Behold Prim Composer, Offline Builder That Converts 3D Studio Max Files To Second Life Objects (Updated)

I'm sometimes prone to hyperbole, but I still insist that what you're looking at above is a milestone in Second Life's evolution.  It's Prim Composer, an offline building environment that takes objects created in 3D Studio Max, and imports them into Second Life and OpenSim.  (Click the images above, depicting the tubular monolith in 3DSMax, at left, and as it now exists in OpenSim.) Created by Shack Dougall, it's free software which already has an online support community of builders. 

How does it work?  "Building with Prim Composer for 3ds Max is a two step process," Shack explains to me by e-mail. "Offline, prims are created, linked, and textured in 3ds Max.  From 3ds Max, the textures, sculptmaps, and prim attributes are exported to XML files and bitmaps on disk.  Finally, the build is loaded into Second Life or OpenSim using an importer which logs onto the grid as the builder's avatar and uploads textures, creates prims, and links them into the final build.  Both sculpted and regular prims are fully supported."

News of Prim Composer comes to me from Dusan Writer, who's proficient with both SL building and Studio Max, and offers his in-depth, copiously illustrated review here. Dusan's most excited about how Prim Composer enables the interoperability of content, and that's indeed a very powerful thing. (Once the technical and social standards are agreed on, that is.)  Why do I think it's a milestone?  For a more immediate reason:

Prim Composer will almost certainly evolve the quality of SL building by several orders of magnitude.  3D Studio Max is one of the most popular construction platforms among designers and artists, especially in the game industry; anecdotally, I've often heard professional 3DSMax developers express interest in Second Life, only to balk when they discover they'll have to learn a whole new building system (i.e. prim-based creation) to make content in-world.  Given a tool to translate their talent and their existing 3DSM files [see Update below] into the metaverse, I think we'll see a storm of new activity and innovation.

For users starting out with Prim Composer, Shack Dougall offers this advice:  "Be patient.  Start small.  Make sure that it works with a couple of prims before building the Taj Mahal.  Ask questions and if you build something beautiful, post a picture to share it with the community."

Update, 10:20am:  Revised post to implement quotes from Mr. Dougall I just received.

Update 2, 3:06pm:  I double-checked my claim that it'll be possible to take "existing 3DSM files into the metaverse",  and that turns out to be wrong, a misreading on my part.  Here's what Shack Dougall just told me about that, adding much more context to Prim Composer's relation to SL and OpenSim development:

"[I]t's not technically possible to convert arbitrary 3DSM files into SL, with any program, real or imagined, today. That won't be possible until the servers implement support for meshes.  realXtend is a fork of the OpenSim codebase that has already implemented meshes. I took another look at it yesterday and concluded that realXtend is still too hard to install and poorly documented for wide use right now.

"But there is an effort underway to port that functionality back into the main OpenSim code stream.  The only reference I could find is here.

"I have no idea what's going on inside LL with this issue.  Qarl [Linden] put this survey in JIRA a month ago .  My sense is that meshes will be implemented in SL, but not in the near future.

"However, as soon as meshes are in either OpenSim or SL, then it becomes possible to talk about translating 3DSM files. And Prim Composer will support it to the fullest extent possible."

Images courtesy of Shack

Comments

[Rick Deckard]

"I'm sometimes prone to hyperbole"

that would be 90% of the times, and this is one of those times. From where exactly do you get that this is a tool to translate "existing 3DSM files into the metaverse"? Both Shack Dougall, who has labored for a long time on this, and Dusan Writer note that this a tool for creating regular or sculpty PRIMS and importing them in-world.

[Hamlet Au]

Blade Runner, Dusan's post has Douglas suggesting that importing existing 3Ds files is a coming feature in Prim Composer, but I'll double-check with him.

[Hamlet Au]

Whoops, my bad, see update above.

[Albert Revolution]

Iive been using Prim Composer since the first version, and like other lot of builders, I was expecting for this final one, and, yes ¡It's Great!.
At the same time, I am using it ine projecto por OpenLife and realXtend for an other project.

realXten perhaps it's a little complex to install for who are not familiar with OpenSim, and MySQL, but really it's going to be the reference in the future.
I've benn publishing tutorials (in spanish only, I am sorry), about realXtend (http://exploradorvirtual.blogspot.com/2008/08/creando-objetos-en-sketchup-e.html) to apprach this new platform to the users.

[Shack Dougall]

@Albert-- I know both OpenSim and MySQL well, but it still was not obvious to me how to install the ReX server or even if it worked with MySQL. Do you recommend using 0.3 or trunk?

There are many new configuration options in ReX and it is based on a much older version of OpenSim. I got confused and gave up.

Someone recently asked the question "How to setup the server version 0.3 to work with MySql?" on rexdeveloper.org and there was no helpful response. Also, recently someone asked "When MySql will be FULLY implemented [in ReX]?". Someone else said that ReX only worked with SQL Server. The combination of these led me to believe that MySQL doesn't work with ReX.

If it *does* work with MySQL, I will try again.

[Aliasi Stonebender]

On the one hand, I think additional tools of this kind are great. On the other... I really hate the 'let's just dump the stuff we ALREADY have into SL' attitude. One of the upsides to learning how to prim things is YOU LEARN TO MAKE THINGS THAT WORK WELL IN SECOND LIFE, in the visual and technical sense, rather than relying on high-prim meshes for absolutely everything (and slowing a system down to a crawl accordingly).

Still, nothing but love. 3DS is standard stuff, if expensive.

[Osiris Indigo]

There is a totally new server coming in the next few weeks, based on a new version of RealXtend (beyond 0.3).

OpenLifeGrid, in partnership with RealXtend, 3DX and Ludocraft has announced and will be hosting a BETA grid for the next version of 3DXServer in the next few days.

The new 3DXserver and grid will use a new hybrid viewer compliments of KirstenLee and RealXtend to take the user experience well beyond the SecondLife / OpenSim model. It is employing rendering via the OGRE rendering system that has many inherent features rarely seen in virtual worlds.

AVATAR 2.0

The new server will feature a totally new avatar system based on a morphable skeletal system, mesh skins and Inverse Kinemetics, allowing for an unprecedented degree of realism. The new avatar system features unlimited layers and over 200 attachment points per avatar.

MESH FILE IMPORT

Users will now have the ability to import and use mesh files created in anything from 3D Studio, Blender, Milkshape, Wings, Sketchup, Maya and any other modelling program capable of exporting the OGRE mesh format.

SERVER SCRIPTING

The new server employs Python-based server scripting that promises to unleash a plethora of new scripted capabilities to the grid. From scripted participation games to evolving gameplay (ala RPGs and MMORPGS), truly, anything that can be imagined - can be scripted.

If you are doing a round-up of the different grids and their capabilities, please don't miss this one!

[Jani Pirkola]

If you didn't already read this, please do - this is good news for realXtend and opensim alike.
http://www.adamfrisby.com/blog/2008/11/logging-into-an-opensim-via-realxtend-accounts/
If porting of features goes smoothly, we will see official realxtend release that works with opensim already by the end of 2008 or latest during January 2009.
What this really means is that all the developments of Opensim become immediately available for realXtend, and tedious merging work we have been doing too many times, ends.