Guys,can anyone give me a step by step instructions on how to create a terrain with a start point in blender?i’ve been trying to create a simple 3D map using blender and somehow try to change the default map of roaming ralph… it always gives me a command error.
!is_empty() at line 1115 of panda/src/pgraph/nodePath.cxx
there might be a mistake on my process in adding an “empty” item on blender…help is appreciated. thanks.
Did you name the empty “start_point” and did you select it when exporting?
yes i did.
first i added a simple plane without texture on it and etc. just simple plane. then added “empty”, then i pressed f4(logic), then added property, then change the name to “start_point”… exported it to eggX2… but still i get the same command problem… 
I think using the Chicken exporter is the only way to get empties correctly exported. It’s also the one with the most features, so I recommend using the latest version of Chicken instead.
i have here chicken exporter r74, is that the latest?
Yes.
For me using the logic panel doesn’t work.
All I do is name the empty itself in the edit panel and use this code to find it in panda:
startPos = level.find("**/Player_Start").getPos()
player.setPos(startPos)ralphStartPos = self.environ.find("**/start_point").getPos()
========this is from the roaming ralph, how does environ and the level.find differ?
and how do i view a .pz file?
thanks
There’s no difference really.
ralphStartPos = self.environ.find("**/start_point").getPos()is contained in a class while
startPos = level.find("**/Player_Start").getPos()is not
“Player_Start” and “start_point” are just the names of the empties and “environ” and “level” are just the names of the NodePaths in which the models are stored.
as for viewing a .pz file:
.pz files, from what I can gather, are just zipped .egg files. I believe panda comes with a utility for zipping and unzipping .egg file. Try searching the forums, I’ve seen various topics about this
ok thank you so much 
Found a FAQ in the manual about .pz files http://www.panda3d.org/manual/index.php/FAQ#Q:What_is_the.pz_files_I_am_seeing_the_samples.3F
I have the same problem but i use max2009 and get the same error
this error: AssertionError: !is_empty() at line 1115 of panda/src/pgraph/nodePath.cxx
i used the dummy function in max to create the startpoint and named it start_point as it should be.
We use the maxegg2009.dlo for the exports
The dummy doesn’t get exported from max. You cold use a single vertex and if that is not enough make a small polygon (if you flip the normal to face downwards it should be more or less invisible, a 2x2 black alpha texture would be more foolproof, and hiding the node one you got that position would be the best option).
Anyway one could check where’s the “starting point” is in the modelling package and just move the player to that location the hard way e.g. if I want to start from x=12, y=145.4, z=-7, then my start pos is: startPos=Vec3(12, 145.5, 7). Instead of solving a problem you can always go around it… well, em, oh never mind.