Export to Lightwave Please

The one thing that bothers me about using blender is that from one version to the next scripts are either missing from previous builds.

There is only one option now for Lightwave and that is to import, the export to Lightwave does not exists since blender 2.4 or at least that is what I found searching the site.

There are so many LW users on here that it makes sense to keep these simple tools updated and carried over to the next Blender update. I am not a coder by any stretch, but the development team keep scripts that would be used on regular basis up to date.

I do understand that Blender is open source and it’s people time and effort that go into making Blender what it is today. The only reason I am using Blender is for fluid dynamics something that LW does have and to try and use the particle system is not efficient of very accurate in Lightwave.

I do believe in supporting Open source projects, however doing a simple export to Lightwave should be a blender must have.

I discovered Blender has an import script which works brilliantly!!! everything intact when importing the Lightwave object. Can we do the same in reverse please export to Lightwave with the same capabilities as the import script now that is work Support payment alone

Even better export a Blender scene to Ligtwave and import a Lightwave wave scene this would be worth supporting

I found this plugin/script for Lightwave that imports Blender Fluids
http://www.clintons3d.com/plugins/lightwave/index.html

More votes, come guys this is important

I’ve used LW quite a bit (although not as much since Blender 2.5 came out), so I’d like to see more support. I can’t really complain about the import of LWO files at this point since Blender does so quite nicely. Since an LWS file is basically just a text file it seems like it should be easy to create a script that makes one. I’m no programmer, but the script could export the objects/lights/etc. in the Blender scene as .LWO files, then write an .LWS file that references those.

Umm, yeah, voting in a forum poll doesn’t magically produce working code…

Not a Lightwave user, but if Blender wasn’t around that would be the package I would use. I hear that the Lightwave community regard Blender’s character animation tools to be superior so scene file compatibility with Lightwave would be a good idea.

Actually, if there are no such export scripts for Blender, I think I’ll give the format a butchers this Sunday and see what it involves.

I think instead of focusing on a single application to support there should be robust import/export in a non-app specific format. Like FBX. Collada or Alembic.

Why aren’t you using Collada as your exchange method with Lightwave? Have you conducted any transfer tests? Does Lightwave support Collada?

There may be no reason to code anything if a working pipeline already exists.

TUTORIAL: Exporting Blender Fluid Simulation into Modo
export a Blender fluid simulation, including particles to Modo

Obj files and MDD files are getting used in this example so I guess it can be transferable to Lightwave?

I contacted author of the original LWO script for 2.49 - he has no interest in Blender any longer it seems nor in porting his LWO exporter to 2.69 :confused:

MDD is not the same as LWO.

Perhaps one of the developers from the BlenderNetwork could accept some funding to update the exporter.

This is IMHO a case where voting doesn’t help - you just need to find some way to get the feature implemented.

I started updating the Lightwave exporter for 2.70 today. Progressing nicely.

I talked with motorsep about pay for this but additional donations would definitely be welcome so I can justify putting time into this and more Blender work in the future. Use the “donate” button on the top of this page.

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