3D file formats
disclaimer
There are many different file formats in use concerning 3D. They can be looked
up at Wotsit. I'll summarize
their specifications here.
The summary is admittedly biased with a side glance to OpenGL and GLScene. There are some formats that only hold
shapes. Depending on the application they may differ in one or another aspect. A milling machine is happy with shapes,
no colors needed. Some file hold only shapes and surface information. Their viewer may or may not use light. There are
files that hold a complete scene including a camera with a certain setting. It all depends on what is required.
feature matrix
| format |
Shapes |
Surfaces |
Textures |
Lights |
Transformations |
Camera |
Animation |
special |
| 3D2 |
y |
y |
|
y |
|
|
|
|
| 3DMF |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
|
|
| 3DS |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
|
morphing, raytracing |
| 3DX |
y |
|
|
y |
|
y |
|
|
| GeoTIFF |
y |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Imagine |
y |
y |
y |
y |
|
|
|
|
| Infini-D |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
|
| Inventor |
y |
y |
y |
y |
|
y |
|
|
| ISFF |
y |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Lightwave_3D |
y |
y |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| MC4D |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
|
|
| MGF |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
|
|
physical light |
| NFF |
y |
|
|
y |
|
y |
|
|
| NMGF |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| OBJ |
y |
y |
y |
|
|
|
|
|
| OpenFlight |
y |
y |
y |
y |
|
y |
y |
|
| POL |
y |
y |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| POV |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
shadows, dust, halo |
| RPI |
y |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| SDML |
y |
y |
|
|
|
y |
y |
triggers |
| SHP |
y |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| SLC |
y |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| STL |
y |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| VRML |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
triggers |
The content is browsed from a few files and may contain errors. Reporting of
an error is encouraged : send a mail
3D2 - stereo CAD 3D 2.0
40 named objects, 3 lights + ambient. Colorpalette. positions are in fixedpoint
format as integer. Objects from vertices.
3DMF - metaformat
Hierarchical description of a scene : named objects, textures, surfaces,
lights, camera, position, rotation, fog, nurbs, matrix - & quaternion transforms
3DS - 3D studio
Binary. Hierarchical description of a scene : named objects, textures, surfaces,
lights, camera, position, rotation, distances, fog, raytracing, morphing.
3DX
Appears game oriented. 3 lights, 3 distance grades allow 3 different representations.
Geo TIFF
A geographic format, basically 2D with height optionally. Focuses on system
transformations and projections
Imagine
Hierarchical description of a scene: textures, lights, fog, surfaces, tracks.
Infini-D
Hierarchical description of scene or animation :textures, surfaces, objects, terrains,
lights, fog, text, camera, path, sequencer, ...
Inventor
Hierarchical scene description. Triangle lists, quad lists, and primitives build a shape.
The complexity can be controlled. The environment allows ambient light,
spotlight, fog. Material, camera, picking, translation, rotation, texture.
ISFF - Intergraph Standard File Format
Hierarchical description of objects only.
Lightwave 3D
Objects stored as mesh. The surface has a detailed list of attributes, such as
color, shade, glossiness, reflection mode, refractive index, transparency,
texture
MC4D - Cinema 4D
named objects, lights, camera, textures, positions, rotations.
MGF - materials and geometry format
textformat. Describes bodies from primitives. Transformations, chromaticity,
colorspectrum, materials with transmittance, reflectance, complex fraction index,
no lights though.
NFF - neutral file format
Simple scene description. Background, lights, viewpoint, frustrum, cylinder, cone,
sphere, polygon
NMGF - noise model grid format
Specialized to hold acoustic noise data together with geographic data.
OBJ - Wavefront object files
grouped vertices allow any form to be described. Simple rendering choices :
colors, shadows, reflections, textures, no lights though.
OpenFlight
Scene description, Level of detail, sound, bounding boxes, lights, textures
POL - polygonal models
Vertices define polygons. Optional color information.
POV Ray
Scene description with bodies, lights and shadows, textures, pigments,
reflection, refraction, attenuation, halos, fog, dust, rainbows, animation.
RPI - enhanced STL
instead of unordered triangles, this format uses facets, edges, faces and primitives
such as cube, cylinder, cone, sphere and torus to describe a shape. The file is
more compact than STL.
SDML - spatial data modelling language
vertices and polygons define shapes. Colors, viewpoints, animation, triggers to URL's.
expecilly suited for terrain viewing.
SHP - shape file
Binary. build shapes from points, arcs, polygons and multipoints, fans or strips.
The shapes have bounding boxes. It appears the shapefile is a very versatile
set of files :more
info (pdf)
SLC - layered contour
Defines (x,y) contours on layers (z) in a text format.
STL - stereo lithography
Binary or text. Triangles with or without normal. No neighbour or color information.
Triangles can be grouped as objects.
VRML - virtual reality modelling language
Hierarchical description of a scene. Bodies, materials, camera, transformations,
lights. Newer versions have fog, animation, multimedia, sensors (triggers),
grouped objects.
OpenGL
home
last updated: 5.march.01
Copyright (99,2001) Ing.Büro R.Tschaggelar