I am looking for someone who can assist the IMVU Community that use Sketch Up to 3D Model products for the IMVU Catalog. Since the latest update for Sketch Up that brought the Extension Warehouse and the 2017 release of Sketch Up, IMVU Developers can no longer export 3D Models to IMVU.
IMVU’s 3D Models use the formats of .XMF .XSF .XRF .XAF .XPF
The IMVU Community needs an extension that exports the file formats above, or at least .XMF and .XSF file formats. The exporter will have to attach the mesh to a skeleton of which I can provide the information for. Alternatively, I can hand over a previous IMVU Exporter so the new exporter can follow the same aspect. The previous IMVU Exporter uses the old Ruby Script API.
Sorry, but I’m not familiar with the previous method you were using to move SketchUp models into IMVU. I don’t think SketchUp has ever exported (natively) to any of the formats you listed…
Indeed you are correct, they haven’t. The exporter was a plugin, which we can no longer use because the Ruby Script API was changed into a different language/extension. I am looking for someone who can assist the community by developing a Extension Exporter that would allow the export of the .XSF .XMF type files.
Why don’t you contact the author of the earlier plugin and ask them to update it? That’s going to be an easier option than having someone else reinvent the wheel.
I’ve already looked over this option, unfortunately on IMVU, personal contact information is hidden from user level view and we cannot contact them outside of the site unless someone knows them personally. Looking at his profile, the original author, he hasn’t logged in since early 2016.
Your profile seems to indicate that you work for IMVU. Is this true ?
As IMVU is a commercial company not many of the developers would create you a exporter for free.
Are you willing to pay say 50 dollars an hour for a programmer to write this exporter, taking perhaps about two weeks (say 80 …100 hours) ?
Thirdly, a websearch on those file extensions does not bring up anything in the way of specifications.
As this is scrambled, I’d have to assume the code is copyright. The original author ApocalypseSurvivor would have to do the Ruby 2.x fixes himself or else post the code and OpenSource it.
Unless the file specifications can be found no one is likely to take this project on.
You need to read the Berne Convention on international copyright, of which the U.S. acceded to in 1988. Also the recent changes to U.S. copyright law, which no longer requires an author to explicitly state that a work is copyright. Copyright is assumed unless an explicit statement places the work in the public domain.
If the author did not wish to protect his intellectual property, why then did he RBS encrypt the code ?
I think the best solution is, unfortunately, to find a way to contact the original author of the extension and convince them to update it. Usually, the changes required aren’t significant (no major restructuring of code is likely required) but there will be some work to do. We would be happy to provide technical support as necessary from the SketchUp side.
If the author no longer wishes to maintain the code, you might be able to convince them to formally convert it to an open source project. That would make it possible for others from the IMVU community (like you) to maintain and extend the code into the future.
Share the specification.
If you cannot find a specification, share some files - the format may be similar to something like xaml, for which exports exist. (I understand the XSF and XMF are XML format). We may be able to reverse-engineer the specification.
I’m sure we all would like to see more people joining the Sketchup community, so if this helps it may be worthwhile.
The most likely way a coder would take this on would be for a paid exporter extension.
There is one developer who specializes in game engine exporters. Their extension is ~50 dollars.
If anyone is to take this on, it’d likely be this developer.
The developer’s nickname here on the forum is @nintari, (this will serve as a ping,) or you might PM him Benjamin (@AsroiluIMVU) and ask if he’s interested in adding IMVU support into his PlayUp exporter :
