Using GLB 3.0 Terrain Tool with 3dsmax
by lineage · in Artist Corner · 09/06/2005 (7:58 pm) · 4 replies
Hmmm...
We're using MAX to make some really non-compliant objects for use in Torque. We've purchased GLB3.0 to hopefully automatically decimate these meshes into BSP compliant objects. The problem is that the Terrain Tool seems to be blowing our objects into its constituent triangles and then extruding every one of them into seperate objects under on group. The DTS spec doesn't like more than 7 collision nodes and I really don't feel like re-naming 278 objects every time I use this thing (nor do I feel like MAXScripting right now).
Has anyone had experience with the Object/BSP conversion stuff in GLB3.0? I am at a loss.
We're using MAX to make some really non-compliant objects for use in Torque. We've purchased GLB3.0 to hopefully automatically decimate these meshes into BSP compliant objects. The problem is that the Terrain Tool seems to be blowing our objects into its constituent triangles and then extruding every one of them into seperate objects under on group. The DTS spec doesn't like more than 7 collision nodes and I really don't feel like re-naming 278 objects every time I use this thing (nor do I feel like MAXScripting right now).
Has anyone had experience with the Object/BSP conversion stuff in GLB3.0? I am at a loss.
#2
That explains the madness I was seeing in MAX. All those crazy convex hulls get converted (via Map2Diff) into something the renderer recongnizes as thrifty? Wow.
I've worked on a lot of games, but this is my first venture into "mod-world" and I haven't had to geek this hard to get straight geometry out in a long time. Building BSP-compliant geometry with MultiGen in 93 for Atari was my first gig.
Unfortunately, our world design is a kind of "islands in the sky" and we can't use the standard terrain offered in Torque. We'll probably end up using the "Convex Corrector" to make our islands have convex hulls and then pretty them up with other DTS objects.
Thanks for the quick response man!
09/06/2005 (9:56 pm)
Thanks Adrian,That explains the madness I was seeing in MAX. All those crazy convex hulls get converted (via Map2Diff) into something the renderer recongnizes as thrifty? Wow.
I've worked on a lot of games, but this is my first venture into "mod-world" and I haven't had to geek this hard to get straight geometry out in a long time. Building BSP-compliant geometry with MultiGen in 93 for Atari was my first gig.
Unfortunately, our world design is a kind of "islands in the sky" and we can't use the standard terrain offered in Torque. We'll probably end up using the "Convex Corrector" to make our islands have convex hulls and then pretty them up with other DTS objects.
Thanks for the quick response man!
#3
Meanwhile, the GLB scripts are pretty cool, I find it quite easy to create convex hull collisions and the auto fix toll does a pretty good job of simple errors, usually when a edge is turned in such a way as to make an otherwise good shape concave. I'm just glad that max has good snap tools otherwise making all those collision shapes would be a real pain :) /look forward to seeing more of your project :)
09/06/2005 (10:36 pm)
Lineage, looks like I have had a similar background to you. All the developers I worked for had either proprietary engines or off the shelf engines with custom art pipelines. It's a bit early but one of my current projects is working with a couple of programmers on getting an art pipeline closer to what I'm accustomed to. Hoping that some day it will be fit for public consumption :). I started to mention it in my plan recently and will be updating it as cool things happen.Meanwhile, the GLB scripts are pretty cool, I find it quite easy to create convex hull collisions and the auto fix toll does a pretty good job of simple errors, usually when a edge is turned in such a way as to make an otherwise good shape concave. I'm just glad that max has good snap tools otherwise making all those collision shapes would be a real pain :) /look forward to seeing more of your project :)
#4
I've figured out that if I use the GLB3 "Map Checker", I can convert non-BSP-compliant objects into compliant ones. After I get a bunch of those built, I boolean (yes, I actually use boolean) them together and then seperate the resultant parts out into individual collision objects (col-1, col-2, etc.). I'll post a screen after hacking away at it today.
Although I always love a good art puzzle, this mod stuff seems so full of gotchas and special case rules I think my head is going to explode.
boom.
09/07/2005 (9:54 am)
Hey,I've figured out that if I use the GLB3 "Map Checker", I can convert non-BSP-compliant objects into compliant ones. After I get a bunch of those built, I boolean (yes, I actually use boolean) them together and then seperate the resultant parts out into individual collision objects (col-1, col-2, etc.). I'll post a screen after hacking away at it today.
Although I always love a good art puzzle, this mod stuff seems so full of gotchas and special case rules I think my head is going to explode.
boom.
Torque Owner Adrian Tysoe
If you want to use DTS for terrain, you willhave to create your DTS shape and GLB3 terrain, apply a null material and convert the result to a dif then load both the DTS and the .dif terrain into the torque mission editor in exactly the same location. DTS currently doesn't allow for any nice multitexturing or multiple UV's so using it for terrains is prety limited. What I would suggest for now is using the regular terrain editor and grafting on unique areas of interest using the GLB terrain tool on your custom DTS interesting terrain shapes.