Drone1 -WIP

[Thomas]

oh, ok, I didn't know the VRML 1/97 was in fact the 2 (for me, 1=1.. strange numerous system ;))
Hehe, the NPR is strange, but the result is really interesting (perhaps the color choice ;)

[Shonner]

VRML 1 is 1.0
VRML 97 is 2.0

I don't know if VRML has been improved since 1997. Games like Quake II and Half-Life took the "online VRML avatars running around maps" approach that AlphaWorld, Onlive!, OZ, and Blaxxun used and came up with much improved texturing, lighting, and directional sound effects. VRML and other older formats are mostly ignored these days. But it would still be nice if Amapi could export proper VRML models like the ones at http://home.earthlink.net/~alprojects/2001/

[wasisn]

Hello,

because there is no support of .a3d files in Carrara 1.1 I have to deal with exporting my models from A7 to other file formats.

If I perform a simple boolean cut of two overlapping cubes I get something like the first picture. If I export the cutted cube to .obj and .3ds and load them into Carrara 1.1 it looks like the second picture. As you can see the .obj-export didn't work correctly. As I figured out, this is due to the fact, that 3 of the cubes faces have more than 4 points. If you triangulate all faces with more than 4 points (double click on the object) before export, the .obj file will be correct.

I hope this helps somebody with .obj-exporting problems. Are there any other problems exporting to .obj?

[Shonner]

So we need a patch for Amapi so that it will triangulate objects when exporting to OBJ. Or is there an option for it already in the export menu?

[wasisn]

@shonner:

Yes there already is an option. Just double-click on the object you want to export and the information window pops up (see image). Then you first have to collapse the dynamic geometry before you can triangulate facets with more then 4 points (you might have to close and reopen the information window before this option is available). Afterwards you can export your object(s).

By the way, if I export the .3ds file from Carrara to .obj and reopen it in A7, all facets are automatically triangulated.

[Shonner]

Originally Posted by wasisn

By the way, if I export the .3ds file from Carrara to .obj and reopen it in A7, all facets are automatically triangulated.

That is because Carrara is awesome at exporting OBJ files, unlike Amapi which requires object-tweaking first before being shoved down the OBJ hole. I feel the pain that the guy making the Battlestar Galactica model does when he has to manually triangulate each piece of it before exporting.



I just have to make sure all my Amapi 7 objects have 3 or 4-sided facets before I import them into Carrara as OBJ using these options (so Carrara won't modify them). Otherwise, Carrara will add edges and delete facets from my models.

[wasisn]

... unlike Amapi which requires object-tweaking first before being shoved down the OBJ hole.

No, A7 is not really doing something wrong when exporting to .obj, because if you open the exported .obj-file in A7 again everything is fine. This is due to the fact that A7 is able to handle facets with more than 4 points in .obj-files while other programs like Carrara or UVMapperPro can't handle these files correctly.

I feel the pain that the guy making the Battlestar Galactica model does when he has to manually triangulate each piece of it before exporting.

Yeah you are right, because there seems to be no possibility to triangulate more than one object at a time (grouping the objects dosen's help, only cloned objects become triangulated simultanously). So maybe he should try to use another format, for example .3ds seems to work correctly, as shown in my example.