I'm currently researching what kind of modelformat i'd like to use. For now i've taken a look at collada and fbx.

While collada is easy to parse (since it's using xml) the data structure is terrible (since it's xml). I didn't want to bother with it's crazy layout so i checked what fbx is like. At first i was impressed. Easy to read and identify the data structure. When i started parsing it, i realized what a crazy amount of bullshit this is. I certainly don't want to bother working hours with coming up with a parser that is able to handle all of fbx's quirks and not error out in one of its inconsistencies.

I want to check a couple other formats before i go back to hustle my way through the fbx data, like md5. Although this requires an implementation of quaternions, which is further delaying the actual goal.

Meh, this is frustrating and annoying. Why are the official model formats in such a bad shape!? Aren't there actual programmers working on it? Don't they know what they do to the community by providing atrocious formats like that?

What's your experiences with modelformats, which do you prefer(ha! as if) or hate?

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Long pork is people!

wzl's burrow

Just add a COLLADA => wzl's custom encoding packager/compressor to your utility set.

MD5 looks clean. Damnit, just implement quaternions. They'll probably come after "the actual goal" anyway. Ultimately, I think you should just writeup your packager to compress all data into minimally encoded asset-packs. Don't shy away from splitting different types of models into specialized encodings if that trick can give simplicity and more speed to your game's run-time parser. Generalization is good for production, but usually less optimal for release/run-time. 'Bake up some intermediate utility to bridge the elves to the goblins.

Nice topic, by the way

Edit: Quaternions

http://content.gpwiki.org/index.php/Ope ... t_rotation

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What most people don't understand is what I like to explain as a thing that I understand.

Another problem with md5, i didn't find an export script yet that works
I'd really like to try check it out, but if i cannot even export, it doesn't matter anyways.

Curiously, a friend is also working on an fbx parser rightnow. I'm curious what he comes up with. I think i'm missing something right now to make a parser that is versatile enough to parse all of fbx info. Or maybe i'm too lazy and try to find a shortcut where there is none.

However i will check out quaternions. Wanted to do so for quite some time anyways

_________________
Long pork is people!

wzl's burrow

lol

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What most people don't understand is what I like to explain as a thing that I understand.