Milkshape LOD good news
by J. Alan Atherton · in Artist Corner · 11/07/2003 (12:51 am) · 30 replies
Hello Milkshapers,
Today I spent about 5 hours picking at the exporter code, trying to figure out how to add in levels of detail. Well, after a few hours of programming, I got my computer to crash really bad. After that, I started over and just did a simple test to see if I really understood. I got it... for a simple scene (just a sphere and cube) I got the sphere to be the up-close detail level, and the cube to be the distant level. I have no idea whether my current train of thought for implementing this will support animation or a collision mesh, but I imagine many of you would be glad to have even static LOD support. The process of creating a model that uses LOD will be very tedious and limited (probably frustrating too), but that's the way it must be with Milkshape as it stands.
I think I will have time this Saturday to try it out and see if animation works. I'll keep you posted, and when it's ready for testing I'll have anyone who wants make suggestions (which will become a TODO list).
Today I spent about 5 hours picking at the exporter code, trying to figure out how to add in levels of detail. Well, after a few hours of programming, I got my computer to crash really bad. After that, I started over and just did a simple test to see if I really understood. I got it... for a simple scene (just a sphere and cube) I got the sphere to be the up-close detail level, and the cube to be the distant level. I have no idea whether my current train of thought for implementing this will support animation or a collision mesh, but I imagine many of you would be glad to have even static LOD support. The process of creating a model that uses LOD will be very tedious and limited (probably frustrating too), but that's the way it must be with Milkshape as it stands.
I think I will have time this Saturday to try it out and see if animation works. I'll keep you posted, and when it's ready for testing I'll have anyone who wants make suggestions (which will become a TODO list).
#22
11/14/2003 (4:16 pm)
This is great news, :-D . Thanks for your work John :-D!
#23
In other news, the newer version of the exporter with support for custom sizes and easier setup to do LOD is done, just now I'm interfacing it with the dialog box. Here's a teaser image for you.
I won't promise it will be done this weekend, since I've got loads of schoolwork (Thanksgiving is next week, yay!)
I'll get it done as soon as I can. Then my next project will be a nice HTML tutorial of how to use it (including using MS3D's mesh decimator to create detail levels).
Have fun waiting!
11/21/2003 (12:44 am)
Luke: DSQ support is highly unlikely... I cannot find any documentation, even for the file format. When GG releases such information, I might be able to tackle. Even then, probably not.In other news, the newer version of the exporter with support for custom sizes and easier setup to do LOD is done, just now I'm interfacing it with the dialog box. Here's a teaser image for you.
I won't promise it will be done this weekend, since I've got loads of schoolwork (Thanksgiving is next week, yay!)
I'll get it done as soon as I can. Then my next project will be a nice HTML tutorial of how to use it (including using MS3D's mesh decimator to create detail levels).
Have fun waiting!
#24
Here's the link... instructions included in README.TXT.
students.cs.byu.edu/~ecliptix/ms3dLOD_1.zip
Feedback welcome. I also want to know whether you guys honestly want me to include the "Export Detail Levels" checkbox (it's not in the real thing). The program automatically scans to see if you have the meshes named appropriately for LOD export, so I don't think it's really necessary. The only reason you would need it is to export the model with a single detail level. Right now you just need to save it out to a different file and delete the unnecessary meshes. Don't just tell me, "yeah that would be cool." The only reason I will implement this is if someone comes out and says, "I was modelling the other day, and thought it would be nice to export this model without the detail levels." It actually would be quite a bit of work to do this the right way, since I'd have to go and figure out which meshes to delete from the list. Not very easy the way they've done things. So before you tell me anything, you have to make a model and export it to Torque :)
11/21/2003 (1:49 am)
Well, I hope you had fun waiting, because I sure didn't give you much time :)Here's the link... instructions included in README.TXT.
students.cs.byu.edu/~ecliptix/ms3dLOD_1.zip
Feedback welcome. I also want to know whether you guys honestly want me to include the "Export Detail Levels" checkbox (it's not in the real thing). The program automatically scans to see if you have the meshes named appropriately for LOD export, so I don't think it's really necessary. The only reason you would need it is to export the model with a single detail level. Right now you just need to save it out to a different file and delete the unnecessary meshes. Don't just tell me, "yeah that would be cool." The only reason I will implement this is if someone comes out and says, "I was modelling the other day, and thought it would be nice to export this model without the detail levels." It actually would be quite a bit of work to do this the right way, since I'd have to go and figure out which meshes to delete from the list. Not very easy the way they've done things. So before you tell me anything, you have to make a model and export it to Torque :)
#25
Nice work on the exporter.
I just gave it a whirl, and everything worked pretty smooth.
Is there any way to add billboards to this as the last LOD?
Thanks!
-Eric F
11/21/2003 (2:04 pm)
John, Nice work on the exporter.
I just gave it a whirl, and everything worked pretty smooth.
Is there any way to add billboards to this as the last LOD?
Thanks!
-Eric F
#26
11/21/2003 (3:20 pm)
Looking at the code, theoretically it should work right now if you only have one mesh. Just do something like: MeshName_4: billboard. For segmented stuff, I'll have to work on it. I'll put that in my TODO list... that's a great idea, thanks. For a temporary hack, I think you could make a single triangle for each segment, name them appropriately, put them all on a plane, and texture map that. If you only have 5 segments, that's still just 5 polys... but then 40 segments would have 40 polys... so this will need to be done for sure. I'll have to think about how to do it.
#27
Do you know if this is going to be part of the CVS? I noticed there were some changes just made to the MilkShape exporter - "fixes a bug with multiple collision meshes being exported".
12/17/2003 (5:07 am)
John,Do you know if this is going to be part of the CVS? I noticed there were some changes just made to the MilkShape exporter - "fixes a bug with multiple collision meshes being exported".
#28
John want to fix some bugs and clean up his code before he submit his code.
I send him the bugfixes, so he can insert this into his code.
12/17/2003 (6:27 am)
Sabrecyd,John want to fix some bugs and clean up his code before he submit his code.
I send him the bugfixes, so he can insert this into his code.
#29
12/17/2003 (10:20 am)
That makes sense. I'm glad it will be submitted. Thanks for the update Sven.
#30
12/19/2003 (8:54 am)
Sorry I haven't updated for a while... final exams just finished. Now I go home for the holidays, but the computer's coming with, so I should be able to get some stuff done there. I'll say that I got the billboard LOD working in the show tool, but it doesn't work in-game, and collision fails to work when the billboard is in. So I just need to sort all that out, then I'll send it in for HEAD integration.
Torque Owner Lukensteinz
How about DSQ support???
Thats the one thing i really need at the moment in any modeler.