Second Life Forums Archive - importing geometry into SL?

Babette Ultsch

Registered User

Join date: 26 Mar 2007

Posts: 15

04-03-2007 04:35

Hi,

i am all new to this.
i tried to search the knowledge base but didnt foud anything.
Is there any way to bring geometry into SL
from other 3d formats like *.OBJ, *.3ds or whatever?
I am especially looking for a way to make new shapes for Avatar
without using the ingame tweaking interface and importing them back
to SL.

thank you very much,
Babette

Warloc Alcott

Registered User

Join date: 6 Jan 2007

Posts: 26

04-03-2007 05:31

Greetings Lady Babette,

*bows*

I am no expert, but do a search for "Poser" or Poser related topics. I think Poser is the program of choice for working with Av's in SL.

It let's you create or modify Av's and you can also create your own Av animations, with Poser. There is another I think, called, Avimator.

Here is a link to a topic on your question, maybe look for similar topics.

/52/cd/81886/1.html

Hope I helped a little.

Stay safe and have a magical day.

AJ DaSilva

woz ere

Join date: 15 Jun 2005

Posts: 1,993

04-03-2007 05:51

There's no support for importing meshes into SL at all (though I'm not sure of the exact reason any more - bandwidth? LOD? keeping the userbase happy?). The closest you can get is a script that creates a mesh using a prim for each face. I forget who's made those now though.

Lee Ponzu

What Would Steve Do?

Join date: 28 Jun 2006

Posts: 1,770

04-03-2007 08:40

From: Babette Ultsch

Hi,

i am all new to this.
i tried to search the knowledge base but didnt foud anything.

Babette

Don't search the knowledge base. Search these forums...

Thunderclap Morgridge

The sound heard by all

Join date: 30 Sep 2006

Posts: 517

04-03-2007 09:21

its in the building forum as a sticky and it isnt very good. So you are stuck using the ingame system. Maya and Blender are the only ones that have plug ins, so if you have either of those you are in luck. Otherwise, it isnt going to help you build, you will have to learn how to use the in game system in world.

_____________________

Gimp:
n : disability of walking due to crippling of the legs or feet
ie. lameness, limping, gameness, claudication

secondlife://Amaro/77/130/39
Come to Thunderclap: the gospel chapel
and Thunderburst: Mens clothes and more.

Chosen Few

Alpha Channel Slave

Join date: 16 Jan 2004

Posts: 7,496

04-03-2007 09:37

Here's my standard answer for why mesh models cannot be imported to SL:

From: Chosen Few

The reason is that unlike any other 3D environment, SL is 100% user created, and 100% streamed. There is no permanent geometry whatsoever. The world changes literally every moment.

There are many problems that would need to be solved before arbitrary meshes could work in SL. The biggest is level of detail. Most amateurs are not going to have the time or the know-how to create meshes with pre-set variable LOD built in, so we'd need a way for the system to automate it. Unfortunately, there's really no good way at present for the system to intelligently judge polygon reduction over distance. It could be done strictly by math of course, but the results in many cases, if not most cases, would be less than pretty. For example, you could model the Statue of Liberty in exquisite detail, and from up close she could look great, but from any significant distance she'd probably look like nothing but a lumpy green blob as her polygons begin to reduce as the camera moves further away. That's a hard problem to solve.

The alternative would be not to use LOD, but if you think SL's laggy now, imagine what would happen if poly counts were never reduced by distance. There would be very few computers on Earth that would be able to handle SL in any semblance of real time if that were the case.

Another problem is bandwidth. If arbitrary meshes were to be used, the instructions for how to create every single polygon would have to be streamed to every single client for every single model. That would be an incredible amount of data.

By using a common set of parametric objects as building blocks for everything as SL does now, the process is streamlined. Since every client computer enters the world with foreknowledge of ow to make each type of primitive, the only data that needs to be streamed is where to put the prims, what size to make them, how to rotate them, etc. That's a relatively tiny amount of information.

Also, how do you calculate physics with an arbitrary mesh? There have been many suggestions on this, but none have been ideal.

LL has said many times that they do want eventually to allow mesh modeling in SL, and when that day comes, we'll all rejoice. However, these technical obstacles have to be overcome first, and none of them are easy.

In the here and now, what you need to do is learn how SL's present modeling system works, the same way you had to learn how Maya, or Max, or whatever happens to be your 3D software of choice, worked back when you started with that.

As a professional 3D modeler myself, I can promise you that getting good at modeling in SL will make you better at modeling in all other 3D programs. Because SL is so limited, it forces you to use a specific type of problem solving intelligence that more sophisticated modeling applications let you bypass. The result of exercising those problem solving skills is you become a much more efficient modeler, both inside SL and out.

Once I started getting good in SL, I found that my average poly counts per model in Maya were going way down while the visual quality was going way up. Also, my texturing skills increased at least a hundred fold.

Give it a little time, and I'm sure you'll say the same thing.

It always feels a little weird quoting myself like. I've pasted this more times than I can count by now. I'll have to write something a little more substantial on this subject one of these days, and ask to have it stickied.

_____________________

.

Land now available for rent in Indigo. Low rates. Quiet, low-lag mainland sim with good neighbors. IM me in-world if you're interested.

importing geometry into SL?
Babette Ultsch Registered User Join date: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 15	04-03-2007 04:35 Hi, i am all new to this. i tried to search the knowledge base but didnt foud anything. Is there any way to bring geometry into SL from other 3d formats like .OBJ, .3ds or whatever? I am especially looking for a way to make new shapes for Avatar without using the ingame tweaking interface and importing them back to SL. thank you very much, Babette
Warloc Alcott Registered User Join date: 6 Jan 2007 Posts: 26	04-03-2007 05:31 Greetings Lady Babette, bows I am no expert, but do a search for "Poser" or Poser related topics. I think Poser is the program of choice for working with Av's in SL. It let's you create or modify Av's and you can also create your own Av animations, with Poser. There is another I think, called, Avimator. Here is a link to a topic on your question, maybe look for similar topics. /52/cd/81886/1.html Hope I helped a little. Stay safe and have a magical day.
AJ DaSilva woz ere Join date: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1,993	04-03-2007 05:51 There's no support for importing meshes into SL at all (though I'm not sure of the exact reason any more - bandwidth? LOD? keeping the userbase happy?). The closest you can get is a script that creates a mesh using a prim for each face. I forget who's made those now though.
Lee Ponzu What Would Steve Do? Join date: 28 Jun 2006 Posts: 1,770	04-03-2007 08:40 From: Babette Ultsch Hi, i am all new to this. i tried to search the knowledge base but didnt foud anything. Babette Don't search the knowledge base. Search these forums...
Thunderclap Morgridge The sound heard by all Join date: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 517	04-03-2007 09:21 its in the building forum as a sticky and it isnt very good. So you are stuck using the ingame system. Maya and Blender are the only ones that have plug ins, so if you have either of those you are in luck. Otherwise, it isnt going to help you build, you will have to learn how to use the in game system in world. _____________________ Gimp: n : disability of walking due to crippling of the legs or feet ie. lameness, limping, gameness, claudication secondlife://Amaro/77/130/39 Come to Thunderclap: the gospel chapel and Thunderburst: Mens clothes and more.
Chosen Few Alpha Channel Slave Join date: 16 Jan 2004 Posts: 7,496	04-03-2007 09:37 Here's my standard answer for why mesh models cannot be imported to SL: From: Chosen Few The reason is that unlike any other 3D environment, SL is 100% user created, and 100% streamed. There is no permanent geometry whatsoever. The world changes literally every moment. There are many problems that would need to be solved before arbitrary meshes could work in SL. The biggest is level of detail. Most amateurs are not going to have the time or the know-how to create meshes with pre-set variable LOD built in, so we'd need a way for the system to automate it. Unfortunately, there's really no good way at present for the system to intelligently judge polygon reduction over distance. It could be done strictly by math of course, but the results in many cases, if not most cases, would be less than pretty. For example, you could model the Statue of Liberty in exquisite detail, and from up close she could look great, but from any significant distance she'd probably look like nothing but a lumpy green blob as her polygons begin to reduce as the camera moves further away. That's a hard problem to solve. The alternative would be not to use LOD, but if you think SL's laggy now, imagine what would happen if poly counts were never reduced by distance. There would be very few computers on Earth that would be able to handle SL in any semblance of real time if that were the case. Another problem is bandwidth. If arbitrary meshes were to be used, the instructions for how to create every single polygon would have to be streamed to every single client for every single model. That would be an incredible amount of data. By using a common set of parametric objects as building blocks for everything as SL does now, the process is streamlined. Since every client computer enters the world with foreknowledge of ow to make each type of primitive, the only data that needs to be streamed is where to put the prims, what size to make them, how to rotate them, etc. That's a relatively tiny amount of information. Also, how do you calculate physics with an arbitrary mesh? There have been many suggestions on this, but none have been ideal. LL has said many times that they do want eventually to allow mesh modeling in SL, and when that day comes, we'll all rejoice. However, these technical obstacles have to be overcome first, and none of them are easy. In the here and now, what you need to do is learn how SL's present modeling system works, the same way you had to learn how Maya, or Max, or whatever happens to be your 3D software of choice, worked back when you started with that. As a professional 3D modeler myself, I can promise you that getting good at modeling in SL will make you better at modeling in all other 3D programs. Because SL is so limited, it forces you to use a specific type of problem solving intelligence that more sophisticated modeling applications let you bypass. The result of exercising those problem solving skills is you become a much more efficient modeler, both inside SL and out. Once I started getting good in SL, I found that my average poly counts per model in Maya were going way down while the visual quality was going way up. Also, my texturing skills increased at least a hundred fold. Give it a little time, and I'm sure you'll say the same thing. It always feels a little weird quoting myself like. I've pasted this more times than I can count by now. I'll have to write something a little more substantial on this subject one of these days, and ask to have it stickied. _____________________ . Land now available for rent in Indigo. Low rates. Quiet, low-lag mainland sim with good neighbors. IM me in-world if you're interested.

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importing geometry into SL?