What is the recommended animated model format that a game programmer would load in OpenGL?
I have taken a look at .md2 and .3ds formats available at some OpenGL tutorials. However, it would appear that they are both fairly old. Is there any well-supported model format that a contemporary game programmer would prefer?
Thanks in advance.
ms3d seems quite common. (there are links to the format on that page). FBX is another. There is no good documentation for the format but there is an SDK to load it. On directx .x files would be another option but that's probably not so much use ofor opengl. (And it's not really that well supported on directx any more).
The most common format though seems to be to define your own application specific format that contains just what you need and use an exteral converter to convert to that format.
If you're a beginner, you should probably start with those formats. (Or maybe MD3, which comes after MD2.) Newer 3D formats don't typically supercede old ones by being objectively better, but usually by supporting more complex features. I'd recommend not making life difficult for yourself by picking a complex format.
If you're not a beginner, then you probably wouldn't be asking this question. ;) Professional developers usually have a bespoke model type that is specific to the engine they're using.
If you have specific requirements for your models then it's possible that there exists a model format that fits your needs, but MD2 and MD3 worked fine for commercial games so they'll probably work fine for you too. Generally you should approach this from the other side - what sort of models can my artists create, or what sort of models can I obtain? What format are they in? Can I use that format?