[Question] Is it possible to set the face.normal?

Chris Fullmer · 29 Jul 2009, 17:12

I know there are people on this forum who could probably help you hack into SU and implement your own shaders

Though that is against the installation agreement terms...

Chris

Pixero · 30 Jul 2009, 05:36

Even though shaders would be very nice to have in SU this isnt about that at all.
If we could set the normal of a face to a custom value (like for example 0,0,1) we could make better looking grass and trees since faces pointing in different directions wouldnt get different shades where they intersect.
So if there is a way please tell.

As a sidenote:

@unknownuser said:

I know there are people on this forum who could probably help you hack into SU and implement your own shaders
Though that is against the installation agreement terms...
Chris

What about Adams LightUp? As far as I understand he is using his own OpenGL solution.
Wouldnt that be breaking the agreement?
If not why don't someone smart make a OpenGL implementation plugin for SU that gives us control to do more advanced stuff?

Chris Fullmer · 30 Jul 2009, 16:33

I believe that Adam is exporting geometry to his own renderer, then rendering his own textures for every surface, then applying all those rendered images back into the model, baking the entire model.

That is my understanding anyhow.

Chris

qpik · 16 Dec 2009, 23:37

During my research for improving raytesting plugin for SU
(http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=21077&st=0&sk=t&sd=a)
I've found out that Ruby supports OpenGL.

I mixed an example and library from Ruby installation.
You can run this example in SU (unzip 4 files to Plugins folder).

Example of Ruby-OpenGL with library.

thomthom · 17 Dec 2009, 07:18

and you managed to use that within SU?

qpik · 17 Dec 2009, 08:52

So far I managed to run the example above. Give me some time

Jim · 17 Dec 2009, 16:58

I don't really know, but OpenGL must have hooks, or act as a server because of the existence of software such as 3D Printscreenwhich is able to capture the 3d Sketchup model and export it to some 3dxml format.

So if the OpenGL data can be "hooked" into, then does the possibility exist to use more OpenGL features not native to SU?

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=11943&p=84502&hilit=+shaders#p84502

thomthom · 17 Dec 2009, 17:07

Isn't that what Adam B does with LightUp? Hook into the SU's OpenGL? All though, from C and not from Ruby.

qpik · 17 Dec 2009, 21:42

These are the libraries included in Ruby Windows installer:
http://ruby-opengl.rubyforge.org/.

Chris Fullmer · 17 Dec 2009, 21:47

But I'd still like to understand if you are getting this to interact with SketchUP somehow? Can you change what and how SU renders with this?

Chris

thomthom · 17 Dec 2009, 22:38

Is this Windows and OSX compatible?

qpik · 17 Dec 2009, 22:42

Yes you can!
I've just found the first thing that changed the view of the model.
I typed in the Ruby console glDisable(GL_DEPTH_TEST).
To see result try turning the model around.
Bear in mind that I'm just starting to learn OpenGL .

ps. You need to run SU with the files from the zip above in Plugins, except the example.

Pixero · 18 Dec 2009, 12:10

SU keep asking for glut32.dll. It's not in the zip you provided?

qpik · 18 Dec 2009, 12:44

@pixero said:

SU keep asking for glut32.dll. It's not in the zip you provided?

It didn't ask me. Maybe because I have it in my Ruby installation.

qpik · 18 Dec 2009, 12:44

I suppose so, try it on Mac.

Below is not however, only Windows. This seems to freeze SketchUp OpenGL.

FindWindow = Win32API.new("user32.dll", "FindWindow", ['P','P'], 'N')
GetDC = Win32API.new("user32.dll", "GetDC", ['N'], 'N')
GetCurrentContext = Win32API.new("opengl32.dll", "wglGetCurrentContext", ['V'], 'N')
CreateContext = Win32API.new("opengl32.dll", "wglCreateContext", ['N'], 'N')
MakeCurrent = Win32API.new("opengl32.dll", "wglMakeCurrent", ['N','N'], 'V')
DeleteContext = Win32API.new("opengl32.dll", "wglDeleteContext", ['N'], 'V')


hwnd = FindWindow.call(0, "Untitled - SketchUp")
hdc = GetDC.call(hwnd)
hglrc = GetCurrentContext.call()
DeleteContext.call(hglrc)

I wonder if this is good direction?

Pixero · 18 Dec 2009, 15:39

So where can I get a Ruby install that has it?

qpik · 18 Dec 2009, 16:10

One-click windows installer has it. Here: http://rubyinstaller.org/

Pixero · 20 Dec 2009, 16:52

Anyone getting more than one line to work?

qpik · 18 Mar 2010, 19:27

I only got to change some OpenGL Server variables like GL_COLOR_MATERIAL or GL_DEPTH_TEST.
I don't know the way to hack into drawing context. I wonder how it is done in LightUp (supposing it is done similar way), maybe a window is layered on top of native SketchUp viewport.

Chris Fullmer · 18 Mar 2010, 20:36

I don't think Lightup does this. I think it renders materials and bakes them into faces in SU. At least that is my (severely limited and naive) understanding.