[Radiance-general] converter options for radiance

[Lars O. Grobe]

Hi!

Some time ago, I asked about the mgf2inv tool, as this is the only 
program I know that is able to export from radiance's scene format to 
other 3d formats. However, as the only way goes through mgf, which 
AFAIK didn't change in the last years, it is e.g. impossible to export 
the image map information from radiance. I wonder if there is really no 
need for that?

I found an interesting project called xrml which is enhancing vrml97 
into so-called PhBvrml, a vrml extension for physically based 
rendering. There are even converters for mgf, so again I can get into 
this format through mgf only.

I think that a similar approach like PhBvrml, simply not based on 
vrml97 but the xml'ed x3d, would be a great solution to keep scenes in 
a more readable format also useable by other tools (e.g. x3d-browsers, 
xml-editors and validation tools). I think that if radiance could use 
something like that, we would make a big step in the integration of the 
simulation with other developments.

So, finally, my question is: is there any interest and chance that we 
will see radiance (directly or with the help of filters, like the 
mgf-support) will be able to handle such a format that can be read by 
other browsers and has the extendibility and validation features of 
xml? Might such a format even be an approach to get into real-time and 
hw-accelerated radiance rendering? If I can output "prerendered" 
triangles with e.g. the ambient calculation done in radiance, I could 
use whatever (accelerated) x3d-browser, couldn't I? So the task to 
display would be given to other, specialised programs, while radiance 
would export into standard formats.

I hope my ideas are not to stupid in the context of radiance's use... 
and on this list. I am just fighting with problems of documentation / 
model integration, converters and loss of information here... ;-)

CU Lars.
--
Lars O. Grobe, grobe@gmx.net, ++90-212-2458330

Kardesler Apartment, Turnacibasi Sokak 28
Galatasaray - Beyoglu, 34433 Istanbul