FOSS gamedev and creative worlds

I am working on a (fairly complex) teleporter block. The model will be fairly complex. Should I model it in Blender, and use a mesh, or define a custom nodebox?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Create an .obj file for your teleporter as these can easily be used in minetest as a node.

It depends on your block model and your skills with blender. An advantage of nodeboxes is that you can create them in a text editor and watch your result with minetest without any other software. For simple models nodeboxes are quite easy to create, especially if you have no clue about blender and not the time to learn it. If you know blender well you are probably faster with it and if your model is complex it might be the better choise.
The main advantage of meshes are that you can create any geometry with them, while nodeboxes are fixed to boxes e.g. if you want to create a pyramid or diagonal faces you have to use many of them to make them smooth. Meshes use UV maps, nodeboxes just textures like any other block.

Meshes are more efficient, but nodeboxes are often easier to make (especially using my NodeBoxEditor). At least I find it easier.

So a nodebox takes the same form of texture as normal blocks, but meshes use UV maps like character skins?

I have taken a look at your nodebox editor, but can't figure out how to make more complex nodes (i.e. a computer).

It's just dragging rectangles out. The editor does suck in terms of higher level features, such as grouping nodes and hiding or locking nodes. Node boxes use face textures, which are projected orthographically. Meshes can use UV images

You can also edit .obj in a text editor.

pithy wrote:You can also edit .obj in a text editor.

http://manual.pvxplus.com/PXPLUS/utilities/obj_xml.htm ?

TumeniNodes wrote:http://manual.pvxplus.com/PXPLUS/utilities/obj_xml.htm ?

What is that?
I think that is the wrong obj.
Try opening the .obj I sent you in a text editor.

pithy wrote:

TumeniNodes wrote:http://manual.pvxplus.com/PXPLUS/utilities/obj_xml.htm ?

What is that?
I think that is the wrong obj.
Try opening the .obj I sent you in a text editor.

yeh..., it sure is :P I did the wrong link

OMG!!!! LOOK EVERYONE!!!! OVER THERE!!!! LAND SHARK!!!!!
(TumeniNodes quickly kicks wrong link under a bush while everyone looks in the opposite direction)