> First, I think we actually already have those APIs anyway ....<snip>.... > But more importantly, you'll never write a full replacement for the XSI scene > format. It's never > going to happen. You don't have the time, the technical know-how or interest > to do all of the > work of saving every bit in every corner of the software correctly and test > that. And people do > not want to download your custom format plug-in, assuming it would be free: > they want the > software to have it natively, tested and supported, otherwise they'll never > use it.
I don't think this assumption is 100% aligned with the request, or intent of the request. You are correct we do not need to exactly replicate the file format, however we do need to replicate the functionality the file format provides - and in some cases change it because the original design has flaws. That is where the Softimage API falls short. One missing link is the ability to rebuild construction history because the necessary hooks are not exposed. As a result exported data must be compromised to a degree to make the workflow usable. This is the problem. We need a file format which is open, accessible, modifiable, and can load/save data exactly the same as the native binary format, to maintain assets over the long haul, repair corruptions, and so on, but the APIs to do it to the level we need are not currently there. Matt
