Hello all, i'm new to XNA, and i'm reading the book "Microsoft XNA unleashed" by chad carter, i think it's a great book for beginners, I also serached a lot on xna foruns and the web, but i'm still missing some concepts, for example i'm trying to create a 3d map and import it to my game, so that later i can implement a character in third person view,  collision detection, camera position, input management, and maybe some more adavanced features.

My question is:

What is the best way to do this, can i use for example Blender/3DS Max/google sketchup to make the map and import the .FBX to my world?

I've seen a tutorial on how to import a sketchup model into XNA that's why i'm asking this, actually sketchup is a great too for me to use, since I'm trying to model a building, and Sketchup is very easy to use to make this.

Please give me some guidance, I already done some search here on the foruns but nothing came out of it.

Thanks.

I don't think there is a "best way". Every programmer will come up with their own solution.

I'm planning on making a scene editor that saves the data to a map XML file and then just loading that into my game. I'm planning on using Google Sketchup to make the buildings, etc. and heightmap for the surface. Then just store the structures location, rotation, scale, etc. in the XML file.

I'm hoping to use whatever modeling software can export to .X file and then use my own scene editor for placement. Then creating my own XML map files that I can load into my game.

I have the 3rd person view, broadbase collision detection, camera, input, etc. working in my game, but no where near complete. I'll probably start on my scene editor after a few more tweaks. It's really easy to get Google Sketchup into .X format thanks to that plug-in.

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Jim Welch

Go to Delgine.com and grab a free copy of DeleD Lite. Very good program.

What formats does Deligine export out as?

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Jim Welch

Jim W:

What formats does Deligine export out as?

It comes with a few exporters. 3ds, .x, .obj, etc.. And you can easily write your own with the plug-in kit.

Hi, I'm Jeroen, one of the developers of DeleD.

DeleD is being used to create content for games made by (indy) game developers world wide. The LITE version is totally functional (it just contains less cool features than DeleD PRO). Check out the gallery to see what people are creating using DeleD.

Also, if you need DeleD to be able to export to a fle format that is currently unavailable, please give us a mention in the Feature Request forum at www.delgine.com/forum. We certainly want DeleD to be usable for XNA game developers out there so we can write a plugin for the format you need. :)

I mainly use 3DS max caz its really easy especially if you are trying to make some building stuff

however if you would like to make some terrain with heights go that link

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Ashour

I think DeleD is great! I like it much better than other low-cost modelers, such as Milkshape. I've paid for both DeleD and MS, but I'm using DeleD more.
I also use 3ds Max, which is in a totally different class, but I find DeleD is easier to use because the UI is simpler.

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Jon Watte, Direct3D MVP
kW X-port 3ds Max .X exporter
14 days after getting my RROD box back, it's going back for service again. Grr.

r5gtoby:

Hello all, i'm new to XNA, and i'm reading the book "Microsoft XNA unleashed" by chad carter, i think it's a great book for beginners, ...

I'm glad you are enjoying the book!  Thanks for the compliment.

jwatte:

I think DeleD is great!

OK ... where have I been ... I have never heard of this one?  This looks very promising ... I will have to check it out.

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Microsoft XNA Unleashed - 2D, 3D, HLSL, Content Pipeline, XACT, Particle Systems, AI, Physics, Game States, Performance, Garbage Collection and 2 full games!

I'll put in a vote for Blender.  For my game I am creating indoor levels - tunnels, rooms, etc.  I tried a few of the other tools but just ended up sticking with Blender.  If you prefer Google Sketchup, you can make use of the free version of Sketchup and somewhere around here is a link to a Ruby plugin for exporting from Sketchup to .X format.  Then you can import the .X file into Blender (or another program) and put any finishing touches on it before you import it into XNA.  I tried it and was able to import a simple model into Blender, although I'm not sure how well it does with more detailed/advanced models from Sketchup.

I use Blender to export cubes and spheres as collision objects in XML. Using Python is (imho) an easy way to export anything you wish from Blender, in any format you want. For each sphere, I simply name the spheremesh "BoundingSphere.001" or "BoundingBox.001" etc., during export (since there are no parametric objects in Blender), I use a couple of mesh measuring methods to write the center, radius or corners of the name (depending on its name of course). You should start easy and then advance. There is no need for terrain normal collision detection if you plan to make a flat level design. All hail the box! :)