ModelLoader

ModelLoader is Minecraft library that allows mods to use 3D models in several formats like glTF and mcx.

ModelLoader works with Minecraft 1.12 and Minecraft 1.14 under Minecraft Forge.

Examples

There are examples for common use cases in the repo ModelLoaderExample. Some of the examples are: simple block, block with rotations, block with TileEntity renderer, simple item, item with animations.

Usage from a mod

There are 2 events ModelRegisterEvent and ModelRetrieveEvent.

ModelRegisterEvent is fired in the mod event bus before models and textures are loaded. This event has a method called registerModel where you can add your models. Each model is identified by a ModelResourceLocation and has a ModelConfig. To use a model for a block or a item, you need to match the ModelResourceLocation of the model with the ModelResourceLocation of the BlockState/Item.
ModelRetrieveEvent is fired in the mod event bus after all model are ready. This event has a method called getModel that allow you to get the IBakedModel from the model id. Also there is a method called getAnimations that lets you get the animations to be rendered in a TileEntityRenderer or in a ItemStackTileEntityRenderer.

Each registered model has a ModelConfig with the following properties:

location: ResourceLocation of the model to load
itemTransforms: The transformations to apply to the model when is in the ground, the gui, the first person hand, third person hand, etc.
rotation: ModelRotation to apply to the model before baking.
bake: whether or not to generate a IBakedModel, should be true if the item is going to be used for an item or a simple block
animate: whether or not to load animations from the model
itemRenderer: marks the model so minecraft uses an ItemStackTileEntityRenderer instead of the IBakedModel.
preBake: function called before the model is baked, allow you to alter the original model data.
postBake: function called after the model is baked, allows you to alter the IBakedModel or provide your own.

Additionally you can use glTF and mcx file in blockstate json files if you register your mod with MLCustomModelLoader.registerDomain(MOD_ID);

Supported Formats

Currently the library supports glTF and mcx. You can register your own formats with ModelFormatRegistry.registerHandler(extension, handler);

glTF

glTF (GL Transmission Format) is free specification for 3D scenes and models made by Khronos Group, the creators of OpenGl, Vulkan and WebGL.

This format uses a Json header file with most of the model settings and several binary files to store heavy model parts like vertices, UV coordinates, keyframes, etc. This combination make the model mostly human readable while keeping the models small.

One of the main reasons to supports this format, apart from the great adoption by 3D tools, is the fact that allows animations. Currently this library supports keyframe animations with translation, rotation and scale channels. The format also allows skeletal animations but it not implemented yet, if you want this feature write a issue.

There are several editors that support this format like blender or my own Modeler.

There is also a Animation builder if you want to create your animations in code. Every animated model is made of nodes and each node has a transformation thar you can edit to animate it manually

MCX

MCX is simple json format, with similar structure to obj, but with properties directly mapped to minecraft models. Its simple and easy to edit manually but doesn't support animations and it's not as disk-space efficient as other formats. The only editor that supports this format is my own Modeler.

Technical Support

If you have any question or you need help with the library you can contact me on my discord channel. I will respond when I get some time, but there is more people in the channel that can help you faster if I'm not available.