Blender BZ2 exporter testers needed

[Red Devil]

Is there an importer as well, so we can edit existing models?

[Treiss]

BNG> look inside the Blender folder, should see a .something folder, look in there and search until you see .py files. Place there and it appears on the export menu

RD>I don't think so yet...
"I export in a VERY BZ2 format" - OvermindDL1
Hmm...perhaps that say it all   

[Dianoga]

Last time I tried it I still wasn't able to get the  UV mapping part of it to work. My test model always shows up with no texture on it in the editor.

Dia

[Treiss]

What EXACTLY do you mean by that? You mean in Blender you don't see the texture? Or in the BZ2 Editor? Just as a final check(for BZ2 editor), you DO have the texture in the directory AND included in the ODF, right? That's about all I know.. 

[OvermindDL1]

All importers/exporters/etc... go in:  C:\program files\Blender Foundation\Blender\.blender\scripts\ or wherever you installed it.  Uvmapping I'm still unsure if, so if possible uvmap something, export the xsi, and if(when) it doesn't work, could you send me the xsi that was exported?

[Avatar]

Ok well if you can get something UV mapped to show up in the editor please how you do it because I have things uv mapped and they will not show up. I have tried a few different things and still nothing shows but a plain color.

Dia

Hmmm, might not be an issue with the XSI...

Make sure your texture is square and a power of two.  64x64, 128x128, 256x256 are pretty standard.

They should also be a format the game can handle, such as PIC or TGA.  If TGA make sure it's 24 bit and NOT compressed.

My own experience is that missing textures are usually compressed TGA's, not square, or not in the BZ2 directories. 

I've also gone into the XSI in Notepad and replaced the missing texture called with just the texture name.  For instance, replace "C:\3DStudio\Maps\Battlezone Maps\bigship.bmp" with "bigship.pic".

-Av-

[Dianoga]

What I meant was that the model looks fine in Blender, it's all textured and everything, but in the Editor, it doesn't show the texture. I have tried using bitmaps which work on every other model I have made and tested in the editor but I also tried PNGs with no luck as well. I also tried looking at the xsi in notepad and there definitely has to be something wrong. The line showing the location of the texture file is completely missing for both textures ( I am using 2 textures but also tried one). Not sure if this matters or not but the structure of the xsi doesn't seem to be set up the same way as others that I have looked at. Normal xsi's stagger down kind of like steps where this one lists everything on the left hand side straight down. Hope that makes sense or perhaps you'll know what I mean when I post the xsi.

The model is suppose to be using 2 textures: rdisint1.bmp and rdisint2.bmp.
http://dianoga4.homestead.com/files/ivdisint.xsi

Hope this helps.

Dia

[OvermindDL1]

It's not saving texture info, it is saving uvmapping, and I see two materials, but the texture is not saved with them, so either the texture type of material was not selected in B3d or my exporter is missing something.  As asked for on my site a few seconds ago, could you send me the .blend file so I can see?

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

Just a quick comment OM. If both 3D EXPLORATION and THREED refuse to open an XSI file created by the BLENDER exporter then doesn't that itself indicate a bug? Ideally, a single object is in reality one of several frames used together to create an animation sequence; I know this from my experience as a television broadcast technician. The standard in the NTSC model is 30 frames per second for the U.S. television system. Additionally, I have no problems loading any of the other XSI files included in the XSIZIP file from BZSCRAP into either of the above mentioned applications. However, something in the XSI's created by the exporter from BLENDER somehow does not conform to the standards required and may in fact need to be resolved before an animation sequence will even work. PS: I'll continue to try exporting stuff with the BLENDER exporter, but I feel that until the above mentioned issue is addressed not much good will result...BNG.

[OvermindDL1]

Just a quick comment OM. If both 3D EXPLORATION and THREED refuse to open an XSI file created by the BLENDER exporter then doesn't that itself indicate a bug? Ideally, a single object is in reality one of several frames used together to create an animation sequence; I know this from my experience as a television broadcast technician. The standard in the NTSC model is 30 frames per second for the U.S. television system. Additionally, I have no problems loading any of the other XSI files included in the XSIZIP file from BZSCRAP into either of the above mentioned applications. However, something in the XSI's created by the exporter from BLENDER somehow does not conform to the standards required and may in fact need to be resolved before an animation sequence will even work. PS: I'll continue to try exporting stuff with the BLENDER exporter, but I feel that until the above mentioned issue is addressed not much good will result...BNG.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.  As I've stated many times, it does not export XSI, it exports a BZ2XSI, exported in such a way that BZ2 reads it better (and greater compatability with how Blender exports things).  But, I program, I don't make models, ergo, give me test cases where things fail, and I will fix them, but no one is doing so.

Threed is an utter joke for XSI work anyway, and the 3dExp is broken in animation handling, it only supports vertex anim's, not bone anims.

[Dianoga]

I posted an example blend on your site OM, the one that goes with the xsi that I posted there recently.

Dia

[OvermindDL1]

Will look at when I get a few moments.

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

Dam, I was hoping by now the exporter would be a bit closer to completion. OM, are there any specific tasks that we can try to move along things with this exporter? I don't know what to try anymore to help you get this exporter thing moving again. Can the exporter be set to export a single frame or it is just for animation sequences? Just thought that I'd ask...BNG. 

[OvermindDL1]

The whole source is available, so edit if you so wish.  Been extrodinarily busy thanks to it being the last bit of school for the semester, havn't even programmed more then a couple hours in the last week.

The non-fully-working parts are something to do with textures/uvmaps, and animations...

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

OM, work on the exporter would get done more efficiently if you could provide a short list of things to do/try for the testers.

I don't have a clue on how to even begin testing the exporter in the BZII map editor. We'll help if we can, but we need some defined direction to follow based on feedback from you...BNG

PS: If possible post some suggestions that you want tested, and I"ll try them and post the results wherever you want them posted. I'd like to see the project completed too.