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I've looked around for a good model format to use in a game I'm building. Its a single player RPG that runs on any platform. I looked at md2,3, and 5 formats, obj, and 3ds, but I couldn't really find what I was looking for. All I need is a 3d model with animation that I can apply textures to. I know most of the list above does that. All I'm looking for is opinions on which one is better/easier to work with.

Thanks

Robbie
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  • What engine are you using or are you rolling your own? Also, what 3D modeling tool(s) are you using? – Michael La Voie Sep 28 '09 at 18:31
  • "All I need is a 3d model with animation that I can apply textures to" And what makes you think this is so simple? I think all the formats above support this, I'm only really familiar with 3ds. It's the native export format for 3dsMax, which is a plus. No offense, but I think you'd be better off either making a 2D RPG, or a simple 3D game, but not both. Don't take this wrong, but from your question you might be biting off more than you can chew. It's good to push yourself, but a single player RPG isn't an easy thing, really. – GManNickG Sep 28 '09 at 18:35
  • I do agree with GMan; however, some of my best learning experiences came out of reaching too far. If you really are new to game development, consider using an existing engine, rather that starting from scratch. That way you can focus on learning modeling and game logic. Off topic, sorry. Also, I didn't see COLLADA listed there: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/573025/which-3d-model-format-should-i-be-using/573388#573388. – Michael La Voie Sep 28 '09 at 18:40
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    I understand that its not an easy thing to do. That's not what is being asked here. I don't need people telling me that it'll be too hard because this will most likely take a long time anyway. All I wanted to know is which format is easiest to work with in C++. I'm thinking about either using Ogre 3D or rolling my own. I haven't though about it too much because I'm still in the process of determining all the storyline details. – Robbie Sep 28 '09 at 18:40
  • I looked at COLLADA and I didn't want to mess with xml parsing. I had read other posts by people saying that it was messy and not nice to work with. Also they said that it was mostly used as a medium for 3d data between 3d applications, not really meant for games. – Robbie Sep 28 '09 at 18:41
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    If you are going to use Ogre3d then this becomes a non-issue. Ogre has its own format, it uses exclusively, which supports all features you list as requirements and which supports all Ogre features. There are exporters for all the more popular 3d modeling tools available. http://www.ogre3d.org/wiki/index.php/OGRE_Exporters – haffax Sep 28 '09 at 21:09

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The .ply format is simple and not too hard to code an interpreter for if you like the whole DIY experience. The Stanford 3D Scanning Repository has a bunch of .ply files you can download and use to test your implementation.

Zann Anderson
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  • It doesn't look as if this format supports animation... Did I miss something in reading that site? – Robbie Sep 28 '09 at 19:07
  • Oh stupid me didn't read your question closely enough - no support for animation as far as I know... – Zann Anderson Sep 28 '09 at 19:19
  • Its cool. For static models I planned on using wavefront models (obj) anyway. I wrote a loader for those models about a year ago. – Robbie Sep 28 '09 at 19:22
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See my question and answer - I highly recommend the MS3D format. It ended up being easy to use, you can try my Blender exporter (though it's incomplete), and it does support all of these features.

Community
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Ricket
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I decided to use MD5 models after all. I found some sample code online that loaded the models and drew them. As for actually making the models, there is apparently an exporter script in blender that creates the needed files. I don't know any specifics on that process though, my friend is making all the models for me. Thanks for the suggestions though.

Robbie
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