Q's abt animated skins
by Tim "Zear" Hammock · in Artist Corner · 10/15/2001 (1:36 pm) · 1 replies
Although I have not gotten to the point where I am actually trying to do this, I am looking into the feasability of it.
Warning: as with all of my post of this nature, it is a bit wordy... :]
The game design I am working on will require that the player model be capable of 'morphing' from one shape to another. Imagine a person transforming into a wolf, for instance (and no, I'm not doing werewolves - it is just a hypothetical - I actually have a very different idea in mind than what this example might suggest).
The transformations will not require accounting for player actions (that is, the player will not be able to do anything else while transforming). I am assuming that the best approach is to actually use three models - one for the original form, one for a transitional (morphing-in-action) form, and one for the target form. Since the player is essentially static during the change, this allows me to ignore the skeleton (so to speak), sidestepping the ugly issue of how to morph the skeleton itself. It also means that I do not need to include the morphing in the models that are used for the vast majority of the time (when not doing the morph).
It has occurred to me, however, that the model's skin will need to be able to animate. That is, at the beginning of the transformation it would be a person's skin, and by the end it would need to be a wolf skin. In the 'between' it would need to change as the morph progresses. I wouldn't want it to change suddenly.
So my question - does Torque already support this kind of skin animation, or am I going to have to code it in? Also, does anyone have any useful tips or observations about what I am contemplating here?
Thanks in advance for any input...
(now if I could just type it correctly the first time...)
Warning: as with all of my post of this nature, it is a bit wordy... :]
The game design I am working on will require that the player model be capable of 'morphing' from one shape to another. Imagine a person transforming into a wolf, for instance (and no, I'm not doing werewolves - it is just a hypothetical - I actually have a very different idea in mind than what this example might suggest).
The transformations will not require accounting for player actions (that is, the player will not be able to do anything else while transforming). I am assuming that the best approach is to actually use three models - one for the original form, one for a transitional (morphing-in-action) form, and one for the target form. Since the player is essentially static during the change, this allows me to ignore the skeleton (so to speak), sidestepping the ugly issue of how to morph the skeleton itself. It also means that I do not need to include the morphing in the models that are used for the vast majority of the time (when not doing the morph).
It has occurred to me, however, that the model's skin will need to be able to animate. That is, at the beginning of the transformation it would be a person's skin, and by the end it would need to be a wolf skin. In the 'between' it would need to change as the morph progresses. I wouldn't want it to change suddenly.
So my question - does Torque already support this kind of skin animation, or am I going to have to code it in? Also, does anyone have any useful tips or observations about what I am contemplating here?
Thanks in advance for any input...
(now if I could just type it correctly the first time...)
Torque Owner Karsten "Clocks" Viese
However the way I would do this (luckily I don't have to) is to make the 2 base models one with its own skin.
Then make/animated the morphing sequence.
*sidenote: If you make alterations to the first model and manipulate the vertices into the new model keepping the exact same number of vertices then 3dmax could morph it for you. You can use as many stages of the morphs as you like. Say you make 4 different stages of the animation then load them into the morph modifier as targets, max will then go from one to the next making a very smooth transition. This can be controlled by sliders. /*sidenote end.
Then you could load both skin onto the morph model and simple animated the visibily between the 2 skins making a nice transition.
Hopefully this is off any use :)
// Clocks out.