This geometry export converter writes out a Strata StudioPro v1.75 compatible object file, complete with all meshes, surfaces, 2d textures, lights, cameras, texture maps, material attributes, hierarchy and embedded bitmap images. In addition, MacBinary information can be inserted into the file to make it readily useable in MacOS.
Much work has been invested into this export converter to make exported files “Load and Render” once imported into Strata. Keep in mind, however, that Strata StudioPro works quite differently (internally that is) compared to other programs such as 3D Studio, Lightwave or SoftImage. Strata is more of an “artists rendering tool” where everything is measured in real-world dimensions (such as inches) and where operations such as texture mapping have been ‘simplified’ by Strata to make it easier to understand by the user (such as tiling and auto-scaling a texture map in terms of its real-world equivalent size). For texture mapping this can cause problems when converting textured scenes into Strata StudioPro; in particular, Strata StudioPro's file format does not support implicit (u,v) texture coordinates so PolyTrans/NuGraf cannot send (u,v) coordinates to StudioPro (however, NuGraf/PolyTrans can still send all texture projection methods supported by StudioPro such as the cubical, planar, spherical and cylindrical texture projection methods).
Dialog Box Options
The following information explains the various options on the dialog box:
Export Options
Embed Texture Images Within File
Rather than reference bitmaps on disk (as is done by many other 3d programs), Strata StudioPro embeds all bitmap images directly within the scene file. If this option is enabled then all bitmap images referenced by the current scene will be read from disk then embedded within the Strata file using RLE file compression.
Add MacBinary Header
If this checkbox is enabled (checkmarked) then a MacBinary header will be added to the front of the exported Strata StudioPro file. This is necessary if the file is written on a PC machine but read into Strata StudioPro on the Macintosh.
Output Enables
The following options control what is sent to the Strata file.
Mesh Data
If this checkbox is enabled (checkmarked, which is the default) then the mesh data will be output to the Strata file.
Materials
If this checkbox is enabled (checkmarked, which is the default) then materials will be output to the Strata file.
Cameras
If this checkbox is enabled (checkmarked, which is the default) then cameras will be output to the Strata file.
Lights
If this checkbox is enabled (checkmarked, which is the default) then lights will be output to the Strata file.
Dialog Box Options