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Old 22nd July 2011, 07:36 PM   #1
Candy_Fayray
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Default How to bring Objects from AC3D to Secondlife ??

Hello

I have some questions which I cant solve.

1. How to bring the objects i did create to secondlife ?
- .tga Second Life Normalized Sculpted Prim
Second Life Sculpted Prim plugin, version 1.2a - TFPSoft, LLC / Inivis
.tga Second Life Sculpted Prim
Second Life Sculpted Prim plugin, version 1.2a - TFPSoft, LLC / Inivis
.slb Second Life Boxes plugin, version 1.0, by Inivis

which one is CORRECT ???

2. how to set up the Notecards which have a Limit on Information ?

3. can i transfer also my objects to maya or 3DMAX ?

4. best would be when someone can send me step for step Info.

thx for helping
Candy
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Old 23rd July 2011, 06:31 PM   #2
Clay
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Default Re: How to bring Objects from AC3D to Secondlife ??

Hi Sandy its pretty simple if you havent gotten the answer figured out. Once you save your work as and .ac file for safe keeping in case you want to rework it. Go to export and then down to Normalized second life sculptie. It will save as a .tga file. in second life just upload image and find the file you just saved. I put all my saved ac3d files in my picture folder on my pc so I can locate easily. Make sure the little box on that says compresion is checked too when you go to upload into second life. This makes sure it doesnt look all wonky when you put the file into a sculpted prim. If you have any other questions you can look for Clay Ellison in second life.
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Old 25th July 2011, 06:12 AM   #3
SecondLifer
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Unhappy Re: How to bring Objects from AC3D to Secondlife ??

Hi, Im in a lot of trouble

This thread seems ideal to ask for some help.

I bought From a Site, 2 Jetliner Models in 3ds format, which Im pretty sure is correct for this program.

I want to upload the basic none textured model of each, to see how big it is, into My Building sim In Second Life.

I spent hours last night trying various ways of importing one of these Planes into Second life with no success. My problem is compounded, that this trial version runs out in a few days, and if I cant upload the aircraft at all, It would be a waste of money to buy the £53 license for AC3D.

The 3D models in question cost quite a lot of money together £85 or 130US$

First is a B737 which the most expensive, its awesome, and I already have prepared liverys for it.

It comes with full fusalage, windows, cockpit windows, undercarriage and wheels and slats etc. the details are as follows: Polygons: 232352 Points: 136705 Objects: 377, the model was originally made for a television commerial.

The second plane is a basic Airbus, low res with just the engines naccelles wings and tail, no windows. details for this is; Polygons: 428 Points: 235 Objects: 10. I know theres a section on extruding boleans , to cut out the windows, so that dont bother me.

If I take the Airbus first, it loaded into AC3D fine, and began exporting it, in one of the formats the list contains. But then realized second life has no upload of a 3DS model only image, sound or animation.

I tried saving the model using the same above sculpty prim formats as candy has tried, but when i went to models directory, each part of the plane was seperate and not one model, I tried importing the Tail Tga, but when I rezzed it inworld, it was nothing like a tail fin, just a lump of black , that looked like a boulder.

So then I looked into differant ways to get this model in, the one i thought was going to solve this was a thing called an Ac3D Tri creator. I got this from SL market place, and set it up in middle of sim. followed the directions and, saved the model as tri, then copied the data to a notepad, then opened the edit part inworld of the tri creator, and pasted the 200-300 lines in it, once that was done, i expected it to rez before my eyes, so the advert says, instead, it through multiple triangles that flew of the sim, and got returned saying they went offworld? My sim stopped the process after a few mins, saying it had disabled temporary to many objects.

So back to drawing board, to try another type, of which i saw a video of, this was the second life boxes creator, the tutorial video showed a large ocean tanker being rezzed, so I thought this would be the one. having d/l said box creator, followed directions and exported model into SL box format, again edited the box inworld, hoping it would rez plane, unfortunetly i kept getting an error, cant ,load line, blah blah, a long line of numbers and letters, after several attempts, it refused to load that particular line, and said server having problems, try later, nothing happened. Now im in a quandry, im just about to spend £400 on a new computor to a new windows 7 one with a hi end graphic card to work on these creations, as my old 7 year old computor, can only run the snowglobe viewer, but now, I have put it on hold, because until I get one of these aircraft inworld to start texturing and scripting the moving parts, im stuck between a rock and a hard place. I cant seem to find the actual size of the model I downloaded into AC3D, the model info dont give centimetes or inches as to what size it is, only lines like this:

Object "Fuselage", v 86, s 168, kids 0 *
Object "Tail", v 13, s 22, kids 0 *
Object "Turbine1", v 9, s 8, kids 0 *

You mention, somthing called compression? I only know that from winzip files or in media files. Where would I find how to compress 3ds or tri data to allow uploads?

perhaps this is the wrong program for my needs, I looked at Wings3D and one I liked was Archipelis , which, would have great for me, as I used to be an artist and painting and drawing is second nature, however an email from Archipelis , advised me there program is not suitable for aircraft or engineering models, only organic. 3DMax and maya and maxon are out of my pocket, as im retired and on pension, so I really dont know what to do, Im told blender is a good program, but reports say its hard to learn, together with studying the book in the evenings " scripting your world", I want to get on, but I seem to have run into a brick wall, getting these models into SL.

Any comments to help please would be appreciated, but in layman terms please, as Im new to external 3D modelling, but not within sl, where I have made my own buildings and some sculpty flower creations using sculpty paint.

Thanks a lot

mike
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Old 25th July 2011, 08:53 AM   #4
Clay
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Default Re: How to bring Objects from AC3D to Secondlife ??

Hi Mike. Ok lets see if I can answer some of your questions. First the Tri creator for second life is an ok featrure if you just want to see the object you created in SL. The main problem with it is it requires you to have lots of prims to rez in world since it uses polygon triangles to recreate the object.
Not sure what you mean by you "bought" modlels. I have seen 3d models for sale on some sites but have never gotten any to know just how youd try to use in
Second Life. I can tell you from hours of experience in creating models for SL, Second Life can be a tricky porgram. As much as I love it, for 3d models its can be a royal pain at times. What I mean by that is you really have to tweek the objects you create in AC3D to look correct in Second Life. Depending on the way each obbjet is rotated in AC and how many times you devide it ect ect.
Now about the compression I mean this, When you go to upload at TGA file into SL they have a little box in the corner and for the life of me i never remember what it says but its compression something. You just check that box before you spend the money to upload.
You are correct when you say there is not upload button for 3D models. That would make my job as builder in Second Life way too easy. LOL This is why when I build a model for SL I tend to build the parts I need one part at a time. I know this may be strange but it works. In order to upload into second life to work You must save one part at a time then upload ONE part at a time.
It is a long process I know but it works and you must have patients. IIf you try to upload multi parts It will not work.
So this is why I cant really show people in here how the model looks in AC3D because I dont put it together in AC. On occation I will create a couple pieces together. When you do that I have to first save the work together as a .ac file. This is all of it together. Then I have to delete all but one part at a time. Say airplane fuslage. I save that by itself as a .ac then I go to export and export as normal second life sculpty which saves it as a .tga file. Then reopen my aircraft .ac file and start delete all but say the wing section. Again save the wing as a seperate .ac file. then export for Second life as a normalized sculpty which is a .tga file. If this sounds like a long process that is because it is. Take patients of a saint.
So this is why I choose to build really just the parts I need for my model in Second Life. So in this example What i do is build my aircraft fuslage. I concentrate on its shape and size. I get it into Second life. See if i want to adjust any parts of it. If I like then i move to lets say the wing. I start modeling and creating a new wing in AC3D. I try to do one wing left and right if I can but that doesnt always look good and I end up making left and right seperate for better smoother details. Then save as . ac and then the .tga for SL. Upload and then "glue" the wing sections to my model. In fact a lot of times I only need to build half of the model in AC3D because Second Life allows you to duplicate the part and then Mirror the image So you have a perfect copy of the opposite side.
It has taken me a time and practice with AC3D to be able to create just the right shapes I need for each model, but its been well worth the time and effort. You must think of this as model building for Second Life. One part at a time. just like the ones we built as kids. Also in SL you have to know what the limitation are in order to make your object move as a vehical. Its way more then just put together a bunch of objects together then saying ok i want it to fly.
Im sure you understand that part just info for those that don't. I have learned the way around the limits. Your vehical can only be a total of 31 parts (prims) linked together.So i build the base for my model plane. Fuslage,wings,tail, horizontal and viertical stabalizers,seats. Usually the basic shape I can. After that all the detail for my builds is worn by the avatar. You can link 256 parts together to form one object. Then the object is attached to "worn" and lined up to fit my model aircraft. So when you jump in your aircaft to fly you find the item labeld cockpit and boom there you have all your cockpit detail and I usualy have landing gear detail or anything else my model needs. You are not limited to the number of objects you can wear either.
I know that maybe a lot to understand but I hope it helps.
Im sure some of the people in Second life may have bought 3d models online somewhere and then got them in SL but I do all my work from scratch one prim at a time. litteraly. If you do have any questions Id be happy to try to answer them for you.
In second life if you are there Im clay ellison.
Take care and good luck:-D

Oh I forgot to mention here and its important. If the parts of your model are not built using the premade sculpty objectts in AC3D they wont work in second life either. Any time i go to build a new part I goto Import then to second life sculpties. Here you find a cube a cylinder, and sphere. you must start with one of these shapes then make it the way you need for Second Life. There is a way in the progam to convert the models for SL but this is the easy way for me to get it correct. I build 99 percent of the models i need starting with the cube then "sculpt" it to the shapes i want.

Last edited by Clay; 25th July 2011 at 08:58 AM.
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Old 25th July 2011, 12:10 PM   #5
SecondLifer
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Default Re: How to bring Objects from AC3D to Secondlife ??

Hi Clay, thanks so much for all that information, and the time you took over it.

I deal with some smaller issues first, one , is that, this program is on the SL wiki 3D guide to programs as one supported, which is just within the commercial range, and is affordable to me, but has some more features than the free 3D modelling prgs. It also adds that numerous sl types of files/ and plugins I.E. x-plane can be used with it.

Yes I been into Aviation in sl since 2007, I know the physics of limits of vehicles, but thats not my concern right now, I also know about attachments, as have 30 aircraft I bought within sl, over the years. But attachments create a lot of problems for many flyers, especially in Blakes seas, where to fly from one airport to another, you fly 15 minutes through about 20 sims, these attachments are what causes the majority of aircraft to fail crossing sims. The purpose of buying the ready made A310 was I have access to Eazy jet, Finnair, Lufthansa, Liverys that are mapped on a model decal sheet, for that particular plane. I wanted a true re-creation of the basic shape of that plane, which was why I bought it. The site, which boasts hundreds of differant 3D models for commercial or private use, is Flash fire Designs.

I Just been back and uploaded to AC3D a free Dolphin in the 3ds format, But Im really confused, because the model I uploaded into second life is not a 3D model but a texture called .tga. I thought I was installing a dolphin object into sl??

This dolphin texture has nothing on it, just a black screen. Like the tail plane I uploaded. Why isnt the item being put into my inventory a dolphin object, or A310 tail object. I thought I was uploading an object from ACD3, as shown in the working screen. I dont understand why its not an object, i dont want a texture!! I have plenty of those. All I want is the object rezzed known as a dolphin or tailplane. It cant be that difficult, theres hundreds of aircraft for sale in second life market. They objects, either sculpty or physical. How on earth . or what type of building object, makes the dolphin?? i mean, now i dont know wether im supposed to add the finnair livery to the model in AC3D first, or add it after, but how can i do that if it comes not assembled?

As far as I was aware. all ships, planes and cars, are made by creators in an external program, before the whole creation including the texture colour. etc is uploaded and then rezzed ready for use with a hud, saying rez or delete plane, or to continue configs, mods and scripts adapted or added.

If hundreds of creators can put a jetliner/ helicopter for sale, made by them or / and with a commercial nod to the source of the basic model, as outlined in license terms in the Flashfire design Store/website, then Why cant I. Its very frustrating, as for 4 years all I have done is pay 7000US$ out on aircraft, weapons for combat, sim tiers, boats, ships, Runway lighting sytems radars and much much more, i want to be one of these people raking in 2000Linden$ for every plane they sell. plus the extra rate for doing repaint liverys. Surely its not too much to ask, to be like them? I do hope I havent wasted 130US$ on these models, I purchased them because second life says AC3D can use a 3ds file format to upload 3D models, and that what was offered , along with a huge list of formats you can buy your chosen model, before you pay for it, making sure its the right format for the program you have.

But. Im left with not even the free dolphin, in my inventory, only a texture, which I have no idea what its supposed to do, and as its completley black, with no outline of a dolphin, im as much in the dark as ever perhaps at my age, I was born 20 years too late to understand the compexitys of 3D modeling, all the pros who sell many aircraft in second life seem to be people of 30 something. or they using a more powerful program, that i couldnt possibly afford. Which ever way, looks like my sl partner and me is not going to get MD Aviation products built any time soon

But thanks for the extensive reply, but to be honest I dont understand sculptys, really, only the normal block, tube, sphere, concepts,and thats why I chose to buy a ready made basic 3D model to alter and texture, script myself using the "Scripting your life" book, i got from amazon, Im disabled a bit by arthritis and a small amount of learning difficulty, i see things, and take them at face value, that you buy a model, and it rezzes in front of you, once you upload it to second life, unfortunetly, the way you say this sentence, is not really understandable by me, which is why I chose to import whole model.

(( " When you do that I have to first save the work together as a .ac file. This is all of it together. Then I have to delete all but one part at a time. Say airplane fuslage. I save that by itself as a .ac then I go to export and export as normal second life sculpty which saves it as a .tga file. Then reopen my aircraft .ac file and start delete all but say the wing section. Again save the wing as a seperate .ac file. then export for Second life as a normalized sculpty which is a .tga file. ))

you say I have to use a premade sculpty object in AC3D, isnt the uploaded A310 from Flashfire a sculpty object? is there a basic sculpty library of shapes in Ac3D then? How do I apply them to the the A310?

I have patience, but Im easily confused following this type of dialogue.. As i say, I did upload a .tga file of the free dolphin, as a normal so called sculpty, but its quite useless as a blank texture?

Looks like I wont be needing that new computor, or the license for this program after all, at least I havent spent out on the computor yet. I really dont know which way to turn now, i just rented a homestead and put a platform at 500 feet to work on, and my friend, partner is. or was going to deal with customers and build the platform as working environment, because I was going to build a 3 gate modern terminal. with auto jetways that close onto the parked plane doors, using a sensor script once the aircraft nose wheel touches a pad. other items were going to be baggage cars check in desks, and other aviation products. Oh well. look like it back to playing my face book games, its even more dissapointing, because I Borrowed a lot of money on my new credit card to buy the new computor so I could use the phoenix viewer, buy the scripting books, the pdf on how to build by Killerguides, the tiers for the sim. etc etc. I go and cry into my beer now lol
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Old 25th July 2011, 06:12 PM   #6
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Default Re: How to bring Objects from AC3D to Secondlife ??

Aww ok this will help you out . Step one rez a cube. Step 2 while you are still in edit mode under the object tab you will see on the right hand side of the edit window it will say Buiding Block Type.There is an arrow and a drop down menue. Look for sculpted. Here you will change the object to a sculptie prim. It will now look like an apple. You will see the rainbow colord box in the edit window now as well. This is a .tga file. You open your dolphin tga that you uploaded and drag it to the rainbow box. Your prim will now take on the shape. You will have to stretch and squeese your prim to get the right size and proportion but there you go. That is how you make your sculpted prim. The object is in the .tga file. Its just a map that sl needs to change the prim to the shape of the sculptie. If you stll have problem understanding I could show you in SL if you like.

Oh and i make my texturs in ms paint and other paint programs and then texture in sl not with the sculptie progams.
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Old 26th July 2011, 05:23 AM   #7
SecondLifer
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Default Re: How to bring Objects from AC3D to Secondlife ??

Ok Clay, I will try the method you specified, I been using photoshop elements 4 a very long time, I was about to buy the 8 version to seperate and prepare the sheets of Liveries. So as I read it, in second life wikis on sculptys, there meant for organic objects, so did I do wrong by buying an aircraft with straight edges, and bringing it into AC3D. The only thing I can do now, is what a previous partner did, to make her weapons, that was to upload a jpeg of a hi res Illustration of the model she intended to make, and modify image to correct propotions, and put that on a building grid, in her case that was vertical. I Include as an attachment a A320 Illustration, together with a sheet of textures to make up the liveries. The only real skill I have is texturing, and have been involved in making posters and retexturing, for groups in the past, using my old P/H 4.

As I see it now, I think i will have to try that way of building this aircaft, by building around the template of the jpeg on a vertical grid frame, the only problem, is its only 2D, I wont know the width of the fusalage, unless I measure a simular model i already own in SL and the length of the wings, since the models I uploaded to Ac3d dont appear to have a ruler on the screen to measure the model, unless I havent found it yet. Although Im left with making the fusalage inAC3D, to learn the bolean section on cutting out the windows, but that will; still need to be upload back into sl after, I suppose, that means I rez a cylinder in sl, to make the modified fusalge, if that dont work, I will just add the window textures along the side of the fusalage inworld and modify the repeats so it will fit nicely. Its strange, how some people are comfortable making larger objects, and not happy making tiny objects. I made several items of jewelry along with a tutorial years ago, the birthstone necklaces i made, are still worn most of the time by some of my friends I have given them too. But strange, that some of the vendors That make planes, say they couldnt make such a complex object and put a tiny diamond texture in it. ironic isnt it? The last comment for now, is yes, I been modelling in railways and making kits all my life. i suppose i could be called an advanced plastic modeller. After i made a trident 3 out of 2 normal airfix ones, and stretching the fusalage, and manufacturing the third tail engine from a redundant one from the other kit, this was carefully sanded to shape, and inserted into the cut out i made in the rear of the fusalage.. then the BEA decals were applied, but I used the other redundent fusalge window decal and slided the second one so it superimposed over the middle window of the original one, to make the stretched version windows, cutting up the fusalage and adding the segment to stretch it was challenging, but it all looked good, after, and with some fine filler and careful smoothing, you couldnt see any joins. if only I could do that in SL ! I will be in sl later, I will look you up for sure:P although Im United kingdom so time zones may clash. I enclosed a image of one of the necklaces I made, this being september

catch up soon

Thanks again. mike
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