[Bf-committers] Steam-powered Blender

[brookesy at internode.on.net]

 I have been a long time user of blender for source modding, and have 
been through all the add-ons that have been released. The most recent 
SMD/DMX tools by Varsity (of facepunch) are by far the best, and are 
really easy to use. The part that most people have trouble with in 
source is the compilation process, so you would want to have an 
automatic system for generating a .qc through the blender addon (like 
the one used by GUIstudiomdl, for instance) for new users. The 
.smd/dmx files and the .qc could be uploaded together and compiled 
remotely (and locally for testing). This would maximize useability for 
new modelers I think. 
 
 Another major feature that would be very useful for modders is the 
ability to create source materials for their models directly within 
blender. At the moment there is no VTF support, so we use tga or png 
and convert them externally. Blender already has a good material 
system but being able to generate a .vmt from your material settings 
would be great as well. At least the basics like phong/cubemap and 
normals. These two features would immediately allow people who already 
model with blender to make models straight away. 
 
 Hell I have a whole list of stuff but I digress. 
 
 I'd be up for providing training for modelers to use the tools, I 
have already been making tutorial videos and such on youtube, but the 
majority of my input has been streaming to online classrooms via 
Livestream. I would love to help out in any way I can, be that testing 
or providing some service to the community. My support is behind 
providing Blender with the SMD/DMX tools already installed and 
automatically maintained. Great that you guys are even considering 
this! 
 
 - Abe (Black_Stormy)