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Blender is an amazing tool that keeps getting better. The killer feature for me is scripting. I’m a huge fan of running Blender in Python batch mode as part of

Blender is an amazing tool that keeps getting better. The killer feature for me is scripting. I’m a huge fan of running Blender in Python batch mode as part of an asset pipeline; being able to dynamically generate assets from a tool like this so easily is really powerful.

fb03 6y ago
can you link me to some pointers on this? this sounds super interesting. thank you
- oldindnewtech 6y ago
  +1, in the process of building a pipeline such as this and would love to sense check approach
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - tpxl 6y ago
    I don't have direct links, but Factorio does this and may have some articles about it in their Friday Facts.
- jlturner 6y ago
  Haven’t found much written on this at the moment, but it’s not hard to wire up: every blender command can be invoked from the Python environment and you can invoke your Python script in blender from the command line (see Python Options in https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/advanced/command_line/arguments.html https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/advanced/command_l...)
adkadskhj 6y ago
Yea, i'm new to Blender and am working on a 3D->2D game - in the planning stages. One of the early things i identified was that an extremely well optimized (for dev UX) asset pipeline needed to exist. So i started testing Blenders API. It has been great so far - and even more surprising i'm so far writing all the asset code 100% in Rust via Pyo3, which is really nice.
- disconcision 6y ago
  what is a 3D->2D game? pre-rendered graphics ala myst?
  - fb03 6y ago
    I'm curious too, but my answer went to games like Mugen Kairou / Echochrome
  - adkadskhj 6y ago
    I was just trying to portray that it's a 2D game, but all my assets will be in 3D. This is just because i have a decent bit of experience /passion in 3D modeling and animation, but couldn't draw a box to save my life hah. So i'm going to mock 2D design with 3D models. Starting also with isometric, so it's naturally a bit more visually 3D anyway - but still sprite based. I'm also going to toy and learn a lot about the boundaries of where tons of 2D sprites become bottle-necked and instead 3D ends up being cheaper. As it stands i know nothing, but some of the things i've planned have quite an extensive set of assets - so i suspect there will be some limitations there.
terhechte 6y ago
A friend and I worked on a mobile 2D game in 2011-2013. Our level editor was just a heavily scripted Blender. It is awesome how much you can change the UI through scripts.
greggman3 6y ago
Scripting is amazing but it's available in most pro apps and most pro 3d modeling apps. Max has had MaxScript since it shipped in like 1995. Maya is built on scripts, it's entire UI is 1500 or so scripts around its lower-level engine. Every thing you do in the UI emits the script command that you could have typed to do the operation. Even Photoshop has been scriptable via JavaScript since CS1 (~2003). And of course all the Microsoft Office products have had VBA since the 90s. My only point is that scripting is not an unusual feature of Blender. It's a "if it didn't have it it would be 25 years behind the times" feature.

fb03 6y ago

can you link me to some pointers on this? this sounds super interesting. thank you

oldindnewtech 6y ago
+1, in the process of building a pipeline such as this and would love to sense check approach
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- tpxl 6y ago
  I don't have direct links, but Factorio does this and may have some articles about it in their Friday Facts.
jlturner 6y ago
Haven’t found much written on this at the moment, but it’s not hard to wire up: every blender command can be invoked from the Python environment and you can invoke your Python script in blender from the command line (see Python Options in https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/advanced/command_line/arguments.html https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/advanced/command_l...)

adkadskhj 6y ago

Yea, i'm new to Blender and am working on a 3D->2D game - in the planning stages. One of the early things i identified was that an extremely well optimized (for dev UX) asset pipeline needed to exist. So i started testing Blenders API. It has been great so far - and even more surprising i'm so far writing all the asset code 100% in Rust via Pyo3, which is really nice.

disconcision 6y ago
what is a 3D->2D game? pre-rendered graphics ala myst?
- fb03 6y ago
  I'm curious too, but my answer went to games like Mugen Kairou / Echochrome
- adkadskhj 6y ago
  I was just trying to portray that it's a 2D game, but all my assets will be in 3D. This is just because i have a decent bit of experience /passion in 3D modeling and animation, but couldn't draw a box to save my life hah. So i'm going to mock 2D design with 3D models. Starting also with isometric, so it's naturally a bit more visually 3D anyway - but still sprite based. I'm also going to toy and learn a lot about the boundaries of where tons of 2D sprites become bottle-necked and instead 3D ends up being cheaper. As it stands i know nothing, but some of the things i've planned have quite an extensive set of assets - so i suspect there will be some limitations there.

terhechte 6y ago

A friend and I worked on a mobile 2D game in 2011-2013. Our level editor was just a heavily scripted Blender. It is awesome how much you can change the UI through scripts.

greggman3 6y ago

Scripting is amazing but it's available in most pro apps and most pro 3d modeling apps. Max has had MaxScript since it shipped in like 1995. Maya is built on scripts, it's entire UI is 1500 or so scripts around its lower-level engine. Every thing you do in the UI emits the script command that you could have typed to do the operation. Even Photoshop has been scriptable via JavaScript since CS1 (~2003). And of course all the Microsoft Office products have had VBA since the 90s. My only point is that scripting is not an unusual feature of Blender. It's a "if it didn't have it it would be 25 years behind the times" feature.