The c4d format

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On 20/09/2004 at 14:44, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Hello,

I'm wrtting a program that can convert OBJ files to C4D, but I don't have a good reference to the file format.
I downloaded a file from the resources section that explains the format for 5.0, 5.1, 5.2 but it's not well explained.

I also have some c4d files of those versions (5.21), and I have downloaded the demo for Cinema4d Release 9.
When I open these c4d files, nothing shows up but it seems as if Cinema is able to recognize the mesh in it and lists it.

But the mesh does not render in the viewport.

I'm not experienced with Cinema. I'm just writting a support tool for it. Can anybody give advice?

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On 20/09/2004 at 14:45, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Also, if there is a specification for the release 8 or 9 C4D format, that would be nice.

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On 22/09/2004 at 08:00, xxxxxxxx wrote:

You should really see a similar discussion in the SDK forum for an answer to this.

The link to it is:

C4D File Format Specification

Just to encapsulate what you will read:

1. C4D file format is proprietary: you will not find a specification for developers
2. C4D file format is binary and changes with each version
3. The contents are mainly stored as internal procedural representations

Keeping these in mind, it seems a more ready solution is to just import a Wavefront .obj file into C4D and save the project.

What is your specific need in converting an OBJ file to C4D in this manner?

Robert

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On 22/09/2004 at 20:17, xxxxxxxx wrote:

From reading that thread, it sounds as if Maxon does not want to publish the file format for the newer versions.

That's OK, because I can stick with the older 5.x version which is published, but the document is clear and some things are missing.
It would be nice to discuss some things with someone who knows the format.

I'm writing the program for someone else. He says that there are some issues that the Cinema importer does not address while importing an OBJ file.
I suppose this is to be a conveniance tool for him.

Anyway, I'm still wondering, does the demo version have issues with the older c4d files? Or the file is bad?

It does not give any error messages when I open it.

my email is vmelkonbo there yahoo hot com if anyone wants to contact me.
Remove the "bo" from vmelkonbo (to fool the bots)

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On 22/09/2004 at 21:21, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Still the hard way to go in my opinion. Better to write an importer plugin than to convert an OBJ file into an old C4D file format and hope that it works in more recent versions in all situations.

There are a couple out there already. One is called Riptide. Check the link:

RipTide

For the plugin that I'm currently coding, I'm using my own parser code to load in the Wavefront OBJ files referenced.

Robert

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On 25/09/2004 at 19:13, xxxxxxxx wrote:

A plugin is not what the person for whom I'm doing this converter program wants. He wants a standard exe.

I have this file uploaded that contains a polygonal cube.
I think it doesn't load in Cinema4D R9 but no error messages are given.

Can someone here try it?
http://www.geocities.com/vmelkon/cinema.html

Thanks.

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On 25/09/2004 at 21:06, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Not much of a cube, is it?

Using R7.3, I get four points (covering one face), no polygons. There doesn't appear to be enough information in the file to cover eight points (figure 24 reals at 8 bytes each) and six polygons (24 indices - 8 bytes each).

All that I can say is that even Deep Exploration by Right Hemisphere, a $150 program, doesn't export C4D R5, only import (and since only C4D R5 outputs R5 files, that feature is of no use to mostly everybody).

I suggest getting directly in touch with Maxon concerning this since they are the only ones who can really help you.

Robert

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On 27/09/2004 at 05:55, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Yes, that file is suppose to be a square but there was some issue I guess. Doing some other test gives good results.

I have gotten in touch with Maxxon before I posted here and I was told to post questions in the SDK section.
Anyway, I gave it a shot.

I know there aren't many programs out there that deal with the c4d format but this isn't relevant to me.

However, thanks for your responses

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On 05/10/2004 at 20:15, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Sorry for the non-response, but see that you are now seeking C4D R5. Also sorry if I sounded slightly condescending on the previous message (should have put a :) after that first sentence).

I find it strange that they would recommend the SDK forum for a stand-alone, non-SDK application. The SDK is only capable of creating plugin libraries (DLLs under Windows, PFE under MacOS) specific to C4D.

You'll notice that although the C4D community is growing and Maxon has decent support, there is little information (esp. in English) for many facets of the program and especially its file format and SDK.

You may already have this links or this information, but I figured to provide you with something:

cinema4d.pdf v4 file format

You may also consider contacting Right Hemisphere to possibly get some recommendations, information, or anything that will allow you to understand the v5 c4d file format (it is an open format, so there should be no qualms).

Good luck with this!

Robert

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On 08/10/2004 at 09:14, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Hi,

it's alright.

Version 4 is too different from 5.

I have figure out the nececessary parts of version 5 (polygon model + materials) by studying older c4d files.

The only problem is that the textures don't display on the model. The material icon doesn't appear next to the objetc in the upper right pane of Cinema.
Also, I don't know if it uploads the texture coordinates.
I think there should be a icon for that too.

It's kind of weird but it looks like Cinema wants UVW instead of UV.

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On 08/10/2004 at 09:57, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Ah, I was hoping maybe it would fill in some information glossed over in the 5 pdf.

Yes, Cinema uses UVW. If things haven't changed too much from 5 to 7, vectors (x,y,z) are used to store UVW coordinates despite the fact that z coordinate is not used in most situations (if any). Include and set all of the z coordinates to 0.0 for UVW in the file definitely.

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On 08/10/2004 at 13:36, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Slight programming error on my part. Now the icon appears for the material but the object doesn't seem correctly textured.

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On 08/10/2004 at 15:19, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Is the object getting a Texture tag which points to a Material?

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On 14/10/2004 at 12:05, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Hi, sorry for the delay.
Yes, there is the "square with sphere" icon and the "checkerboarded surface" icon.
I'm assuming the texcoordinates have an issue, cause the texture appears and I select "flat" texturing or sphere mapping, or cylindrical mapping.

Also, I have to fix some things like the object in the OBJ file has many meshes, and in the C4D, they aer becoming separated.

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On 14/10/2004 at 12:06, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Separate objects I mean.

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On 14/10/2004 at 13:20, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Yes, C4D treats Wavefront OBJ groups (g [name]) as separate objects. If you want one mesh, you'll need to make a polygon selection tag for each object and put them together using Connect - in C4D that is. Don't know how you can translate this into the C4D file from a Wavefront OBJ.

For my plugin, I load the OBJ file into a single PolygonObject, going through the file once to get vertex, texture vertex, and polygon counts. Then I construct a Polygon Selection Tag for each of the encountered OBJ groups by adding polygons (f) as they are encountered within the group.

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On 19/10/2004 at 18:42, xxxxxxxx wrote:

In the C4D format (version 5)
I create an OBJECT chunk.
In this, I put a OBJECT_IDENT chunk, who's ID is
PolygonObject

Then I put a OBJECT_DATA chunk
In this chunk, there is a 32 bit value that is dubbed "the hierarchy"

The explanation in the PDF is
"number identifying the hierarchy level"

Lesson #1 in programming is to always comment your code.
Lesson #2 in programming is your comment should not state the obvious. It should be informative.

There is nothing about polygon selection in the PDF. Have you done anything about hierarchies?

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On 01/11/2004 at 21:18, xxxxxxxx wrote:

Hi,

Just to say the hierarchy issue is solved.
The only thing left is that the texture does not map correctly.

I did a test with a single triangle. It's as if each vertex has the same texture coordinate.
I'm using UV coordinates. If I put UVW, it says it can't load the file.

Cinema uses normalized texture coordinates right? Like OpenGL and Direct3D?