I am trying to convert a 3D Studio Max mesh (a cargo ship) into a 
povray-compatible mesh.  I have tried multiple tools for this including 
blender, poseray and a variety of on-line conversion tools.  But all of 
these tools don't load the ship properly - the decks, hull and rudder 
are not in the proper place - the hull is below and forward of the 
decks, the rudder is positioned far behind the ship.

I've also tried "fixing" the mesh in blender with no luck.  But the 
really weird thing is that the mesh loads fine and looks fine when I use 
a demo of 3D Studio Max or nugraf the model looks fine.  Unfortunately, 
these demo's are crippled as to not export a usable model.

BTW, this is the model I'm trying to convert.  Any help is appreciated:
http://www.the3dstudio.com/product_details.aspx?id_product=820

Bryan

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Bryan Heit wrote:
> I am trying to convert a 3D Studio Max mesh (a cargo ship) into a 
> povray-compatible mesh.  I have tried multiple tools for this including 
> blender, poseray and a variety of on-line conversion tools.  But all of 
> these tools don't load the ship properly - the decks, hull and rudder 
> are not in the proper place - the hull is below and forward of the 
> decks, the rudder is positioned far behind the ship.

> BTW, this is the model I'm trying to convert.  Any help is appreciated:
> http://www.the3dstudio.com/product_details.aspx?id_product=820
> 
> Bryan

I see there is a 3ds version on that site as well. You'll probably have 
better luck with that.  I haven't found a good .max converter.

RG

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I've some experience in translating meshes.
Send it to me and I'll see what I can do to help you.


Norbert Kern

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gonzo wrote:
> Bryan Heit wrote:
> 
>> I am trying to convert a 3D Studio Max mesh (a cargo ship) into a 
>> povray-compatible mesh.  I have tried multiple tools for this 
>> including blender, poseray and a variety of on-line conversion tools.  
>> But all of these tools don't load the ship properly - the decks, hull 
>> and rudder are not in the proper place - the hull is below and forward 
>> of the decks, the rudder is positioned far behind the ship.
> 
> 
>> BTW, this is the model I'm trying to convert.  Any help is appreciated:
>> http://www.the3dstudio.com/product_details.aspx?id_product=820
>>
>> Bryan
> 
> 
> I see there is a 3ds version on that site as well. You'll probably have 
> better luck with that.  I haven't found a good .max converter.
> 
> RG
> 

I've tried both, the .max is completely unconvertable, and the .3ds is 
the one with the errors.

Bryan

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"Bryan Heit" <bjh### [at] NOSPAMucalgaryca> wrote in message 
news:448b0429$1@news.povray.org...
> gonzo wrote:

>> I see there is a 3ds version on that site as well. You'll probably have 
>> better luck with that.  I haven't found a good .max converter.
>>
>> RG
>>
>
> I've tried both, the .max is completely unconvertable, and the .3ds is the 
> one with the errors.

      Have you tried loading the .3ds file into Wings3D?  I believe Wings 
will keep the geometry in the right places once opened, (and if not, which 
I've never known, you could replace them fairly easily).

  And then export .obj > PoseRay > PoV-Ray...

    Worth a try.

   ~Steve~



>
> Bryan

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St. wrote:
> "Bryan Heit" <bjh### [at] NOSPAMucalgaryca> wrote in message 
> news:448b0429$1@news.povray.org...
> 
>>gonzo wrote:
> 
> 
>>>I see there is a 3ds version on that site as well. You'll probably have 
>>>better luck with that.  I haven't found a good .max converter.
>>>
>>>RG
>>>
>>
>>I've tried both, the .max is completely unconvertable, and the .3ds is the 
>>one with the errors.
> 
> 
>       Have you tried loading the .3ds file into Wings3D?  I believe Wings 
> will keep the geometry in the right places once opened, (and if not, which 
> I've never known, you could replace them fairly easily).
> 
>   And then export .obj > PoseRay > PoV-Ray...
> 
>     Worth a try.
> 
>    ~Steve~

I tried to load it into wings, but it did not work.  For some reason 
wings would load the file without error, but never actually show the 
mesh.  Norbert Kern was kind enough to convert it to .obj for me, and 
whatever he did worked perfectly.

Bryan

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"Bryan Heit" <bjh### [at] NOSPAMucalgaryca> wrote in message 
news:448c6b20$1@news.povray.org...
> St. wrote:
>> "Bryan Heit" <bjh### [at] NOSPAMucalgaryca> wrote in message 
>> news:448b0429$1@news.povray.org...
>>
>>>gonzo wrote:
>>
>>
>>>>I see there is a 3ds version on that site as well. You'll probably have 
>>>>better luck with that.  I haven't found a good .max converter.
>>>>
>>>>RG
>>>>
>>>
>>>I've tried both, the .max is completely unconvertable, and the .3ds is 
>>>the one with the errors.
>>
>>
>>       Have you tried loading the .3ds file into Wings3D?  I believe Wings 
>> will keep the geometry in the right places once opened, (and if not, 
>> which I've never known, you could replace them fairly easily).
>>
>>   And then export .obj > PoseRay > PoV-Ray...
>>
>>     Worth a try.
>>
>>    ~Steve~
>
> I tried to load it into wings, but it did not work.  For some reason wings 
> would load the file without error, but never actually show the mesh. 
> Norbert Kern was kind enough to convert it to .obj for me, and whatever he 
> did worked perfectly.

     Hi Bryan

     Thanks for letting me know that - very interesting as I'm an avid Wings 
user. I'm glad you've got it sorted out through our very own Norbert Kern, 
and wait in anticipation to see the render of that cargo ship! (It did look 
impressive when I viewed the thumbnail!)

      Regards,

     ~Steve~



>
> Bryan

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St. wrote:
>      Hi Bryan
> 
>      Thanks for letting me know that - very interesting as I'm an avid Wings 
> user. I'm glad you've got it sorted out through our very own Norbert Kern, 
> and wait in anticipation to see the render of that cargo ship! (It did look 
> impressive when I viewed the thumbnail!)
> 
>       Regards,
> 
>      ~Steve~

It's not as impressive as in the thumbnail which was on the webpage. 
Problem was that I was use the mesh in a rather large animation, so in 
the interest of speed I dropped all of the graphics which came with the 
mesh, didn't use much in terms of textures (aside from pigments), and 
just used the most simple of colouring to detail the ship.  This 
actually wasn't bad for the effect I was going for - I'm using the 
animation for an "educational" DVD about some local dive sites, so we 
don't want the animations of the wrecks to look too much like a good 
boat, and rather want them to look a little beat up.

I'll see if I can find webspace to put up the animation, but it's fairly 
large.

Bryan

PS: The animation is for this artificial reef:
http://www.artificialreef.bc.ca/OurReefs/GB_Church/index.htm

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