Importing 3D files into SL....

How about importing 3D stuff into SL for easyer AV makeing ?

Currently it is impossible to a custon AV over a certain height / ect without knowing a ton of scripting, i'm totaly clueless how to script anything for SL....

Also useing 100's of prims to make an AV is time consumeing & a crap shoot when it comes to placeing everything correctly....

Only reason i'm suggeting this is no one has any idea on how to get my giant AV working right nor is anyone offering to help me out, among other things....

I was willing to offer $ to have one custom bulit for me, but that seems to have also fallen on deaf ears.....

So I figure a solution would be if I could just import a 3DS file that I allready can scale up easily in GMAX to the right size I want beforehand....

Save it in something SL will reconize, import it & then presto, i'll have just what I want without haveing to rely on folks who wouldn't help me if I was on fire....

Seems like everyones too busy to help dumb old me learn all this junk, so i'll never learn it now it's too far beyond what my poor brain can handle....

Woulfe
* Who's thinking of leaveing SL as he can't make anything at all work right *

Woulfe -

Hate to burst your bubble; but I don't see that happening. The reason is simple:

Prims are used because the shape is "pre-defined"; and the user simply supplies a few parameters that "modify" the basic shape. This results in less data-storage and less data-transfer between server & client. You'd have to re-write this whole paradigm; or at least allow for a "secondary method" of defining geometry, to allow for importing of any 3d shape - the likes of which outside programs can generate.

Now, what WOULD be possible, would be an "external" prim-editing tool that worked the same way as the in-game editor. HOWEVER, when transferring this data up to the server, it would have to be rigorously tested for bugs/exploits - so I don't know that its likely to happen, either.

Cool idea, sorry to be a "party-pooper".

Take care,

--Noel "HB" Wade
(Tread Whiplash)

Wolfe-

What is it that you're interested in having done? I have learned a lot since last week, and may be able to help. Send me an IM in game sometime.

-Ivan

There is a project, mentioned in this forum or the script forum that does something like this. It's an offline building tool, that uses scripts to sync up with SL.

Just your lucky day a project of this type has been finished.

Keep in mind, that project creates a build from .obj files, but as I understand, each face is 1 prim... so it doesn't do very much for the working[/] vehicle business (since they need to be under 32 prims), and would fill a newbie 512m² plot fairly quickly.

If I understand the workings correctly, importing the typical pine box with this method would require 12-prims... not that anyone would import a box anyway.

If I'm wrong, let me know and I'll replace this entire post with a simple, "Nevermind."

edit: 12 prims for a box instead of 6, as noted below by Strife

actually it would be 12 prims, because the script only uses triangles...