trying to move?

TheBeast · 12-26-11, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDarkWraith

I wasn't able to change the height position but I did change where it stops when lowering. I adjusted cfg#O02 up. This caused the periscope to stick out of it's holder up top when viewed from the bridge.

Not sure how to adjust that look glass to eye level

What node were you trying to move?

I was trying to move the parent node of the data\Submarine\Common\Parts\Room_CR - Periscop + Anim.GR2 file to raise eye piece to eye level.

TheDarkWraith · 12-26-11, 10:45 PM

v1.0.477.0 released. See post #1.

File-->Save added. Yep, it's time to start writing data to these files

The saving ability will become available if you modify a file in some way (extended data, mesh, bone, etc.).

You can now have fun with meshes. They can be saved to file with changes.

ExtendedData is saved for everything. So if you modify an item's extendeddata you can now save the changes.

TheDarkWraith · 12-27-11, 01:28 PM

I sit in front of my computer, Visual Studio 2008 open waiting for me to tell it what to do. I ponder the choices when it comes to exporting mesh data...obj, x, fbx, and possibly others I don't know about. I google each to 'remember' how to use them. With my memory jogged the best format still seems to be Microsoft's .X format. But there is a problem with this: it seems that Microsoft is 'killing' their own X format. Support for it seems next to nothing in the 2010 SDK (it seems they have a new format - sdkmesh. Looks like the kiddies using XNA game studio needed a new, simpler format that they could understand

).
The obj format is 'weak' in that you can't save tangent or binormal data to the file. Yes one could compute the TBN basis vectors from the UV coordinates and Normal I suppose...I can't find anything with Google relating to saving bone weights and bone indicies in obj files...
It's one thing to export mesh data. It's another to read it back in. I'm looking for a format that will allow me to do both and keep all the mesh data 'in tact'. The .X format is still the clear choice if I can even still use it.
Any input from anyone on this?

12-27-11, 01:51 PM

Last I saw on the SDKMesh..............

// File: SDKMesh.cpp
//
// The SDK Mesh format (.sdkmesh) is not a recommended file format for games.
// It was designed to meet the specific needs of the SDK samples. Any real-world
// applications should avoid this file format in favor of a destination format that
// meets the specific needs of the application.
//
// Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

TheDarkWraith · 12-27-11, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by privateer

Last I saw on the SDKMesh..............

// File: SDKMesh.cpp
//
// The SDK Mesh format (.sdkmesh) is not a recommended file format for games.
// It was designed to meet the specific needs of the SDK samples. Any real-world
// applications should avoid this file format in favor of a destination format that
// meets the specific needs of the application.
//
// Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Yes this seems like something microsoft made quickly to support some new features they needed for their new SDK examples. Why they are abandoning the X format blows my mind. It was flexible and perfect for game/industrial/commercial/etc. applications. I think it has to do with XNA Game studio and DirectX10 and 11.
Have you ever looked at XNA game studio code? It looks like DirectX code scaled down for a toddler. I mean even the wording for some of the functions sounds like it's geared for kiddies

. When you make something 'simpler' you take away it's power.

12-27-11, 02:11 PM

On the .X format.........
3D Max has no support for that format and no 'real' importer for it is out there that's worth wasteing time with.
KWXport is probably the best exporter for Max.

I've read of alot of problems with the Blender plug-ins and as far as I saw yesterday, none for the latest version.

Don't know about Wings3D support, haven't checked.

Milkshape supports .X but I don't know to what extent.

TheDarkWraith · 12-27-11, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by privateer

On the .X format.........
3D Max has no support for that format and no 'real' importer for it is out there that's worth wasteing time with.
KWXport is probably the best exporter for Max.

I've read of alot of problems with the Blender plug-ins and as far as I saw yesterday, none for the latest version.

Don't know about Wings3D support, haven't checked.

Milkshape supports .X but I don't know to what extent.

In your opinion then what's the best format to export to?

v1.0.478.0 released. See post #1.

I was using my own app and I switched over to Photoshop to do some image editing. Came back to the app and the status box was filled with errors and nothing was being rendered. This had me puzzled. Reopened the app in Visual Studio and set some breakpoints on things to figure out why this was happening.

I never finished coding the user switching! This fixes this horrendous oversight

12-27-11, 04:15 PM

I'd think you'll have to make a trade off in some ways to allow the formats that most free 3D programs can handle.

The .SMD format seems to be the most popular for the animations as Blender, Milkshape, and the SoftImage Mod tool can handle it. Valve created the plug-ins for Blender and SoftImage, Milkshape has it built in.

Most programs create the normals and such if they are missing on import.
So for static meshes the .obj format may be the best way to go as nearly any program can handle them.
On import, you could calculate the needed Normals, Tangents, and Bitangents.

OpenCollada may be the best for non-static meshes.
The biggest complaint is the size of the files which are known to crash alot of the free modeling programs.

Just my thoughts as I've been working with different model formats and a wide range of users of different programs.

As very few people actually do animations around here?
I'd start with the static mesh stuff as it would allow new Units in a big hurry!

Then move towards the animations.

TheDarkWraith · 12-28-11, 04:25 AM

v1.0.479.0 released. See post #1

Added ability to export meshes to obj format. I can't get a single one to load in Wings3D that I export though. Maybe someone can look at the generated files and tell me what I'm doing wrong

I followed the obj spec so I can't seem to figure out what's wrong.

12-28-11, 07:10 AM

I don't have Wings3D installed, but...........

add # in front of o Junkers_Ju-87B_Stuka_body and try again in Wings3D.

Add 1 to every face so 1720/1720/1720 becomes 1721/1721/1721 as an example.

Try this example file in Wings3D.
http://www.mediafire.com/?04zfl727v27y25g

TheDarkWraith · 12-28-11, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by privateer

Add 1 to every face so 1720/1720/1720 becomes 1721/1721/1721 as an example.

Yes I forgot one critical detail of the OBJ format:

"Vertex

A valid vertex index starts from 1 and matches the corresponding vertex elements of a previously defined vertex list. Each face can contain more than three elements."

OBJ formats are 1 based not zero based like DirectX

Exports load in Wings3D now

Just a little more clean-up to do with the exports now. Have to code in the writing of the .mtl file.

12-26-11, 04:30 AM	#348
TheBeast The Old Man Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Lynnwood, WA Posts: 1,533 Downloads: 886 Uploads: 23	I thought I would give a go at changing the Control Room ObsPeriscope Height Position to raise it from Belt level to Eye Level. When I tried to raise the height of this node +0.02 from stock. The Interior ObsPeriscope renders on top and aft of the Control Room. Returning to original value for "Y" Position does not return ObsPeriscope to starting Position. I think I am attempting to move the wrong Node but I not really sure. Any Suggestions? Please Advise! TheBeast __________________ Fear me! I am, TheBeastBelow SHIV-MediaFire \| SHV-MediaFire

12-28-11, 07:10 AM	#359
Madox58 Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	I don't have Wings3D installed, but........... add # in front of o Junkers_Ju-87B_Stuka_body and try again in Wings3D. Add 1 to every face so 1720/1720/1720 becomes 1721/1721/1721 as an example. Try this example file in Wings3D. http://www.mediafire.com/?04zfl727v27y25g Last edited by Madox58; 12-28-11 at 07:43 AM.

12-26-11, 12:18 AM	#346
TheDarkWraith Black Magic Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 11,962 Downloads: 147 Uploads: 5	That characters file also sorted out my mesh bindings. I never thought I was reading them totally correctly Here's the skeleton of our crew members: skinned characters I've never coded before. I have the bone weights and indicies for each vertex now I have to do some serious reading on skinning. Amazon delivered me 8 new books just recently on real time rendering, skinning, shaders, shadows, etc. I feel like I'm back in school... You'll notice that when these characters render they are small, very small. I'm going to code in a global scale under the world tab. This way you can adjust the world scale without having to scale any meshes or anything.

12-26-11, 01:32 AM	#347
TheDarkWraith Black Magic Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 11,962 Downloads: 147 Uploads: 5	v1.0.474.0 released. See post #1 Includes fixes for errors found while trying to load the characters gr2 file Added a world zoom (%) to the world tab page. You can zoom +- 1000%. Default is obviously 100. Reset button also added to quickly take you back to 100. This will make it much easier to view small objects (like the characters) Fixes bug of not being able to open the clouds GR2 file. This was due to DirectX complaining about the size of the bounding sphere it had to generate.

12-26-11, 10:45 PM	#351
TheDarkWraith Black Magic Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 11,962 Downloads: 147 Uploads: 5	v1.0.477.0 released. See post #1. File-->Save added. Yep, it's time to start writing data to these files The saving ability will become available if you modify a file in some way (extended data, mesh, bone, etc.). You can now have fun with meshes. They can be saved to file with changes. ExtendedData is saved for everything. So if you modify an item's extendeddata you can now save the changes.

12-27-11, 01:28 PM	#352
TheDarkWraith Black Magic Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 11,962 Downloads: 147 Uploads: 5	I sit in front of my computer, Visual Studio 2008 open waiting for me to tell it what to do. I ponder the choices when it comes to exporting mesh data...obj, x, fbx, and possibly others I don't know about. I google each to 'remember' how to use them. With my memory jogged the best format still seems to be Microsoft's .X format. But there is a problem with this: it seems that Microsoft is 'killing' their own X format. Support for it seems next to nothing in the 2010 SDK (it seems they have a new format - sdkmesh. Looks like the kiddies using XNA game studio needed a new, simpler format that they could understand ). The obj format is 'weak' in that you can't save tangent or binormal data to the file. Yes one could compute the TBN basis vectors from the UV coordinates and Normal I suppose...I can't find anything with Google relating to saving bone weights and bone indicies in obj files... It's one thing to export mesh data. It's another to read it back in. I'm looking for a format that will allow me to do both and keep all the mesh data 'in tact'. The .X format is still the clear choice if I can even still use it. Any input from anyone on this?

12-27-11, 01:51 PM	#353
Madox58 Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Last I saw on the SDKMesh.............. // File: SDKMesh.cpp // // The SDK Mesh format (.sdkmesh) is not a recommended file format for games. // It was designed to meet the specific needs of the SDK samples. Any real-world // applications should avoid this file format in favor of a destination format that // meets the specific needs of the application. // // Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

12-27-11, 02:11 PM	#355
Madox58 Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	On the .X format......... 3D Max has no support for that format and no 'real' importer for it is out there that's worth wasteing time with. KWXport is probably the best exporter for Max. I've read of alot of problems with the Blender plug-ins and as far as I saw yesterday, none for the latest version. Don't know about Wings3D support, haven't checked. Milkshape supports .X but I don't know to what extent.

12-27-11, 04:15 PM	#357
Madox58 Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	I'd think you'll have to make a trade off in some ways to allow the formats that most free 3D programs can handle. The .SMD format seems to be the most popular for the animations as Blender, Milkshape, and the SoftImage Mod tool can handle it. Valve created the plug-ins for Blender and SoftImage, Milkshape has it built in. Most programs create the normals and such if they are missing on import. So for static meshes the .obj format may be the best way to go as nearly any program can handle them. On import, you could calculate the needed Normals, Tangents, and Bitangents. OpenCollada may be the best for non-static meshes. The biggest complaint is the size of the files which are known to crash alot of the free modeling programs. Just my thoughts as I've been working with different model formats and a wide range of users of different programs. As very few people actually do animations around here? I'd start with the static mesh stuff as it would allow new Units in a big hurry! Then move towards the animations.

12-28-11, 04:25 AM	#358
TheDarkWraith Black Magic Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 11,962 Downloads: 147 Uploads: 5	v1.0.479.0 released. See post #1 Added ability to export meshes to obj format. I can't get a single one to load in Wings3D that I export though. Maybe someone can look at the generated files and tell me what I'm doing wrong I followed the obj spec so I can't seem to figure out what's wrong.