What is a .dmd file and how do you create/edit them?

DavidInvenio

I have read the Wiki page http://wiki.dengine.net/w/DMD - which says they are a DE-enhanced version of md2 files. So I am curious, 1: are there resource packs that use .dmd files? and 2: what app are people using to create/edit these files?

veirdo

DMD format used widely in all three model addons (Doom, Heretic and Hexen). As all output game formats it's not very "editable". You can use md2tool (shipped with DE) to create it from MD2 and vise versa. As the wiki said it creates a LODs for a model. It's an automatic tool, so the vertices on a LODs sometimes are messed up.
One of the guys on a forum wrote a GUI for it
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=912

DavidInvenio

Hi veirdo! Thanks for the reply!
Please pardon my daftness, but I am still confused! The app md2tool (installed with DE) and the GUI in the link you posted both reference conversion of md2 to dmd and vice versa. Which is great, of course, but why use the dmd format if there is (as is would appear to me thus far) no way to make use of it's added functionality?
Again, I apologize if I am being obtuse, I am new to the world of modding DE and trying to learn on my own!

DavidInvenio

One other question... why would someone convert a dmd file to md2 if they were using DE?

Is dmd preferred over md2? or md5 as I see DE2 using.

Should all dmd and md2 files be converted to md5? or dmd? or something I have yet to learn about? LOL :-)

veirdo

DavidInvenio wrote:

Is dmd preferred over md2? or md5 as I see DE2 using.

DMD is preferred for a game world objects (you can see a less polygon model from a far distances) and it's useless for a HUD models.
The DE2 using ASSIMP library to handle models. There are lot of supported formats, but we stopped with FBX after some testing as the most feature-full and bug free. The LOD system is not supported yet for a DE2. Anyway I think it's not a model format binded.

DaniJ

Actually there is still a benefit to using .dmd over .md2 with hud models - more precise normals, meaning better vertex lighting and shine texture mapping. However, now that .md5 is supported for hud models there is no good reason to use the older formats.

DavidInvenio

WOW I am learning a lot! (or at least I am trying to! LOL)
Ok, so .md5 is preferred over the older .md2 and .dmd - correct?
But what about .fbx vs .md5? Is one better than the other, or are they used for different purposes? (I read the HUD reference, although I admit that I don't fully understand this thread - YET! LOL)

THANKS everyone - for helping an "old newbie" :-) to understand the world of DE!

skyjake

DavidInvenio wrote:

Ok, so .md5 is preferred over the older .md2 and .dmd - correct?

Correct.

Development of Doomsday 2 will focus on model formats that support skeletal animation (such as MD5 and FBX). MD2/DMD are based on vertex frames, meaning that each frame in the animations is essentially a separate set of vertices. In skeletal animation, you only have one set of vertices and move those around using a skeleton structure.

But what about .fbx vs .md5?

I would imagine this comes down to which is better supported in the model editing tools you happen to be using. From a technical viewpoint, FBX is more versatile, but Doomsday will not support every feature of FBX anyway.

DavidInvenio

skyjake wrote:

I would imagine this comes down to which is better supported in the model editing tools you happen to be using. From a technical viewpoint, FBX is more versatile, but Doomsday will not support every feature of FBX anyway.

Ok so for someone just starting out and doesn't have a preferred set of editing tools, FBX seems like a better choice, right?

With DE2 being still in development, and thus support for FBX being rather new I would guess, is it "too cutting edge" for a newcomer to choose? What I mean is, are other people using the format? I'm hoping to find support and guidance from others doing similar things.

veirdo

DavidInvenio wrote:

With DE2 being still in development, and thus support for FBX being rather new I would guess, is it "too cutting edge" for a newcomer to choose? What I mean is, are other people using the format? I'm hoping to find support and guidance from others doing similar things.

You have to decide what do you want to do first, and the we can guide you to chose the right path.
My own preference is FBX because of 2 things:
1. It's easier to export from Maya app, I used recently.
2. Only FBX (or maybe Collada too) provided me with the feature set I familiar in my everyday work. And I'm gladly used it for DE2.

Gordon

to me it seems that once you learn a modeling program you then need to see what it can export then use that. if latter one gets more support then you can always ask here on the forms for help on converting it if the chosen format is not the one getting the support.