Anyone know where to get a document detailing this file format? I have searched for HOURS and not turned up a SINGLE document with any information whatsoever on it. I''m thinking of using this extensively in my game engine and I''d like to read a bit about it''s capabilities specifically regarding how it exports animation, if it does....and yes, I know it''s stored in ASCII text, and I can just wade through the files if I really cant get something....

do you need to use this format? because there are some better documented formats out there. also, you can look for the plugin devkit for maya, since it has the osource for the plugin, thus shoudl eb useful in figuring out the file format. unfortunatly i dont have maya nor a devkit, so i cant help past that. happy hunting.

Well, the GE2 is really nice because it stores animation in easy to parse keyframes, it''s all ASCII text, its materials are stored in a format that''s designed for openGL (diffusive, ambient etc), bounding boxes for collision detection, and so on. It''s the best balance between simplicity and power I''ve seen (looked at .ma (maya ascii), .obj, and a few others). What format would you recommend?

personally i use md2s, or custom formats (ie create your own) that have what i need in them (binary not ascii since ascii files are larger then binary ones). md2 is pretty easy to use, but simplistic (ie only keyframes are stored, and texture. you could go and use md3 which is more sophisticated and does more of what you want. maybe even md4 (quake3s skelatal animation format that is not used too much). half-life mdl is also nice as well. though all those formats are documented to a varying degree, they have limitations die to the engine they were designed for. id software file formats tend to have opengl stuff in them (including optimized sectons in which the triangles are stored in strips and fans, and the opengl command (ie GL_TRIANGLESTRIP or GL_TRIANGLEFAN) is given so you can get a more optimized rendering of the model).