Can I just confirm with the devs, is this still the latest/greatest implementation of using mountpoints? And if so, is it already a part of the jME 2 codebase?
Also, for interest sakes, does anyone know about mountpoints in regards to jME 3?
And lastly, why exactly was it that Blaine had to write this for v2? Do other modelling apps/formats have similar implementations allowing mounting objects?
Thanks for the info, ttrocha. Just so I know I'm not headed off in some deprecated direction. 
Double post here (sorry :(), but also want to confirm – is hottBJ still the only option for exporting with working skeletal animation? Or are there any other export types that can (as of right now) be used as skeletally-animated mesh exports from Blender?
EDIT: Ahh… like OgreXML, for example… does that do the animation OK?
OgreXML can both do skeletal bone animation from blender and mount points. Just look at http://code.google.com/p/jmonkeyengine/source/browse/trunk/src/jmetest/ogrexml/TestMeshLoading.java JME3 currently only has an ogrexml importer implementation, but is incomplete at the moment I believe. I believe it doesn’t yet support mount points, as JME 2 does.
Awesome thanks!
jME3 animation system is feature complete for the most part. See the test TestComplexOgreAnim, it uses animation blending, transitions, bone control and bone debug display.
Thank you all for your answers. Just one more thing… 
OK, this HottBJ vs OgreXML thing still has me quite confused. I understand that HottBJ is what the old jME->XML exporter has become. But I'm really not sure why I would choose to use one over the other, because I don't understand the background of each or even why there two ways to go about this (i.e. why did Blaine write HottBJ if OgreXML already existed?.. assuming it did). I get the idea that OgreXML is the simpler/more widely used (i.e. more convenient) ? HottBJ wiki pages seem nowhere near as concise. Considering I want skeletal animation using bone weights and armature modifier, is OgreXML the better choice? Does HottBJ offer anything that OgreXML does not?
Sorry if I seem to be asking the same questions again, let me pick your brains just a little more. 
OgreXML existed before HottBJ, blaine actually improved it and added it into jme2 as core. But then he made HottBJ, don't know why.
HottBJ has a lot more documentation, especially the jME API side is explained well. OgreXML however is supported by tools other than Blender3D.
Alrighty, that's clearer. It sounds like OgreXML is the main thang. I got my model working using OgreXML with minimal effort yesterday (at least, the model comes in as expected with no glitches and animates correctly, and can be stopped) so yes it looks like "OgreXML +1".
-Nick
Blaine started HOTTBJ because OgreXML had big issues with weighted bones. There was always that "nice" "BufferUnderflowException" that we were not able to fix at that moment. That was the point he decided to come back to the old jmexml-importer. (he wouldn't have started it if ogrexml would have worked…)
Then when he already started a while with hottbj someone fixed ogrexml. (I think it was really just a minimal change 
).
So now we have the good thing to have 2 working pipelines for jME2. I think ogre-exporter might be a bit easier to use and it is the jME3-importer,…another pro.
As per what you just said Tom, I will put something to this effect on the HottBJ wiki pages if no-one objects. Just to suggest which is usually used and save future noobs like me from the confusion. It is good to know what the "main"/"best supported" method of doing things is, and I think this is one place where the docs sometimes fall down (many libraries, not just jME, and that's a fact).
Thanks again.
(gets back to kicking Nifty into gear for jME2…(
There was always that "nice" "BufferUnderflowException" that we were not able to fix at that moment.
(I think it was really just a minimal change)
Now that you mention it I decided to dive into the old Radakan revisions and find the man responsible for this fallacy..
The revision that broke everything was r585, where the MeshAnimationController was "optimized" in certain ways. A piece of code that was supposed to appear after a bracket somehow became before it, causing the legendary bug. The man responsible is credited to be "shadowislord", whoever he is, he should be trialed for committing such a crime..
Here's the proof.
The OgreXML importer was added to jme2-core and the bug existed for 242 revisions of jme2 until it was found by "rizzutiluca" in issue #46, the issue was revealed on the forum 38 days later by a user with 8 posts and commited the same day in jme2 revision 4557.
I will put something to this effect on the HottBJ wiki pages if no-one objects. Just to suggest which is usually used and save future noobs like me from the confusion. It is good to know what the "main"/"best supported" method of doing things is
hm,..both are used! I (and others) are using hottbj-user and as long as I am using jME2 I will use it. So I wonder what you want to mention!?
The man responsible is credited to be "shadowislord", whoever he is, he should be trialed for committing such a crime..
hahaha...
That's really annoying. It looks like Blaine put a LOT of work into HottBJ too -- just because of that?!
Ah, and after asking on this forum a few weeks ago where the bug-reporting area is (and getting a rather bad response telling me to just post bugs HERE), I now know where it is -- cheers Momoko_Fan.
@ttrocha: Just that OgreXML is a little more straightforward to use, and is the supported method (esp. for those who will be moving over to jME3). I have not said that HottBJ is deprecated, or anything like that. I've made it clear that it works just fine and is another option.
NickZA said:
hahaha...
That's really annoying. It looks like Blaine put a LOT of work into HottBJ too -- just because of that?!
Yeah I mean, he could have tried to debug it himself and fix it if he had that much time :P
But actually I think he was working on it long before OgreXML became viable, it had a different name too, like blender-jme or something. It happened by chance that it was released after OgreXML.
NickZA said:
Ah, and after asking on this forum a few weeks ago where the bug-reporting area is (and getting a rather bad response telling me to just post bugs HERE), I now know where it is -- cheers Momoko_Fan.
If you should get any out of this, it is that IT IS NOT where the bug-reporting area is, at least not for jME2 and before. That's why this issue was only brought to attention 38 days after appearing there, just post the bugs on the forum for jME2.
jME3 bugs are appropriate in that area though. I am getting notifications of any comments or new issues via my email.
Damn… I am glad you guys know the history behind this…
Re bugs, understood.