The live stream I did last Monday generated a lot of questions, so here is some specific information about the tools that I use and how they fit into modding.
Qubicle Constructor
I use the Master Edition of this program, because I need to export data both to get the model into Stonehearth and to animate using 3DS Max. The Master Edition is $79. Apparently at some point I said that you could use the free version of the program to make mods for Stonehearth, but if I did that is NOT correct. You can use the free version to play around with voxels, but the free version does not support exporting data.
We are in the very early stages of defining tools, and will let you know more when we’ve nailed down some plans. We would like to find a way for you to use Qubicle Constructor, maybe with a special Stonehearth edition. Such a program would probably not be free, since the people ad minddesk need to eat too!
3DS Max
I use 3DS Max to animate. That is a very expensive program. I can tell you 100% that we will not require 3DS Max for animation! Our animations are stored in simple text files in a very straight-forward file format. It should be very easy for someone familiar with an open-source tool like Blender to write a script that exports Stonehearth animations
I would really like to use Qubicle, but it is just too expensive and I can’t justify purchasing it.
Will there be a free way of getting models into StoneHearth?
If yes, will the StoneHearth editor be available before game launch?
I watched the stream offline because I wasn’t going to get up at 4AM even for a very interesting video.
I clearly hear the mention of using Blender for animations and that we probably should consider purchasing the $25 version of Qubicle. At least if we want to make some Mods.
But thanks for the formal clarification. Keep up the good job.
The Qubicle devs also said they’re working something out with the StoneHearth team.
Much kudos to the interaction with the community, seriously, it’s amazing.
At this point we are looking at all options. We’re talking to the minddesk guys about working with Qubicle. We would also like to look at an open source voxel editor we could adopt.
Here’s how you can help: Find a promising open source voxel editor that we could potentially build Stonehearth support into! If you see something, please post it to this thread. Thanks.
If you do adopt a different editor would you retain support with Qubicle? I really like Qubicle, to the extent that I just bought it (not just for eventual use modding stonehearth, but it was a factor)
Not sure if there are any legality issues with it, but you can download 3ds max by simply stating that you are a student and thereby getting it for free on their website.
Yeah i think Tim from QC did a pretty good job! I started to work with QC 3 days ago as i came accross this lovely piece of software called “Stonehearth” you guys working on! ;D I’m so in love with Qubicle (and Stonheart!!) and the UI is great as well! On top of that the Support is outstanding, got replay after a few minutes from Tim. Also did buy me the Master Edition today because i just can’t wait to export voxel stuff.
We’ll looking forward to hear what your plans will be on this! i think in the final release of Stonehearth it would be great to have an adopted QC built into the game and a tool with a few pre-made animations scripts that i can slap on my sliced & properly named voxel chunks. I think until then there will be a few homebrew workarounds floating around for all these crazy people like me who can’t wait to create stuff for Stonehearth!
I just had an idea… What if you could work out a deal with Minddesk that if the Kickstarter campaign reaches the stretch goal of $500,000, you guys will include the Gamer version of Qubicle (or something special just for Stonehearth) with the release of the game. I would most certainly kick in some more cash for that.
No offense… but your suggestion makes no sense…
To begin, the “Gamer” edition of Qubicle costs $25 and only exports .qmo and .vox, neither of which are used in the current asset pipeline for Stonehearth…
Secondly why in the world would Minddesk, the company that wrote the Qubicle software be willing to part with 8100+ copies ($25*8100 = $202,500+) if StoneHearth reaches $500,000 in pledges? Not only would that be $100,000 not going toward development of the game but Minddesk would have to be crazy to go for a deal like that…
Their best bet would be to simply offer something like a Qubicle lite that is specifically for designing and exporting for Stonehearth for like $5. But, I’m sure the devs and the team over at Minddesk are looking into easier ways to get access etc.
I’ve done a bit of research and found that these tools provide a means of editing voxel models:
Not all of these are free (and even if they are they might be crippled with a proprietary storage format like .qmo with Qubicle).
To be honest I wasn’t sure what version of Qubicle was needed to export files to Stonehearth. To address the financial concerns you have for the good people over at Minddesk, the amount of exposure that Minddesk would get if Stonehearth had the kind of success that a game like Minecraft has had (more than 10 million copies sold on PC alone) would more than make up for any losses long term. It’s a gamble, I know… but I think it would be a good gamble.
It might be neat to have some basic editing in-game (which perhaps could eventually result in a fully-fledged editor for modders) kinda like Cube World (see in the video Cube World: Explorers)
(not just for eventual use modding stonehearth, but it was a factor)