Content Overview

Introduction:

The Module Creation Tool supports a number of content formats.

The rendering engine that Imaginality uses is based on the OGRE open source 3D engine (although in this case, a .NET version called Axiom).

We have 12 Flash Video tutorials on creating and using these files with 3DSMax at Ogre3DSMax.

Content Types:

Ogre-Specific Content

Ogre-specific content comes in a variety of forms. As these are Ogre specific, the Ogre website is the best place to go for support. For example, the Ogre Wiki has a section on "Creating Content", with tutorials, articles, tools and resources.

• .mesh - this is the 3D geometry, with normals, UV mapping and bones etc included. In this form, it is binary, but it can also exist as a .mesh.xml format which is human-readable xml (but uncompressed).
• .skeleton - this stores skeletal animations. It relates to specific meshes, in that the mesh contains the bones/skeleton, and the .skeleton file contains how that skeleton is animated. In this form, it is binary, but it can also exist as a .mesh.xml format which is human-readable xml (but uncompressed).
• .material - describes what textures and shaders to apply to the mesh, and how they apply. This is human-readable text, but can get quite complex and powerful, using something akin to a programming language it is own right (there are good resources for this online). The .mesh refers to material names, and the .material file then declares the material name and defines what it does.
• .shader contains complex pixel shaders and vertex shaders. These are more for advanced users, so if you do not know what this means, you can ignore it.
• .particle describe particle systems - these produce effects like fire and snow. There are OGRE Digital Content Creation Tools that can help you create these.
• .overlay describes overlays for a module. An overlay is an additional plane that is layed over the finished render while a module is running. Commonly, feedback text, or interaction buttons for the player are positioned there. There is at least one OGRE Digital Content Creation Tool that can help you create these, called Overlay Editor.
• .osm are Ogre Scene Models - they describe an entire scene, made up of various meshes etc. Imaginality does not use this format, as we are not creating a tradition game - we are placing individual meshes onto paddles.

Standard Content

Ogre also supports some standard file types. As these are standard formats, there is a lot of support and resources for them online.

• .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .tga, .bmp are common texture formats. More info. jpeg is the recommended image format for photographic type images. png is the recommended image format for images with only a few colours, and for images that include transparency (aka alpha channel).
• .cg files are a standard NVidia format that describes complex pixel shaders and vertex shaders. These are more for advanced users, so if you do not know what this means, you can ignore it.
• .ogg stores sound effects. OGG Vorbis is an open source format like .mp3, and there are numerous free tools to create and edit these files (e.g. Audacity). MediaCoder Audio Edition and dbPowerAmp are great, free tools for converting other sound formats into .ogg.

Imaginality-Specific Content

In addition to the above, Imaginality uses other file formats:

• .cs are C# script files that describe how content is placed on paddles, and how they interact. These are documented in the Coding section of the Imaginality Developers Wiki.
• .patt define the pattern used/detected on a paddle. In most situations, standard paddles 1-11 and info are used, and Imaginality uses these patterns by default. It is possible to create and use custom patterns, but currently we only do that in house.
• .module files are what you create in the Builder - they store the entire module you are working on so that you can open it again later.

-- EricWoods - 03 Jun 2010