Modelling Programs to Create Vertex Data?

Are there any programs out there for creating a vertex list from a model?

That is, I want to generate a vertex list (data file) of some object, say a lamp shade, which I can then input into an OpenGL program for rendering. This would be much easier than sitting down with pencil and paper for every object rendered, and calculating the vertices of all triangles.

My guess is these are readily available, but being new to OpenGL, I haven’t seen one. Failing this, I suppose I could write my own.

Thanks for any help.

there are quite a few modelling packages available, Maya, 3D Studio Max, Softimage, milkShape, bryce, truespace, no name but a few.

What you end up using is up to you, for a nice free package you might want to have a look at :
http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/ms3d/index.html

decide on a file format you want to use as export and then write a loader for your openGL apps…

Indexed vertex arrays are probably the best way of representing models, since they allow for the use of glDrawElements. I couldn’t find any tools for creating them, so I wrote my own little library for simple geometrical forms.

If I was going to try to create more general types of forms, I would look at VRML indexed face sets. They describe models in exactly the same format as indexed vertex arrays, and I believe the output from most modelling tools can be converted to VRML.

I know that there are a lot of free models available on the web in VRML format, but I don’t know of any simple way of generating general, ‘Opengl-ready’ models.

I’ll be watching this thread to see if anyone has any information that is more useful than this.

HI

PolyTrans from www.okino.com can do this for you.

Its a 3D file format translation program that takes many format, OpenFlight, 3d, Lightwave povray etc and one of the out put options is OpenGL

It’s a very nice program, I have used it for 4 years.

G.