.b3d .vs. 3ds or .x Models

Is there a performance or otherwise reason to use a .b3d model file extension over one of the more common ones?

This question does not refer to the .b3d's used in MAX with the Pipeline goodies applied....just a simple model.


thx

They are all the same in memory. So, it really just comes down to which has the features you want, and which one loads quickest and most reliably.

B3D offers skinned animation, multitexturing, supports all Blitz effects: blends etc. The others (X, 3DS) definitely miss out on skinned and effects. Not sure about multitexturing. Also, I have noticed that sometimes X formats have worked on some machines and not others. This was usually solved by loading and re-saving in Unwrap3D or other.

Yeah, B3D is definately the way to go. Much more integrated with Blitz3D, besides having awesome tools like B3D Pipeline which give you a really impressive workflow to do pretty much whatever you want in 3D, letting you edit precisely the flags and not having to define anything through code related to that.
You can "render" physical animation in Max using the Rigid Bodies and the Havok processing, and save that as a KeyFramed animation and actually having "simulated" physics inside Blitz3D without having any physics library! (kinda like, recording lots of differente ragdoll deaths so as to have different ways for enemies to die in your game. It's not much, but it's definately better than doing by hand and looking un-realistic).

Also it's of great help when implementing in-game cutscenes. You can make several spline paths for what is going to be your in-game camera, and then do a Path constraint to a Dummy, and then export through Pipeline activating the "Export Helpers as Pivots" option.
Then load in blitz3D with LoadAnimMesh and getting that Child dummy, parenting your camera to it, animating your level, and voilà, ingame cutscenes!

thanks guys, that gives me plenty of Info to NOT convert my 978 files. YAY !!

..I cant see "Export Helpers as Pivots" options in pipeline at all, except just export Helpers checkbox..im not sure how that going to be animated in max, however what i did is creation of just one bone in max and then did rest of the things as rafael explained and it was working just fine..

Well, A lot of animated B3D files will hit the performance. If you plan to make a strategy game or some game which a lot of characters will be in the viewport, I suggest MD2. Also, try to use as less bones as possible.

Taken from Pipeline's homepage:
Helpers - Export Helpers as Blitz3d pivot objects.

I dare to say it exports the Helpers (Dummy, Point, Delegate etc) as a Pivot (containing animation, if it has).
You can give a dummy a Path Constraint, name it appropriately ("CamAnim"), and then export it with the appropriate option...much better than using a bone to do it.

Just load in Blitz with LoadAnimMesh, parent your camera or whatever to it, and just play the animation.


Ehm, isn't that a bit obvious?
Just as well as a lot of static meshes will cause too a performance hit...Lot's of surfaces, lot's of "post-screen" effects...

I meant, It will hit the performance more than MD2 models understand?

Sure. Where did you get that information from?

It is common knowledge here and has been talked about extensively. There is a lot of maths involved in calculating vertex positions (from bone positions) with B3Ds, whereas MD2s merely store all the vertex positions in a list. Obviously B3Ds are much more flexible, and don't suffer lighting and 'wobble' problems.

Interesting information, thank you.