We've now seen how we can export 3D model data from a modeling package, but we haven't yet looked at the files themselves that are generated as part of the export process.
While we shouldn't need to make manual changes to these files, it is useful to know a little about them as it can help to discover why a model hasn't been exported quite as expected to.
Let's take a look at the files that would be generated for a cube model similar to the one we created in code earlier in this chapter.
The first file generated is a GROUP file that will be created in the directory specified in the exporter settings. The GROUP file contains a list of the individual model files (called GEO files) that were exported. Here's what the GROUP file for the example cube model would look like:
// Source file: C:/Work/MarmaladeBook/Maya/Cube.mb // Exported By: Sean on 05/30/12 16:30:55 CIwResGroup { name "Cube" "./models/Cube.geo" }
The exporter helpfully includes...