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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Desktop Audio and Video => Topic started by: Ral-Clan on January 06, 2015, 05:32:29 PM
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Hi,
I seem to remember reading about how to do this but can't remember?
Lets say you have a complicated scene set up in Lightwave (Amiga version), but need to save it and bring it to a different computer. If you just ZIP up the directory containing all the files and textures you have a problem when you load the scene on the different computer:
When you load that scene, Lightwave will complain it can't find the objects/textures/etc. because the drive hierarchy has changed and Lightwave can no longer find the particular drive name it needs, etc. You can manually re-point Lightwave to all the files it needs, but in a complicated scene, this can lead to dozens or hundreds of manual re-pointings.
I thought there was a way to somehow "export" and entire Lightwave project so that this could be avoided. I can't remember if this method "gathers" up all the needed files from different directories/sub-directories into one package and makes all the appropriate changes in the scene's file so it then knows where to look for these.
Does anyone remember how to do this?
Thanks.
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Dear Ral-clan:
I do not know how to do this, but I have a suggestion.
Would it be possible to load the scene and objects into lightwave,
one time (it will take long, repointing every object one by one).
Then, save the objects one by one, and resave the scene.
Is possible then, when later, when loading the scene, all the
objects will automatically load (without asking you to manually
load one by one).
I do not know if this will work, but is possible it could.
Also, you could go to
forums.newtek.com
and ask for help from more experienced lightwavers.
Hope this helps !!!
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There were two programs that excelled in converting objects and scenes from lightwave to other formats. It was a long time though, so I probably forgot much of details and features.
Anyway, they were really good back then: MagicLink 3.2a (came with Cinema4D 4.x) , and Interchange Plus (by Sydnesis Corporation, or something like that) which was sold in various flavors, depending on the formats it supported (version 3.x was the latest).
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@ Rednova
Thanks for the suggestion. It's a slow method, but it might work.
@ Gulliver
Thanks, but that's not what I'm trying to do. I already know about Interchange (but didn't know about MagicLink). I'm not trying to load Lightwave stuff into a different 3d program, I'm just trying to make whole Lightwave scenes "portable" so you can copy them all to a USB stick, CD-R, or a directory on a different Amiga drive, and then load them back into Lightwave so that it still knows where all the objects / textures / scenefiles are in the sub-directories within that usb stick / directory / CD-R.
As it is when you load an object or a scen into Lightwave it looks for the dependent files (i.e. textures) starting at the root directory of the computer ON WHICH THAT OBJECT OR SCENE WAS MADE .
For example, when Lightwave loads a scene, it might go hunting for all the a spaceship object in:
DH1:Storage/Media/3D/Lightwave_Projects/LW_Objects/Spaceship_01.lwo
and within that object file it might instruct the Amiga it's hull-plating texture bitmap is in:
DH1:Storage/Media/3D/Lightwave_Projects/LW_textrues/Metal_plating_texture.iff
So, if I were to copy all the files relating to complex Lightwave scene to a different computer (or even a different drive) and try to load it, Lightwave would start looking in DH1:Storage/Media/.....etc. If it doesn't find the directory structure EXACTLY the same (starting from the root directory), it will complain it can't find the files and ask you to manually choose them. This takes a hell of a long time if you have a scene with a dozen objects and up to 100 textures.
I know an ALIAS might work in the case where a drive was swapped, but not for more complex directory tree changes (i.e. a different machine) or if you already have a hard drive installed in the "guest computer" with a the same name as a drive specified in the scene or object file.
There must be a way of having Lightwave look in the subdirectories below the main scene file ONLY (non-recursive?)....so you could put everything pertaining to a scene in the same directory and make that folder "portable". Or maybe there's a function within Lightwave to re-save the whole scene, all contents, objects, textures, etc. to a new directory with such a structure, again to make it portable. In the "old days" when Lightwave was a real studio production tool for professionals, I'm sure that people had to move scenes (or even objects) between different computers all the time (i.e. to a clients computer or a different computer at a different FX studio).
I'm have a strong recollection I've seen a tip on how to do it somewhere, but can't remember now.
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Been a long time, but are they not just text files? Search and replace?
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Been a long time, but are they not just text files? Search and replace?
That might work, too. I'm surprised there isn't a more elegant way from within Lightwave though, as it seems this is something people would have had to do quite a lot.
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@ ral-clan
I had your same problem before, but forgot what I did about it.
My suggestion might work.
Good Luck !!!
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Perhaps this will works
http://forums.newtek.com/showthread.php?1835-relative-path-to-texture-image
>just text files? Search and replace?
I dont know if lightwave files can be also saved as text files but usually .lwo files are binary iff files
So you may better use some kind of search/replace tool for binary files
Also the .lwo file contain the filename lenght so better is to keep the same lenght for path
I mean if it was
c:mypics/toto.jpg = 17 bytes
change it to
tmp1234/toto.jpg = 17 bytes too
Alain Thellier
BTW My Microbe3D.library got a partial .lwo support
http://www.amiga-ng.org/viewtopic.php?topic=2005&forum=14&start=0
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Perhaps this will works
http://forums.newtek.com/showthread.php?1835-relative-path-to-texture-image
>just text files? Search and replace?
I dont know if lightwave files can be also saved as text files but usually .lwo files are binary iff files
So you may better use some kind of search/replace tool for binary files
Also the .lwo file contain the filename lenght so better is to keep the same lenght for path
I mean if it was
c:mypics/toto.jpg = 17 bytes
change it to
tmp1234/toto.jpg = 17 bytes too
Alain Thellier
BTW My Microbe3D.library got a partial .lwo support
http://www.amiga-ng.org/viewtopic.php?topic=2005&forum=14&start=0