Interaction with other 3D apps ?

[nixx]

Hi everybody,

First of all, I apologize if this has been discussed before, but a quick search through this forum didn't give me anything concrete.

Here's the question : What solutions/choices are there for TG2 to work with other 3D apps ? For example, can you output a camera path from say XSI or Lightwave and import it into TG2 (assuming you have the animation module of course) ? I know the built-in animation tools are not exactly intuitive or powerful yet, so a way to import paths and animation data is, I think, essential.

How about rendering/compositing, does it output proper Z-buffer/depth frames ? How about lights, etc ? You get the idea.

I have used the free preview and I was very impressed, not to mention I felt right at home within 15 minutes ! Now that the final release is getting near, I am thinking about purchasing the full package, but I 'd really like to know if -and how- it can be integrated into my production workflow.

Thanks, and again, sorry if that has been covered before and if it has, I 'd appreciate simple references as to where I should look for the info.

nick

[rcallicotte]

Here's what Oshyan has said - http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=3414.msg35277#msg35277

Not much else has been promised, though I'm pretty sure the animation key system presently works in the general sense with other 3D apps.  People have shown how they used it in this forum.

[nixx]

Here's what Oshyan has said - http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=3414.msg35277#msg35277

Not much else has been promised, though I'm pretty sure the animation key system presently works in the general sense with other 3D apps.  People have shown how they used it in this forum.

Thanks for your reply and the info Calico. I see what Oshyan says about the built-in animation system, but this doesn't cover (camera) animation synchronizing/transferring from other 3D apps, nor other things like light positions. I 'm interested in ways to do these things, even "hacks", so to speak - I 'm not necessarily looking for a one-click way to do it, I just need to know if there is any way to do it at all, even if it involves several steps, third-party solutions, scripting, etc. In other words, I 'd like to know of any options, easy or hard. Thank you for your input anyway !

nick

[Oshyan]

TG2 natively supports the Nuke .chan file format for motion data import. Most of the major apps have either direct export support or plugins that support this format. You can import a .chan using the Deep+Animation version through the animation buttons next to most settings.

There is also a plugin for 3DS Max that allows better data interchange between the two apps. There is discussion about that elsewhere on the forums here.

Additionally the TG2 .tgd file format is simple human-readable XML and can easily be modified using simple programming or scripting, so a custom solution could be created easily if necessary.

As far as image data, only alpha is currently supported directly, although there are workarounds (depth shader) for creating z-buffer images manually.

A major goal for future development will be to improve interoperability, including support of the most popular 3D geometry and motion data for import/export, as well as multi-pass and multi-output rendering (e.g. z-buffer, shadow pass, etc.). Improvements in this area will not come until after the upcoming "gold" release however.

- Oshyan

[nixx]

Thank you Oshyan, that was a pretty good sum of where TG2 stands in that area right now. The .chan format support is promising; I think with a little work you can at least share camera & lights positions from any 3D app through it. That's a good start. And .tgd files being XML and not binary opens up various possibilities.

Thanks again, that was exactly the info I needed.

nick

[cyphyr]

TG2 natively supports the Nuke .chan file format for motion data import. Most of the major apps have either direct export support or plugins that support this format. You can import a .chan using the Deep+Animation version through the animation buttons next to most settings.

There is also a plugin for 3DS Max that allows better data interchange between the two apps. There is discussion about that elsewhere on the forums here.

........

- Oshyan

Has anyone come up with a list of these major apps that support this format. So far I have found exactly none I cant afford 3dsmax or Nuke, lol.
Sorry to bump this old chestnut up but it became relevant over the weekend. THanks
Richard

[JimB]

What solutions/choices are there for TG2 to work with other 3D apps ? For example, can you output a camera path from say XSI or Lightwave and import it into TG2

http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=246.0  It works. (Johnnyboy, you're a god)

Another useful plugin for XSI: http://guruware.at/main/index.html
And another that imports TG .ter files: http://www.highend3d.com/xsi/downloads/plugins/utility_external/import/GEM-Fractal-Generator-3817.html

How about rendering/compositing, does it output proper Z-buffer/depth frames ? How about lights, etc ? You get the idea.

I've not output a Z-depth nor tried, but I see no reason why you couldn't recreate sun direction in another app by just interpreting the settings in TG2. Personally, I'd just eyeball it using the sun settings as a guide.

http://www.infinity-universe.com/InfinityForums/viewtopic.php?p=88945#88945

More discussion that may help: http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=300.0

[JimB]

For Blender (don't use Blender so don't know how good it is): http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?p=1071043

(Shouldn't the other camera I/O thread be merged into this one?)