SpiderPig Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 Regarding the conversation of ASIMP and GLTF in the workshop today - I think all problems are solved by creating a unique format for Ultra. My exporter for blender (although only for static models - for now ), with a few clicks I have everything exported that works straight away. I can't speak for other peoples workflow, but this is mine in a nutshell. Buy / Make assets Store them in a library folder so that they can be used in any project (also serves as a backup) Load them in blender and save the blend file in the same library folder Fine tune the mesh and materials. Make a mesh collider if needed (some already have one) My Format: Export to Ultra - done! GLTF Export LOD0 Export LOD1 Export LOD2 Export LOD3 Export Collider Mesh Load the editor Open each material Convert textures Open the model and load the collider from the mesh Delete the GLTF for this collider If I need to edit the model or material further. Open blender Edit things My Format Export to Ultra GLTF All of the above again! If I edit the material in the editor, then my source in blender is no longer the same. 99% of the time any change I want to make will apply to all projects, so I want it changed in the source file (.blend) not in the lone project. If GLTF or any other format doesn't improve on the current workflow. There's no way I'm staying with GLTF. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 It sounds like you are moving a lot of work from the Ultra editor into Blender, and you are setting up a very specific scene in Blender so it works with your export process. This is fine if it works for you. Note that Blender's DDS file format support is 15 years outdated and they seem uninterested in fixing it, so it does not support artifact-free texture compression (BC7 and BC5 for normal maps). DXT-compressed texture data looks blocky and often develops a greenish tint that look especially pronounced in dark areas: Interestingly, I came across a neural network designed specifically to remove these artifacts: https://github.com/n00mkrad/cupscale/releases/ https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Restoring_Texture_After_DXT_Compression https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WXBNdlqDWV10a3L1_U7zuNkSpN9aBF0M/view?usp=sharing My point is, if you want artifact-free compressed textures, PNG textures in Blender aren't going away, and you need some post-export step to convert them to BC7 and BC5 DDS files. This tool is the easiest way to do that for glTF files: For your purposes, it sounds like it's not the file format that matters so much, but the export process you have set up. If so, you could probably export glTF files just as easily using the same process, but if your current approach is working then by all means use it. In my view, there is no need for any "source file" anymore because glTF is the source file, as well as the final game-ready file. Fortunately, the export capabilities of the engine are quite good, so even if data does get sent into a proprietary format, it can still be saved as a glTF or OBJ without much trouble... 1 Quote My job is to make tools you love, with the features you want, and performance you can't live without. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiderPig Posted April 1 Author Share Posted April 1 Yeah I see your points. 1 hour ago, Josh said: For your purposes, it sounds like it's not the file format that matters so much, but the export process you have set up. If so, you could probably export glTF files just as easily using the same process, but if your current approach is working then by all means use it. 50/50. With GLTF the export process for each LOD is time consuming. But yes, the same export process of my format could be added to the default GLTF exporter for blender but then there's still these issues. Doesn't store LOD's Doesn't use one material across multiple files or even LOD's Which results in lots of work within the editor to edit just one aspect of one model. None of that really matters if your just dragging in a model and then never touch it again. But how many people are honestly never going to edit / or create a custom asset? Ultra isn't a 3D editor. 1 hour ago, Josh said: It sounds like you are moving a lot of work from the Ultra editor into Blender, and you are setting up a very specific scene in Blender so it works with your export process. This is fine if it works for you. Yes, that is what I've done. But only because GLTF is not good enough. 1 hour ago, Josh said: In my view, there is no need for any "source file" anymore because glTF is the source file, as well as the final game-ready file. Are there actually many asset sites that deal in GLTF? Every time I download something it's FBX. So if I ever have to re-download it, technically FBX is the source file. I know I can't convince you. But I honestly think that the GLTF process is a serious flaw and makes an efficient workflow hard to set up. I can't be the only one who's going to be exporting hundreds of assets from a 3D editing software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 15 minutes ago, SpiderPig said: Are there actually many asset sites that deal in GLTF? Every time I download something it's FBX. So if I ever have to re-download it, technically FBX is the source file. Every SketchFab model is available in glTF format. glTF is the only file format I know of that supports a PBR material system. FBX does not. The channel splitting and compression stuff PBR materials require is pretty complex: https://www.ultraengine.com/learn/pbrmaterials For trees it might not matter, but if you get into metal surfaces I think you might start to appreciate the glTF export process more. Quote My job is to make tools you love, with the features you want, and performance you can't live without. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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