quote:Original post by Orb I researched the 3ds file format, and came up with a basic loader for it. It works good and renders well, so is there any reason not to stick with it now? I understand it really well, and can work with it, but now I don''t see a reason not to stick with it.
If you need normals for lighting, you must calculate them yourself.
I found it incredibly simple to parse an .ASE file for models. They''ll actually hold animation and stuff too, but I never bothered with that. If you just want the model, you can start from there and design your own format.
Of course, I just made it all up, but my point is that it is very readable... you have vertices you can read in, and you have faces defined by vertex indices, etc.
If I were you guys Id use the MilkShape 3D format. Its simple to break appart and easy to understand (plus the programs cheap but its developing into an amazing modeling program fast!). Im currently using it with a nice simple game and it seems to hold its own fairly well.
