Feedback request: 0ad actor viewer in Godot?

[stu]

Hi folks!

First time posting here but long time fan  

I'm a game dev hobbiest (dabbling in code and blender both) and have been considering lately to try loading 0ad's actors in Godot.  I know 0ad has a custom engine and the idea seems kinda wacky but let me explain why I'd like to do it:

• It would be useful! If I get it to work, this could be a tool that lets users view (and possibly configure) 0ad actors visually
• For fun, I'm learning Godot. I do software as day job but normally use Unreal engine for games, and looking for a project to help me learn Godot for my projects instead
• Godot community could benefit from having such a large, nice consistent art repository of animated 3d models like 0ad's! (And maybe 0ad project can use this for tools, etc. Godot does have great UI framework for quickly building stuff)
• I'm planning on doing all the work myself - so it wouldn't be too much of a nuisance for folks (ie, no harm done here...)

Anyway I'd publish everything on Github - (code, any patches needed to 0ad files).  I can post progress on this forum if folks are interested to see.

But before I jumped in I wanted to get some opinions from folks here, since I'm new to 0ad art:

• What do you think? Would it be useful (either an actor tool itself or Godot integration)? Any feature ideas you might like?
• I'd like to read 0ad's XML files, but probably batch convert most meshes to a Godot format for the actual viewer (rather than try to load the release assets).  Is this approach viable? 
• I did find the biped_meshes_animations.zip Blender archive - for bipeds, and am curious on how to map the meshes within to actors (by the node names?)
• Is there another approach I should consider for sources to convert to Godot (ie, are dae files the best place, or would I need to get a copy of MAX to support others?)

Thanks in advance for any feedback, ideas! 

-stu

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by stu
corrections

[Stan`]

On 13/07/2023 at 9:58 PM, stu said:

What do you think? Would it be useful (either an actor tool itself or Godot integration)? Any feature ideas you might like?

I have a long running project of making a small rts with godot and 0 A.D. assets. We talked a little about it with Akien and StraToN. So it would be nice to know if at least it's feasible

Whether it's automated or not is up to you.

On 13/07/2023 at 9:58 PM, stu said:

I'd like to read 0ad's XML files, but probably batch convert most meshes to a Godot format for the actual viewer (rather than try to load the release assets).  Is this approach viable? 

You might want to look at the modding guides and art docs on trac.wildfiregames.com to understand how they work.

On 13/07/2023 at 9:58 PM, stu said:

I did find the biped_meshes_animations.zip Blender archive - for bipeds, and am curious on how to map the meshes within to actors (by the node names?)

Basically it's the same armature for all bipeds. The only thing that changes is the skin. All animations are exported one by one.

Skins are denoted by mesh tags and animation in animation tags.

If Godot'importer allows for dae I would recommend that over tons of manual export work.

One can also import pyrogenesis actors in blender. There is a script on my Github. I would stay away from animated meshes until you are familiar with the normal ones and their variants. This can get quite complex.