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Export Scripts - Part 2

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BioWare Aurora Engine Exporting

Neverwinter uses the BioWare Aurora Engine, a graphic engine created by Bioware. In many cases you will see the shortened version of this, "Aura", as Aurora can sometimes be a mouthful.

Simple Models:

In order for our engine to see a model made in 3DSMax, it has to be linked hierarchically to a base node called an Aurabase. To make one of these objects, go to the create panel, and into helpers. You'll see it there. When you create this object, it shows as an "X" in the view port. The position of this Aurabase with respect to the model is important, as the Aurabase becomes the action point of any parts that are linked to it. The name of the Aurabase is important as it becomes the name of the exported model. Also, it should be noted that it's best to make all your Aurabases in the top viewport or in a user view, so that there's no rotation on the Aurabase, as this might cause some confusion. In the engine, we define all the objects that were linked to the Aurabase as "parts" and the Aurabase and all it's hierarchy as a "model". In order to export a model, go to the modifier stack of the Aurabase, and find the "Export Model" button. Once you press this, go to the directory you had as the export directory (in your Configure Paths roll-out), and you should see the .mdl for your model. Again, more will be explained on this later. (NB: Un-textured objects will appear white by default in our engine.)

The model that gets exported is a simple text file which has information on the model as a whole, then information about each part, then animation data. Please feel free to open an exported mdl with a text editor to see what I mean.

One of the first things you may notice about making models for the BioWare Aurora Engine is that the scale transform is never exported. The simple work-around for artists on this problem is to reset the X-Forms of an object before exporting it. This relates to mirroring as well, as max defines an object mirror as a -100% scale on a certain axis… a scale that the engine cannot reproduce. Again, a reset of the X-forms (in the tools panel) will set things straight. As well as this, any scaling that is done on a sub-object level (verts, faces, and elements) will work, as will the use of the mirror modifier.

The Aurabase is the place where you can adjust specifics of a complete model, as you can see by the modifier roll- out. For most of the specifics of a single part, we have a modifier called AuraPoly. In the advanced section, this is the modifier that will be used a great deal.

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