4.10 Mesh Object Plug-In System
This section covers the Crystal Space Mesh Object plug-in system. This is a
very general system for defining various kinds of 3D objects and using them in
the Crystal Space 3D engine. You can use them to simulate things like
snow, rain, fountains, fire, explosions, ....
In practice you will probably want to use the following mesh objects
in your own game:
-
‘GenMesh’ (see section Genmesh Mesh Object). The genmesh object is one of the
most useful mesh objects. You can use it for static data (walls, buildings,
floor, ...) or for dynamic data (moving objects). It supports multiple
materials, vertex lighting, and even animation. Using the new ‘lighter2’
app it can also support lightmaps. See section Using
lighter2.
-
‘Thing’ (see section Thing Mesh Object). The thing object is often used
for static geometry (walls and buildings). It supports lightmaps natively.
It doesn't support animation and in general it is less suitable for moving
objects. At this moment it is probably a good idea to avoid the thing
object for future projects. In the future thing will be removed from Crystal
Space in favor of ‘GenMesh’.
-
‘Terrain’ (see section Terrain Mesh Object). The terrain object is very
useful if you want landscapes although you can do landscapes with genmesh
too. But the terrain mesh object can do it more efficiently.
-
‘Terrain2’ The new improved terrain engine for rendering landscapes
and outdoor areas.
-
‘SprCal3D’ (see section SpriteCal3D Mesh Object). The sprcal3d object is
one of the options you have for animated skeletal models. Both Blender
and 3DSMax can export CAL3D models. The other option is to use
the genmesh skeletal animation system.
-
‘Particles’. If you want particles then the particles mesh is
the best choice. Currently the ‘Emit’ particle system is also supported
but it should be avoided as it is very slow and is going to be removed
in the future as well.
In the first section a general overview is given on some of the concepts
in the mesh object system.
In the second section you will see how you can use mesh objects in your own
applications and how you can work with them.
The third section covers everything needed to write your own mesh object
plug-in modules.
After that there is a section for every specific mesh object plugin that
Crystal Space supports.
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