[ssmit132]

Is there a way to convert VRML models to a format editable by TrueSpace 3.2?

[Scooby_Doo]

3d Exploration handles VRML (wrl files) and COB.

[ssmit132]

My trial period expired.

[Vengence]

Then I'll just tell you what some guys told me at Sci-Fi Meshes, ahem "Jeez, they make it so cheap these days it is almost nothing! Just buy it!" I'm feeling the love now

[Vasudan Admiral]

...Or you could just download this version of it from Karajorma's FAQ:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/karajorma/FAQ/Downloads/3DExplorer_v181.rar

It might complain once in a while about the trial period having expired, but it remains fully functional.

[ssmit132]

Crap, I already have that file, but I have a lower one installed! Silly me! Now (hopefully) I can work on my suprise. I'll apologize now if I never do it.

Then I'll just tell you what some guys told me at Sci-Fi Meshes, ahem "Jeez, they make it so cheap these days it is almost nothing! Just buy it!" I'm feeling the love now

I'm saving for a new USB Stick.

[Nuke]

i hate vrml. its one of the first modeling formats i ever used. first used it on macs with some long forgotten obscure modeling program, and it sucked. its an ascii format that was intended to be used to make 3d webpages. the viewer was slow and you could run it in a web browser with the proper plugin installed. even then the perforemance was hella slow, even to this day. supposidly you could embed script into it and do some lame things like spin an object with a mouseover. either the idea of 3d websites was ahead of its time, or it was just really stupid.

[ssmit132]

...Or you could just download this version of it from Karajorma's FAQ:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/karajorma/FAQ/Downloads/3DExplorer_v181.rar

It might complain once in a while about the trial period having expired, but it remains fully functional.

I installed over the old one but it still won't let me convert. Do I have to uninstall the first one before installing the newer one?

[ssmit132]

I've got the non-disabling version from my Desktop computer running and all my models are converted, but I've hit another snag. Currently, the models are the right size in TrueSpace - as an example, one of them has a size of 17.440 metres in the X coordinate. How much do I have to divide it, and all the other models by, to get them the right size in FS2?

[Scooby_Doo]

Using default PCS values, 20 units in Truespace equal 1 meter in freespace.

For most of my stuff it seems to go X, 3.6, Z.  So I divide everything by 3.6 then multiple by (ship length/20).

[ssmit132]

Using default PCS values, 20 units in Truespace equal 1 meter in freespace.

For most of my stuff it seems to go X, 3.6, Z.  So I divide everything by 3.6 then multiple by (ship length/20).

20 units = how much?
So, for the example model, I would divide by 3.6, then multiply that by 16.300 (model length in meters) divided by 20?

[Bobboau]

I don't know what this 3.6 bit is about, but one TS meter generally equals 20 FS meters, you can change this though.

[Scooby_Doo]

Maybe it's just me... but all my ships convert from 3d exploration to cob have 3.6 TS unit length.

Ok the general formula would be:

Imported model in in cob

Dimensions of imported model: (X,Y,Z)
Real model length = W

Math time:

1. Normalize ship size (X/Y, 1, Z/Y) => (U,1, V)   [note Y/Y = 1]
2. Calc actual lenght conversation W/20 => S
3. Size the ship to the correct scale (U*S, S, V*S) [note S*1=S]

Example:
Ship imported into cob is (1.5, 3.6, 2)
Real scale is 25 meters

(1.5/3.6, 3.6/3.6, 2/3.6) =  (.416, 1, .555)
25/20 = 1.25
(.416 * 1.25, 1 * 1.25, .555 * 1.25) = (1.666, 1.25, .69375)

So the cob model should be (1.666, 1.25, .69375) to have it imported into FS2 with 25 meters.

[ssmit132]

Dividing by 20 did the trick. Thanks for your help.

[Nuke]

when i still used pcs i pretty much left my fighters and bombers at a scale of 1:1, i really only used a higher scale value for capships, which truespace doesnt model as well. mainly because the camera controls took longer to reposition. but for fighters a scale of 1:1 works well because its easy go get vectors for gunpoints and stuff from truespace.

[Scooby_Doo]

You must have some really small fighters Nuke, I've tried it and the fighter barely fit into truespace.

[Nuke]

i tend to build small fighters just because i favor lights over heavys. its the thing i like about the bsg mod. in the old days it was damn near impossible to find players who wanted to play light dogfights because they all seemed to favor mediums or heavys. i stilll got a few ships i use higher conversion factors on. but there arent many.