New Shape View Program Coming ..

[SD40-2]

First off, I'd like to see the option to show a display base be available. Not only is it useful for screenshots, but it's also excellent for checking if a model is placed correctly on the rails. If not, I can adjust it by loading it as a second shape and moving it until it's in the correct position. Ideally, something based on the TrainSim ATracks or 3DTrains Scalerail would be the best.

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Regarding shape conversions, while I am very much aware of how it can be used for evil, it can also be used for great good.

First, converting a shape lets me tailor-fit parts shapes to a model, ensuring they integrate seamlessly with the base model.

Second, I have gotten permission to modify some models, such as Matt Olsen's MP20s, but I no longer have access to the source files, so the only option is to convert it if I want to fix any issues.

[Snowman]

First off, I'd like to see the option to show a display base be available.....


Regarding shape conversions...

Thank you for your input. I will add the base option no problem. As for the shape conversion, I agree. My simple shape viewing program has my mind racing with the possibilities. This is first and foremost for myself, so I could always implement it for me, but I think the more tools at the communities disposal the better. I also know how sensitive some people are, but if I've learned anything it's you can't please everybody.

[Snowman]

Progress is being made on the glTF format as the program successfully loads glb and glTF models. I can say that PBR is working after remembering I needed to upgrade to SharpDx to take advantage of PBR here we are. There are lighting issues and things like metal and glass are still matte and flat shaded at the moment, but a win is a win. Thankfully the documentation is solid on implementation.

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Now MSTS shapes load and glTF models load, but I have two ecosystems which means a lot of UI adjustment for glTF side, but no big deal. I have the ability to turn on and off channels, normals, roughness, occlusion, emissive etc. and all aspects of lighting are modifiable.

As far as how far I'll go with glTF, I think I'll leave it at loading and viewing. I don;t want to go too far down this rabbit hole right now. The .s format will probably always be the dominant format as I see glTF as something that will likely be a slow burner.

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[StormerDSR]

I have an another idea. Possibility to drag and drop shapes directly into the viewer.
Can you provide your program for download and testing? I can give a better feedback when I can test it

[pwillard]

I'm particularly pleased to see support for better quality graphics.

I'm assuming we can feed the tool a WAG file containing multiple FreightAnims, and everything will display properly? I pretty much need that ability before I can use it.

I have no concerns about recovering models from shape file... I've lost enough of my own work to see how useful it is. And... the shape police can tell if you are copying stuff and calling it your work... so that should drive good behavior.

[Snowman]

I have an another idea. Possibility to drag and drop shapes directly into the viewer.
Can you provide your program for download and testing? I can give a better feedback when I can test it

I have that in mind and it will be apart of the program at some point. Its on the to-do list. As for the testing phase as you can see I'm a bit sidetracked with glTF at the moment and then I need to plug in the viewport for camera, background color, better environmental lighting etc. so it's like starting over in a way. Once I have a few more core features implemented I will release something, but at the moment I don't have anything superior to Shape Viewer in my opinion. I have texture inspector and reading lights for display on the menu for now. Editing lights of .eng and .wag will come later.

I'm particularly pleased to see support for better quality graphics.

I'm assuming we can feed the tool a WAG file containing multiple FreightAnims, and everything will display properly? I pretty much need that ability before I can use it.

Hi Pete, Yes this is available as is eng file freight animation scanning and loading as well.

[superheatedsteam]

Thanks for including viewing of glTF/glb file formats. If you were to release this program I would use it for this feature alone.

The inclusion of a .S converter would make it handy for those modellers that use such a tool.

Cheers,

Marek.

[EldoradoRailroad]

I am still very worried about what I see for lighting thus far in the demo screens. I know that dark themes are all the rage these days, but for model work I need to see clearly what the model looks like. In this sense, Gausden's Shape Viewer should be a guide for you as not only is the default background light grey, but also there is a lot of lighting control, even if overexposed. This helps enormously with debugging visual problems.

The glTF/glb is looking good (keeping the above paragraph in mind!) and it seems that you now have a handle on PBR to go with it. If Open Rails delays in having animations work for glTF/glb, it will still be possible to have a hybrid model that uses both formats (glTF/glb and .s) for animations. So this work is most welcome.

For many reasons I have a strong preference for .obj export as I find most if not all .3DS imports work as expected in Blender. 3DS is hit and miss for me and is a binary file. In my case I have to convert to .3DS, import into 3D Canvas, export back out as .3DS into Blender. There are a couple of extra steps that I do as the shape converter program has some problems. Other model sources that I use are always .obj and a far less painful to use.

It would be most convenient to have a 3D cursor in the your viewer that can be moved about with a call out someplace on screen that indicates where that cursor is in relation to the model. This feature is extra helpful for location certain points on the model for lighting, etc This can be done in Gausden's Shape Viewer with a "special" post loaded shape. I hope that "n" shapes can be stack loaded as needed as we have in Gausden's Shape Viewer for freight animations, etc.

I certainly hope that the popup screen that shows the hierarchy of the model can be copy and pasted in plain text. For various reasons this is useful for model inspection for locating textures etc. Right now I have to use a special external program to accomplish this with Gausden's Shape Viewer. It seems that the popup in Gausden's Shape Viewer only allows you to copy small portions at a time, requiring multiple passes to get the whole hierarchy.

In keep with the previous paragraph, for those of us who do repaints, etc it would be nice to have the feature as in Gausden's Shape Viewer that clicking on any element of the hierarchy highlights the area on the model. In a dreamer's world the coordinates/uvs on the actual texture would also be highlighted in a separate window. Yeah, most likely a bridge too far!

Anyways, I am keeping an eye on this thread, hoping for some downloadable results to sample/test. But until then, my comments are NOT demands, purely nice to haves. So please do not interpret this as a porcine gimme now request!

Steve

[Snowman]

I am still very worried about what I see for lighting thus far in the demo screens. I know that dark themes are all the rage these days, but for model work I need to see clearly what the model looks like. In this sense, Gausden's Shape Viewer should be a guide for you as not only is the default background light grey, but also there is a lot of lighting control, even if overexposed. This helps enormously with debugging visual problems.

Nothing is the "rage" it is simply preference! The background color can be changed to whatever you like. I thought I made it clear that Shape Viewer is my guide and it's functionality whether mirror it, or make it better was my ultimate goal. Long hours of white screens isn't my preference, but again long hours are the problem 😆

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For many reasons I have a strong preference for .obj export as I find most if not all .3DS imports work as expected in Blender. 3DS is hit and miss for me and is a binary file. In my case I have to convert to .3DS, import into 3D Canvas, export back out as .3DS into Blender. There are a couple of extra steps that I do as the shape converter program has some problems. Other model sources that I use are always .obj and a far less painful to use.

Noted!

I certainly hope that the popup screen that shows the hierarchy of the model can be copy and pasted in plain text...

No, but it will now.

In keep with the previous paragraph, for those of us who do repaints, etc it would be nice to have the feature as in Gausden's Shape Viewer that clicking on any element of the hierarchy highlights the area on the model. In a dreamer's world the coordinates/uvs on the actual texture would also be highlighted in a separate window. Yeah, most likely a bridge too far!

Look at the screenshot of the hierarchy menu. It shows the "Bogie" highlighted yellow. That has already been implemented if that's what in fact you were meaning. As for UV coordinates there is some UV information that is available in the texture inspector window concerning UV's. It is listed in my previous messages on here without repeating myself. I think your suggestion is a good one and is noted. I would like to physically move texture map on the model visually we will see.

[Snowman]

Well I don't know whether to be embarrassed, or relieved. After much headache with integrating glTF to my viewer using SharpDx along side of Helix3D, I remembered that Khronos provides their own 3D Viewer and it's license states it can be transformed and redistributed. So, obviously 30 minutes later I have a working full on glTF viewer incorporated into "Shape View" or whatever I'll call it.

This supports everything needed to view a shape including custom environments, animations and all the lighting controls needed in one viewer! So, yes you could just download and use yourself, but that ain't so easy for the average user. That also doesn't mean it's not editable and what you see is what you get! It's open source and can be changed, so my biggest gripe is camera controls, but other than that I'm happy. P.S info bar can be hidden so it's pretty much full screen if needed.

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[Snowman]

Lights now show in the viewer which means their light section in their respective .wag, or .eng are being read along with their state and being displayed according to what light setting they're assigned to. Color is read and applied as well. This goes for low beams and high beam states. Ditch lights do not flash and aren't supposed to in this iteration, but now that I think of it I could add that in so a user could check for proper function. Either way the ultimate goal is to have them be editable, meaning moveable and scalable in the viewer.

Some things to note are I'm using Open Rails LightGlow.png, so if you don't like it you can change it. It's as simple as putting the LightGlow.png of your liking in the app directory where the exe is. I'm not crazy about the pure white lighting myself, but it is what it is.

Also, I'm aware of brightness issue thank you. All of this should be narrowed down, but I want to get color and position right first and foremost. Keys are the same as Open Rails "H" key and Shift+H to dim or turn off.

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[paulytechnic]

That's awesome! Thanks for working on this!

[commec61]

I concur. This is awesome work. This simulation is really advancing. My hat is off to all of the creators out there. Back in 2001 I was just happy to be able to drive a train. Now the options and varieties are astronomical.

[Whatever2006]

Snowman Does Shape File Viewer also read INC files as well because I'm been using them as standard for the locomotives I have for OR and combined with your program including a feature relating to lights, I could see some use out of it on my end.

[Snowman]

Snowman Does Shape File Viewer also read INC files as well ..)

Not yet, but it's on the to-do list. That's one reason why I started this project, that is to make it more compatible with today's simulator. If you have anymore OR files that you think I might have overlooked don't be afraid to throw it out there. It's easy to overlook small things while looking at the big picture. I really appreciate any feedback and ideas as that drives more community output in the end. We all benefit.