Dxf To Dif?
by Joe Melton · in Torque Game Engine · 02/01/2004 (10:42 am) · 4 replies
Has anybody considered creating an exporter from DXF to DIF, or even DXF to MAP? Any ideas on the feasibility of such an endeavor?
I am an AutoCAD user who really dislikes the workflow in QuArK (but I'll use QuArK if I have to), and would like to be able to export directly to DIF, or to MAP if DIF is too difficult. I was considering writing an exporter, or attempting to write one, if somebody isn't already working on one.
Any comments?
I am an AutoCAD user who really dislikes the workflow in QuArK (but I'll use QuArK if I have to), and would like to be able to export directly to DIF, or to MAP if DIF is too difficult. I was considering writing an exporter, or attempting to write one, if somebody isn't already working on one.
Any comments?
#2
You can do some texturing in AutoCAD, but not to any realistic degree. AutoDesk Viz can use the DXF file format, and can do texturing pretty well (it's made for architectural visualization after all), so it's actually much better than AutoCAD for our purposes.
The DXF file format is open and straightforward. Basically, the DXF file contains everything about the drawing, including a lot of stuff that isn't needed for our purposes. It is well-documented, and there are exporters from DXF to several formats out there on the web.
Basically, I was thinking about geometry, which is why I completely overlooked texturing. I can't stand "modeling" architecture in QuArK, but that's mostly because I'm accustomed to the precision of AutoCAD. If I can export the geometry from my 3D AutoCAD drawings into a workable format, then I'm happy. After that, I can worry about texturing.
As for portals, I'm sure if the exporter required that entities had a certain naming scheme in order to differentiate between portals and actual geometry, then there wouldn't be much of a problem. I guess we'll see if I'm wrong or not. :)
So, forget DXF to DIF (because of the texturing issue), and I'll consider DXF to MAP. Which brings me to another question: is there any documentation on the MAP file format anywhere?
02/01/2004 (1:03 pm)
You know, you actually got me there. I would probably have to export to MAP because of the texture issue, and then do the texturing in QuArK.You can do some texturing in AutoCAD, but not to any realistic degree. AutoDesk Viz can use the DXF file format, and can do texturing pretty well (it's made for architectural visualization after all), so it's actually much better than AutoCAD for our purposes.
The DXF file format is open and straightforward. Basically, the DXF file contains everything about the drawing, including a lot of stuff that isn't needed for our purposes. It is well-documented, and there are exporters from DXF to several formats out there on the web.
Basically, I was thinking about geometry, which is why I completely overlooked texturing. I can't stand "modeling" architecture in QuArK, but that's mostly because I'm accustomed to the precision of AutoCAD. If I can export the geometry from my 3D AutoCAD drawings into a workable format, then I'm happy. After that, I can worry about texturing.
As for portals, I'm sure if the exporter required that entities had a certain naming scheme in order to differentiate between portals and actual geometry, then there wouldn't be much of a problem. I guess we'll see if I'm wrong or not. :)
So, forget DXF to DIF (because of the texturing issue), and I'll consider DXF to MAP. Which brings me to another question: is there any documentation on the MAP file format anywhere?
#3
For documentation on the .map format that map2dif uses, try :
collective.valve-erc.com/index.php?go=map_format
02/01/2004 (1:31 pm)
Joe,For documentation on the .map format that map2dif uses, try :
collective.valve-erc.com/index.php?go=map_format
#4
02/01/2004 (2:35 pm)
Thank you James. I'll check it out.
Torque Owner Chris \"Hobbiticus\" Weiland