Static OBJ import

START WITH THE BIG PICTURE

What does this part of Epok do?

OBJ import turns simple model files into editable Epok geometry. Use it for environment pieces that do not need bones or animation.

01Prepare triangulated/quad OBJ and MTL
02Import with the right scale
03Inspect and place the EditableMesh

What is happening under the hood?

The source is bounded and parsed with explicit material handling.
Imported geometry receives a portable asset UUID.
PSX vertex, face and coordinate limits are validated before build.

Field note: If a model arrives the size of a planet, check export units before blaming the tiny PlayStation.

Copy polygonal OBJ and optional MTL files into the project's assets/ directory. Import any referenced PNG images as Texture assets first. In the entity Inspector choose Import static OBJ..., enter the source and a new .epokasset destination, then select Import and assign. The imported result is an ordinary Editable Mesh: groups, UVs and material slots can be edited and overridden with the existing tools.

The command-line equivalent is:

epok-editor --project MyGame --import-obj assets/models/room.obj --asset assets/models/room.epokasset --scale 1

Import supports vertices, per-corner texture coordinates, positive/negative indices, object/group names, material assignments, and concave polygon triangulation. Normals are recalculated from the resulting face geometry. OBJ V coordinates are converted to texture's top-down origin. MTL diffuse color, unlit illum 0, alpha blend selection and map_Kd texture references are transported to the PSX renderer. Dependencies must resolve inside project assets. Texture-map transforms should be baked into UVs before import.

The target accepts normalized 0–1 UVs, local coordinates within ±128 after scaling, 16,384 vertices, 3,500 faces after triangulation, 256 groups and 64 material slots. Invalid indices, nonfinite coordinates, unsupported curves/lines and degenerate polygons fail before publication. The importer writes a new asset atomically and refuses to overwrite an existing destination. Keep the original OBJ/MTL files for future imports; the .epokasset contains the editable converted mesh.