Maya2DTS updates
by Danny Ngan · in Torque Game Engine · 07/12/2004 (4:25 pm) · 60 replies
Here are some updates to the Maya2DTS exporter and the dtsUtility. This is mostly for you Maya 5 users out there.
maya2dtsExporter (courtesy of Clark Fagot):
- Added support for double-sided materials.
- Added support for visibility animations.
- Alpha channels on the Tranparency channel now work correctly (Translucency still works).
- Multiple material bug fixed.
dtsUtility:
- Changed the default value for overrideDuration to -1, i.e. "off" by default (thanks to Mark McCoy for noticing this).
- Added "Renumber Selection" button for quickly adding detail levels to multiple shapes.
- Added "DTS" menu containing all dtsUtility options.
- Added "Setup" submenu with options to configure Maya for TGE.
- Added "Rendering Options" submenu with options for enabling Visibility Animation and Two-Sided Materials.
- Added "Help" menu with links to documentation and support websites.
- Moved some button-based operations to the DTS menu to minimize clutter in the window.
The updated File Pack and documentation are available here: Maya2DTS Online Reference.
maya2dtsExporter (courtesy of Clark Fagot):
- Added support for double-sided materials.
- Added support for visibility animations.
- Alpha channels on the Tranparency channel now work correctly (Translucency still works).
- Multiple material bug fixed.
dtsUtility:
- Changed the default value for overrideDuration to -1, i.e. "off" by default (thanks to Mark McCoy for noticing this).
- Added "Renumber Selection" button for quickly adding detail levels to multiple shapes.
- Added "DTS" menu containing all dtsUtility options.
- Added "Setup" submenu with options to configure Maya for TGE.
- Added "Rendering Options" submenu with options for enabling Visibility Animation and Two-Sided Materials.
- Added "Help" menu with links to documentation and support websites.
- Moved some button-based operations to the DTS menu to minimize clutter in the window.
The updated File Pack and documentation are available here: Maya2DTS Online Reference.
About the author
#2
Awesome Clark.
07/12/2004 (5:08 pm)
Awesome Danny. (note: this could be interepreted as "Awesome, Danny" or "Danny is awesome. Both interpretations are equally valid)Awesome Clark.
#3
07/13/2004 (5:27 am)
Thank's a lot. With support like that we are no more forced to use crappy modelers or dozens of converters. I am in debt to You.
#4
Does the current version yet include animation Triggers?
07/13/2004 (10:11 am)
Excellent, the Maya exporter is coming along well, it looks like!Does the current version yet include animation Triggers?
#5
07/13/2004 (10:41 am)
Yes, triggers are included.
#6
"ERROR: BOUNDS NOT FOUND"
How can I fix this so I can tell my modelers how to get the models done in maya, and so we can use them in torque. Thanks.
08/05/2004 (5:47 am)
I am having a small, but major problem. Every time I try to export a file within maya into a dts file with any converter, it give me the following error:"ERROR: BOUNDS NOT FOUND"
How can I fix this so I can tell my modelers how to get the models done in maya, and so we can use them in torque. Thanks.
#7
08/05/2004 (9:53 am)
That error means the scene file is missing a bounding box. You need to create a bounding box named "bounds". 
#9
08/05/2004 (10:14 am)
I checked that, but when I create just a plain sphere, then put a box around it, and name it "bounds", it still gives me the error. I also tried right-clicking on the box and setting it to "bounding box", but that didn't work either. Could it be some other problem, or am I just doing this wrong. Thanks you.
#10
Also dont forget to renumber selection. If you dont number it, it will not export properly.
08/05/2004 (10:31 am)
Dtsutility will create a boundingbox for you when you click "create bounding box". Just make sure your model is selected when you do it. Also you might check hypergraph and make sure everything is parented correctly. check out the maya2dts website, there are tutorials there.Also dont forget to renumber selection. If you dont number it, it will not export properly.
#11
ERROR: NO OBJECT MATCHES NAME: dtsNode.shapeName
Any idea what I'm doing wrong. Thanks.
08/07/2004 (7:40 am)
One last problem. (Hopefully) I was running through the tutorial for the exporter and was up to exporting animations. The tutorial says to make sure the project is set to exportDTS being dts and exportDSQ being dsq, however, when I go to File->Project->Edit Current, the exportDSQ isn't there, only exportDTS. Also, if I go ahead and click export shape, it gives this error,ERROR: NO OBJECT MATCHES NAME: dtsNode.shapeName
Any idea what I'm doing wrong. Thanks.
#12
08/07/2004 (10:29 am)
Make sure you grab the latest exporter from the current maya2dts file pack.
#13
08/07/2004 (10:34 am)
Yeah, I am using the Maya6.0 exporter. I set all the options how the tutorial said, except this one never showed up.
#14
08/07/2004 (12:46 pm)
The Maya 6 exporter doesn't support dsq just yet... at least not the one available in HEAD. The source code doesn't have any dsq functions, so they don't appear in Maya either. We'll have to just wait until Clark Fagot finishes it enough to release, I guess. He's doing awesome work (as is Danny), and it takes time, so we should be appreciative of them. I personally would much rather have a solid exporter in a few months than a flaky one today. In the meantime, I'm going to work on the models for my game. Then, when the exporter's ready, my game will be that much closer to completion.
#15
Just became a dev myself, awsome work on the exporter. Using the maya api as little as I do, I know it can be a pain to handle. Anyways I get the same error as Michael Dillon. I'm in no rush myself, and have a lot of other things to learn anyways.
Cheers and great work.
Shawn P
08/07/2004 (7:45 pm)
Hey Guys,Just became a dev myself, awsome work on the exporter. Using the maya api as little as I do, I know it can be a pain to handle. Anyways I get the same error as Michael Dillon. I'm in no rush myself, and have a lot of other things to learn anyways.
Cheers and great work.
Shawn P
#16
08/07/2004 (10:45 pm)
Agreed. This exporter is top notch. I was just checking about the dsq's because we have a deadline in less than two months to get our game completed, but I still would rather wait and have a solid maya exporter.
#17
Did you know that dsq's aren't absolutely required? They're just a convenience for sharing animations among objects with the same skeleton. Exporting the shape should include the animations, and everything should work just fine. Animations can be embedded in .dts files, but they can also be loaded separately from .dsq files. As far as I know, there aren't any performance gains from using .dsq. I have not tested any of this myself... it is just something I've picked up from lurking the forums for over a year. I gathered it works this way in Max, and it should also work in Maya.
Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong.
08/09/2004 (7:23 am)
Michael:Did you know that dsq's aren't absolutely required? They're just a convenience for sharing animations among objects with the same skeleton. Exporting the shape should include the animations, and everything should work just fine. Animations can be embedded in .dts files, but they can also be loaded separately from .dsq files. As far as I know, there aren't any performance gains from using .dsq. I have not tested any of this myself... it is just something I've picked up from lurking the forums for over a year. I gathered it works this way in Max, and it should also work in Maya.
Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong.
#18
Cheers,
Shawn
08/09/2004 (7:40 am)
So, if I understand you correctly John, you don't need the .dsq for skeletal animation? And if so, do you still need the sequence node?Cheers,
Shawn
#19
08/09/2004 (8:08 am)
John is correct. You do not *need* to use DSQ files at all. You can create all the animations and sequence nodes in one Maya scene file then export just one DTS. That DTS file will contain all of the animations.
#20
08/09/2004 (12:52 pm)
I think I understand. The one DTS file will contain all the animations, then within Torque, we will just say what frame to start playing and stop playing on? Does that sound right. 
Torque Owner Danny Ngan