#loft file info
9 messages in this thread
Hi,
I'd like to amke a program that can export loft files. Does anybody
know where I can get the info I need to do this.
Thanks—— Will
Hi Will,
Autodesk does not publish the entire lofter file format, though portions of it
are revealed in the 3D Studio File Toolkit. It may be possible to reverse
engineer the format given the undocumented information that is included in the
toolkit. The toolkit is available free to registered developers or is sold to
the general developer community for $250, obtainable by calling 800.538.6401
– Grant
Hi Grant,
Thanks for the info. Do you know why they hide the format?
——–Will
<< Thanks for the info. Do you know why they hide the format? >>
It isn't hidden so much as mearly undocumented. The files toolkit information
was essentially reverse engineered by Autodesk Multimedia programers from 3DS
source provided by the Yost group. Approx. 9 months of work went into
documenting and building a toolkit. The decision was made to leave off the
shaper and lofter information simply because it would have added another 3
months to the engineering time. A hack understanding of the file might take a
couple weeks, but a complete documentation of it for the general developer
community is a serious undertaking.
Will, if you do get the toolkit and want to proceed in hacking the LFT files,
I'll give you some aide in that area. Do you want to write LFT files, or read
them?
– Grant
>> if you do get the toolkit and want to proceed in hacking the LFT files<<
I would like to get the kit but I'm a student and just don't have the money. I
wanted to be able to write LFT files so I could import paths I made in another
program. I was going to try and figure them out but I believe they're binary so
it would be too difficult. Thanks for your offer of help though.
———Will
Will,
<< I'd like to make a program that can export loft files. Does anybody know
where I can get the info I need to do this. >>
How about exporting the path to a Keyframer object path and then running the
Keydxf ipas that's in the libs on the keyframer's path to save it as a dxf?
Mark
Hi Mark,
>> I'd like to make a program that can export loft files<<
Sorry, I didn't say what I meant very clearly. I meant, I want my program to
make loft files that I can open in 3ds. Actually I'm only interested in the
path of the loft. But you gave me an idea. I'm going to see if there's someway
to bring a path from the keyframer into the lofter, then if I can make motion
splines by a .vue file somehow. Well I'll have to see if 3ds can do this.
Thanks for you help.
———–Will
Have you seen KeyDXF in the libs?
— James — Choreo Motion —