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How to handle 3rd party assets?


klepto2

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After uploading my first lua snippet i'm continuing my task to develope

useful tools for Leadwerks Engine.

 

What tools you may ask?

 

The first, a batch texture converter is ready since a long time, but needs some tweaking here and there.

A beta was previously published but i want to get this tool out of the beta and will release a finished

version the next days.

 

The next one is to finish my milkshape exporter (animations still doesn't work) but the rest

is faster and less buggy.

 

The main tool I'm currently developing is a small helper which i call "Asset Helper".

 

What does this exactly mean?

 

Well everyone who ever have bought a model pack from one of the modelshops around the web

may know this problem. You download it and want to play with it in the Leadwerks Editor.

Unfortunatly in most cases this doesn't work at first.

 

You need to:


  • -convert the model to the gmf format
    -create correct material files
    -create lua scripts
    -give proper names to have a good structures view in the Editor
    -and some things more / depends on the pack

 

What does my tool do?

 

In a first version of my tool I tried to do the above steps completely automatically

with just a parameters given at startup, but this aproach fails as expected.

It was working with some modelpacks but mostly it fails.

 

So my new approach is a semi-automatic tool:

First it will scan and analyse a given directory recursivly and collects all

needed data like available models, are there already GMF models or do we

need to convert from fbx. It collects every texture it found and like the GenMat

tool it will try to find proper texture pairs to build material files.

In a last prestep it will scan the converted meshes and get the needed materials or

marks missing materials.

 

The next step is done by the user:

Choose which models to pack into the asset library. Assign missing textures, rename them etc. .

You will also be able to choose a scale value for every single model or choose a

scale for all models. The analyser will also attach a basic lua file to each model so

you have proper dialogs in the editor.

 

The last step will be to choose an asset name, a package name (optional) and a password (also optional).

After a click on start the whole process will start and you will get a nice pak file or a directory structure

which you only need to copy into your Game folder.

 

I hope that I have a small Update next time, maybe a screenshot.

 

See ya, klepto2

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haha yes... I was expecting something completely different when i clicked on it... :)

 

this would be great... I wish I had this 6 months ago when trying to convert a pack I had...

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If only we could edit a GMF file to either group surfaces or change the .mat file of a surface. I'd be fully happy.

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Lazlo,

 

if you have Milkshape3D you can use my GMF exporter. It combines the surfaces automatically

which shares the same material.

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