Each model comprises several files on disk, such as the model file, material definition files, and texture images.

When you save a model in the Model Editor, the editor creates or re-creates some of these files, updates others, and leaves alone the rest. The result is normally exactly what you want and expect, but sometimes you may wish to hand-tune some details (such as the material definitions) without and independently of the Model Editor. In such cases, it is very helpful to understand the files that belong to a model.

This section explains the files that together form a model and how they relate to each other.

Although not a technical requirement and not enforced by the Cafu model code, it is highly recommended to save each model in a directory of its own. This

• explicitly groups all files that logically form and belong to the model, and
• makes packaging a complete model in a my_model.zip archive possible, so that the model can easily and safely be distributed, shipped and handled.

The name of the directory should match the file name of the model. That is, if your model's name is Trinity.cmdl, it should be stored in a directory with the same name Trinity/ (or in a zip archive with the same base name Trinity.zip).

Note that when you are saving a new model that does not yet have a separate directory, you can use the “New Folder” button (or right-click context menu) of the “Save” dialog to create such new directories as required.

Example:

d:\Dev\Cafu\Games\DeathMatch\Models\Players> dir Trinity
ChromeBuckle_diff.png
ChromeGlass_diff.png
Pants_diff.png
Skin_diff.png
Trinity.cmat
Trinity.cmdl
Trinity.cmdl_bak
Trinity_editor.cmat

The cmdl file is the main file of the model: It contains the definitions for the skeleton, the meshes and the animation sequences of the model.

The Cafu Engine and the Model Editor load cmdl files as Lua scripts, and as such they can be inspected or edited in a text editor if desired.

Besides the main cmdl file, the Model Editor also creates a cmdl_bak backup file that contains the contents of the cmdl file before it was last saved. (If you ship your model as a zip archive, the cmdl_bak file is typically redundant and can be omitted from the archive for space efficiency.)

Example:

d:\Dev\Cafu\Games\DeathMatch\Models\Players> dir Trinity\*.cmdl*
Trinity.cmdl
Trinity.cmdl_bak

The cmat files contain the material definitions for the meshes of this model.

The main cmat file must have the same base name as the model (“Trinity”), so that the full name is for example Trinity.cmat. This file is for your hand-written material script code, if any, and is never touched or overwritten by the Model Editor (with one exception, see below).

The Model Editor also writes a secondary cmat file whose name ends with _editor.cmat. This file is written anew each time the model is saved, and contains material definitions whose script code was not hand-crafted, but who were created or edited in the Model Editor.

Example:

d:\Dev\Cafu\Games\DeathMatch\Models\Players> dir Trinity\*.cmat
Trinity.cmat
Trinity_editor.cmat

The two cmat files are linked as follows: When the Cafu model code loads the materials of a model, it opens the main cmat file (Trinity.cmat). This file contains a statement like

dofile("Trinity_editor.cmat");

in order to include and process the secondary _editor.cmat along with the main file.

The only exception when the Model Editor touches the main Trinity.cmat file is when the file does not yet exist, or doesn't contain the dofile() reference to the editor file. In this case, the _editor.cmat would not be loaded at all, and thus the Model Editor inserts the dofile() line into the main cmat file.

In summary, the goal of keeping two separate cmat files that are linked as described above is to keep your hand-crafted material script code and the Model Editor edited material definitions cleanly separated, without any danger of one overwriting the other.

The texture images are referenced from the material definition scripts. See the documentation about the Cafu Material System for more details.

Example:

d:\Dev\Cafu\Games\DeathMatch\Models\Players> dir Trinity\*.png Trinity\*.jpg
ChromeBuckle_diff.png
ChromeGlass_diff.png
Pants_diff.png
Skin_diff.png