Hi guys,
For past little while I've been developing a small idea I had in my free time. Now that its functional (well, sort of) and needs testing I've set it up for everyone to use :)
The basic idea is having a model-sharing site for all kinds of meshes with peer-reviews and easy searches. However, models on such a site would be stored in a neutral format instead of arbitrary user-defined uploads. This allows several things:
- Uploads/downloads in multiple file formats (I've currently implemented .3ds and .dae, but many more are possible/coming)
- 'Unbiased' previews (since all models are processed the same, what you see in a preview is what you'll get)
- Server-side rendering (because server knows everything about a model, it can render it out by itself)
- Detailed model info
- No data 'leaks' to unauthorized users (we send clients real-time model renders as images, thus never having to actually transfer geometric data)
So cue [b][www.meshplant.com](http://www.meshplant.com/index.html)[/b]: a website designed to do just that. You can upload your models to our server and share their renders (in forum posts, blogs, personal portfolios) and, optionally, the data (allow other people to download your model).
A model on meshplant.com consists of a set of meshes and their textures. Uploading is simple- put your model file in a new folder, add any textures (currently only diffuse is supported), zip the folder, and upload.
Currently models can be exchanged in either .3ds or .dae (collada) formats. .3ds import/export is designed for very simple models and will not handle complex texturing correctly. Also, resetting xforms before exporting helps a lot.
Here are two examples from my personal models that I've uploaded and links to their details (you can interactively rotate/preview models on the details page):
[img]http://www.meshplant.com/model_2_big.jpg[/img]
[http://www.meshplant.com/model_2.html](http://www.meshplant.com/model_2.html)
[img]http://www.meshplant.com/model_1_big.jpg[/img]
[http://www.meshplant.com/model_1.html](http://www.meshplant.com/model_1.html)
So register, upload your stuff, and participate! It is all greatly appreciated.
Please do feel free to comment on this project. I am very open to bug reports, suggestions, and any other information. You can use the forum on the website, or this thread for all comments.
Also please read our rules and privacy statement.
Thanks for checking this out! :)
Marsel