The Unofficial SoftImage XSI->OGRE Exporter v3.0X10^-2

Bill · Post by **Bill** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 2:00 am

here --> http://www.cast.uark.edu/~wgj/OGRE_XSI_Exporter/

There have been enough changes to call this a new version. A couple of slight modifications. I changed the since of the full material path option. Now you check it if you want the full path names. I figured sense most OGRE users will not want full path names that that should be the default. I added the projcet name to all the autogenerated names. So now the mesh file is called Project.Scene.Object.mesh.xml, the skeleton file is called Project.Scene.Object.skeleton.xml, the material file is called Project.Scene.material, and the material names are called Project/Scene/Material. This will help differentiate names in large projects that use multiple SoftImage projects.

This more or less brings the project up to what I had in mind when I started. I would call it version 1.0 except I have had so many other ideas since I started. I think I'll let it rest for a while at this level and get some feedback on it.

So, what does it do now?

It currently exports polygon mesh objects from SoftImage XSI 4.2, their skeletons, and materials.

If you node select 20 objects, then running export once will create 20 mesh.xml files. If the 20 objects are in a single branch and you branch select the branch then all the object will be combined into one mesh file.

The exporter supports 6 XSI openGL shaders: OGL13Texture, OGL13TexCoord, OGL13Shade, OGL13Draw, OGL13CubicTexture, and OGLTCTrans. With these shaders you can build an OGRE material file with almost all the basic properties. There is not a 100% match between these shaders and the OGRE material script, but there is probably a 90% match. All the materials in the scene will be exported into one material file. I figured since objects can share materials why have a material file for each separate object.

The exporter identifies the the bones it needs to export with the meshes and exports them into a skeleton.xml file. Along with the bones it exports the animations. It will export multiple animations for each bone chain. The animation currently on the object will be called "Default_Animation." The animations that are stored with the object will be called the names they are stored with.

That's about it.

joi · Post by **joi** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 5:12 pm

i'm not lazy, but could you please post all files in a single archive file (.zip or .rar).

i know there will be quite a few people downloading this, and file by file is a torture!

thanks for posting!

Bill · Post by **Bill** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 2:21 am

Sure. I was thinking about doing this anyway.
give me a few min

By the way, if you just want to run it all you need it the .xsiaddon package.

[Edit] Done. It's called OGRE_XSI_Exporter.zip. [/Edit]

zarthrag · Post by **zarthrag** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 2:51 am

**Applause for Bill **

joi · Post by **joi** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 12:40 pm

Again, thanks a lot for this. I was for sure going into maya, but my artists and i gave a peak at the XSI, his workflow and render capabilities blown us away. We are very impressed, and this exporter will give us a chance to see how our workflow with XSI will get at the early stages.

Thanks again!

Bill · Post by **Bill** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 11:24 pm

I have never used Maya, but, from what I have read, people who use both seem to always prefer XSI. I have managed to figure out most of it by just clicking on buttons ( a lot of buttons ) rather than reading the instructions so I guess that means it's intuitive (which is what people say). If I had used other 3D modeling packages before coming to XSI I probably would have found it easier to figure out.

Anyway, I'm glad my code is of use to someone. I wouldn't mind seeing screen shots of what people are exporting with it.

Slicky · Post by **Slicky** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 9:10 am

Here is a pic of some stuff I'm working on exported using your exporter. It is an online combat game (well it is the beginning of one):

kerick · Post by **kerick** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 12:33 am

Has anyone tried this in linux XSI?
I tried to load it but I'm thinking its not a fan of the dll, perhaps I may need to recompile the library for linux.

Bill · Post by **Bill** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 1:54 am

@slicky: cool Thanks for showing me.

@kerick: I'm not sure if it will compile under linux without any changes. Actually, it probably won't. I'm not sure how much is windows only code. Are there any decent free IDEs for linux? Do you guys use gnu or intel compilers to compile ogre on linux?

Lodes · Post by **Lodes** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 3:56 am

@Bill
For IDE for linux that kinda match visual studio, there is eclipse and kdevelop and anjuta (in my experience, anjuta just crashes all over the place. completely unstable though some people dont' have any problem).

I really liked eclipse, but I had to change because as i added more files it became very very slow and that's on a 2.8ghz PIV with 1gig of ram. Kdevelop just takes a little bit of exploration but it is a decent ide once you figure out how to add code completion and such. (their code completion is actually very nice when it decides to start working).

I use the gnu compilers (g++ 3.3) when on linux. Never bothered to upgrade to 3.4

Bill · Post by **Bill** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 12:04 am

bug fix

I checked out how nested bone chains were wroking in my code and they weren't. I swear they used to. I belive it was due to "Bill's third law of sofware" and that is "software that isn't used slowly decays until it eventually stops working." I'm sure that's it.

Anyway, I have patched it up posted it. I have created a new test harness to keep it from decaying again.

@zarthrag could you give it a try on your spider?

zarthrag · Post by **zarthrag** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 12:33 am

On FKWalk, Two of the legs seem to move ok, the other two fly all over. I can email you the model if you'd like.

Bill · Post by **Bill** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 12:36 am

yes thanks

email is wgj@cast.uark.edu

Bill · Post by **Bill** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 1:17 am

Yeah that's wierd the poor guys legs are broken.

It works if you select "Keep objects global coordinates" on the exporter. I have had troubles with translating the skeleton into the main objects reference frame. I thought I had it licked.

Still it's odd that only half the model doesn't work. Did you make half the model and then use that symmetry tool to make the other half?

zarthrag · Post by **zarthrag** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 1:21 am

The legs I modeled in separate scene, then imported via dotXSI ( four times) but it should be mirrored for the most part.

zarthrag · Post by **zarthrag** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 1:21 am

Attendum, maybe negative scaling issues?

Bill · Post by **Bill** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 3:06 am

It was my lousy code. I hadn't properly rotated out the objects global position. What I can't figure out now is why 2 legs worked.

I just posted a new fix. Give it a try.

btw nice scuttlepod

zarthrag · Post by **zarthrag** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 3:21 am

Seems to have the same problem.

Bill · Post by **Bill** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 3:27 am

hmmm works for me ...

I'll double check.

zarthrag · Post by **zarthrag** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 3:30 am

It is the .xsiaddon, right?

Bill · Post by **Bill** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 3:40 am

yeah unless I screwed that up some how

try loading the dll in the release directory
via Application->View->Plugin Manager

[\Edit] I created a new .xsiaddon just in case I mess up the last one [Edit]

zarthrag · Post by **zarthrag** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 3:51 am

It works! Completely perfect and artifact-free

Bill · Post by **Bill** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 3:52 am

Excellent! Now I can go home.

Thanks for the help.