Billboards and Collada exports?
by Andres Bordeu · in Artist Corner · 08/05/2009 (6:43 am) · 15 replies
How can I add billboards to a Collada model? With DTS you have to specify billboards using the BB::<bilboardname> convention, but with the Collada exports they show up as normal geometry. Is there another way to get billboards on models with Collada?
#2
10/01/2009 (4:19 pm)
Edit: post removed... I misunderstood the problem. 
#3
How to get bilboards working with collada?
By the way if I export the shape with "BB::" prefix the COLLADA loader creates in the same folder these two files, that I don't need at all:
myshape.dae.imposter.dds
myshape.dae.imposter_normals.dds
10/29/2009 (1:46 pm)
I am having problems with COLLADA bilboards too. I add a prefix "BB::" to my shape and export. When loaded in T3D it behaves like a bolboard but appears black. How to get bilboards working with collada?
By the way if I export the shape with "BB::" prefix the COLLADA loader creates in the same folder these two files, that I don't need at all:
myshape.dae.imposter.dds
myshape.dae.imposter_normals.dds
#4
10/29/2009 (3:53 pm)
Edit: post removed... I misunderstood the problem. 
#5
Sorry I am confused are you saying thats the expected functionality for billboards in Collada or Billboards for DTSs in general?
If its for DTSs in general I know I have never setup a billboard that way. AFAIK for normal DTSs, it expect the prefix before the mesh name (since you can have Billboards be a part of a LOD level). But I wouldnt be surprised if this changed for Collada DAE, lots of other scene markup conventions got changed with it.
10/29/2009 (4:25 pm)
@RussellSorry I am confused are you saying thats the expected functionality for billboards in Collada or Billboards for DTSs in general?
If its for DTSs in general I know I have never setup a billboard that way. AFAIK for normal DTSs, it expect the prefix before the mesh name (since you can have Billboards be a part of a LOD level). But I wouldnt be surprised if this changed for Collada DAE, lots of other scene markup conventions got changed with it.
#6
thanks for that information , but even doing that I couldn't manage to get the bilboard working. T3D still shows it black and it still generates these two useless DDS files.
The hierarchy is pretty simple itself. I've exported many things so far from items to complex characters via the old classic DTS exporter.
So I must be doing everything fine.
I can't find a documentation about that. Nowhere is an explanation how to do bilboards with COLLADA. Also...there is no documentation about doing simple stuff with COLLADA (items , characters , etc.) I have no problems using the old DTS exporter to do these things but what about the new users? Somebody who is very new will spend several weeks before exporting a simple character.
Do I have to throw dices every time I am trying to export something? :)
10/29/2009 (4:28 pm)
Russell,thanks for that information , but even doing that I couldn't manage to get the bilboard working. T3D still shows it black and it still generates these two useless DDS files.
The hierarchy is pretty simple itself. I've exported many things so far from items to complex characters via the old classic DTS exporter.
So I must be doing everything fine.
I can't find a documentation about that. Nowhere is an explanation how to do bilboards with COLLADA. Also...there is no documentation about doing simple stuff with COLLADA (items , characters , etc.) I have no problems using the old DTS exporter to do these things but what about the new users? Somebody who is very new will spend several weeks before exporting a simple character.
Do I have to throw dices every time I am trying to export something? :)
#7
10/29/2009 (5:26 pm)
Logan, you may be right. I might be confusing it with the autobillboarding we set up for the Forest Kit. My apologies.
#8
10/30/2009 (12:29 pm)
So how did you setup the billboards? Did you export them via COLLADA? 
#9
11/06/2009 (12:25 pm)
Yes, please, how do you setup real billboard (not auto-billboard) in Max ?
#10
1. Apply the bugfix here (or wait for the next build of T3D which will include it).
2. Prefix your mesh name in MAX with BB:: or BB_ for a normal billboard (always face the camera) or BBZ:: or BBZ_ for a Z billboard (always face camera, but only rotate in the Z axis).
11/06/2009 (8:06 pm)
Quote:Yes, please, how do you setup real billboard (not auto-billboard) in Max ?
1. Apply the bugfix here (or wait for the next build of T3D which will include it).
2. Prefix your mesh name in MAX with BB:: or BB_ for a normal billboard (always face the camera) or BBZ:: or BBZ_ for a Z billboard (always face camera, but only rotate in the Z axis).
#11
11/07/2009 (6:07 am)
Thanks. I will try it.
#12
sorry but this method doesn't seems to work for me : the mesh whose name is prefixed with BB:: doesn't behave like a billboard : I can turn around and see all its faces. It doesn't always face the camera.
Nicolas Buquet
www.buquet-net.com/cv/
11/09/2009 (6:01 am)
Hi Chris,sorry but this method doesn't seems to work for me : the mesh whose name is prefixed with BB:: doesn't behave like a billboard : I can turn around and see all its faces. It doesn't always face the camera.
Nicolas Buquet
www.buquet-net.com/cv/
#13
11/09/2009 (1:31 pm)
My bad - that should have read "Prefix the name of the node that instantiates the mesh", rather than the mesh name itself. I just did that here (by manually editing a collada file) and both BB:: and BBZ:: worked fine.
#14
I've tried all the conventional methods (BB::, editing the collada file, trying to set it up in the torque object editor, etc). Everything imports, I can see the object (which happens to be a tree), the billboarded leaves, I can texture and apply shaders.. but the leaves just don't act like a billboard, they act like a normal mesh.
Can anyone here give any insight to this at all, or point me to something that would help? I am using Lightwave 9.6, and the latest version of T3D. Thanks!
07/16/2010 (11:02 pm)
I've been searching the forums here for any answers to Lightwave and Collada support within T3D. The documentation is thin to non-existent, but I figured a lot out on my own. It seems like most of what I try works okay, but I have had NO luck with billboards. I can't find a single tutorial anywhere on the web or on here on how to do this or how it's supposed to be set up.I've tried all the conventional methods (BB::, editing the collada file, trying to set it up in the torque object editor, etc). Everything imports, I can see the object (which happens to be a tree), the billboarded leaves, I can texture and apply shaders.. but the leaves just don't act like a billboard, they act like a normal mesh.
Can anyone here give any insight to this at all, or point me to something that would help? I am using Lightwave 9.6, and the latest version of T3D. Thanks!
#15
Have you applied the bugfix mentioned in comment #10? The collada loader will not detect billboards correctly without it. Make sure to delete the model's cached.dts if you make a source code change to ensure T3D re-imports the DAE.
Then check in the DAE file that the <node> element that contains the desired mesh has a name beginning with BB:: (or BB_). Additional COLLADA docs are here.
07/17/2010 (1:55 am)
Hi RC:Have you applied the bugfix mentioned in comment #10? The collada loader will not detect billboards correctly without it. Make sure to delete the model's cached.dts if you make a source code change to ensure T3D re-imports the DAE.
Then check in the DAE file that the <node> element that contains the desired mesh has a name beginning with BB:: (or BB_). Additional COLLADA docs are here.
Associate Chris Robertson
Alternatively, you can use TSShapeConstructor to add autobillboards to both Collada and DTS shapes when they are loaded into Torque. See the Artist Section of docs.garagegames.com/torque-3d/official.