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Import 3D models into Asteroids

midspace edited this page Jun 4, 2017 · 3 revisions

File Types

The following file types are supported:

  • .3ds
  • .lwo
  • .obj
  • .objx
  • .stl
  • .off

Import size limits

Currently there is no hard limitation has been measured, but large sized import does require a reasonable amount of available system memory.

Space Engineers does not allow asteroids much bigger than a 600x600x600 cube because of surface texture limitations. (This may well be my graphics hardware) And some people have complained of performance issues with some of large asteroids on the Steam Workshop.

Import version 1

The first version of converting and importing a model into a voxel asteroid for Space Engineers.
It can be selected through the "Import", "3D Model" menu.
Select your model file, and make sure to change "Type" to "Asteroid".

Version 1 is very fast, but not accurate to the detail of the original model.
The result is a little bloated, and not as smooth. Visually you will steps or terracing in the final result.

Import version 2

The second version of converting and importing a model into a voxel asteroid for Space Engineers.
It can be selected through the "Import", "3D Model for Asteroid" menu.

Version 2 is much slower, but highly accurate (depending on the quality options selected).
Each face of the original model is carefully calculated to find the volume required to fill each voxel in the conversion.
As speed is a critical issue, this method has been optimized to utilize all CPU cores to their fullest.
Because the CPU can run at 100% utilization, it is possible to make a computer too busy to do any other tasks whilst a conversion is happening. Very large and complex models can take more than 20 hours.
It is strongly suggested that tests are carried out first with scaled down models.

Import version 1 results

Import version 2 results