Creating content with 3D Studio MAX

From Digital Spaces

This document refers to creating content with 3D Studio MAX 5 and 7. Other versions of 3D Studio MAX are untested/unsupported. This document also assumes the Ogre render system is being used within Digital Spaces.

Required tools:

• 3D Studio MAX 5 or 7
• Ogre Scene exporter
• Ogre Mesh exporter (maxscript)

Install the Ogre exporters as per their installation instructions.

Create your scene as per your normal method and routine within 3DSMAX.

Open the Ogre Scene exporter roll out.

Ogre Scene exporter rollout.

Select the settings you need (default settings are fine, but be sure to check “all mapping ch.” if you have models with multiple mapping channels).

Click the “Export All” button. This will bring up the following dialog.

Export Dialog.

Choose your output directory and filename. Your filename (for example Moon_Scene) will be the filename of the .scene file (Moon_Scene.scene), your material file (Moon_Scene.material)

To export a model with associated skeletal animations.

Open the Ogre Exporter (not the Ogre Scene Exporter) and you should have this window open:

After configuring the Exporters options in the Options rollout click the “Select a mesh..” button to select the model you with to export.

You now have to select your output directory and filename by either manually typing in your directory path and filename, or by using the browse function to select the directory.

The next step is to check the “Export Skeleton” check box contained within the Animation rollout.

When setting up your animations you must set them up one after another along the time line. For example,

• Frames 0 through 99 -> Idle animation.
• Frames 100 through 199 -> Walk animation

You must now name and set your timespace for your animations. This is a 3 step procedure.

The first step is to type in a name for your animation. (For example “Idle”)

The second step is to type in which frames correspond to this animation (For example the “Idle” animation is located in frames 0 to 99. You must also set the time it will take for this animation to play in its entirety in seconds.

The third step is click the Add button.

Provided you’ve set your options correctly, and your OgreScripts.ini file, you should be able to click export,

and have your .mesh and .skeleton file appear in your media directory as defines in your OgreScripts.ini file. Failing that you can find your .mesh.xml and .skeleton.xml files in your Output directory and manually run them through the OgreXMLConverter application to give you a .mesh and .skeleton to use within your scene.