KSPBlender - Blender Addon for importing .craft files (now with complete mod support!)

[esinohio]

Not done any animations here yet but looking into it. I have a couple small videos I've done in KSP that I'd like to redo completely in Blender or some combination of the KSP and Blender animations. As for renders, I'm currently dumping way to much in the fan works "Show off your Blender Render" section. Can't help it! Dang mod is so much fun!

Can't say it enough Dasoccerguy, Thanks a ton for this Blender mod!!!!! I'm salivating over that Kerbal I see on your front page here. It looks great!

[Sma]

Not done any animations here yet but looking into it. I have a couple small videos I've done in KSP that I'd like to redo completely in Blender or some combination of the KSP and Blender animations. As for renders, I'm currently dumping way to much in the fan works "Show off your Blender Render" section. Can't help it! Dang mod is so much fun!

Can't say it enough Dasoccerguy, Thanks a ton for this Blender mod!!!!! I'm salivating over that Kerbal I see on your front page here. It looks great!

Ahh I should have thought to look there lol. Thanks to Dasoccerguy, I think I'm going to be spending more of my "free time" in blender/KSP now lol

[hobbez]

i hope this isn't considered off topic but:

do you guys know if this or a similar program can import/export models to solidworks?

I wouldn't mind 3d printing one of my rockets or rovers, and at the same time, i'm curious to see if i can add parts in the game.

[Sma]

i hope this isn't considered off topic but:

do you guys know if this or a similar program can import/export models to solidworks?

I wouldn't mind 3d printing one of my rockets or rovers, and at the same time, i'm curious to see if i can add parts in the game.

If solidworks can use stl I imagine so. Blender does have a bunch of file types it supports. Also there is an "official" service that will do this now too. Just upload your craft file and it does the heavy work for you. Bit expensive though.

[longbyte1]

i hope this isn't considered off topic but:

do you guys know if this or a similar program can import/export models to solidworks?

I wouldn't mind 3d printing one of my rockets or rovers, and at the same time, i'm curious to see if i can add parts in the game.

The workflow wouldn't be hard: just import to Blender, then export it to OBJ, DAE, or STL, then import that into Solidworks. You should try all 3 and see which one preserves the most data.

[Cryocore]

In the partdir, where it shows a word in parenthesis next to the directory, what is that word for? In the case of this part: partdir['adapterSize2-Mk2'] = ["\\GameData\\Squad\\Parts\\FuelTank\\adapterTanks\\Size2-Mk2.mu","fuel"], the word is "fuel". Also, AIES Aerospace is a bigger mod pack than I thought lol, might take me some more time.

[Dasoccerguy]

In the partdir, where it shows a word in parenthesis next to the directory, what is that word for? In the case of this part: partdir['adapterSize2-Mk2'] = ["\\GameData\\Squad\\Parts\\FuelTank\\adapterTanks\\Size2-Mk2.mu","fuel"], the word is "fuel". Also, AIES Aerospace is a bigger mod pack than I thought lol, might take me some more time.

Honestly the tag at the end isn't very important for any part besides the fuel lines, struts, and clamps because those parts have special code to help them import. One thing I've been meaning to do (that I'll go make a note of on Trello) would be to make that info a little more useful, like saying which section in the VAB they come from.

[hobbez]

The workflow wouldn't be hard: just import to Blender, then export it to OBJ, DAE, or STL, then import that into Solidworks. You should try all 3 and see which one preserves the most data.

yeah solidworks can do stl. I was hoping to cut out the blender middle man though, since i don't have it. I'll figure something out.

[Thomas988]

Hey, I've got a bit of a problem here. I finally got this mod to work for me (it's awesome!), but I'm a total newbie at Blender. You see, I got this render down pat, but how to I make it not so dark?

EDIT: Okay, I just solved my previous question. However, I have a new one: how do I increase the render distance? If I move the camera too far the spacecraft I'm trying to get a picture of just vanishes.

Edited March 14, 2015 by Thomas988

[Sma]

Hey, I've got a bit of a problem here. I finally got this mod to work for me (it's awesome!), but I'm a total newbie at Blender. You see, I got this render down pat, but how to I make it not so dark?

EDIT: Okay, I just solved my previous question. However, I have a new one: how do I increase the render distance? If I move the camera too far the spacecraft I'm trying to get a picture of just vanishes.

Sounds like a clipping issue. What you'll want to try is in the 3d view, push N (that toggles one of the tool bars) in that toolbar (you may have to scroll it) you should find "Clip:" change those numbers until it is visible again. Also you MIGHT want to scale down what you import so you don't have to mess with clipping. Of course with things like this there are more than several ways to handle it lol

[Azimech]

Does anyone have an idea what's going on here?

[Sma]

Does anyone have an idea what's going on here?

http://i.imgur.com/5sE47Th.png

Usually that is because of an error with the folders for ksp, either the location you put in the kspdir.txt (I think that's the name) is wrong or I also saw this with the older version of the addon. Double, or triple check you have the right link for ksp put in the addon configuration file and try it again.

[Azimech]

Thanks! I've checked it but same result every time. Doesn't matter, the Blender Foundation can get a prize for the worst user experience anyway. Every time I download, install and try it, I get extremely annoyed after 15 minutes. I said it last time and should've listened to myself: Never again.

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

I just bought a book on blender: http://www.amazon.com/Blender-Foundations-Essential-Guide-Learning/dp/0240814304

Watch out! Mad blender science coming! (Maybe).

P.S.

Love this add-on, I've already done a bunch of renders.

[Dasoccerguy]

Thanks! I've checked it but same result every time. Doesn't matter, the Blender Foundation can get a prize for the worst user experience anyway. Every time I download, install and try it, I get extremely annoyed after 15 minutes. I said it last time and should've listened to myself: Never again.

Sounds like you could use a video tutorial, which I just so happen to be working on!

I have a hunch that the .mu importer isn't enabled. Press Ctrl+Alt+U and go to Addons, then search "ksp" and make sure both addons show up and that you've checked the checkboxes. It threw an error when it went to look for an object within Blender that was never created because it was never imported.

Blender has a steep learning curve, but it is the single most rewarding program I have ever used. It has all the potential if you just tough it out. This week I'll be making a YouTube series for people exactly in your shoes, so can you give it 1 more chance?

[Azimech]

*sigh*

You've convinced me. The alternatives aren't really alternatives. I'll just drink a bottle of wine and listen to happy music while trying, and I'll watch your video tutorials. It's better than coding anyway, when trying to understand even kOS my reactor almost went critical.

[Dasoccerguy]

I just bought a book on blender: http://www.amazon.com/Blender-Foundations-Essential-Guide-Learning/dp/0240814304

Watch out! Mad blender science coming! (Maybe).

P.S.

Love this add-on, I've already done a bunch of renders.

Thanks for the P.S.! Any sneak peeks you want to upload?

The book looks interesting, though the first thing I noticed is that it was written for 2.6 (2012 and 2013). All of the fundamentals will be the same, but there have been a lot of improvements and very valuable additions since then. Blender tends to get 2 or 3 major updates every year. On this page (http://www.blender.org/features/past-releases/) you can see the release history to get an idea of what I'm talking about. Each image goes to a changelog where they talk about what was updated.

Some highlights:

• Freescale render engine (v2.67b), which lets you do cartoon and cell shading, outlines, and several other things very easily. I've used this render engine for making engineering-y schematics.
  
• Volumetric rendering for Cycles, which lets you do things like create photorealistic fire and smoke in like 2 minutes once you get the hang of it.
  
• Overhauls to the texture painting and sculpting modes
  
• Overhaul of the node editor
  

But the book looks like a good place to start. Blender underwent a complete transformation at the 2.5 release, so it's crucial that the book is after that. Apparently they don't even list the versions before 2.5 (i.e. before mid 2011) on the downloads page... haha. Every now and then when you search around the internet for help you're going to come across images like this: http://wiki.blender.org/uploads/0/0c/Tree_interface.png, which is from a pre-2.5 version of Blender. It honestly looks like a different program.

Edited March 15, 2015 by Dasoccerguy

[Sma]

Blender has a steep learning curve, but it is the single most rewarding program I have ever used. It has all the potential if you just tough it out. This week I'll be making a YouTube series for people exactly in your shoes, so can you give it 1 more chance?

That's certainly the truth. I find Blender Guru has some great tutorials, and I would recommend them to anyone starting out with Blender.

I got into blender because I was introduced to 3d Studio Max (version 3.0) back in 1998 or around there, when I was in high school. First I got into it as it was part of a tech class I was in, but also when I was in FIRST Robotics they gave schools copies of it. Then of course I got into blender, as it was free and was similar to 3dsm, though at the time it was very limited. Now of course it's pretty much got all the features you would need. I'm pretty interested in the camera tracking bit. Keep meaning to do something with that but have yet to mess with it.

[Cptman]

Hello everyone

Thanks for the add-on it looks great (even if I can't get it to work, it seems that it has a problem with finding the correct part for the cockpit. I might try again later )

I think that you should mention to people (maybe on the download page ?) that they can use their GPU to render with Cycles in Blender, it goes much faster (most of the time). It would be really useful for people who are new to Blender and might not know about it.

To be able to use your GPU you have to go in User Preference > System >Compute Device (bottom left) and select CUDA and in the menu select the GPU you want to use.

However, it has some limitations : not every GPU are supported http://www.blender.org/manual/render/cycles/gpu_rendering.html (*), some Cycles features are also experimantal on GPUs.

(*) No need to complain here, the Blender Foundation already had a lot of complains about it. They've said what was the reason, but I don't remember where

Also, I've been trying to make a python script to create the dictionary needed for the paths of the models, the right size and the right location. I've managed to do something but then I saw that not every mod as the same folder organization (I was testing on B9). So, I'll have to work some more on it. As far as I know this kind of thing is not in the current add-on, am I right ?

Well, for know I can at least give you the dictionary for B9. So, tell me if you want it.

[Sma]

Hello everyone

Thanks for the add-on it looks great (even if I can't get it to work, it seems that it has a problem with finding the correct part for the cockpit. I might try again later )

You may have already gone through this but check to make sure both the mu and KSP import plugin are enabled. There was something else i did to fix mine but don't remember what that was now lol.

I think that you should mention to people (maybe on the download page ?) that they can use their GPU to render with Cycles in Blender, it goes much faster (most of the time). It would be really useful for people who are new to Blender and might not know about it.

To be able to use your GPU you have to go in User Preference > System >Compute Device (bottom left) and select CUDA and in the menu select the GPU you want to use.

However, it has some limitations : not every GPU are supported http://www.blender.org/manual/render/cycles/gpu_rendering.html (*), some Cycles features are also experimantal on GPUs.

(*) No need to complain here, the Blender Foundation already had a lot of complains about it. They've said what was the reason, but I don't remember where

Yeh, apparently only NVIDIA cards can do GPU rendering, as far as I've read anyway.

Also, I've been trying to make a python script to create the dictionary needed for the paths of the models, the right size and the right location. I've managed to do something but then I saw that not every mod as the same folder organization (I was testing on B9). So, I'll have to work some more on it. As far as I know this kind of thing is not in the current add-on, am I right ?

Well, for know I can at least give you the dictionary for B9. So, tell me if you want it.

I had been working on adding the mods I use and sending the directory structure to Dasoccerguy, but got distracted with an animation im working on and some other real life stuff lol. I should get back on that sometime in the next few weeks...hopefully

[Sma]

I posted a video I was working on over on the "Show off your KSP Blender Renders" thread. Here is the link to the post for those interested: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/111540-Show-off-your-KSP-Blender-Renders%21?p=1792093&viewfull=1#post1792093

[Dasoccerguy]

Hello everyone...

I'm going to basically echo what Sma said. Check that both addons are downloaded and enabled, and that you have the right info in kspdir.txt. Eventually I'm going to be consuming the .mu importer and kspdir.txt will become config.txt (and I might even try to find a fancy way to have it force you to update the configuration file when you first use the addon).

You're totally right about the GPU thing. I have mentioned it at some points to some people, just not to everyone. There are a couple of hitches, however. While nVidia cards will almost always work, with AMD it is not as certain. Also (and I was beating my head against my desk for an hour before figuring this out), Cycles' fire and smoke will not render on the GPU. These are new features, so the idea in the Blender development pipeline was to just get them working on CPUs first. I think you understand all that.

As for the python script for the dictionary... if you can figure it out you've solved the last great challenge of this project. I saw no way around manually doing it, especially because the naming conventions are so...... random.

Here's an example:

In the VAB, this part is called "Mk1-2 Command Pod". The folder it is in is "Mk1-2Pod". In the .craft file, this part is called "Mark1-2Pod", as you can see in the bottom left of the screenshot (they're imported to Blender with the naming system in the .craft files.)

Sooooo, I don't see an easy way to procedurally do this. If all the modders (and Squad) were perfectly consistent then it would be possible.

- - - Updated - - -

Also if anyone can help me, is it possible to remove the Poll I made on this thread? I figured it would vanish when time was up, but it's still around and being useless.

Edited March 19, 2015 by Dasoccerguy
)

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Here are some renders:

[Cptman]

I finished my script and it should work !

I saw no way around manually doing it, especially because the naming conventions are so...... random.

.....

In the VAB, this part is called "Mk1-2 Command Pod". The folder it is in is "Mk1-2Pod". In the .craft file, this part is called "Mark1-2Pod", as you can see in the bottom left of the screenshot (they're imported to Blender with the naming system in the .craft files.)

Yeah, I've seen that and that's quite annoying, it would have been quite easier if they had all agreed on a convention.

But I think that there is a trick: the name in the .craft file is (normally) the same as the one in the .cfg. So, you just have to search in every .cfg file () (Is'nt it what you did to create the dictionary sofar ? ) and look for the "name =" and here you go ! And you also have the right scale, location and rescale factor (and even the category).

My script does exactly that and everything should work alright (hopefully).

But I've already noticed that B9 does not respect that: they use a '.' as a separator in the .craft and a '_' in the .cfg, so you would have to replace everything onced you have created the dic or when you search for the part (that's up to you)

Maybe, it is easier to

Finally, where should I put the script ? Github ?

(Off-topic: Is it normal that I have to relog each time just before posting ?)

[Dasoccerguy]

I finished my script and it should work !

Yeah, I've seen that and that's quite annoying, it would have been quite easier if they had all agreed on a convention.

But I think that there is a trick: the name in the .craft file is (normally) the same as the one in the .cfg. So, you just have to search in every .cfg file () (Is'nt it what you did to create the dictionary sofar ? ) and look for the "name =" and here you go ! And you also have the right scale, location and rescale factor (and even the category).

My script does exactly that and everything should work alright (hopefully).

But I've already noticed that B9 does not respect that: they use a '.' as a separator in the .craft and a '_' in the .cfg, so you would have to replace everything onced you have created the dic or when you search for the part (that's up to you)

Maybe, it is easier to

Finally, where should I put the script ? Github ?

(Off-topic: Is it normal that I have to relog each time just before posting ?)

I actually had a much stupider way of figuring out each part name. I can't believe I didn't use the .cfg files.

You can email me the script, add it to a Github fork, put it in Dropbox, or whatever you want. I'm really excited to get this going! I'm happy to take a look into the . vs _ issue, but I'm thinking that, worst case, we could just have it crank out a big text file that would get added into partdir.py's dictionary, and we would only have to run the script once per mod.

It would be great to do away with partdir.py, however...