SUR Exporter Beta News

Dogpile!!!!! <img src=smilies/icon_smile_big.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> thanks Colin, Anton &amp; Argh on behalf of everyone <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>

This triumvera will go further than the Roman one I feel! Keep up the good job guys this is what we need! <img src=smilies/icon_smile_big.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>

We bow to you, ´tis a dream coming true. Huge thanks to all involved. L.D.

I may be in well over my head with this <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Colin sent me his source code from a month or so back and I have heard nothing from him in a while. This does not however mean he has abandoned the project; Colin only spends ´truly´ free time on these things so I´m hoping he will be back when he can to finish this work. It´s his really and it would be good to see him take the credit. My RL stuff is calming down and i´m getting time to myself again so.... With a masochistic gleam in my eye... Let´s have those sur files <img src=smilies/icon_smile_big.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>

Thanks for the news on this, I was wondering as to whether anyone was getting anywhere close to it or not. Argh et al: For testing purposes, I can release my modular Station project to you as an intimidiate step. These are new station componants broken down into smaller, more primative shapes that might be easier for the program to understand and sur file. (I think everyone has seen the new modular stations I´ve done by now... if you haven´t, where have you been?). I´m not offering because I want these custom sur filed (though that would be cool <img src=smilies/icon_smile_big.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>), but rather because it might be something that might help you guys understand the processes of sur file larger objects on something that is actually broken down into more primative componants. It´s an offer, take it or leave it as you wish. Freeworlds Mod Developer Author of Modular Station ´There is no Good nor Evil in the universe, just perceptions and circumstances.´

Wow, no wonder you guys are so busy. Good luck with this project. BTW I know this is going to sound stupid, but has anyone contacted the lead at DA and asked for some input??

Sounds good. I have a 3 step plan to keep me busy while not learning how convex hulls are generated (currently the most crucial issue in the exporter) so bits of the model aren´t deleted during export process. 1) build a new but functional cube sur to go with a borg cube for testing. Shouldnt be able to miss bits of this <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> If the cube is good and normals facing right way then it *should* be fine. This will test Colins bit section generator updates nicely. 2) build a 3 ´lump´ ship and sur to go with it if step 1 works. 3) understand what Colin is doing in his code <img src=smilies/icon_smile_big.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>

Aldebaran : I´d seen your previous work with the Modular Station concepts, and I had actually been leaning towards doing something like that for WOS B2 when I started testing the SUR Exporter... so yeah, I might want to take a whack at it. Are the Mod

No, they were developed at the end of last year when we began work on 1.66 so the only mods using them at the moment are the 1.66 test mods. If you want, I can package the models up into a zip file along with the code I used in the solarach.ini files and send them over to you via email.

Sure, mail away <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>

Argh, If I can help in the modelling of surs in milkshape, or help with the development work to make then export same, count me in.. I have bases, planets, missile and gun platforms in mind that could be useful for object testing.. I have been looking at and playing with weapons platforms.. what use is a base wIthout outer defenses? <img src=smilies/icon_smile_tongue.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Harrier

Don´t worry- as soon as we´ve gotten who/what/when/how Anton and others will be tackling the source and ancillary issues, I´ll be getting in touch with you and several other people about this, so that we can all get the tutorials and methods for what we´ll be releasing as solid as possible. Please be patient- this may take another two days or so. Anton´s released the source to several parties, so I´m not sure whether his priority is going to be working on the interim fix we´ve been talking about using FLModel Tool (which might get us &quot;close enough&quot; to release the current Exporter, even with its current quirks) or trying to master Colin´s source and finish the Exporter code. Colin´s a brilliant coder, but I have no idea how well the source is commented, etc., and I´m not qualified to assess how much difficulty we´re going to have getting that side of things tied up. At any rate, I will be wanting to get going asap, so that whatever gets released reflects the best methods we can develop for everybody in the modding community. Just hold on- once we have something like a plan here as to what the programming side´s going to look like, we modelers can talk nuts and bolts <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> With luck, we´ll get good synergy going here, and it´ll help the programming end go more quickly. But what we´ve got now works well enough that there´s no reason we cannot start developing documented procedures over the next week or so. This documentation may or may not be obsolete by the time the Exporter gets released- I don´t know how that´s going to turn out, and I don´t think anybody else does, either- so we´ll just have to take a lot of screenshots, write documentation that reflects the revisions that occur, and try to keep things as current as possible as the Exporter gets to release. If you´re not on the short list that will get to help develop new methods, do not despair- we´re not going to keep this to ourselves any longer than we have to, but a short delay to try to develop the best methods we can is going to be worth it for everybody. You <i>do want documentation </i> ... trust me. Mostly, this is because the Exporter, while easy to use on the interface level, is not very easy to get good results out of, at this time. This will almost certainly quit being an issue as the coders figure out the last remaining issues, such as why the current exporter code isn´t getting the normal vectors right on many of the tris that are part of the exports, and why my &quot;explode&quot; method (which I´ll explain in detail later) seems to be the only route with a fairly reasonable success rate (this has to do with the &quot;quick-check radii&quot; issues with SURs, which I´m really not qualified to explain in any detail). With luck, when we release a binary to the FL community, anybody with reasonable talent will be able to make a valid SUR. Right now, it ain´t quite that easy... so just wait until we have a clearer picture what´s going to happen on the coding end, and then we´ll all go from there.

About this exporter, Colin actually sent me the source code for it a good while back so that I could help him debug and otherwise develop it... unfortunately, I´ve been utterly swamped with writing programs for college recently so I haven´t had a chance to do much of anything with it. Maybe some day in the not-too-distant-near future this will change, but it looks kind of doubtful at this point. That being said, if you have any questions about specific things in the code that you could point me to, I might still be able to provide some input; I´ve been doing a lot of work recently with model processing, and my major being what it is I pretty much live and breathe C++. Kind of like what I´ll be doing tomorrow... and the day after that... sigh. At least the quarter is almost over. Anyway, yeah, specific questions I might be able to help with. That´s really all I wanted to say, I just took a paragraph to say it.

Colin has given his blessing for the source to be distributed, so any offers of help email me and i´ll forward you a copy <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Please though don´t just ask on a whim then deluge me with ´i can´t compile this´ or other such questions as i won´t respond. Serious offers of help only.

I love it. This is an excellent concept. I know you´re still way back from &quot;surfacing&quot; the tool for easy use, but that means this is the best time for me to ask: please keep the core tooling separate from the user interface, so people can misuse - (cough) er, reuse - it. <img src=smilies/icon_smile_big.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>

Fantastic - great job guys. I´d like to offer my help if it is needed, this is a huge step forward. Perhaps the only remaining step before FL is completely cracked. <img src=smilies/icon_smile_big.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>

ah ah ah,i still want my custom .anm´s &amp; dfm´s - and some god´dang scripts for movable model parts. <img src=smilies/icon_smile_big.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>

You guys take your time and do it right. Don´t let anyone pressure you (not that anyone here has)into releasing it before it´s ready.

Your help would be most gratefully recieved Accushot <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Check your mailbox... You too Watercooler <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Edited by - Anton on 5/25/2005 1:34:03 AM