Character export and animations
by Michael K. · in Artist Corner · 10/06/2008 (3:08 am) · 2 replies
Ok... i have read through the dts exporter tutorials, i have looked a kork's max file, i have watched the dts exporter tutorials on youtube... but i simply can't get my character to export correctly with the animations.
What i do:
1) i start out with a model with physique.
2) i convert physique to skin using the "skinning conversion tool".
3) i convert the model to an editable mesh (or else i get an "assertion fail on skin object" error on export) and rename it "Character2"
4) i open up the dts exporter utility (check "As Skinned Mesh") and click on "quick setup".
5) now i have my "Character2" linked to "start01" which is linked to "base01", detail2 is linked to "base01". bounds isn't linked to anything and neither is Bip01. This linking was done by the dts exporter utility.
6) if i hit "export dts" i can see my model in showtool but no bones (nodes). So i link Bip01 to "Character2".
Now if i hit "export dts" i can see my model with the bones in showtool.
7) i create a sequence and name it "idle". then i click on export dsq.
8) now in showtool i see my model and animation (after i load the dsq).
BUT (!!) the animation is not hooked up to the model. I just see the bones doing the animation and not effecting the model.
What am i doing wrong?! I have been told that my setup is completly wrong, so i also tried all sorts of different methods (as seen in the tutorials and documentation)... but the method above has gotten me the furthest till now.
What i do:
1) i start out with a model with physique.
2) i convert physique to skin using the "skinning conversion tool".
3) i convert the model to an editable mesh (or else i get an "assertion fail on skin object" error on export) and rename it "Character2"
4) i open up the dts exporter utility (check "As Skinned Mesh") and click on "quick setup".
5) now i have my "Character2" linked to "start01" which is linked to "base01", detail2 is linked to "base01". bounds isn't linked to anything and neither is Bip01. This linking was done by the dts exporter utility.
6) if i hit "export dts" i can see my model in showtool but no bones (nodes). So i link Bip01 to "Character2".
Now if i hit "export dts" i can see my model with the bones in showtool.
7) i create a sequence and name it "idle". then i click on export dsq.
8) now in showtool i see my model and animation (after i load the dsq).
BUT (!!) the animation is not hooked up to the model. I just see the bones doing the animation and not effecting the model.
What am i doing wrong?! I have been told that my setup is completly wrong, so i also tried all sorts of different methods (as seen in the tutorials and documentation)... but the method above has gotten me the furthest till now.
Associate Fyodor -bank- Osokin
Dedicated Logic
Before adding skin(physique), be sure you have a "Editable Mesh" object, then apply the skin.
The "assertion fail on skin object" could popup if you have one or more vertices without any weight, or there are "more than 1.0 weight" on single vertex over different bones.
The "Character2" goes linked to "start01" because it's missing skin modifier on it. See above.
Also, you will need to have object "Character2" selected, and than click to "Quick Setup" with "As skinned mesh" checked. This will let know the exporter about what object should be treated as "skinned", so it will be (at the end) un-linked, like the "bounds".
If your Bip01 is not linked to start01, link it manually.
P.S. Hint: keep your bones naming in a such way, so there are no duplicated names and the names have char (non numerical) suffix, or you could see bones as objects in game/ShowTool.
Hope this helps :)