How to Import 3D Models

This guide will walk you through the steps import a 3D model into Avorion.

Overview

NOTICE: As of (at least) 2017-08-12, the online Voxelizer conversion site changed its format and the Avorion Converter can no longer read the XML files it outputs. If you edit the XML file from the website, you can search and replace all occurances of "name>" with "object>". But there is also some kind of size limitation where large models that worked in the past may not work now.

NOTICE: As of (at least) 2017-10-14, the online Voxelizer conversion site changed its format and can now export directly to Avorion format! I will need to rewrite this tutorial a bit to accomodate that but will take some time before I can get to it.

This guide will walk you through the steps import a 3D model into Avorion.

This guide was created using the following software (post in the comments if newer versions continue to work):

• Blender 3D 2.78c (Portable Edition[portableapps.com])
  
• Online Voxelizer[drububu.com]
  
• AvorionConvert[www.avorion.net] 1.0
  
• Avorion 0.12.7
  
• Windows 10 Pro 64-bit, version 1607, build 14393.1480

NOTE: Do not expect the model you import to be ready to fly or ever fly at all. The process converts bits of the ship into small square blocks and is not at all efficient as an Avorion ship. However, it will at least get the model in-game as a reference object to create an Avorion-friendly version.

Blender Model Export

1. In Blender, remove everything except the model you want to export.
   
2. Export as .OBJ

Convertion to Voxel XML Format

1. Open a web browser and visit http://drububu.com/miscellaneous/voxelizer/index.html
   
2. Click "open file" button and select your OBJ model
   
3. Use the slider and adjust the amount of voxels to be used. I typically use max voxels
   
4. Click the .xml option and click the "save as xml" button and save to your computer

Conversion to Avorion XML Format

1. Start Avorion Converter as Administrator
   
2. Click Open and select the newly saved XML file and click Convert
   
3. The conversion process will save to the same location but add "Avorion" to the end of the name
   
4. Put the Converted XML file into your Avorion ships folder: %appdata%/Avorion/ships/
   
5. You might want to rename the XML file too at this point if you like

NOTE: It has been said that you might need to edit the XML with notepad and remove any ,5 sizes because Avorion cannot handle fractions. However, I have not had to do this yet.

Import XML into Avorion

1. Log into a server or single player game. I recommend single player in creative mode.
   
2. Found a new ship, go into your saved ships, find the newly added ship and click "Apply Plan"
   
3. You might want to be aware you can adjust the scale of the ship you are applying as well.

[Giermeq]

Guys, I have a solution for voxelizer not working.

To make the voxelizer work, you must, after uploading a model for conversion, go into the settings (next to the 2D view icon) and uncheck the geometry optimization option . When it's enabled, it makes blocks in the generated model often connect only with edges and not whole walls.

[Duffmek]

ok be careful with what i said before ... either i was dam lucky or the file worked right /shrug (i am learning / trying this for the first time) but without doing anything with blender i managed to get the file in game however after attempting to repeat the process i failed :( so the way i got it to work might / was a fluke stick with the authors way imo lol

[LHammonds]

@Duffmek, thanks for the info. I cannot verify it right now but I'll mention this at the top of the guide. Can anyone else verify this?

[Duffmek]

found out the long / hard way i dont need blender just voxelizer thats it lol - download the stl file open in vox then save as an avorion file (which is handily in the options)

[Epitaph]

Ok got it to work.. the layer deep is set to 0 by default at voxelizer.. after you switch to 1 it works.

[LHammonds]

If have not played this game in a long time. If anyone figures out the process, let me know.

[Epitaph]

"This either doesn't work with 2.0 or i have missed something." same here.. any update or info on that ?

[wenvongro]

This either doesn't work with 2.0 or i have missed something. I have tried every possible solution i could think of or find in discussions but still cant get the game to recognise my model. I've tried to convert to normal xml and both avorion formats (idk what is the difference) on the website, even tried to edit them so that they match up with my other in-game built ship xml files (also noticed that all creations have 3 supposed to have 3 separate files), tried to put it in all of the folders inside the the ship folder but it still wont show up in the build menu. Can anyone help me out or confirm that this no longer works? Thanks in advance!

[Crumpet the Great and Powerful]

I've been trying to use the .avorion version that the voxelizer allows for as I can't seem to find the converter mentioned in the guide.

[LHammonds]

If it is a small difference, manually edit the XML from the website and see if the game will import. If you find the difference (if there is one) be sure to let the website owners know about it.