@adamb said:
@kydbmaster said:
Hi John,
What about letting an outside program like xFrogTune generate the files and just build the mechanism inside SU that calls the different files in as the distance from the camera to the object changes. SU would have to support the .LOD file format. It would not matter about the compatibility of the modelers in that case. Both programs do what they do best. On another note, does SU support the .FLT file format?
Well the runtime graphics library Google SketchUp uses does support model switching ("igLod" if I remember correctly), so that part is trivial. The problem for the Sketchup team is how do you solve - in a general way - the issue that this isn't static geometry. SketchUp is a modeler, not a Viewer. So while its possible to export geometry, generate some reduced complexity geometry and chain it into a viewing pipeline, that is a complete non-starter for a dynamic modeler in which users, well, model stuff.
There is no silver bullet here. There is just one - and only one - way of solving the issue and that is to keep a fat, easy-to-edit format as primary data and cache lean, fast-to-draw versions of it. What method you choose to use for this is, as they say, an exercise for the reader.
Adam
Hi Adam,
I have pondered your post for some time and I have some additional observations. First, we would be placing Geometry for Plants. Since Plants do not have legs the placement of the tree geometry is static. As a Landscape designer, the whole point of our work is space management. We must leave enough space between plants and other objects such as buildings (in the model and in real life) for growth of the plants. (Since shortly after planting, the plants can't be transplanted (esp. Trees) if they are planted to close.) Therefore The Geometry is static. To a point anyway. The center of the geometry is always in the same place in the model. The issue is that plants grow over time. We plant them when they are young and years later they reach their mature size. Using .LOD or .RPC files (.RPC files do support keyframe animations as well) would help us visualize the process. An Oak tree planted initially may only be 10 foot tall. In 80 years the same tree may be 80' tall and have a spread 6 or 8 times of that initial planting. Also Landscapes are constantly changing with the change of season. Using .LOD or .RPC files and some mechanism to advance the model through time would allow us to visualize the model correctly over time. If the geometry in the model expands into the geometry next to it that is what we are looking to eliminate. (sometimes the designers want the canopies of trees to grow together.) Landscape designers today are lucky to generate just one or two perspective renderings of a model. (because of cost and time constraints.) Using plant models from a company such as Bionatics (they use the .lod file format) would allow a designer to generate an unlimited number of rendered models on the fly. One of the problems Landscape Designers have is visualizing what a landscape design will look like when it is mature. The Client will have an even more difficult time visualizing what the landscape will look like years down the road (because of their unfamiliarity of how the plants grow.) By implementing .lod and a time mechanism, We could eliminate the tendency of designers to over plant and clients to better visualize what the design they are buying will look like long term. The result would be better designs that are more sustainable. My focus is obviously plant geometry but this could also be applied to other geometry in the model. People in the model for example. People placed in a landscape design generally are either standing or walking down a street or sidewalk. Using models of people in .lod or .rpc format would allow for realistic movement in the model (down a pre-defined path). And maybe this is the answer to dealing with .LOD and .rpc files in general. That is associating a predefined path with the placement of the file. Note: that ArchVision has native and plug-in RPC support now exists in 3dsmax, Autodesk VIZ, Autodesk Civil 3D, Bentley MicroStation, Newtek's LightWave 3D, Maxon's Cinema 4D, AccuRender from Robert McNeel & Associates, Revit, Piranesi from Informatix, Adobe Photoshop, Graffiti RenderPro, Arc+ Render, VR4MAX, and SGI Performer.
s.
