Ok here i go with the questions, PLEASE give help if you can

#1 Are you using the latest version of Blender? There are some things you have to change in order for the exporter to work.

Second, make sure the heiarchy of your object makes sense.

#2 This is just a box with a texture on it. Nothing more. I have no idea what you mean when you say heiarchy. I have looked and looked for some info on this. I am using blender 2.36. What do i have to change?

I have even gotten the example that does actually export and changed the color of it. When the box goes in engine it looks the exact same as it did before the changes. I am sure there is some small step somewhere i am simply overlooking. However tuts on the simple things like this are hard to find and i am thinking that this is more an exporter issue than a Blender issue.

#3 The exporter does not give the textures name based off of the pcture name that you wanted for the object. you MUST name your texture in the buttons window to what you want. Otherwise it leaves it as texture or something random.

As for the export changes, make sure that your version of the exporters has:

Name: 'Torque DTS Exporter'
Blender: 233
Group: 'Export'
Submenu: 'Export' export
Submenu: 'Configure' config
Tooltip: 'Export to Torque (.dts) format.'

in Dts_blender.py

#4 Ok the sript has all that i will try renaming the texture and see if that does the trick. Thanks for the help thus far.

#5 What version of python are you using? 2.3 is fine, but 2.4 has some problems, i think.

#6 Did you 'Append' (Shift+F1, then hunt for it) your cube into the example.blend, then parent your cube to Detail32? ( Ctrl+P with the two objects selected )

#7 Can you post a snapshot from your outliner window, either the oops schematic or outliner view?

Also, another random tip is to turn off the mipmap option for your texture.

Scott

#8 Here is the outliner. I might have changed stuff inadvenrtantly cause i was messing with it. So much to learn.


I am sure this has everything to do with the fact that i am a total noob.
I didnt see option for oops thingy.

#9 Cool, thanks for posting that -- the oops view is just another way of looking at the same thing and this tells me what the other people have been suggesting. I'm actually working on a tutorial to send to my teammates on the project I'm on right now, so when I get that done I'll let you know. But I know that there are a couple already kicking around here that maybe I can find. Basically it comes down to the fact that you need to put in some empties with very specific names and then link/parent your mesh to them. It's takes a little while to have all the pieces make sense the first few times, but once you get it you only need spend a minute or two each time you set up your scene for exporting.

I might have that up this weekend -- maybe someone could find a link before then.

I was exactly where you are now about 4 weeks ago and I can tell that the solution is there -- I've managed to pass numerous files off to our coders successfully.

Scott

#10 Great news. I will be waiting for that tut =)

#11 OK!! Frustrated does not begin to explain how i feel right now. I just cannot get anything done in blender. The more i play with it the more confused i get. I tried another export and this is what i got.

I have no idea what i am doing. I try to get something done. I do something neat then try to do it again and i cant remember what it was i did in the first place. I have done the manual tutorials and i can make stuff ok but when it comes to doing something other than making shapes i get so vary confused.

Please someone could you show me where a good exporter tut is. Also some tuts on texturing things would be nice. I cant even make that box i did now. I am about to just say "to hell with it". Plz some help.

#12 I can't help you on the exporter very much. I tried on both Mac OSX and windows basically what it says in the excellent Blender How-to - and it worked for me. But I really took the cube from the .blend file provided and exported it fine. If that doesn't work for you then you don't have to read any further.

If you get it to work, and you are not too frustrated to worl with Blender then there are three possible approaches

1) print this PDF read it thoroughly and learn from that.

2) If you are more the step-bystep kind of guy then this tutorialmight be it.

3) If you are into movies then check these video tutorials, and the ones around this link.

#13 Thanks for the links Dirk. I was going out of my mind last night.

Oh and i did get the example cube to export.

Right now my biggest problem is making a simple object and just exporting that. I make a sphere and color it and i cant get it to export. I just get a log file and no .dts with it.

#14 Ok i have been reading my ass off. I am finding a wealth of information on how to make stuff in blender look cool however i cannot find anything that relates to what i need to get something to export to .dts.

I can make an object. However something is missing to make it so that when i go to export it the exporter says "humm ok you have everything you need here to make a .dts."

There must be some procedural thing i am overlooking.

This is what i do right now.

1. i make an object. Lets say a box.

2. I put some color to it. When i do this i will add a new material and call it (something).

So now i have a blue or whatever colored box. In my mind i am thinking "Ok time to export" however the exporter is saying "HAHAHA You think i am gonna export that? NO! But here is a log file that says nothing."

So i start looking a the examle file again scratching my head going "I am missing something." And to look a the log file there are a few things i dont have but i am not even sure what they are. A collision thingy, i think thats what it is.

Maybe if someone could do a real simple explination on "This is how i made my box and put it into the torque engine." That would be great. I know its something really simple i am missing but its aparently a step that i cannot figure out on my own.

You guys have been very patient with me and i do really apreciate that. Thanks for all your support so far.

#15 Ok fresh start. This plain old box with a blue colored texture WILL NOT export. What is wrong with it?


This is the full scene layout.

#16 Your heirarchy is bad. You need to have an Empty called "Shape", then an empty called "Detail32" with "Shape" as its parent. You then want your cube to have "Detail32" as its parent.

Look at the example.blend file that comes with the exporter for a sample.

Also, here's a link to the Blender exporter documentation.

Hope that helps.

#17 Ok i think i am getting somewhere now. I have done a diagram to explain how I SEE THIS. That is to say based on everything i have read up to this point. Thanks BRIAN for the link. I read that before but i did not understand what it was saying when i read it first.

This is my sphere. Just a sphere. Here is the ooops schematic.


And THIS is what i get when i export this sucker in torque.


As you can tell i managed to get SOMETHING in there finally. So i think the way to set up my heirarchy is slowly clearing up and making more sense. TELL ME IF MY ASSUMPTIONS ARE WRONG SO NO ONE SEES THIS AND THINKS ITS RIGHT. I DONT WANT TO CONFUSE ANYONE IF I AM WRONG.

#18 Well now i cant get a texture to work to save my life. Man if figuring out how to get a texture to show takes as long as it did to get the other to work i am not gonna be a happy camper.

Well i apply textures and they render however when i go to export them and put em in torque engine it does not apply the texture. Now i am talking about aplying a .jpg texture. When i just try to use the blender textures i get nothing as well. Someone splain this to me plz.

Ok after looking around i discovered a tut i had on UV mapping. Is this what i am gona have to do with all my objects i want to use my textures on? I am gonna have to cut up each one and then aply the texture that way?

#19 After i got the UV mapping thing in my head i remembered some stuff about that and found a tut here and managed to get this done.


Its not much but it is a start. It seems that you need to import the .tga file to your .blend file with your changes and save the .tga file as a .jpg file as well (as long as the .jpg is to the power of 2).

I still dont know how to use the in blender stuff that renders some neat stuff. Like the transparent. ect ect. Will play around with it some more. At least the solution didnt take days this time.

#20 Great! Keep it up!