Max2Dif
by Ryan Armstrong · in Artist Corner · 10/21/2002 (6:01 pm) · 90 replies
Hey I was just posting because lately, my team has begun to get into mapping with 3D Studio Max rather then WorldCraft or QuArK, and it is becoming very obvious that Max is a very powerful tool for mapping. The environments that we can produce can beat anything created in WorldCraft hands down, and once you learn the in's and out's, it can make very detailed maps very quickly. I was wondering if any other team or member has thought about mapping with Max, and more importantly, has anyone thought about creating a max2dif exporting plug-in. Now I know that you can use max2map, then map2dif, but that bring in a middleman that really isn't necessary. Has anyone thought about creating such a tool? I was going to have my team work on that, but I wanted to know if anyone else was working on such a converter?
About the author
#82
It's the chicken and the egg thing really as far as game art paths go. But I'm interested in seeing how things develop as TGE is something I've been interested in since I joined GG 2-3 years ago.
01/15/2004 (10:21 am)
Hey Bob, I'd lobe to help only I'm nota coder, otherwise I would have written the plaugins allready. I'm the guy that gets to build the environments and character models etc, can't code past basic scripting.It's the chicken and the egg thing really as far as game art paths go. But I'm interested in seeing how things develop as TGE is something I've been interested in since I joined GG 2-3 years ago.
#83
Would be nice.
Oh ya got my upgrade today. Hurra! Any estimate on the lightpack I definatly wanna get my hands on that.
Matt
01/15/2004 (10:53 am)
Are you going to try to incorperate some smoothing groups type stuff? Not sure how you would go about it but I don't think thats in there now. Just curious. Mostly wondering casue I know it doesn't support now so that would have to be additional mod for rendering. Would be nice.
Oh ya got my upgrade today. Hurra! Any estimate on the lightpack I definatly wanna get my hands on that.
Matt
#84
That's cool.
Matt,
The2dif changes out the map2dif front-end that supplies the dataset (in the map2dif case a map file and CSG objects). The light map generation will not be affected by it unless external light maps are supplied.
The ability to add external light maps into map2dif is fairly straight forward; however I may not have the time to add a simpler interface into the2dif by the first release.
The lighting pack will be along soon, I'm glad to hear you're eager to work with it.
John.
01/15/2004 (11:31 am)
Adrian,That's cool.
Matt,
The
The ability to add external light maps into map2dif is fairly straight forward; however I may not have the time to add a simpler interface into the
The lighting pack will be along soon, I'm glad to hear you're eager to work with it.
John.
#85
"A generic interface is used for loading custom file formats into an intermediate scene hierarchy. The scene is then used by the underlying dif compiler to create the interior. Because the code that compiles the scene into a dif doesn?t change, any new file format can be supported by merely writing a new loader class. Knowledge of how the compiler works is not necessary, this should help solve most of the issues others have run into while developing dif compilers."
Sorry, im really not a coder, but a similar pencil head guy like Adrian is.
Which format(s) will be supported in the initial release in your plans in this2Dif converter?
Here is coming the twist: we are using Lightwave, instead of the crappy maxie thing, which is the "worst 3d tool what i ever see in the last 6 years" (:P Adrian) included with the horrific maxie exporter for TGE.
A very easy-to-use DTS exporter has been released by Lightwave Dave (thanks, thanks!) for Lightwave but it looks like there will be not an lw2dif exporter in the coming near future.
This "x" thing (i hope so) will be at last a usefull thing to every guys and groups (included us) who wanna to get those difs but avoid those "very-professional-by-valvelike" but useless CSG editors.
02/08/2004 (10:50 am)
Bob this is from your PLAN file :"A generic interface is used for loading custom file formats into an intermediate scene hierarchy. The scene is then used by the underlying dif compiler to create the interior. Because the code that compiles the scene into a dif doesn?t change, any new file format can be supported by merely writing a new loader class. Knowledge of how the compiler works is not necessary, this should help solve most of the issues others have run into while developing dif compilers."
Sorry, im really not a coder, but a similar pencil head guy like Adrian is.
Which format(s) will be supported in the initial release in your plans in this
Here is coming the twist: we are using Lightwave, instead of the crappy maxie thing, which is the "worst 3d tool what i ever see in the last 6 years" (:P Adrian) included with the horrific maxie exporter for TGE.
A very easy-to-use DTS exporter has been released by Lightwave Dave (thanks, thanks!) for Lightwave but it looks like there will be not an lw2dif exporter in the coming near future.
This "x" thing (i hope so) will be at last a usefull thing to every guys and groups (included us) who wanna to get those difs but avoid those "very-professional-by-valvelike" but useless CSG editors.
#86
Lightwave is ok, at the end of the day the app to use is the one that you most like working with. I used lightwave for about 2 years from 5.x through to 6.5. But then the company decided to switch to max and just use LW for FMV because it had a nicer renderer than max4.
I much prefer max for doing environments though as it has a lot more Cad like object, vertex snaps etc that no one else has done as extensiely, so you can generaly work a lot faster.
Lightwave is ok, but I much prefer both maya and max which I used at my lastplace of work. I think the seperate layout and modeler are a pain in the ass, but they did get somewhat closer to combinging the two. Havent used it for over a year now though so it might have changed again.
02/08/2004 (12:03 pm)
Yeah at my last plase of work we had a exporter for each 3d app, maya and max with its own custom format, we then had a builder that compiled the data debugged problems with scenes and exported to Xbox, Ps2, GC or PC. Nice thing was that it sorted out which features a system supported and only exported that data, it also tried to create BSP type data where it could. So you could use 4 shaders per poly for Xbox and when exporting to PS2 it would ignore the shaders and export the basic textured geometry without masking and all the per pixel stuff.Lightwave is ok, at the end of the day the app to use is the one that you most like working with. I used lightwave for about 2 years from 5.x through to 6.5. But then the company decided to switch to max and just use LW for FMV because it had a nicer renderer than max4.
I much prefer max for doing environments though as it has a lot more Cad like object, vertex snaps etc that no one else has done as extensiely, so you can generaly work a lot faster.
Lightwave is ok, but I much prefer both maya and max which I used at my lastplace of work. I think the seperate layout and modeler are a pain in the ass, but they did get somewhat closer to combinging the two. Havent used it for over a year now though so it might have changed again.
#87
No, the separated layout and modeller is not a pain, its really a nice thing. Why do we search switchers somewhere in a deep
hided and scrolled pocket of a submenu, just becouse all the main functions are integrated all together.
Its a complete waste of resources to use this maxie godzilla instead of ready-sized tools. Max have only one lucky point in. Its hype, and marketing did by Discreet. And the industry believed it that its an "industry standard" before its was an industry "standard".
If i dont wanna to use animation things, then pointless to use a complex big monster. In LW modeler is there all the necessary things at the desktop, and not somewhere inside a menu-soup, but can you send all the datas just by a One Click Solution into Layout. So where is the problem is ? :)
Ok then, i dont wanna to start a holy war about LW vs. max or any other 3d proggies.
Everybody use that tool what is the best for them or for the project, i just wrote about a few lines that there arent any pain in those ass.
Im use it from 4.0 on the PC, but started to work with at the good old amiga back in the early 90s.
Anyway i read all the thread again, and we are agreed in some questions Adrian. Maybe the reason is that we cant code. ;)
02/09/2004 (4:02 am)
AdrianNo, the separated layout and modeller is not a pain, its really a nice thing. Why do we search switchers somewhere in a deep
hided and scrolled pocket of a submenu, just becouse all the main functions are integrated all together.
Its a complete waste of resources to use this maxie godzilla instead of ready-sized tools. Max have only one lucky point in. Its hype, and marketing did by Discreet. And the industry believed it that its an "industry standard" before its was an industry "standard".
If i dont wanna to use animation things, then pointless to use a complex big monster. In LW modeler is there all the necessary things at the desktop, and not somewhere inside a menu-soup, but can you send all the datas just by a One Click Solution into Layout. So where is the problem is ? :)
Ok then, i dont wanna to start a holy war about LW vs. max or any other 3d proggies.
Everybody use that tool what is the best for them or for the project, i just wrote about a few lines that there arent any pain in those ass.
Im use it from 4.0 on the PC, but started to work with at the good old amiga back in the early 90s.
Anyway i read all the thread again, and we are agreed in some questions Adrian. Maybe the reason is that we cant code. ;)
#89
Xdif provides a simple interface for loading and compiling geometry into dif files, but it doesn't support any file formats out of the box. Someone interested in supporting lightwave would only need to write a file loader that reads the lightwave scene file, all of the complex work would be handled internally by Xdif.
I'm hoping to release Xdif in late March or early April and it should have the Cartography Shop csmXdif code packaged with it as an example of how to write the file loader classes.
I would hope that anyone interested in writing a max, maya, or lightwave loader would consider using a common export format (see the ASE discussion above), otherwise three separate loaders will have to be written and supported without really gaining anything.
For more information you can checkout our site:
-Xdif
-Tech index
John Kabus
02/10/2004 (7:49 am)
Hello all,Xdif provides a simple interface for loading and compiling geometry into dif files, but it doesn't support any file formats out of the box. Someone interested in supporting lightwave would only need to write a file loader that reads the lightwave scene file, all of the complex work would be handled internally by Xdif.
I'm hoping to release Xdif in late March or early April and it should have the Cartography Shop csmXdif code packaged with it as an example of how to write the file loader classes.
I would hope that anyone interested in writing a max, maya, or lightwave loader would consider using a common export format (see the ASE discussion above), otherwise three separate loaders will have to be written and supported without really gaining anything.
For more information you can checkout our site:
-Xdif
-Tech index
John Kabus
#90
Sure enough we will to buy them. As xdif, as the lighting code-pack.
02/12/2004 (7:26 am)
Thanks for answering, im listening for your products now John :)Sure enough we will to buy them. As xdif, as the lighting code-pack.
Torque Owner John Kabus (BobTheCBuilder)