Obsidian Games
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Posts posted by Obsidian Games
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Wow, lots of questions!
I'll try to answer them one at a time.I use a shareware payment service (SWREG) that processes all purchases. You can get to them through the purchase link on my website. They accept all major credit cards, paypal, checks, wire transfers...pretty much everything.
As for the VAT issue, that's the European Union's "Value Added Tax". I'm not extremely clear on the details, but I think it's a recent tax that affects all eCommerce purchases for EU members. Perhaps someone from the EU would be able to go into more detail. It will only affect your purchase price if you live there, so you can safely ignore it if you live elsewhere.
On the DirectX version issue, AMXtex no longer uses any DirectX code. This was done partially so that it wouldn't matter what DirectX version user's had installed, and also so that it would be possible (if there was a enough interest) to port it to the Mac version of A:M.
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You can find the X file format reference inside the Help files that come with the SDK download, or you can find it by searching msdn.microsoft.com for "X File Format Reference".
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Things are moving along nicely. I've been really busy working on the animation portion of the exporter, which is why I haven't been able to add anything to the website this past week.
I recently found a section of the Hash SDK that I was not previously aware of, which allows plugin writers to add their own properties to various parts of models and actions. This is great news for the Torque plugin, as it allows for the addition of Torque specific properties. Even better, all of these properties will be saved to and loaded from the Hash model and action files automatically by A:M. Hats off to the Hash team on this one, this feature is just amazing.
The sequence properties that I've added so far (mostly working, but not fully tested) are: Start Frame, End Frame, Frame Rate, Cyclic, Blend Sequence, Blend Reference Frame, and Priority. I'll be working on ground transforms and triggers next. Visibility animation has been problematic, but I hope to revisit that as well.
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First off, I'll start with an update, as it's a big one. I've just this weekend gotten animations working! Animations can be included inside the DTS file export, or they can be exported separately as a DSQ file. I have not done *extensive* testing yet, but my test animations include basic rotations, scales, and translations, and they look exactly the same in the Torque viewer as they do in A:M. Additionally, I've tested animations that start from a posed position (not the "at rest" bone layout), and they work as well. There are currently some issues if posed animations are included in the DTS file, but they work perfectly from a DSQ export. I'm not sure if it's a problem with Torque or with the AMXdtsPlus exporter (it's likely the exporter), but we'll see.
This is just a starting point, as there are still a lot of animation options that have not been implemented. My next task will be to work on testing and polishing the animation export and adding the missing options. I will also try to upload a new image to the website to demonstrate the animations, and will probably include a zip with the DTS/DSQ files for people to try out. If I have enough time, I will try to create an animation example using a humanoid model, but that may need to wait a bit.
To answer Dingo's question regarding the level of detail export, each LoD in that example was modelled separately. And yes, that's why the texture exists on the billboard LoD. Currently, my feeling is that you'll be able to get varying levels of detail in the following way -- Export your model multiple times using the PLY (or other) exporter, each time at a different patch per poly setting. Then import them back into A:M, clean up any holes, and manually assign LoD settings to each model. This way, you can match all bone settings and model orientations, and animations should work the same with each LoD.
That's all for now. As soon as I have something new to report, I'll let everyone know.
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It should be in the DirectX SDK, which is a much larger download than the end user install (100+ megs). It includes a lot of example apps, including the meshviewer app. I'm not sure that Microsoft provides it separately from the SDK, so you may need to download the whole SDK to get it. The SDK download can be found at the Microsoft DirectX Developer Page, and the app is named "mview.exe".
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I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Did you find the exporter interface difficult to understand, or the directx model viewer?
The old viewer that used to be available on the website was just a basic .X viewer. I've since removed it from the website, as the MeshViewer utility that comes with the Microsoft DirectX SDK is *far* superior, and is what I now recommend. That might be something to check out, as I've found it quite easy to navigate around.
As for displaying .X files on the web, I'm not sure if there are any such viewers available. It would have to be a specialized web plugin though, rather than a stand-alone executable.
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You can keep upgrading for free. Once you purchase AMXtex once, there are no more fees associated with it.
As for the AM to Torque exporter, I'm currently working on that as well. You can find info at my website, and there are also a couple of threads on it here in the Game Dev forum. Here are the links:
Obsidian Games - AMXdtsPlus Exporter Page
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I've released another update to AMXtex, bringing it to version 2.09. It can be found at http://www.obsidiangames.com/products/amxtex/. This new version is a more minor update than the previous version, so it's not a critical update. It does include some useful changes though, which are:
1) Introduced a new export option called "Ignore Duplicate Normals". This option is available when exporting duplicate vertices, and forces AMXtex to export only one normal per vertex. Vertices belonging to more than one poly typically have normals for each poly that they're associated with. This is a good thing, and you'll likely want to leave this option turned off. There are cases, however, where using this option can give a smoothing appearance between polys.
2) Fixed a bug where a certain section of the export was running twice, which slowed down model exports.
3) Updated the export dialog to store all export preferences, and improved the logic between the options to prevent conflicting options.
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Honestly, I'm really not sure yet when the Torque exporter will be ready. I really want to get it finished as soon as possible, so hopefully it won't be too long. I'm working on animation now, which tends to take the longest. Once that's done, I'll need to go through everything and fill in any blanks that I find or may have missed the first time around. I want to be sure that when it's released, it will be as complete as possible.
Also, in your original thread, I noticed that you mentioned the possibility of using Blitz3D. That engine uses .X files, which my AMXtex exporter can export from A:M. In the interim, that might be an option.
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The actual export should be extremely easy. The test version right now only has 3 checkboxes that modify how the model is exported.
The harder part will be the initial setup of the model for export. Building Torque models definitely takes some getting used to, but once you're familiar with it, it should be a lot easier to work with. They have to be built to a specific scale (iirc, 1 Hash cm = 1 Torque meter), on a specific axis, etc. Also, depending on how complex you want your model to be (multiple levels of detail, collision meshes, etc), it will increase or decrease your design time.
There are a number of documents available online (linked mostly through the Garage Games website) that describe the export process for other 3D apps. AMXdtsPlus will follow a similar path, so those documents should give you a feel for what's involved. Of course, I will also provide A:M specific documentation when the exporter is released.
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I did some searching, and it looks like Quest3D uses .X files, and has a web viewer. I have no knowledge of the product aside from briefly browsing their website, but that might be an option for web development. It looks like it's IE only though, so I'm not sure if that will work or not.
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Thanks for the kind words everyone. I'm really excited to get A:M working with Torque, so hopefully I'll have more good news to share in the near future.
As for a more complex textured example like the Sierra model, I haven't attempted any yet for a couple of reasons. One of the requirements for Torque models is that texture sizes must be a power of 2 (64x64, 128x256, etc). Also, I don't think material colors are used, so the model needs to be fully textured.
I haven't had time to search the 2005 CD for any models using this type of setup, which is why I'm using that basic box test model. If anyone knows of or has an example model that fits the bill, I'd be happy to test it and show a screenshot of it in the engine.
I'm also not sure about the animation smoothness, as animations aren't implemented yet. That's next on the list though, so we'll see. It should look the same as other A:M exported models though.
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A lot of Torque is script driven, meaning you might not need to know too much c++ (at least when you're starting out with it). The Garage Games site has info on the scripting language, so that might be a good start. C++ only comes into play if you're looking to modify the engine itself. There are lots of good resources on the web for learning C++, so I'd probably recommend searching on the web before purchasing a C++ book (though that may be a good idea down the road).
I believe the Torque Shader Engine is an engine all by itself, an extension of the base game engine with lots of newer graphics features. However, to purchase the shader engine, you must already own the base TGE engine. You'd probably get more realistic and/or newer graphic features from the shader engine, but I think the base engine can do quite a lot.
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The realtime/game aspect is definitely my primary area of interest. I'd love to see A:M used more for these types of apps, as it's a great tool for making this type of content.
I'm not sure if any native .X web viewers exist. WildTangent makes a web viewer for 3D models, but I believe you need to use their converter to get .X files into their web format.
As for Torque, they do have a number of add-ons available. However, the base engine (TGE) seems quite capable by itself, and there are tons of community-provided add-ons, tutorials, code snipets, etc. I think it just depends on what type of game you're looking to make. They have demos and/or videos for most of their main products, so that should help out in determining what you'd want.
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First off, please see this thread -- http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9110 -- for the previous discussion on this. It's in the SDK forum though, and I thought this forum might be more appropriate.
Off and on for the past two months, I've been working on a Torque exporter for A:M. I did not want to say anything publicly though, as Arthur Walasek was originally going to be working on this. I contacted him recently though, and he gave me the go ahead to post this.
The plugin is not finished yet, and there's still a good deal of work to be done on the animation side. Most features for static models have been implemented though (LoD support, collision meshes, textures, bones, billboards, etc). I've posted a work in progress page at http://www.obsidiangames.com/products/amxdtsplus/ , for those who are interested in what has been accomplished so far. There is also a gallery page with multiple test screenshots.
If anyone has any questions or comments, I'd love to hear them. The two obvious ones that I can think of are cost and OSX support, and I honestly don't know about either at the moment. Before I can say whether or not it will be a pay or free plugin, I need to look into some Torque licensing issues. On the OSX topic, I don't currently own a Mac, so I'm not sure how that will work. When writing the current code though, I've attempted to keep it as standard as possible, in hopes that it could be easily ported when the time comes.
I will post more news as soon as I have any. I've recently been working on some issues with AMXtex (DirectX .X exporter), and have one more feature to look into, but I should be able to pick this back up in the next week or two.
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Version 2.08 of AMXtex, the DirectX .X exporter, has been released. It can be downloaded at http://www.obsidiangames.com/products/amxtex/ .
This version includes a number of fixes and improvements, most importantly to bone export. There were a couple of issues with boned models either not showing up properly in a model viewer, or not loading at all. One of the changes has to do with bone names. DirectX uses a strict naming convention, allowing only alphanumeric characters and the underscore character. AMXtex will now enforce this convention, and will replace any non-standard characters.
Additionally, I am considering whether or not to stop maintaining versions of AMXtex that run on older versions of A:M (currently versions for A:M 8.5 - 11.1 are updated in sync). Support would not end for those versions, only new code additions. By focusing on adding new features and fixes only to AMXtex on newer versions of A:M, it would allow things to get done faster and more efficiently. If anyone still uses older versions of A:M with AMXtex, would you please contact me either through email or private messages?
I have one more question for everyone, but Mac OSX users in particular. Now that Hash has released a Mac SDK, I'm considering whether or not to port AMXtex to OSX. I understand that the .X format does not work on Macs, but I'm curious to know if any Mac A:M users are on programming teams that are using the .X format. If there is enough interest (and if I can get a Mac), I'd be willing to consider it. Your feedback would be appreciated.
Thanks!
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First off, thanks for the plug triath5147!
As for some game programming packages, here are links to the ones I can think of. I'm not sure exactly what level of programming skill is needed for each of these, so I would defer to what others have said.
3D Games:
Blitz3D - Uses X, 3DS and B3D (Blitz3D format) models
DarkBASIC - Uses 3DS, X and DBO (DarkBASIC format) models
Torque Game Engine - Uses DTS (Torque format) models. Arthur Walasek is currently working on an A:M plugin for the DTS format, and is posting updates in the SDK forum.
2D/Tile Games:
The Scrolling Game Development Kit
I'm sure this list isn't even close to being comprehensive, but hopefully you find them helpful.
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Hash's online order form for educational purchases redirects you to Creation Engine's website. They specialize in academic purchases, so that's where you want to go. At least when I first got into A:M a number of years ago, they were very easy to deal with. The link to their requirements can be found here:
http://www.creationengine.com/html/policies.html#academic
Basically, you need to scan in your student ID as proof and upload it to their website. Good luck with your purchase, you won't regret it!
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I've always been a fan of (and had great results with) nVidia, though comparable cards from ATI and Matrox should get similar benchmark results. I think more than anything, the manufacturer of the card is actually the most important factor that plays into it -- availability of drivers, reliability, support, etc.
Last year, Steve @ Hash put together a great set of benchmarks ( http://www.hash.com/3dmark.htm ). It's mostly up to date, and provides some good info on the various cards. I'd actually like to see more results up there, so if anyone has a new/recent card, it would be great to see their results added. In terms of A:M, the most important benchmarks on that page are the non 3dmark ones, which are the result of an actual A:M FPS/render.
Here are a few links to other discussions from the boards that might help:
http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1033
http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7519
When making purchases, I've always found NewEgg to be a great place to buy from. I've purchased parts for 3 computers there, and have never had a problem. Their search engine is very detailed (for instance, you can search for dual VGA only), and I've found the customer reviews to be very helpful. For what it's worth, the card I'm currently looking at right now is the ChainTech nVIDIA GeForce FX5700LE w/ 256MB ram. It seems to be one of the best sub-$100 cards available, which is the pricepoint I usually look for. More hardcore A:M users might be better off with a higher end card though.
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I just wanted to update everyone on this topic. I worked with Prometheus666 on the issue, and it looks like it was a problem with an older version of AMXtex. I recently updated AMXtex after a problem was found with some animation exports not working. He confirmed that everything is working again, and he also was able to get AMXtex working with V11.
New Version of AMXtex DirectX .X Exporter Released
in Game Development
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SandGroper -- Other than what I mentioned before, there's really no other reason that it doesn't use the DirectX libraries. I just figured it would be good to be as flexible as possible, so if someone can run A:M on a PC, they can use AMXtex.
triath5147 -- Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it. I still can't wait to see your finished game, you'll have to post on the forums when it comes out!
I don't think I'll increase the price on the exporter, at least for the forseeable future. I'd rather have a decent price and have more people use it than increase it too much and have no one use it. And though I appreciate the thought, I've always said that current users would never have to pay an upgrade fee. Even if I were to change that for newer versions, all previous owners would be covered.
As for the older versions, I'll probably stop adding features to the 8.5 version, as I don't think too many people use that anymore. It's not too much trouble to keep the 9.5-current versions in sync, though that may change in the future if the Hash SDK introduces new features that aren't available in the older versions.
plasma -- As far as I know, the exporter should go as high as you want in terms of polygon count, at least until you run out of system memory. I know it can go beyond 64k polys. There does seem to be an issue loading large models with the most recent Microsoft MeshViewer app though. It will not load a model that contains bones if there are more than 65,536 (2^16-1) triangle polys. It can go beyond that if there are no bones though. Unfortunately, I don't know for sure why this happens.
You should be able to download the unregistered version of AMXtex and test out your models. They won't be textured, but you should be able to test out any other limits that you can think of.