XSI DTS Exporter Beta 2 Download
by Matt Summers · in Artist Corner · 02/02/2009 (10:14 pm) · 333 replies
Whats New:
This is an updated version of the XSI DTS exporter which corrects issues with exported animation transforms, adds support for exporting .DSQ animation files, and fixes several other small bugs. This version of the exporter now also requires adjustment of the bounds axes for proper export. (see basic setup section below for more information)The file download includes the new plugin, 2 sample scenes in XSI 7 and XSI Modtool 6 format, and 2 sample DTS shapes exported from XSI 7 using the exporter for reference.
The 2 sample files that are included with the exporter are the TGE Orc rigged with a simple null based skeleton that will export and work with the default player .DSQ files, and a simple example of an animated object using XSI bones. More sample files are in the works and will be made available as they are completed.
XSI Modtool Support:
The XSI DTS exporter is fully compatible with the latest version of [ XSI Modtool ]. Modtool is lightly stripped down version of Softimage XSI 6.x that is free for non-commercial use. View the full list of Modtool Version Limitations [ here ].
The default UI of Modtool has been setup to be more first time user friendly, but you can also choose to use the stock XSI UI instead by going to the Modes menu and choosing the "XSI default (pro mode)" UI preset.
Basic Scene Setup:
Scene setup needs to be done manually until the exporter UI is completed. This involves creating a DTS shape using nulls, creating a bounds mesh, detail markers, and a mesh object with a detail size number at the end of its name. Scene setup is almost identical to the that of the Max and Maya DTS exporters.Create two null objects named "base01" and "start01" parent them so that "base01" is the parent node and "start01" is the child node. Parent your mesh object to "start01" and then add a bounding box around your object and name it "bounds". The bounds mesh should be either at the scene root or parented to one of the nodes or mesh objects in the scene.
Bounds Axes Orientation
You must also rotate the center of your bounds so that the Z axes points up, the Y axes points forward, and X axes points to the right. Your shape should face forward in the Y axes of your bounds. (as in the image to the right)
Detail Markers
You then need to add a detail marker to the scene named "detail(x)" where (x) = the pixel size value that this detail level should be displayed. The detail maker is just a named null object that is parented to the "base01" node. You will also need to make sure your mesh objects have a detail size at the end of their name. You can then go to file menu / export and choose export DTS.
Example: simple object scene setup
Scene Root
|
+ -bounds {mesh}
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+ -Base01 {null}
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+ -Start01 {null}
| |
| + -mesh2 {mesh} (detail size 2)
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+ -detail2 {null} (detail marker for size 2)[ Orc player scene setup ] | [ Simple bone animation scene setup ]Exporting Animation
To export animation from your scene you must add one or more sequence markers to the root of your scene. A sequence marker is a named null object with a Custom Parameter Set that contains at minimum 2 custom parameters; an integer property named startFrame and an integer property named endFrame.Sequence markers should be named "sequence_" followed by the name you would like to give the animation. (example: sequence_ambient)
If a sequence marker is present in the scene, on export to DTS the named animation sequences will be embeded into the DTS shape. You can optionally click the "export DSQ" button on the exporter window to export the animation(s) seperately as .DSQ files.
Quote:Note: make sure to freeze the transforms on your bounds and mesh objects before exporting. Because the exporter supports scale animation object scale is read by the exporter and as a result if there are scale transforms on the exported shape when the object is loaded as a static shape it will appear at its un-scaled state and If it is loaded as an animated shape it would shrink down to its scaled size.
This build of the XSI DTS exporter is compiled using the XSI 6.x SDK and is compatible with the 32-bit versions of XSI 6.x, 7.x and XSI Modtool version 6.x and 64-bit versions of XSI 7.x.
[ Download The Exporter (Beta 2.5) ]
About the author
#102
How/where did you install the exporter?
Send me one of the scenes that you created so I can take a look at how its setup.
05/09/2009 (3:51 pm)
Well the error at line 586 is that the exporter can not access the custom property set used by the exporter to store the exporter settings. Do you see a custom property set in the scene root named "ExportDtsOptions"?How/where did you install the exporter?
Send me one of the scenes that you created so I can take a look at how its setup.
#103
I installed the exporter by downloading the most recent version of the zip file, then extracting it, then copying and pasting the files in the plugin folder into the plugins directory in ModTool (which is C:\Softimage\Softimage_Mod_Tool_7.5\Application\Plugins).
Thanks for offering to look at one of the scenes I've created. I don't see an email in your profile or on the Dark Industries site; where would it be best to send the files?
05/09/2009 (7:38 pm)
In the tge_orc scene(the one which gives this error when exporting), there is a custom property set named ExportDtsOptions.I installed the exporter by downloading the most recent version of the zip file, then extracting it, then copying and pasting the files in the plugin folder into the plugins directory in ModTool (which is C:\Softimage\Softimage_Mod_Tool_7.5\Application\Plugins).
Thanks for offering to look at one of the scenes I've created. I don't see an email in your profile or on the Dark Industries site; where would it be best to send the files?
#104
If you have a chance, I'd still like to send you one of the scenes I set up, since it would be great if I could get the exporter working now that automated scene setup is functioning for me. Your help with the preference file for scene setup was extremely useful and appreciated.
Based on the path name of the directory where I've installed the exporter, is there something that I could change in my install of Mod Tool 7.5 to help export scenes correctly?
05/12/2009 (8:40 pm)
@Matt:If you have a chance, I'd still like to send you one of the scenes I set up, since it would be great if I could get the exporter working now that automated scene setup is functioning for me. Your help with the preference file for scene setup was extremely useful and appreciated.
Based on the path name of the directory where I've installed the exporter, is there something that I could change in my install of Mod Tool 7.5 to help export scenes correctly?
#105
Just one question purely out of curiosity, you dont have both the 32 and 64 bit version of the exporter installed do you? In the exporter download there are 3 files in the plugin directory only 2 of them should be installed.
Also what OS/version are you running?
05/13/2009 (10:18 am)
@Jeff: I updated my profile to show my email address, feel free to send over your sample scenes. I'd suggest using ModTool 7.5 since I am using Softimage 7.5.Just one question purely out of curiosity, you dont have both the 32 and 64 bit version of the exporter installed do you? In the exporter download there are 3 files in the plugin directory only 2 of them should be installed.
Also what OS/version are you running?
#106
Actually, I did have all 3 files installed in the plugins folder (i.e. both the 32 bit and 64 bit). I just removed the 64 bit version at your suggestion, re-started ModTool, and tried to export the 3 scenes. But, I still received the same crashing and error.
I'm running Windows XP.
05/13/2009 (10:49 am)
Thanks Matt. I just sent the scenes over.Actually, I did have all 3 files installed in the plugins folder (i.e. both the 32 bit and 64 bit). I just removed the 64 bit version at your suggestion, re-started ModTool, and tried to export the 3 scenes. But, I still received the same crashing and error.
I'm running Windows XP.
#107
(You can delete the other custom property sets at the root as well, they are just left overs from an import process.)
After deleting "ExportDtsOptions" custom property set if you export the Orc scene it should work properly. The one in the scene included with the exporter was created with an older version of the exporter and causes some problems with the new exporter. If you delete the old one the next time you export to DTS the exporter will recreate it and it should fix the issue.
Regarding your sample scenes there are a few issues. One of your files has multiple UV sets. The DTS version that the Softimage exports only supports 1 uv set. The version of DTS that T3D uses supports 2 but the exporter is not updated to latest version yet.
One of the scenes has 8 clusters with a material assigned to each cluster, for some reason this is causing the exporter to crash. I will take a look at the exporter and see what the issues is. For such a simple shape you should only need one material anyway, but the exporter should allow you to do what you are doing. If you apply only one material per mesh it should export fine. I will look into the material issue with the exporter and see what is causing it as a work around for the time being use one material per mesh.
05/13/2009 (3:58 pm)
@Jeff: I ran through some tests with a clean install of ModTool 7.5. For the sample scenes that are included with the exporter if you open either of the XSI 7 scenes into ModTool 7.5 in the scene root there is a custom property set named "ExportDtsOptions", delete it.(You can delete the other custom property sets at the root as well, they are just left overs from an import process.)
After deleting "ExportDtsOptions" custom property set if you export the Orc scene it should work properly. The one in the scene included with the exporter was created with an older version of the exporter and causes some problems with the new exporter. If you delete the old one the next time you export to DTS the exporter will recreate it and it should fix the issue.
Regarding your sample scenes there are a few issues. One of your files has multiple UV sets. The DTS version that the Softimage exports only supports 1 uv set. The version of DTS that T3D uses supports 2 but the exporter is not updated to latest version yet.
One of the scenes has 8 clusters with a material assigned to each cluster, for some reason this is causing the exporter to crash. I will take a look at the exporter and see what the issues is. For such a simple shape you should only need one material anyway, but the exporter should allow you to do what you are doing. If you apply only one material per mesh it should export fine. I will look into the material issue with the exporter and see what is causing it as a work around for the time being use one material per mesh.
#108
Thanks very much for doing these tests and looking carefully at my scenes. I'll follow your suggestions with tge_orc and my scenes, and then I'll let you know how the export works. Your help is much appreciated.
05/13/2009 (4:42 pm)
@Matt:Thanks very much for doing these tests and looking carefully at my scenes. I'll follow your suggestions with tge_orc and my scenes, and then I'll let you know how the export works. Your help is much appreciated.
#109
I wanted to let you know that I changed my sample scenes so that each one only has one uv mesh mapped to the entire shape, and the scenes now export correctly. Problem solved. Thanks very much for your help on this.
05/14/2009 (12:08 pm)
@Matt:I wanted to let you know that I changed my sample scenes so that each one only has one uv mesh mapped to the entire shape, and the scenes now export correctly. Problem solved. Thanks very much for your help on this.
#110
As soon as I fix the multi-material issue in the exporter you will be able to have more than one material per mesh again. I added a bunch of performance enhancements to the material processing to speed up the exporter and must have inadvertantly broken multiple materials per mesh support.
I will post an update when its fixed.
05/14/2009 (12:17 pm)
@Jeff: thanks for the update. Keep in mind that you can have multiple mesh objects in a single DTS as well, the orc crossbow is a good example of this.As soon as I fix the multi-material issue in the exporter you will be able to have more than one material per mesh again. I added a bunch of performance enhancements to the material processing to speed up the exporter and must have inadvertantly broken multiple materials per mesh support.
I will post an update when its fixed.
#111
Keep it up.
I still want to work on my own exporter just to learn how to do it. I am a budding TD :D
It will be a while but the effort is for learning purposes.
Thanks for your contrubution to the fellow artist out there.
05/20/2009 (11:04 pm)
Nice work Matt!Keep it up.
I still want to work on my own exporter just to learn how to do it. I am a budding TD :D
It will be a while but the effort is for learning purposes.
Thanks for your contrubution to the fellow artist out there.
#112
05/21/2009 (10:48 am)
Hey, out there... listen, I need a lot of help... for some reason, whenever I try to export, even when I do save, an error keeps coming up that says "failed to save before system failure". can anyone tell me what this means and help me get past it. I am using the new exporter for softimage mod tool 7.5 and it won't work for some reason, not even the torque part of it, it keeps saying that it is invalid. does anyone know what to do? Please?!?
#113
Listen, sorry for being vague before... I'm a little new at using softimage mod tool... what is the UV set, is that the subdivisions? cause when I tried to export just a simple cube with only one U and V in the subdivisions, and it still gave me an error and crashed. could you maybe tell me how to properly install your export and fix all the problems and whatnot? Please, I really need to make it export, the shapes I need to export are for a game that I want to make, so I really need them. I would really like it if you could help.
05/22/2009 (8:56 am)
@ MattListen, sorry for being vague before... I'm a little new at using softimage mod tool... what is the UV set, is that the subdivisions? cause when I tried to export just a simple cube with only one U and V in the subdivisions, and it still gave me an error and crashed. could you maybe tell me how to properly install your export and fix all the problems and whatnot? Please, I really need to make it export, the shapes I need to export are for a game that I want to make, so I really need them. I would really like it if you could help.
#114
If you are not even sure what a UV set is you should really start from the beginning and learn how to use ModTool before trying to export a shape. The video tutorials on the Softimage website are a good place to start.
Just a few basic pointers when you install the exporter there are three files. The file "xsi2dtsUtility.js" is the Torque automation utility, of the other 2 files in the exporter folder only one of them needs to be installed. For modTool since it is a 32 bit app you only needs to install the file "xsi2dtsExporter.dll" into your ModTool plugins directory. The other file is the 64bit version of the exporter.
I have seen numerous people install all of the files into their Softimage/ModTool plugin directory but only one of the .dll files should be installed. Since ModTool is only available as a 32bit app only the 32bit .dll should be installed.
After making sure that you have the proper exporter installed, you will need to make sure that the DTS Automation Utility is installed and working correctly. If the exporter utility is installed correctly you should see a menu named Torque in the top menu of your ModTool program. If this is not present than the utility is installed in the wrong location or some error/conflict is preventing it from loading.
The first time you open the DTS Menu it should register the custom properties for the exporter with your Softimage install, if you get an error message after opening the exporter preferences from the Torque Menu you will need to manually install the custom preferences for the exporter. (This seems to only happen to ModTool users.)
To manually install the custom preferences for the exporter Download this file.
Place the contents of the zip file in your Softimage preferences directory. For example (C:\Softimage\Softimage_7.5\Data\Preferences) or in your user preferences directory (C:\Users\[username]\Softimage\XSI_7.5\Data\Preferences\). After manually installing the custom preferences if you open the Torque menu and select the exporter preferences option you should now be able to properly view and edit the exporter preferences. At this point your exporter is installed and ready to be used. Any errors/crashes that you see beyond this point are caused by incorrect scene setup.
To verify that the exporter is working open one of the sample scenes that are included with the exporter. Open the scene explorer in Softimage/Modtool and select the node at the scene root named "ExportDtsOptions". This is a custom property set that is used by the exporter to store settings in the scene. Unfortunately it was created for an older version of the exporter and I haven't taken the time to update the sample scene files. So to fix the issue simply select it and then delete the node. You should now be able to choose export to DTS from the Torque menu or from the file->export->dts menus and the dts file should export properly.
From this point to export a your own simple shape it should only take you around 2 clicks. For example if you add a polygon box or other prefab shape to the scene you simply need to select the shape, go to the Torque Menu and select "Quick Setup". After doing this your shape should be ready to export. If you go back to the Torque Menu and choose "Export to DTS" you will be asked to choose the file name and export location for your DTS.
If the exporter hangs or crashes something in your scene is causing it. Things that will cause the exporter to crash or hang Softimage/ModTool include but are not limited to the following:
05/22/2009 (11:36 am)
@Michael: I would suggest that you become more familiar with ModTool before trying to get the exporter to work, in its current form it requires a fair level of knowledge in order to understand how to export a DTS shape from Softimage.If you are not even sure what a UV set is you should really start from the beginning and learn how to use ModTool before trying to export a shape. The video tutorials on the Softimage website are a good place to start.
Just a few basic pointers when you install the exporter there are three files. The file "xsi2dtsUtility.js" is the Torque automation utility, of the other 2 files in the exporter folder only one of them needs to be installed. For modTool since it is a 32 bit app you only needs to install the file "xsi2dtsExporter.dll" into your ModTool plugins directory. The other file is the 64bit version of the exporter.
I have seen numerous people install all of the files into their Softimage/ModTool plugin directory but only one of the .dll files should be installed. Since ModTool is only available as a 32bit app only the 32bit .dll should be installed.
After making sure that you have the proper exporter installed, you will need to make sure that the DTS Automation Utility is installed and working correctly. If the exporter utility is installed correctly you should see a menu named Torque in the top menu of your ModTool program. If this is not present than the utility is installed in the wrong location or some error/conflict is preventing it from loading.
The first time you open the DTS Menu it should register the custom properties for the exporter with your Softimage install, if you get an error message after opening the exporter preferences from the Torque Menu you will need to manually install the custom preferences for the exporter. (This seems to only happen to ModTool users.)
To manually install the custom preferences for the exporter Download this file.
Place the contents of the zip file in your Softimage preferences directory. For example (C:\Softimage\Softimage_7.5\Data\Preferences) or in your user preferences directory (C:\Users\[username]\Softimage\XSI_7.5\Data\Preferences\). After manually installing the custom preferences if you open the Torque menu and select the exporter preferences option you should now be able to properly view and edit the exporter preferences. At this point your exporter is installed and ready to be used. Any errors/crashes that you see beyond this point are caused by incorrect scene setup.
To verify that the exporter is working open one of the sample scenes that are included with the exporter. Open the scene explorer in Softimage/Modtool and select the node at the scene root named "ExportDtsOptions". This is a custom property set that is used by the exporter to store settings in the scene. Unfortunately it was created for an older version of the exporter and I haven't taken the time to update the sample scene files. So to fix the issue simply select it and then delete the node. You should now be able to choose export to DTS from the Torque menu or from the file->export->dts menus and the dts file should export properly.
From this point to export a your own simple shape it should only take you around 2 clicks. For example if you add a polygon box or other prefab shape to the scene you simply need to select the shape, go to the Torque Menu and select "Quick Setup". After doing this your shape should be ready to export. If you go back to the Torque Menu and choose "Export to DTS" you will be asked to choose the file name and export location for your DTS.
If the exporter hangs or crashes something in your scene is causing it. Things that will cause the exporter to crash or hang Softimage/ModTool include but are not limited to the following:
- No Bounding box
- No DTS shape nodes
- Multiple UV sets on one mesh
- More than one material assigned to the same poly
- More than one material assigned to one mesh (this once is almost fixed)
- Exporting a non polygon mesh
- Use of procedural shaders/ materials
- More than 10k polys per mesh (currently a TGE/TGEA limitation)
#115
05/22/2009 (7:31 pm)
Matt: Good job. I have it working and will report any findings I have to help in fixing issues. 
#116
just have a quick question...when using it for vehicles does just the center of my bounds need to be oriented correctly for torque, or does anything else?... the reason I'm asking, is that my vehicle looks right, and drives right, but my player is lying on his back in the vehicle, and even though the eye cam is up near the roof of the car, the view I see when mounted is from under it....
I'm going to try to just rotate the center of my nodes also and see if that helps..
05/25/2009 (11:14 am)
great work on the exporter....works great for the 64bit version..just have a quick question...when using it for vehicles does just the center of my bounds need to be oriented correctly for torque, or does anything else?... the reason I'm asking, is that my vehicle looks right, and drives right, but my player is lying on his back in the vehicle, and even though the eye cam is up near the roof of the car, the view I see when mounted is from under it....
I'm going to try to just rotate the center of my nodes also and see if that helps..
#117
O.K. thanks, I'll try all this out (this took so long due to the three day weekend). and your right, I do need to learn more about it. summer break is coming up for my school, so I will have lots of time. are there any tutorials that you could suggest that would help out, I would love to know about them (they can be any type, video or document, doesn't matter, I would just like to learn). Thanks in advance!
05/26/2009 (9:10 am)
@ MattO.K. thanks, I'll try all this out (this took so long due to the three day weekend). and your right, I do need to learn more about it. summer break is coming up for my school, so I will have lots of time. are there any tutorials that you could suggest that would help out, I would love to know about them (they can be any type, video or document, doesn't matter, I would just like to learn). Thanks in advance!
#119
05/26/2009 (9:39 am)
Thank You!!!!! I will try them the moment I get out for summer! Thanks Again!
#120
Can you load the shape into ShowTool Pro and take a look at where the centers of the eye and cam nodes are located in the DTS shape? Other wise if you send me a scene/dts file I can take a look and see what the issue is.
If the eye and cam nodes are being collapsed to the bounds center try exporting using a .cfg file and add the setting:
-Param::CollapseTransforms
05/26/2009 (10:53 am)
@ wiseman: If I had to guess based off the description I would say that one or more of the nodes are either missing, mispelled, or collapsed to the root of the bounds.Can you load the shape into ShowTool Pro and take a look at where the centers of the eye and cam nodes are located in the DTS shape? Other wise if you send me a scene/dts file I can take a look and see what the issue is.
If the eye and cam nodes are being collapsed to the bounds center try exporting using a .cfg file and add the setting:
-Param::CollapseTransforms
Torque Owner Jeff Howard
The complete error is:
' ERROR : Object doesn't support this property or method - [line 586 in C:\Softimage\Softimage_Mod_Tool_7.5\Application\Plugins\xsi2dtsUtility.js]
' ERROR : 2006-DTS_ExportDTS - Unexpected failure.
DTS_ExportDTS
Exporting my simple polygon objects (e.g. sword, book, dodecahedron) in Mod Tool 7.5 causes Mod Tool to crash with the "failed to save before system failure message."