Oolite Bulletins

Read on this is a modelling question.

I played Spore... and it is very easy to make space ships with the build in model maker..
well .. the spore site has a down load .so you can export your spore made models into 3d max??.

is this ,then able to be exported to oolite.
sorry not a game modeler person, but can it be done?
or do i need some other programme?

if you can export it from 3DSMax into an OBJ format, then yes, you can use the Python routines etc to get the model into Oolite format etc.

To expand on what KW said, wings3d should be able to handle the conversion without a problem.
So if you have the models inside .3ds files, that's all we need to get those ships inside Oolite!

ok i down loaded wings 3 d
it says

Export Formats
Nendo (NDO)
3D Studio (3DS)
Wavefront (OBJ)
Lightwave/Modo
VRML (WRL)
Renderware (RWX)
FBX (on Windows and Mac OS X)
Yafray
Povray
Kerkythea
Collada

Import Formats
Nendo (NDO)
3D Studio (3DS)
Wavefront (OBJ)
FBX (on Windows and Mac OS X)
Adobe Illustrator 8 (AI)
Lightwave/Modo

SO,,, which one do i need to export the files as and keep the textures
for oolite...
i have not tried the 3d max export yet .. but hoping this weekend will give me the chance to try it out.. so as much info as poss will help as i not really a game making person.. this is a new challenge, and exciting
area for me to try out..
is there a need to check for flipped faces?? ete
( i do work in the effects /animation industry..but more for visual effects in ovies NOT games...so help!

thanks for the replies
very encouraging
christina

OBJ is the format that the Python stuff works on, it's a fairly common format that loads of modellers accept.

i'm assuming if you've got a model in one game it shouldn't have any flipped faces, but if you load it up in Wings it should be obvious if there are any.
off hand, i think the only thing you might have to check for is that all your faces are triangles, i think Oolite doesn't like anything but (someone verify that...?).
the shipmaking tutes on wiki should give you the rest of the info you need.
or we'll all help here if not

Killer Wolf wrote:

OBJ is the format that the Python stuff works on, it's a fairly common format that loads of modellers accept.

i'm assuming if you've got a model in one game it shouldn't have any flipped faces, but if you load it up in Wings it should be obvious if there are any.
off hand, i think the only thing you might have to check for is that all your faces are triangles, i think Oolite doesn't like anything but (someone verify that...?).
the shipmaking tutes on wiki should give you the rest of the info you need.
or we'll all help here if not

Yeh, the python script doesn't work on non-triangulated models - as I discovered with my first and so far only model Tycho 8.

Ok THANKs
will get back you all next week,
so. process seems to be..
model in spore
output with exporter... into max and then out /into wings 3d..

HAY! nothing to loose . BUSTING to give it a try..

can we add new ships to oolite, or does the game only allow for a set amount?..
maybe ,if successful i'll make and bake then post them for someone, who knows better, to use?

thanks again
chris

no ship limits as far as i know, think you can have as many OXPs/ships as you want, it might just slow the game loads etc depending on your system.

What about copyright issues? Whom do spore-creatures belong to, and would the user be permitted to port them into Oolite?

Killer Wolf wrote:

if you can export it from 3DSMax into an OBJ format, then yes, you can use the Python routines etc to get the model into Oolite format etc.

You can, OBJ is part of standard export format that comes with max, it can also import these, however you need to be aware of the geometry options parameters of the model you try to import.. for example some obj files do not have normals information.., and that crashes 3dmax 7 on my system if I click normals and the obj file in question has none. usually you can open the obj file in notepad and check what information it got..

Commander McLane wrote:

What about copyright issues? Whom do spore-creatures belong to, and would the user be permitted to port them into Oolite?

If the game in this sense acts as a model program, I cannot see how the owners of spore could claim ownership on anything creatively created by users. I think they would need the creator to waive, and he may have done so, when clicking (agree to terms of installation of spore). That notice should be somewhere in the spore license documents, but I cannot imagine that they would do that, yet alone if anybody took that to court, It would be very hard to convince the court that:

the waiver was the product of a free and deliberate choice rather than a decision based on intimidation, coercion, or deception. They must also convince the court that the defendant was fully aware of the rights being abandoned and the consequences that would result from the Abandonment.

since a waive is
the intentional and voluntary giving up of a right, either by an express statement or by conduct (such as not enforcing a right). The problem which may arise is that a waiver may be interpreted as giving up the right to enforce the same right in the future. Example: the holder of a promissory note who several times allows the debtor to pay many weeks late does not agree to waive the due date on future payments. A waiver of a legal right in court must be expressed on the record.

Edit:

And how would they prove that the model in OBJ format or Dat format was created in spore to begin with.

It would be quite an impossible right to enforce...

spore->3dmax->wings/oolite->oolite

Cheers Frame..

You forgot to add - IANAL - at the end of that (unless you are)

DaddyHoggy wrote:

You forgot to add - IANAL - at the end of that (unless you are)

Sorry ?

Frame wrote:

DaddyHoggy wrote:

You forgot to add - IANAL - at the end of that (unless you are)

Sorry ?

IANAL - 'I am not a Lawyer', I believe.

I Am Not A Lawyer.

It just struck me that you were giving legalise-sounding advice. (it may be correct, sound, reasonable, etc - but are you qualified to give it? "Frame said it should be OK on the Oolite forum" - would not be much of a defence in an actual court of law)

EDIT: Ninja'd by Smivs

ahh in that case (i thought this was obvious) , wow are my usaish/English writing skills that good

IANAL...

but then again, this is a is never going to happen scenario.. i.e., impossible to prove... the person in question should do the smart thing.. even then I never heard of a waiver unless you submit your work to some game developer to maybe get bundled into the next patch.

Cheers Frame.