Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
menu that allows you to see what the import will cost in Linden dollars for Second Life. This is a no-cost
procedure in OpenSim.
6.4.1 T
he
B
asiCs
of
i
mporTing
a
m
esh
m
odel
Let's go through the basics of importation in the Firestorm menu. You can activate it by selecting Avatar/
Upload/Mesh Model from the top bar of the viewer menu. This will bring up the irst page of a three-page
menu but do not be put off by the complexity. You really need to know only a few settings to do a basic
import. There are images of this menu in Figures 13.15, 13.16 and 13.17.
Once the menu is up, use the Browse button, open the COLLADA (.dae) ile you want to import from your
computer in the top box, next to High and below Source.
Name your model in the top left box and choose a Type that represents its use, such as architecture,
vehicle, and so on. Make sure that the Textures box below the Preview window is checked if you have applied
textures on the model. Now, let's go on to the Tabs and their various settings. There is a complete list for the
settings on these tabs in Chapter 2, Section 2.3, as well as known problems with uploading to OpenSim and
Second Life.
On the irst tab of the menu, you are given options for importing your model at various levels of detail
(LOD). As you develop building/import skills, this menu will give you the opportunity to “tweak” the LOD
yourself and upload lower-detail models when you need to without sacriicing visual quality. Building with
that factor in mind will save you time during the importation process.
Under the Physics tab, you are setting the physics collision “shape” for your object, and since this also has
an impact on server performance, the lowest setting possible is desirable. However, if you need to walk on or
inside the object, you may need a higher physics setting, or make a custom one for the model.
In the third tab, you will set up the Upload options for your model. This is where you can add the
textures to the model for simultaneous importation. Check the box (under the Scaling section) that says
“Include Textures.”
Once you have gone through the three tabs, checking the guidelines from Section 2.3, and set up your
model for importation, click calculate weights and fee and review the fees for importation, the resource
weights, and land impact. If this is all acceptable, click Upload.
Shortly afterward, you will see the object appear in your inventory. Drag it out of your inventory to rez it
on the ground and check your results. For more detail and information on uploading meshes, please refer to
the wiki for Firestorm (http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/fs_mesh_upload).
Sometimes, with a very complex object, such as the motorcycle from Layton Destiny (Figure 6.11),
it will have to be designed and imported in sections. In Figure 6.11, there is a snapshot of this beautiful
work. Layton has also provided special physics iles for the content of this topic. By utilizing these iles
deine the LOD under the Physics/LOD section of the importer, the uploads can be faster and with a lighter
land (server) impact.
6.5 SCULPT MAPS (SCULPTIES) AND HOW THEY LED TO MESH
For those of you who are not familiar with them, a sculpted prim (sculpty) is created when a sculpt map is
applied to the surface of a special prim. Essentially, the rainbow-hued sculpt maps work like a 3D displace-
ment map on the vertices of the prim. Each pixel on the sculpt map image has a speciic 3 number color value
relating to the amount of red, green and blue it contains. That numerical value is translated into x,y, and
z coordinates which are assigned to displace the vertices on the prim, for example, changing a sphere into
an apple-shaped form. For a time, in the years between 2007 and 2011, these sculpt maps were the best way
