3D file format for animated objects

Hello,

I am looking for a piece of advice on what level editor and file format
to use to describe a whole object with its moving sub-objects integrated
in the file.
Another way to explain my question is can anyone tell me how do the
qualified developpers create those mobile objects? Do the graphist
integrates this (the axis of the rotation, the angles when it is open,
when it is closed, and one coordinate of the axis for a "door" and the
initial and final positions for "revealing hidden steps from the
ground") in the level edition, so they use an editor that export this in
the level file, or do the programmer add them later with a script or
something like that?
The first way would seem more logical for me, so if it is right could
anyone tell me an editor and a well-documented file format that I can
import in my code?
I guess any advanced game programmer must have already brainstormed
around the subject of the format, no?

Thanks for your help

David

In article <48c37f70$0$20562$426a74cc@news.free.fr>,
cathy <comptedenews.free.fr> wrote:
>I am looking for a piece of advice on what level editor and file format
>to use to describe a whole object with its moving sub-objects integrated
>in the file.

First off, it would help us help you if you could provide a bit
more information about your code and platform(s). What programming
language(s) do you know? What programming language(s) are you trying
to use for this project? What APIs (DirectX, OpenGL, other) are you
trying to use? What platform(s) (e.g. Windows, Mac, Linux, portable,
other) are you targeting? Answers to that would help a lot. If you're
using DirectX, its .x file format ought to be able to be used by a
large nuber of modeling packages, and a lot of utility code is already
present for reading and displaying things.

Most people either license an engine that already has a
well-defined file format, or they come up with their own format. If
you want, you can look at http://www.wotsit.org/list.asp?fc=2 , which
has documentation on a whole lot of 3D graphics file formats. You
ought to be able to learn a lot from these documents.

Otherwise, I'd advise you to just wing it and make your own format.
It's not all that hard-- start by being able to write out a 3D object
without a hierarchy -- e.g. a cube or something else. Then, make one
with a hierarchy. Then start animating them. Things like 'doors' are
just an animated model going from one state to another.

Nathan Mates
--
<*> Nathan Mates - personal webpage http://www.visi.com/~nathan/
# Programmer at Pandemic Studios -- http://www.pandemicstudios.com/
# NOT speaking for Pandemic Studios. "Care not what the neighbors
# think. What are the facts, and to how many decimal places?" -R.A. Heinlein

Nathan Mates a écrit :
> First off, it would help us help you if you could provide a bit
> more information about your code and platform(s).
Ok sorry.
So I am coding on Windows (Win32) with C/OpenGL.

> If you want, you can look at http://www.wotsit.org/list.asp?fc=2 , which
> has documentation on a whole lot of 3D graphics file formats. You
> ought to be able to learn a lot from these documents.
Thanks I will have a look, but I would appreciate any directions on a
format that supports animations in it and once again is well documented

> Otherwise, I'd advise you to just wing it and make your own format.
No problem to make my own format, but as far as I am not used to any 3D
editor (not a graphist at all), I do not know what can be exported from
the animations (an axis, an angle and a point of the axis for a
rotation, etc...). And I am looking for a good place on the net that
helps coders to know what are the data exported.

Thanks a lot, Nathan

In article <48c50981$0$27495$426a34cc@news.free.fr>,
cathy <comptedenews.free.fr> wrote:
>> First off, it would help us help you if you could provide a bit
>> more information about your code and platform(s).

>So I am coding on Windows (Win32) with C/OpenGL.

Ok. I recommend that you look at some of the Quake model file
formats (.md2 and .md3), which are available at
http://www.wotsit.org/list.asp?page=2&fc=9&search=&al= . Quake 1-3
were written in C, and used OpenGL as their renderer. Their file
formats support animations, are well documented, and export plugins
for those file formats are available for a number of 3D modeling
packages.

Btw, the full source code for Quake 1-3 is also available at
http://www.liberatedgames.com/gamelisting.php?letter=Q , among other
places. Note that this code is licensed by the GPL, which'll require
your code to also be GPL'd if you incorporate their source code. You
do *NOT* have to GPL your source code if you write your own code
that's capable of reading .md* files.

Nathan Mates



--
<*> Nathan Mates - personal webpage http://www.visi.com/~nathan/
# Programmer at Pandemic Studios -- http://www.pandemicstudios.com/
# NOT speaking for Pandemic Studios. "Care not what the neighbors
# think. What are the facts, and to how many decimal places?" -R.A. Heinlein

> Ok. I recommend that you look at some of the Quake model file
> formats (.md2 and .md3), which are available at

Ok, I heard of them. I thought it was commonly used for characters, not
for objects/scenery.
I will have a look at all your links.
Thanks for all your help.