Creating the level .BSP file
· Introduction
This tutorial explains how to export any 3D Studio Max scene into a Fly3D bsp file.
At the end of this tutorial you will have constructed a bsp tree to partition the space of the model, constructed a text file with information on the bsp statistics and a text file containing the list of images used as texture maps in the model faces. Each of these will be stored in files with extensions .bsp, .log.txt and .map
· Fly3D export plug-in operations
Export the scene to a bsp file using the supplied export plug-in expflybsp.dle. Do this using the File/Export menu command and selecting the Fly3D BSP file type. This causes the bsp tree to be built.
Make sure to save the bsp inside the flysdk\data directory. Create a sub-directory in flysdk\data named tutorial. This where all level data from the tutorials should be be stored.
{ To install the export plug-in, just copy the expflybsp.dle file to the 3dsmax\plugins directory before opening 3D Studio Max }
At this stage, we set the options for the export file:
- Light Radius (meters): this parameter is multiplied by the self illumination parameter value from the materials giving the final light radius for the object. For example, specifying a light radius of 20 meters, a material with 50 % self illumination gives a real light radius of 10 meters.
- Save # objects: this option saves all objects with names starting with the '#' character as .3ds files in the objects subdir from where the bsp files is being saved. Name all objects that will not make part of the bsp with this starting character as they will be used as dynamic objects (doors, player, guns projectiles, powerups, etc...).
- Save bsp log: this option saves a .txt file with the same name as the bsp file, including information on the bsp construction, nodes and faces. This facility records the statistics of the bsp tree, which can then be examined for effectiveness.
- BSP planes:
face aligned: used for closed enviroments only, the level must present a single
in/out volume. With this option, all bsp planes will be aligned with level faces,
making a bsp plane for each plane defined by the level faces.
axis aligned: used for landscapes and freespaces. The bsp planes are aligned
only with X,Y and Z aixis. A maximum tree depth can be specified and will stop
subdivision if that depth is reached. Landscapes are 2D bsp files that are good
for race and strategy games. Freespaces are 3D bsp files used in space simulator
and space strategy games.