Sequence causes model to float above terrain at 45 degrees?
by Tim Colwill · in Artist Corner · 08/30/2006 (10:13 am) · 8 replies
Hi guys,
I had a search for similar questions to this but the answers didn't seem to match, so I'll ask here: I've got a biped model and am applying a sequence to it. However, this sequence causes the model to float at 45 degrees slightly off the ground - as if the whole model had been rotated somehow before being animated.
I am never exporting Bip01
I have exactly the same bones/nodes in the DTS and the DSQ (same skeleton, same .cfg file)
My bounds box encompasses my whole shape
So what gives? When I view it in ShowTool, the Unlink and Base01 nodes are exactly where I left them, at the centre on the ground, but the rest is moved up and floating. Also of note - when the animation is playing in ShowTool and I select the Unlink node, it stops.
Any advice would be great. Cheers.
I had a search for similar questions to this but the answers didn't seem to match, so I'll ask here: I've got a biped model and am applying a sequence to it. However, this sequence causes the model to float at 45 degrees slightly off the ground - as if the whole model had been rotated somehow before being animated.
I am never exporting Bip01
I have exactly the same bones/nodes in the DTS and the DSQ (same skeleton, same .cfg file)
My bounds box encompasses my whole shape
So what gives? When I view it in ShowTool, the Unlink and Base01 nodes are exactly where I left them, at the centre on the ground, but the rest is moved up and floating. Also of note - when the animation is playing in ShowTool and I select the Unlink node, it stops.
Any advice would be great. Cheers.
#2
Thanks for your reply! Unfortunately I don't think that's the case - the legs are included in the animation as are the feet, and the animation plays and they move - it's just they do it while the model is now rotated off the ground at about 45 degrees. The Bip01 node as a matter of interest is located inside the pelvis - I didn't move it since I created it in character studio.
The Base01 node is just on the ground for the hell of it, because putting it between the model's legs seemed as good a place as any.
As a side note, should I have a Base01 node and a Start01 node when I'm exporting a sequence? I know they have to be included for a DTS but does the DSQ need them as well? (This ties back to my comments in the other thread about documentation for animation - this sort of thing is not mentioned anywhere - that I've found anyway).
Cheers,
Tim
08/31/2006 (8:58 am)
Hi Logan,Thanks for your reply! Unfortunately I don't think that's the case - the legs are included in the animation as are the feet, and the animation plays and they move - it's just they do it while the model is now rotated off the ground at about 45 degrees. The Bip01 node as a matter of interest is located inside the pelvis - I didn't move it since I created it in character studio.
The Base01 node is just on the ground for the hell of it, because putting it between the model's legs seemed as good a place as any.
As a side note, should I have a Base01 node and a Start01 node when I'm exporting a sequence? I know they have to be included for a DTS but does the DSQ need them as well? (This ties back to my comments in the other thread about documentation for animation - this sort of thing is not mentioned anywhere - that I've found anyway).
Cheers,
Tim
#3
And could you have the bounds Box selected in the image. This may help figure the problem out.
08/31/2006 (9:54 am)
Would you beable to post a picture of your 3ds Max Screen showing The Hiearchy as well as the Biped/Character/bounds box and nodes?And could you have the bounds Box selected in the image. This may help figure the problem out.
#4
First of all, an example: Here's the model (for an RTS) before:
And after, when the sequence (a simple hip thrusting test sequence) is applied:
Here's a (warning: large image) link to my schematic, and here's a link to a picture of the sequence .max file in question (from all four angles).
The bounds box is selected in the image in white. As you can see, the sequence in no way includes the model rotating upwards and floating :(
Thanks all.
08/31/2006 (5:54 pm)
Hi Surge, sure thing.First of all, an example: Here's the model (for an RTS) before:
And after, when the sequence (a simple hip thrusting test sequence) is applied:
Here's a (warning: large image) link to my schematic, and here's a link to a picture of the sequence .max file in question (from all four angles).
The bounds box is selected in the image in white. As you can see, the sequence in no way includes the model rotating upwards and floating :(
Thanks all.
#5
09/01/2006 (7:57 am)
Are you by chance loading a blend animation? And by chance is this blend animation setup to animate from from a start pose (that is not the same pose as the root stance the model uses) to another pose?
#6
When I get home tonight/over the weekend I will compare all this to my own characters.
Back in the day.........
My first character exports where plain old hair pulling nightmares,
But now I export almost everything with no problem, so let me look deeper into this for you.
-Surge
09/01/2006 (9:06 am)
O.k - Im at work right now, but your setup immediatley looks good to me.When I get home tonight/over the weekend I will compare all this to my own characters.
Back in the day.........
My first character exports where plain old hair pulling nightmares,
But now I export almost everything with no problem, so let me look deeper into this for you.
-Surge
#7
I can confirm that this is not a blend animation - this is a whole-body animation. However you are correct in assuming that the start/end poses of this animation do not match the root stance of the model. This is just a test animation and I don't expect it to be pretty, I just want to streamline the process and understand it. :)
You can find the CFG file here and the 3DS Max file here if that helps at all.
Cheers all.
09/01/2006 (10:40 am)
Hi Logan, Surge,I can confirm that this is not a blend animation - this is a whole-body animation. However you are correct in assuming that the start/end poses of this animation do not match the root stance of the model. This is just a test animation and I don't expect it to be pretty, I just want to streamline the process and understand it. :)
You can find the CFG file here and the 3DS Max file here if that helps at all.
Cheers all.
#8
Is the pelvis bone animated at all? I've seen some similar (while not quite as dramatic) issues where the pelvis bone wasn't animated (and thus not exported with the DSQ, the exporter is a bit too clever for it's own good sometimes). Just create a couple of keys with the pelvis bone rotated slightly and see if that helps.
As another test you could try checking the Force->Transform animation checkbox on the sequence helper. This will export ALL bones (both rotatation, scale and translation) to the DSQ, note that this isn't really a very good solution for the final animation though since it creates much larger files (and probably much more data for Torque to process).
09/06/2006 (1:22 am)
I don't have time to look at the max file at the moment but I do have an idea that you may want to try.Is the pelvis bone animated at all? I've seen some similar (while not quite as dramatic) issues where the pelvis bone wasn't animated (and thus not exported with the DSQ, the exporter is a bit too clever for it's own good sometimes). Just create a couple of keys with the pelvis bone rotated slightly and see if that helps.
As another test you could try checking the Force->Transform animation checkbox on the sequence helper. This will export ALL bones (both rotatation, scale and translation) to the DSQ, note that this isn't really a very good solution for the final animation though since it creates much larger files (and probably much more data for Torque to process).
Associate Logan Foster
perPixel Studios
Also just as a note, its not a good idea to leave your BIP01 node centered on the ground. This is the Center of Mass (COM) for your rig and it affects a lot of things on the biped.