[Historicity]

Will 0 A.D. allocate modders to change the extension of 3D models?

IE:

I am using Blender3D, so my extensions are .blend... rather than 3dsm which are .max (so I think...)

Thanks!

[Dnas]

We use our own custom model format. We will write importer and exporter tools for as many things as possible.

(Certainly Blender because I use Blender too, and, if nothing else I'll practice some more in Python and write the scritps myself. )

[Historicity]

Sweet.

Thanks for the info, Dnas!

Have the importers / exporters been created already, so when the [whisper]BETA[/whisper] comes out, modders can begin their own projects?

[Argalius]

The beta should have been out last summer (these were the first esstimates (SP?) 2-3 years ago. Then it should come out at the end of 2005 ... and now it's probably the end of 2006

[Historicity]

It should be understandable that it would take WFG more than 2 - 3 years to create a working beta for 0 A.D., after all they aren't a paid organization, and most of the team has other responsibilities.

[Aeros]

We currently only have a 3dsmax exporter plugin for models and animations (.pmd and .psa) for the artists to get by on , but yes exporters and hopefully importers for other programs such as gmax and blender are planned to be made, so long as we can get someone to make them.

I don't know when we'll release these tools, but presumably close to when we release the game or maybe shortly after we release the game, depending on how we'd like to manage our community at that time.

[Historicity]

OK -- me and Dnas can work something out for Blender.

[Acumen]

Incidentally, if anyone out there has is familiar with the Max SDK and wants to help out, please fill out an application form on the website. We currently lack programming experience with this toolkit and MaxScript, and in order to finish 0 A.D. we need to upgrade our exporters with a number of additional features, including:

• support for non-biped animatable objects (siege, ships) vertex skinning and attachment (using skin and simple bones - vs. physique and biped)
  
• export simple 3dmax bones and bone animations (for quadrupeds, fish, birds, deer, sheep, elephants - anything nonbiped)
  
• skin information (for vertex assignments to simple 3dmax boned animations)
  
• vertex based animation (like how 3ds saves its animations - for things such as trees falling)
  
• support for newer versions and other modelling tools such as Blender (our current exporters only work in 3ds Max R6)

This task has been idling for many months due to lack of informed manpower, so if you can help out, we'd appreciate it and be able to get this game out that much sooner.

[Lord Zorinthrox]

Uhh, not to change subject toooo terribly much, but since you guys are planning to include vertex animations (I was worried for a bit there), will it conceiveably be possible to attach a vertex-animated model to a bone-animated model (I see no reason why it shouldn't) as one would a spear to a hoplite's hand?

Just curious, as it opens up some really interesting possibilities, such as, oh, I don't know, animating a head model for lip-sync and exporting it as a vertex-based animation, then attaching it to a bone-animation body for cinematics...you know, to save bizare armature rigs for the same end.

[Argalius]

I asked a question regarding sharing animations... and that was possible, but I don't think that's possible with vertex-animation is it?

[Dnas]

IIRC, we are planning to use both bone-based and vertex-based (mainly for stuff like trees) animation. I would expect you'd be able to attach a vertex based one to a bone-based one without trouble.

[Lord Zorinthrox]

Groovy.

[The Evil Overlord]

Please please make a script or exporter for 3ds Max r9 plz.
I hate 3ds Max with its exporters the versions are so iritating, all the games I want to model for use an older version.

[Ykkrosh]

We're working on supporting the COLLADA file format now, which can be exported by most programs (to varying degrees of quality) including Blender and 3ds Max 7/8/9, so that shouldn't be a problem

[Wijitmaker]

I believe R6 is supported also isn't it Philip? Maya and XSI as well.

[Ykkrosh]

The current version of the ColladaMax exporter says it's only 7/8/9. Maybe older versions of the exporter support Max 6, though? ColladaMaya says it's for Maya 6.5/7.0/8.0. XSI has a plugin for 5.1 and built-in support in 6.