How to load Blender 2.75a models

I’ve not been able to find an answer elsewhere but, as I’m new to this forum it’s entirely possible that I’m breaking protocol by posting here - if so then my apologies in advance :smile:

I have been using JME for the last year in conjunction with Blender. I am using the last stable JME 3.0 build from 2014 (the libraries, not the JDK). I recently upgraded to the latest version of Blender and found that I could no longer load .blender models.

I can post the errors if it’s helpful but my basic question was whether anyone has had success doing this. I don’t particularly want to break new ground as I’m happy sticking with previous blender version until JME stable releases catch up.

If anyone has had success with this, do I need to move to a later nightly of JME? Or are there blender options in 2.75a that support saving in an older format (I tried various combinations but did not hit on one that works).

Thanks

This is probably, because blenders internal representation changes from time to time.
The older 3.0 importer most likly cannot handle the last changes.

you could try with the github version of jme 3.1.
Problem with blender is that it is forward compatible but not backwards, eg you cannot with guarantee load files in older versions.

If it is a static model you could try to export import it via obj.
Akak in new blender export to obj.
In old blender import from obj (and check if everything is still there), that way you get rid of all data that might cause problems.

Well is there any function in the new blender you desperately need to continue working? These breaking updates are why jME comes with a compatible version of blender bundled.

No there’s not really anything new I need in the new version. I just try to keep up with later versions where possible as they are improving usability and modelling features pretty regularly. But given the feedback here it looks like the easiest thing to do is to just stick with the old version of Blender for the moment.

Thanks for your help.

I think the newest version of the OgreXML exporter also works with newer versions of blender. It works with 2.74 for sure and probably also works with 2.75a. Have you tried it?

This is an arguable statement, at least. It took me some time to find functions I used to use in 3ds max’s new material editor. It might be looking kewl (for somebody new to max probably), but it’s slower and now I need more clicks to do the same things.

He didn’t say it was as good as Max… he said it was improving. :slight_smile: And for someone who has been trying to grasp Blender for a few versions now, I can agree that it is improving. It went from completely hostile to mildly approachable in a few short versions.

Ah, prolly I wasn’t clear enough - I was referring to new versions in general comparing old max and newer max, just it :slight_smile:

Max was already pretty intuitive (to me) to start with (back in 2001 when I first started using it ‘for real’ in a pro setting). Blender is getting more approachable all the time but it’s still a little hostile to new users.

Well, happily, for JME purposes we don’t typically need that much from them both. Working somewhere like ILM is another story :slight_smile:

Blender is the only thing I’ve used so I can’t compare to other things. I’ve been using it pretty regularly for a couple of years and I’ve really not found it too bad at all to learn. As mentioned there are lots of features that don’t work in JME (e.g. I REALLY wish JME supported IK poses - they make animation much quicker) but now that I’m used to it I can create a decent looking low poly model, textures (including normal map from high poly model) and animations in an hour for a simplish object and 2 to 3 for a creature. Easily good enough for a non-professional hobbyist!

What do you mean with ik poses?