Vehicle Exporter

Exports the current player vehicle as a glTF/GLB 3D file, including meshes, materials, textures, part hierarchy, and optionally node/beam data.

Overview

util_export (aliased as extensions.export) provides full vehicle-to-glTF export. It captures GPU mesh data (vertices, normals, tangents, UVs, colors), reconstructs the vehicle's part tree, exports materials with PBR textures, and writes glTF JSON or binary GLB format. Supports animated recording.

Extension path: lua/ge/extensions/util/export.lua

Exports (M)

Function	Signature	Description
`export`	`(handler)`	Triggers GPU mesh capture, calls handler with glTF root.
`exportFile`	`(filename)`	Exports to a file (JSON or GLB based on `gltfBinaryFormat`).
`startRecording`	`(filename)`	Begins multi-frame recording.
`stopRecording`	`()`	Stops recording.
`updateGFX`	`(dt)`	Processes export when GPU data is ready.
`suggestFilename`	`()`	Returns next available export filename.
`getGeInfo`	`()`	Returns current export settings.

Configuration Properties

Property	Default	Description
`M.embedBuffers`	`true`	Embed binary buffers as base64 in JSON.
`M.gltfBinaryFormat`	`true`	Output GLB instead of JSON.
`M.exportNormals`	`true`	Include vertex normals.
`M.exportTangents`	`false`	Include tangents.
`M.exportTexCoords`	`false`	Include UV coordinates.
`M.exportColors`	`false`	Include vertex colors.
`M.exportBeams`	`true`	Include JBeam node/beam data in extras.

Internals

Export Pipeline

export() triggers GPUMesh.bng_getGPUMesh() to capture current vehicle mesh.
When data is ready, processExport() builds the glTF structure:
- Adds index buffer from GPU mesh.
- Adds vertex attribute buffers (positions, normals, tangents, UVs, colors).
- Creates mesh nodes for flexbodies and prop meshes.
- Maps meshes to vehicle parts via partToFlexMesh.
- Builds part tree from vehiclePartTree and slotMap.
- Exports materials with PBR textures (v1 and v1.5 material formats).
Handler receives the completed glTF root object.

Part Tree

The vehicle's JBeam part hierarchy is reconstructed:

Each part becomes a glTF node.
Flexbody meshes are assigned as children of their owning part.
Node/beam data is stored in BNG_JBeamData extension.
Vehicle direction stored in BNG_Direction extension.

Material Export

Supports Material v1 (legacy) and v1.5 (PBR):

Extracts all texture stages (color, normal, specular, metallic, roughness, emissive, etc.).
Converts DDS textures to PNG.
Handles CEF textures (dynamic paint textures via @ prefix).
Creates proper pbrMetallicRoughness glTF material structure.

GLB Format

Binary output merges all buffers into a single binary chunk:

Updates buffer view offsets to reference the merged buffer.
Writes proper GLB header (magic, version, length).
Aligns chunks to 4-byte boundaries.

How It Works

Call exportFile('vehicle.glb') or use the UI.
GPU mesh data is captured from the current vehicle.
Mesh geometry, materials, textures, and part hierarchy are assembled into glTF.
File is written as GLB (binary) or glTF (JSON).

Lua Examples

-- Export current vehicle to GLB
extensions.export.exportFile('vehicles/pickup/export_001.glb')

-- Suggest a filename
local fn = extensions.export.suggestFilename()
extensions.export.exportFile(fn)

-- Export with custom settings
extensions.export.gltfBinaryFormat = false
extensions.export.exportTexCoords = true
extensions.export.exportFile('vehicle.gltf')

-- Record animation frames
extensions.export.startRecording('animation.glb')
-- ... later ...
extensions.export.stopRecording()

Additional Exports

M.export - (undocumented)
M.exportFile - (undocumented)
M.getGeInfo - (undocumented)
M.startRecording - (undocumented)
M.stopRecording - (undocumented)
M.suggestFilename - (undocumented)
M.updateGFX - (undocumented)

Overview

Extension path: lua/ge/extensions/util/export.lua

Exports (M)

Function	Signature	Description
`export`	`(handler)`	Triggers GPU mesh capture, calls handler with glTF root.
`exportFile`	`(filename)`	Exports to a file (JSON or GLB based on `gltfBinaryFormat`).
`startRecording`	`(filename)`	Begins multi-frame recording.
`stopRecording`	`()`	Stops recording.
`updateGFX`	`(dt)`	Processes export when GPU data is ready.
`suggestFilename`	`()`	Returns next available export filename.
`getGeInfo`	`()`	Returns current export settings.

Configuration Properties

Property	Default	Description
`M.embedBuffers`	`true`	Embed binary buffers as base64 in JSON.
`M.gltfBinaryFormat`	`true`	Output GLB instead of JSON.
`M.exportNormals`	`true`	Include vertex normals.
`M.exportTangents`	`false`	Include tangents.
`M.exportTexCoords`	`false`	Include UV coordinates.
`M.exportColors`	`false`	Include vertex colors.
`M.exportBeams`	`true`	Include JBeam node/beam data in extras.

Internals

Export Pipeline

export() triggers GPUMesh.bng_getGPUMesh() to capture current vehicle mesh.
When data is ready, processExport() builds the glTF structure:
- Adds index buffer from GPU mesh.
- Adds vertex attribute buffers (positions, normals, tangents, UVs, colors).
- Creates mesh nodes for flexbodies and prop meshes.
- Maps meshes to vehicle parts via partToFlexMesh.
- Builds part tree from vehiclePartTree and slotMap.
- Exports materials with PBR textures (v1 and v1.5 material formats).
Handler receives the completed glTF root object.

Part Tree

The vehicle's JBeam part hierarchy is reconstructed:

Each part becomes a glTF node.
Flexbody meshes are assigned as children of their owning part.
Node/beam data is stored in BNG_JBeamData extension.
Vehicle direction stored in BNG_Direction extension.

Material Export

Supports Material v1 (legacy) and v1.5 (PBR):

Extracts all texture stages (color, normal, specular, metallic, roughness, emissive, etc.).
Converts DDS textures to PNG.
Handles CEF textures (dynamic paint textures via @ prefix).
Creates proper pbrMetallicRoughness glTF material structure.

GLB Format

Binary output merges all buffers into a single binary chunk:

Updates buffer view offsets to reference the merged buffer.
Writes proper GLB header (magic, version, length).
Aligns chunks to 4-byte boundaries.

How It Works

Call exportFile('vehicle.glb') or use the UI.
GPU mesh data is captured from the current vehicle.
Mesh geometry, materials, textures, and part hierarchy are assembled into glTF.
File is written as GLB (binary) or glTF (JSON).

Lua Examples

-- Export current vehicle to GLB
extensions.export.exportFile('vehicles/pickup/export_001.glb')

-- Suggest a filename
local fn = extensions.export.suggestFilename()
extensions.export.exportFile(fn)

-- Export with custom settings
extensions.export.gltfBinaryFormat = false
extensions.export.exportTexCoords = true
extensions.export.exportFile('vehicle.gltf')

-- Record animation frames
extensions.export.startRecording('animation.glb')
-- ... later ...
extensions.export.stopRecording()

Additional Exports

M.export - (undocumented)
M.exportFile - (undocumented)
M.getGeInfo - (undocumented)
M.startRecording - (undocumented)
M.stopRecording - (undocumented)
M.suggestFilename - (undocumented)
M.updateGFX - (undocumented)

Vehicle Exporter

Overview

Exports (M)

Configuration Properties

Internals

Export Pipeline

Part Tree

Material Export

GLB Format

How It Works

Lua Examples

Additional Exports

See Also

On this page

Vehicle Exporter

Overview

Exports (M)

Configuration Properties

Internals

Export Pipeline

Part Tree

Material Export

GLB Format

How It Works

Lua Examples

Additional Exports

See Also

On this page