3d models, LOD, pics, etc

Question

I need to program a util for a 3d model. What i need to do is pass the 3d model to the util and have it extract multiple information. Things like poly count, size/scale (if applicable) and anything else i can grab. Then i need to take a screen shot of the model 8 times (45deg from 0 to 360). Maybe 16. Is there an app that i can use to extract data from the model and is there another app i can use to create the image? if so i can write a php script to do this all for me :) if not i'll post more question about specifics.

My OS is debian etch the models will be any format. I may make it 3ds only or limit it to what the app(s) support. Or i may have another app to convert one format to the other and extract the data from that format.

Answer 1

Your requirements are very loose and vague but most 3d engines should have the tools you need to create your custom utility. I would start by looking at Blender or the viewer tools from OGRE, OpensceneGraph and similar tools.

Answer 2

I haven't tried this, but you could try 3ds2pov to convert your 3DS files into POV-Ray format, and then render with POV-Ray.

The 3ds2pov program is quite old, so I don't know how compatible it is with current 3DS files. The archive comes with source code so ought to build without too much difficulty on Debian.

POV-Ray itself runs easily on Linux.

nb: other 3DS to POV converters may exist. This one just happens to be the first one returned by Googling for "3ds to pov".