Oolite Bulletins

I'm considering the commission of an Erlang plugin, or plugins, to allow import and export of Oolite .dat files to and from Wings3D without needing a separate Python based conversion.

To that end, I've started a dialog with a colleague who has written several successful plugins for Wings to see if he is interested in doing this project. He's "looking it over" ...

While he's doing that, I'd like to know how many of you folks are using Wings3D at the present time to create your models so I can gauge the interest for this in the community.

Cheers.

I'm Spartacus! Mind you, none of my models actually got finished properly, I got sucked into the dev gig before I even got a chance to open my oxp orphanage...

I use Wings3D too.

I use Wings3d as well, but I used to make the obj to dat conversion with DryDock. And I've only ever created one model, and that's not even a sophisticated model (although it is likely the biggest model in the Ooniverse ).

Commander McLane wrote:

I use Wings3d as well, but I used to make the obj to dat conversion with DryDock.

DryDock has problems with Mac OSX10.5, and even more with OSX10.6. On both systems it crashes when closing files. And with the later OS I noticed sometimes errors in the commented ship dimensions.
But still usable with dat and object files as long as you save everything before closing any file. One big pro is that it can convert multi texture dat files to obj. Something the python converters can't.

I have used Wingz3D to edit existing dat files after conversion. It would be nice to be able to load/save the dat files directly from Wingz3D. However for the mac there exist drop engines for python. The script is embedded in such a engine that acts as a program. The only thing you need for conversion is to drop the .dat or .obj file on the converter. No need to do anything with python itself. Even the script itself is hidden for the average mac user.

Since 1.74, Oolite also can use a new dat format that supports implicit normals. The current dat2obj converters can't handle those files.

SiriusCG wrote:

While he's doing that, I'd like to know how many of you folks are using Wings3D at the present time to create your models so I can gauge the interest for this in the community.

This would be pretty .-)

I use Wings3D and AC3D - so a nice plug-in for Wings3D would be good!

I used it but I hate it.
I rather want to use something like Skechup with a good plugin.

I use Wings3D. Never really finished a model yet, though. A plug-in would be great, it might be the extra push to make me finish my models.

I'm using Wings. I use it for a load of stuff, and thanks to being a developer python is one of the things I'm allowed to have installed on my workstation!

Yippee!!

not that I've done much in the way of Oolite devs recently...

I am considering modding ships and have looked at Wings3D on Linux. I'm intrigued. How hard is it to actually get my model working in Oolite then?

Captain Baz wrote:

I am considering modding ships and have looked at Wings3D on Linux. I'm intrigued. How hard is it to actually get my model working in Oolite then?

Not hard. You only need to export it in .obj format, and then convert that to .dat format, for which there is a convenient python conversion script. That's it.

Of course then you also need to give it some specifications, which is done in a .plist using either XML or OpenStep syntax. The documentation is all in the Elite Wiki, so it's really a piece of cake. Especially you should digest these pages:

http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Modell ... _your_Mind

http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Modell ... _Cassowary

http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Modell ... Challenged

http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Shipdata.plist

Commander McLane wrote:

Not hard. You only need to export it in .obj format, and then convert that to .dat format, for which there is a convenient python conversion script. That's it.

Of course then you also need to give it some specifications, which is done in a .plist using either XML or OpenStep syntax. The documentation is all in the Elite Wiki, so it's really a piece of cake. Especially you should digest these pages:

http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Modell ... _your_Mind

http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Modell ... _Cassowary

http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Modell ... Challenged

http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Shipdata.plist

Having recently decided to try my hand at 3D Modeling, I found this tutorial to be much more helpful than the the 102 or 103 lessons above (especially since 102 is effectively empty). Combine them with the Wings3D "How to make a wine glass" and you have a decent start.

And let's not forget Aegidian's tutorial on how to create your very own flying brick:

http://www.oolite.org/old/cyoship2/

Edit: ninja'd by Cmd Cheyd!