Offline Builder: Now in Beta

Hi,

I opened the script and ran it and then created some basic box prims that i modified in shape and placement. If i do a save from the script. thedn it will output all the text information to a .prims file.

However, if i save the session in blender and then re-open it, then i have problems. Although the sript is still present it will not save the information about the prims. This leads me to suspect that:

Anything i do in blender with the tool is a one time session creation. If i want to come back to it later and haven't saved the prims, i have lost all my work.

Is there a way to simply save the session, without saving the prims, and then come back to it later. I would prefer this method because it then allows me to sellect all and the save all the prims in one file for importing into SL.

Any help here would certainly be appreciated.

My e-mail address is [email]xe22@sbcglobal.net[/email].

Thanks,
John - aka, JohnPaul Perway (SL)

Sorry folks, i see that i reload the prims and then keep working. Please disregard my previous question.

JohnPaul

Please let me know what is offline importer and how can I drag to it the notecard (notecard I can drag ONLY in SL window)
Thanks.

the offline importer is a prim with lots of scripts that will actually do the rezzing for you, correct me if i'm wrong once u saved the .blend file in blender, open it in your window's notepad, u should see a XML, if u see a bunch of meaningless stuff, that makes u didnt' save the .blend file right, possibly u used the blender's functions instead of just the SL phython sripts that emulates SL's builder tool. If u see the xml correctly, just copy/paste the xml into a notecard in SL. and drag the card into that offline importer and watch

that would be so awsome if you included the lsl DO IT!!!!

Aheh... I've considered it. Python and LSL are two very similar languages, so if you actually look through my code, I do have some functions implemented, including (but not limited to) llGetPrimitiveParams, llSetPrimitiveParams, all of the constants up to around SL version 1.8, and a few other odds and ends.

It is tempting, I agree. I'll pencil that down as a thin "maybe" unless I get more free time or the LibSL folks can drop me a big ol' codebase to port.

Well, y'know. Aside from the whole "tab thing."

... and the fact Python is lightyears more robust.

I had a quick look at this, just to see what I was missing really and had no luck with Blender at all. Under WinXP I'm getting buttons overwriting each other constantly. Almost looks like there's more than one layer of buttons all showing through when the mouse moves over them. Bit frustrating to say the least.

Great idea though.

most likely is your video card, i had that problem before when i first started using it. try updating your video card driver, hopefully that fixes it.

Still have some issues but I see what's happening now. It's opening tabs over other tabs and the buttons on the tabs underneath come to the top when the mouse moves over them. Now that I can see what's going on I can get around it. Thanks for the heads up about the drivers, that was worth doing.

Thanks for such a great tool, being able to model for SL without having to do it in SL is a God send
I am having a problem when it comes to importing the prims though. When I import them to SL, the translations are off and it seems the scales may be off as well because I can't seem to get everything to fit together properly. There are also some spheres that are way off in everything. When I load the prims back into Blender they are perfect, i'ts just in SL they won't imort properly. As far as tools in Blender, the only ones I use are the "G, R, S" keys.

These are the steps I take:
BLENDER
1. Save prims.
2. Open .Blend file with notepad and copy all.

SECONDLIFE
1. Create new Notecard and paste info from .Blend file. Save.
2. Dop the Importer Hud(cube) on the ground. Also tried as Hud.
3. Drag Notecard on top of Importer then wait for rez.

I'm not sure if thats the proper way to do it or not.
The following link is to a jpeg which shows the object in Blender and in SL.

http://img354.imageshack.us/my.php?image=blendla8.jpg

Any Help would be much appreciated.
Thanks

Hi Arya

The importer is not perfect, don't get me wrong i'm not trying to bash the genius behind this so there are some imperfection to the importer, the frame looks like you can adjust manual quite easily. As for the lense, are you sure you only used G, S, and/or R blender built in functions? make sure you use absolutely just the SL functions on the left panel.

i hope that helps
Mobius

Hi

Thanks for the response. As far as the blender tools go, the only ones I used were the S, G and R. I made the mistake of using the Blender default manipulators on the first build (force of habit from using maya for so long), and that screwed everything up so I rebuilt it a second time only using S G and R. As for the lenses, I can't seem to get even the dimples to come through in SL. Is that a wide spread problem or is it just my bad luck? :/

Thanks again
Arya

If you send me a copy of the build you are having problems with I can see if I can trace down the problem with the importer.

I've asked this several times in the thread and not one person has ever done so... it makes it hard to track down errors without samples of the problems.

You can send the notecard to me in SL and I'll see what i can find.

maybe you should check my post on page 9

Sorry, I've been out of town for a few days.
Thanks for offering to take a look at the build. I'll send you the notecard I've been using.

Thanks again

I've taken a look and fixed at least one problem, dimples on spheres were not being handled. The rest of the issues seem to be a problem with precision on placement.

The only part that is puzzling to me that I haven't quite figured out is the fact that the lens portions of that section of glasses is a mirror image of how you intended it to be.

I'll finish going over the sample and once I've made sure I don't have any other errors in the prim generation, I'll forward it on to Jeffrey to see if he has any thoughts on the matter.

Hi all,

I have been trying to get things working in the hopes that I could import some VRML or .blend objects and convert them to prims. After I got the script working I found out that this is not possible. Much disappointment. But, what I have worked out is that there are several not so apparent (especially for noobs) configuration steps necessary just to be able to utilize the Jeffrey's script in Blender.

First, if you don't have Python ya gotta get it and install it.
Second, Both blender and the script don't seem to work well with latest version Python 2.5, you need 2.4.

Download and install Python 2.4.4
http://www.python.org/download/releases/2.4.4/

Then you need to set the PYTHONPATH in Windows.
For MS XP users Right mouse click (RMC) the "my computer" icon on the desktop
select properties
select the advanced tab
click the "environment variables" button at the bottom
go to the "system variables" box - the one on the bottom
click the NEW button
set "variable name" to PYTHONPATH
set "variable value" to
SET PYTHONPATH=C:\PYTHON24;C:\PYTHON24\DLLs;C:\PYTHON24\Lib;C:\PYTHON24\Lib\lib-tk

that last bit is all one line - it may wrap on the forum post. There is a space between SET and PYTHONPATH=... i.e. "SET PYTHONPATH=..."

Click OK-OK-OK

Now Python should be all set. You may have to reboot. Or you may not, depending upon myriad arcane intangible Windows configurations settings that you have monkey'd with and the date of your mother's birthday. Just restart yer machine. Probably needs a reboot anyway.

Download and install Blender
http://www.blender.org/cms/Blender.31.0.html

Once you get Blender running you may also need to set the Pythonpath within Blender.

Start Blender. Set your mouse pointer on the border of the working window and the menu bar at the top so you get the "double uppy/downy arrow." Click and drag the whole menu bar down to expose the hidden controls above.

click the "File Paths" tab - on the far right
set the python path to \Python24\Lib

Save as default settings (CRTL U) so you don't have to do it again next time.
Exit and restart Blender.

NOW you should be able to open and run the script without errors.

File - open - Prim.Blender.blend -

Hint: click the "P" button to navigate yer way up through the directories and go find where you downloaded and extracted the script.

Be sure to open Prim.Blender.blend in the Prim builder subdirectory that you created on extraction of the zip file, not on a copy of Prim.Blender.blend in another location. You need all the goodies that came with it.

The script should show up in a window on the left. Right click in the script window and select "Execute script"

You are now ready to build.

Note to Jeffrey: Sure would be nice to be able to import work already done in Blender.
Hard, Time consuming, I know, but worth it. Some platonic solids prims would be nice.

Thanks for the tool,

Now to save an object properly and get the importer working right

Zander

In case it helps, Bathsheba Dorn has a small gallery/store with construction sets for dodecahedron, octahedron, rhombic dodecahedron.

Well. Blender has packages with Python 2.4 and 2.3 preinstalled, which is what this is optimized for. I suppose I should make that more clear.

As for it not working in 2.5... crap. I'm going to have to fix that.

On the PYTHONPATH stuff... uhm.... wow. You sure you're not having a problem with the python install? I haven't needed to set the old PythonPath variable since 2.2.




As regarding converting VRML, have you tried this script at all? It's still a bit primmy, but does work last I tried it.

There are people working on converting actual models to prims using my code, but they've just only scratched the surface last I talked with them.

Jeffrey,

You are right about PYTHONPATH.

When I started I was kinda flailing around trying to get your script to work with Blender.

Installing Python 2.5 first did not help. Blender does not find 2.5 automagically.
Once I set PYTHONPATH in Windows and Blender to point to 2.5 I could load and try to compile the script.

The compiler chokes at "import random" under "A Imports" with Python V2.5

After banging my head on that for a bit I went down a version and installed Python 2.4
I changed the PYTHONPATH info in Windows and Blender to \PYTHON24
All was good and I did not look back after that.

Running with your thought about pythonpath not being necessary I just removed the PYTHONPATH info in both Windows and Blender. Rebooted for good measure and everything still works. Amazing how simple things are when you start from a known good place, Like Python2.4, and not leaping ahead to V2.5.

I'll have to try the script you pointed me to next.

Thanks,

Zander

Jeffrey,

I've had a look at the Blender Python script and got it to work. But, I'm such a long time user of max that Blender gives me fits. So I'm in the process of converting the script to max. Of course that's going to be a big job. I'll start a new thread to describe the work.

But, I've not seen any links to the "in world" script that consumes the tagged output of the primitives to make the in-world primitives. Is that available somewhere for us to study? One of the issues that I'm wrestling with is how to make large objects and group them off-line so that when the entire set of primitives is created in-world, grouping is preserved.

I'm considering the problem of building a large object - a boat or house - with a few hundred prims and it seems to me that grouping needs to be done off-line and then preserved in the transfer, or the large collection created in world would be unwieldy to manipulate or script.

Thoughts?

LLink [sic] to the in-world LLscript?

Thanks,
WWV

Hi there,

I found a video tutorial page - the interface one is really great - he explains quite a bit, just keep your hand on the pause button, cuz he goes pretty fast!
Interface: http://www.ibiblio.org/bvidtute/contrib/interface.avi

http://www.ibiblio.org/bvidtute/

Cheers

Just for curiosities sake, does anyone have a creation on display that was imported from Blender? Id love to see it.

i am new to building in SL, and if I can start with a better tool from the beginning like blender, id like to do it.

But, I have a question, besides the texture mapping thing, what limitations does a builder have with using blender as his/her building tool compared with building an object right in SL?