Wasn’t there an attempt a while back at creating a universal 3D file format that could be read form any 3D app? It would allow a model to keep most, if not all, of it’s assigned properties and object hierarchies. I think even entire scenes (or most of their data) could be archived in the format. I could’ve sworn reading that it was approved and even incorporated into various 3D apps (Lightwave was one, if I remember correctly).
If so, what format is this, and did it live up to it’s promise(s)? Does Blender read and write the format? Thanks.
I guess that the problem with a universal 3D file format is that none of the commercial companies would ever want to cooperate with each other to develop a file fomat together. Additionally, they all would probably ignore the interests of free programs like Blender. It would be very nice if someone would develop a standard, though. Re-texturing .3ds meshes gets very old.
>>I guess that the problem with a universal 3D file format is that none of the commercial companies would ever want to cooperate with each other to develop a file fomat together.<<
I’m not exactly sure how it was proposed or what body proposed it, but the format was indeed proposed and last I heard (2 or 3 years back) it was accepted as a format by the major 3D software publishers. I can only remember Lightwave as one of the companies who endorsed it, and I think that as of version 7 it was available in the program.
Well, it looks similar, the dates on the FAQ seem about right (~2002). I wonder if that wheel has been reinvented a few times. I don’t remember that “Intel is forming this working group…” routine in the original proposal. It looks like a different effort of the same goal, but I may be wrong.
>(first hit on google when searching for: universal 3d format)<<
By the way, I didn’t think of trying the obvious, a GOOGLE search. DOH!
Anyway, while that may or may not be what I originally saw, I wonder what kind of teeth this may have. I’m not sure of the Intel thing being a good or a bad thing. As long as it’s an open spec then it may be a good thing. Otherwise it may be too much of a special interest ramrodded by big money down eveyone’s throat.
I don’t see any 3D modeling program publishers listed in the (dated) FAQ. They only list “Adobe, Boeing, Dassault/Systemes, NGRAIN, Lattice, Microsoft, Parallel Graphics, SGDL Systems and Tech Soft” as players at the time of the FAQ writing. Perhaps I’ll post this question up on a Lightwave forum to see if this is the supposed spec they endorsed.
That’s a bit off what I was talking about. It’s too much programming related for me to relate to it, rather nebulous. It SEEMS interesting, anyway.
It may very well be that 3DIF was the format proposal that I had seen, I’ll have to look further into it. Not that it may help much, as it appears to have mostly lip service approval from the software publishers whose users would best benefit from it.
the .FBX file-format (introduced with kaydara motion buider, former filmbox) is kind of an universal format. there are plugins for FBX-I/O for almost any 3d package out there. and since motionbuilder’s primary target is character animation, it supports all kinds of bones, animation, skinning information, vertex weighting and so on. i have no clue abt. the license, but if the standard/API is open (and i assume it is) it would be a great idea to make blender fit for .FBX.
…i just did a quick search - the API isn’t free, a flat per-year-fee has to be paid. and kaydara was recently bought by alias (smart move…)
contacting alias may be a good idea, though, as a link to fbx means also establishing blender in exisiting production pipelines. i have no clue how wide-spread the format is and how often it’s actually used, but either way it’s interesting
edit:
i just saw that there is a FBX plugin for wings. if they can do it, why not us, too?
>>i just saw that there is a FBX plugin for wings. if they can do it, why not us, too?<<
I personally have a real bad taste in my mouth about anything Alias. I say we leave it out of Blender. I can live without a universal file format if it means going through Alias. I’d rather Blender programmers look at the 3DIF spec instead, or create a .3DS importer that can import .3DS files intect. 3DS is about as “universal” a format as you’re going to find, certainly the most widespread format anyway.
I’d rather prefer it be X format Blender importer. That format has been spread so much more than FBX. At least, in exporters. Most tools, more than fbx has, do export as x (and x is in many cheap ones as wel as highend…FBX, only in highend (of course, wings cant put anim in it)). True that not many import x (but Max5,6,7 now do, and XSI does since a while!) inside them, but what we’re talking about is to import into blender (as the x exporter is already done by Ben…) It’d totally rock to import an x weighted and boned character animation, made in XSI, Maya, Lightwave, the loads of Character Fx users (15$ cool tool), 3d Canvas users, etc into Blender, for final film making. or see Blender seamlessly integrate in a Max users team , or Maya project…totally great…