Print at Dec 15, 2025, 6:59:55 PM

Posted by Daniels118 at Aug 16, 2022, 3:10:18 PM
Re: Translucent
the explanation in the v7.0 thread is a little too esoteric for me.

If you are fine with a rectangle shaped light source, you can just import the LightShapes.sh3f library found on the first post.
You can use the transparent alternative following the steps described by Keet, however I'm going to explain how to create a light emitting shape for documentation purpose.

If you wish to make a generic object light emitting, it is required that the object contains exactly one material that will emit light. You can have multiple materials, but only one of your choice will emit light.
Which one can be declared in 2 places:
- in the furniture library that contains the object;
- in the home file.

So the light emitting material is not set in the OBJ file, so there is no way to import a OBJ file directly in SH3D and expect it contains a light source.

You can choose any one of the above, but be warned that both require editing some files manually. So you can create your object with any 3D modeling software, but then you have to make your hands dirty. It is quite trivial if you follow the steps. I will detail the first method, since the second one has been described by PUYBARET on his post.

First, download the Furniture Library Editor from the "Plug-ins and tools" section. I'm not sure how many 3D formats it can import, however SH3D is capable of importing many and to export as OBJ, so you can use it as a conversion tool if required.

1) create your model using your favourite 3D modelling software, but be sure to assign a single material to the parts that have to emit light;
2) OPTIONAL: convert the model to a format that the Furniture Library Editor can import;
3) launch the Furniture Library Editor, and import the model;
4) edit the imported object by setting all relevant attributes, be sure to set the size and the lights category;
5) save the library;
6) extract the library to a folder using any zip file extractor;
7) edit the PluginFurnitureCatalog.properties using a text editor, locate the block of lines related to the furniture (its' very easy if you have imported just one model into the library) and add the following line:
lightSourceMaterialName#1=xxxx
where xxxx is the material name you want to be light emitting;
8) save the file;
9) repack all the files as a zip, but be sure to change the extension from ".zip" to ".sh3f". Don't include the parent folder itself, just all the files and folders inside.
10) import the furniture library in SH3D... et voilà!

NOTE: some archive managers let you edit files within zip archives directly without having to extract and pack back again, so you may be tempted to do so. But be aware: SH3D zip reader may not have the capability to read the archives edited this way, and it may ignore any changes made without any warning, so don't try to do it this way.