Updated Softimage DTS Exporter
by Matt Summers · 03/22/2009 (11:27 am) · 3 comments
Updated Softimage DTS Exporter
An updated version of the Autodesk Softimage and Softimage Modtool DTS exporter is now ready for wider testing. This version includes the first release of the DTS Automation Utility. Please keep in the mind that the DTS Utility is not yet complete, however the majority of the functionality is written and has been working well in my testing. The download for the beta version of the exporter has been updated to included both 32bit and 64bit builds of the exporter and the Automation Utility. Find it here.
Model Container Support
This version of the exporter has been updated to support the Model container in XSI, which adds the ability to have multiple DTS shapes setup in the same scene and allow you to choose which one to output from the export interface. (As shown is this screen capture) This also allows the use of Reference Models, Deltas and other Softimage workflow enhancements to be used in your Torque content pipeline.
The scripted Automation Utility adds a number of tools to Sofitmage to help automate the setup required by the DTS exporter. The Utility should be placed in your Softimage Plugins directly along with the XSI DTS exporter. After doing so and opening either Softimage or Softimage ModTool, a new "Torque" menu will appear in the top menu navigation of your application.
One thing to be aware of is that many of the tools in the "Torque" menu require a selection. The Menu is dynamic and will enable/disable tools in the menu based on if you have one or more objects selected when you open the menu. Tools that are disabled even after you select an object are still being programmed, but most of the major things are completed and working. Keep in mind that the exporter is feature complete, so even though some features in the Utility are disabled, you can still manually add the appropriate settings to your scene as needed.
Materials and Sequences
The Materials Menu and Sequences Menus have the additional functionality that they will dynamically draw a list of all of the Materials or Sequences in your scene. Choosing a Material from the Materials Menu will automatically add the DTSMaterail properties to the target material and easily allow you edit them. Like wise, in addition to allowing you quickly add a new sequence to your scene, all of the sequences in your scene will appear by name in the Sequences menu. Selecting a sequence name from the menu will open the property editor for the target Sequence and allow you to manage the Sequence settings from a custom interface.
The Utility also adds custom preferences to XSI which allow you to set and persist the default behavior of various parts of the exporter automation. The preferences will be expanded and refined as the development the remaining features is completed.
keyboard shortcuts
Nearly all of the tools in the Torque menu can optionally have keyboard shortcuts assigned to them. In the "Custom" category of the Keyboard Mapping window the following new Custom Commands have been been added to Softimage. After assigning a keyboard shortcut to any of these Commands, that key combination will automatically appear next to the appropriate menu option in the "Torque" menu.
DTS Related Custom commands:
DTS_QuickSetup DTS_CreateShape DTS_EmbedShape DTS_DeleteShape DTS_CreateBounds DTS_CreateCollision DTS_RegisterDetails DTS_RenumberDetails DTS_AddSequence DTS_Material DTS_ExportDTS DTS_ExportDSQ
The Custom Commands above support various variables being passed to them to change their behavior, and can be used in your own scripts, added as buttons to your custom interface, etc. After the utility is completed I will document specific ways to use these custom commands for own tasks.
Please post your bugs or other problems on the exporter beta forum post. I look forward to your thoughts, comments and suggestions.
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#2
One thing that I forgot to mention in my initial blog post is that the automation tools take Models in the scene into consideration when they add their objects and settings to the scene. For example, in the screen capture above there are two Models, one named "Debris" and one named "Shield". If you were to select the mesh object "debris2" and click on the "Create Bounds" menu option, the bounds object will be regenerated and correctly placed inside the "Debris" Model. The other tools follow this same behavior.
The advanced "Quick Setup" window will eventually allow you to optionally add "Quick Setup" shapes to a Model container as part of the setup process. Also, Model containers are completely optional, both the exporter and the utility also work off of the scene root as well, but using the scene root only allows for one DTS shape per scene.
03/22/2009 (6:54 pm)
It will be interesting to see what Autodesk has up their sleeves regarding Softimage Modtool. Seems like the worst thing that will happen is that they update it to be based off of Softimage 7.5. (which they mentioned on the Modtool webpage) I guess we'll see in next few weeks if it ends up being any more than that.One thing that I forgot to mention in my initial blog post is that the automation tools take Models in the scene into consideration when they add their objects and settings to the scene. For example, in the screen capture above there are two Models, one named "Debris" and one named "Shield". If you were to select the mesh object "debris2" and click on the "Create Bounds" menu option, the bounds object will be regenerated and correctly placed inside the "Debris" Model. The other tools follow this same behavior.
The advanced "Quick Setup" window will eventually allow you to optionally add "Quick Setup" shapes to a Model container as part of the setup process. Also, Model containers are completely optional, both the exporter and the utility also work off of the scene root as well, but using the scene root only allows for one DTS shape per scene.
#3
A few people were having problems with the exporter Utility registering its custom preferences into Softimage. As a result I posted an updated verson of the file download to correct this issue for Softimage 7.x versions. Find it here.
I am still working on a fix for Softimage ModTool as it appears that custom preferences are either bugged or broken in Modtool. If I can not find a fix in the next day or two I will modify the ModTool version of the Utility to store its exporter preferences in the scene root instead of in the application preferences util there is a fix.
03/23/2009 (5:39 am)
UpdateA few people were having problems with the exporter Utility registering its custom preferences into Softimage. As a result I posted an updated verson of the file download to correct this issue for Softimage 7.x versions. Find it here.
I am still working on a fix for Softimage ModTool as it appears that custom preferences are either bugged or broken in Modtool. If I can not find a fix in the next day or two I will modify the ModTool version of the Utility to store its exporter preferences in the scene root instead of in the application preferences util there is a fix.
Torque 3D Owner James Brad Barnette