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I am not so certain this is a concern. The format will most likely evolve for various reasons, but GameStudio would only need certain things from FBX like geometry, materials and textures, lights, animation, etc. Most likely these things are properly in place already and so they should not change much from here on out though I could well be wrong .
Yeah, most of the essentials are probably already in place. However, future MDL features may fall outside the FBX focus at some point. Using proprietary plugins would insure full compatibility no matter what. Of course, I suppose Conitec could always adapt the MDL format to reflect the latest greatest FBX format and per app. Then, as Doug mentioned(I think)...it comes down to FBX -> MDL conversion. If you're going to go to all that trouble, though why not just dump MDL and directly support FBX or treat it like X format.
I look at it this way...if there's an open source alternative that is BETTER than what we have now and is widely supported or respected, then Conitec should go with it. I think this is true for the rendering, as well. A lot of people seem to crap on the way 3DGS looks and like to dote on Ogre and Irricht(sp?), so why not give serious consideration to using them in the future IF what they offer is BETTER(i.e. faster, more features, etc) than what we have now? If Conitec can't create something superior, in a timely fashion, then adapt it and spend the creative energies elsewhere. I know it's not an issue of dropping it in and moving on, but I would think it would be quicker to do this then create something from scratch.
My User Contributions master list - my initial post links are down but scroll down page to find list to active links
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