Objreader64 Version 5.00

[Patrice Terrier]

ObjReader 5.00 - sneak preview

Skeletal animation comes to OR

Until now, OR animated meshes with its own .mtl directives (#rotate, #pulse, #inflate, #move...).
Version 5.00 adds true bone / skin animation, the same kind you see on Sketchfab,
fully computed on the GPU, while keeping the Wavefront spirit of OR.

How it works

• orbtool converts an animated .glb into the usual .orb + .mtl, and when the GLB has a skin, it also writes a small sidecar: <model>.mtls (material skin)
  
• The .mtls holds the skeleton, the vertex weights and all the animation clips, LZNT1 compressed
• The .mtls file is the switch: when it sits beside the .orb, the model comes alive; remove it and you are back to the static model
  
• It never interferes with the existing directives nor with the Animation checkbox

Animation > Skeletal Animation

• The first clip starts automatically, as on Sketchfab
• The submenu lists every clip found in the file (Mixamo Walk, Idle, Running... for the astronaut)
• Pause holds the current pose
• New global directive to choose the starting clip:

Code: [Select]

#skeletal 2

Works everywhere in OR

• All render modes: Blinn, normal map, inspection, Minnaert, Gooch, Toon, X-ray, fancy texture modes, wireframe overlay
• Audio sync, .shc and .fs backgrounds
• Export .ORB to .MTL/.OBJ now keeps the animation: the exported .obj and the .orb rebuilt from it walk exactly like the original
  
• Reload model works as expected

Shader backgrounds: save the view

• New File > Save shader pose to mtl file (enabled only while a .shc background is running)
  
• The shader orientation (iMouse) is stored in the .mtl, independent of the window size:

Code: [Select]

#wallpaper @73tGzB.shc
#shaderpose 0.2315 0.3860

• It is restored at load, with or without MouseON

Still OR

• Native C/C++, Win32 SDK
• The whole skeletal animation engine (CPU bone evaluation + GPU skinning + menu) adds about 10 KB to the binary: OR 5.00 weighs 335 KB
  
• Totally optional: models without a .mtls behave exactly as before

Test lab: the Mixamo astronaut (538,589 vertices, 72 bones, 3 clips), walking in front of an audio-synced .shc sky.


Download the Sneak preview

Unzip, then use RunMe.bat

[Patrice Terrier]

ObjReader 5.00 - What's new



SKELETAL ANIMATION (new)

• Bone / skin animation for Wavefront-based .orb models, computed on the GPU (works like Sketchfab).
• New sidecar file <model>.mtls ("material skin"): skeleton, vertex weights and animation clips, LZNT1 compressed.
  
• The .mtls file is the switch: present = animated, absent = static model.
  
• Totally optional: models without a .mtls behave exactly as before; never interferes with the existing .mtl directives (#rotate, #pulse, #inflate, #move) nor with the Animation checkbox.
• Animation > Skeletal Animation menu: one line per clip found in the file, plus Pause. The first clip starts automatically.
  
• New global .mtl directive:

Code: [Select]

#skeletal n   (1..n, clip to play first)

• Works in every render mode: Blinn, normal map, inspection, Minnaert, Gooch, Toon, X-ray, fancy texture modes, and the wireframe overlay (skinned lines).
• The whole engine adds about 10 KB to the binary.
  

ORBTOOL (GLB -> ORB converter)

• Reads skins and animations from .glb files (joints, weights, inverse bind matrices, clips).
• Writes <model>.mtls automatically whenever the .glb has a skin (no command-line switch).

EXPORT .ORB TO .MTL/.OBJ

• The export now keeps the skeletal animation: <target>.mtls is written beside the .obj.
• Loading the exported .obj animates it; the .orb that OR then builds from it gets its own .mtls, so Reload works too.

SHADER BACKGROUNDS (.shc)

• New native SHC renderer, synchronized with the same audio as the 3D model.
• Old .fs animated backgrounds are converted to .shc on the fly: existing projects keep working.
• Drag and drop of .shc files and of any audio file, on the fly.
• New File > Save shader pose to mtl file (enabled only while a .shc background runs).
  
• New .mtl directive:

Code: [Select]

#shaderpose x y   (shader orientation, kept in any window size or full screen)

Restored at load, with or without MouseON.

• Fix: no freeze when switching shaders while a video shader (WebView2) is playing.

COMPATIBILITY / FIXES

• Intel GPUs: model shaders no longer fail to compile.
• No more silent crash on exit (0xC015000F), fixed in WinLIFT64.dll. Also fixes every other WinLIFT-based application.
• Double-click on an .orb file in Explorer loads the model again.
• Cleaner exit: OpenGL resources released while the windows still exist.
• Sync timer no longer spins a CPU core when idle.
• ListViews: last row no longer truncated, no more horizontal scrollbar.

SIZE (byte hunting)

• CRT and STL removed from ObjReader.
• Binary from 536 KB down to about 335 KB, skeletal animation included.
  

Special thanks to UEZ for testing on Intel hardware and for spotting the silent crash on exit.