Question about animations with solid parts
by Paul Sisneros · in Artist Corner · 02/03/2008 (1:17 pm) · 2 replies
If you want to make an object like a robot with solid parts that only bend at the joints what is the best way to put them together? If you simply link them to bones will that work alright? Would there be any problems with having multiple 3ds max parts in the model? I know separate textures add a lot to the load of rendering, and that objects with animation stored as point deformation are large and inneficient, so i want to make sure that this wont behave like either of those. Basically if i want to make a skeliton based player model of serveral parts with fixed shapes whats the best way?
#2
02/09/2008 (8:27 am)
Yeah, I figured out what i was asking about, it turns out that if you make a skeliton and link parts to it, as long as they have the proper detail level names and the CFG file contains the right names, they will move with the skeliton without using mesh warping animations that take up a lot of space. To confirm that this is what it was doing I made some blended animations and then used the same skeliton to make another character with parts linked to its bones, and the other animation loaded to that character properly, so i know it wasn't only moving the linked object as a mesh animation or treating it as a bone. But again, it relies on the CFG file and detail level numbers. 
Torque Owner Wesley Howe
You need to make the mesh at the joints from seperated (unwelded) parts, like a ball and socket or a hinge, so that you get a mechanical effect.
Unless what you mean was you want a smooth cartoon character look (like gumby), then I would make the knee out of two joints with a small seperation, and spread the bend across more faces (an use smooth multiple assignments).
In either case a single texture should suffice for the main body, unless you are mixing different materials (shiny and dull metal parts, for instance).