DSQ file pushes my entire mesh Vertically
by Byder · in Artist Corner · 01/08/2009 (6:16 am) · 6 replies
Hey Everyone,
I have just rigged a character using the Biped system, exported and its fully functional using the Kork DSQ's
I have one small issue though, as soon as I load a DSQ file onto the rig (weather in ShowTool or the Engine its self) the entire rig, mesh and all the nodes, simply get moved vertically around 0.3units! There is no distortion to the mesh, its as though something is telling the 'bip01' node to sit at this 'higher' position.
Any suggestions on where I might begin debugging this problem?! I have checked all the pivots on the mesh including that of the 'Bip01 Footsteps' node!
Any thing will help! Thanx
~C
a 3d artists journal
I have just rigged a character using the Biped system, exported and its fully functional using the Kork DSQ's
I have one small issue though, as soon as I load a DSQ file onto the rig (weather in ShowTool or the Engine its self) the entire rig, mesh and all the nodes, simply get moved vertically around 0.3units! There is no distortion to the mesh, its as though something is telling the 'bip01' node to sit at this 'higher' position.
Any suggestions on where I might begin debugging this problem?! I have checked all the pivots on the mesh including that of the 'Bip01 Footsteps' node!
Any thing will help! Thanx
~C
a 3d artists journal
#2
If the scale/size between your DTS and DSQ do not match, the engine will try to do its best to make it adjust, which is why you will see wierd things like you are with the Z height of the DTS in the game world changing (because the DSQ is taller or smaller than the rig used in the DTS), or even more subtle things like the model getting squashed or stretched oddly (because the size of an individual bone does not match between the DTS and the DSQ).
As such you have two approaches you should try to use when creating animations for your DTS:
1) If you have access to the actual animation data, you simply will want to load the biped animation data onto a copy of the biped you are using for your DTS (with any necessary cleanup needed) and then export this data for each animation just like you normally would export DSQs out.
2) If you do not have access tot he animation data (ie. you are using the default ones that ship with torque) then your best bet is to use the exact same biped you see in samples such as the Orc for your mesh, even though it might not fit 100% correct.
I hope this helps explain things. Like I said you do not only want the skeletal structures to match, but the sizes and scales to match too if you want a flawless translation of your 3DS Max data into Torque, if they don't match you get goofy results like youa re seeing.
Note: Additive Blending animations care less about scale/size, but its still good practice to ensure it all lines up.
01/08/2009 (9:08 am)
While everyone will go on and on about telling you that to load a DSQ onto a DTS model you need to use a skeletal rig that is exactly the same, there is another even more critically important aspect to keep in mind, and that is the scale/size of your rigs need to match too!If the scale/size between your DTS and DSQ do not match, the engine will try to do its best to make it adjust, which is why you will see wierd things like you are with the Z height of the DTS in the game world changing (because the DSQ is taller or smaller than the rig used in the DTS), or even more subtle things like the model getting squashed or stretched oddly (because the size of an individual bone does not match between the DTS and the DSQ).
As such you have two approaches you should try to use when creating animations for your DTS:
1) If you have access to the actual animation data, you simply will want to load the biped animation data onto a copy of the biped you are using for your DTS (with any necessary cleanup needed) and then export this data for each animation just like you normally would export DSQs out.
2) If you do not have access tot he animation data (ie. you are using the default ones that ship with torque) then your best bet is to use the exact same biped you see in samples such as the Orc for your mesh, even though it might not fit 100% correct.
I hope this helps explain things. Like I said you do not only want the skeletal structures to match, but the sizes and scales to match too if you want a flawless translation of your 3DS Max data into Torque, if they don't match you get goofy results like youa re seeing.
Note: Additive Blending animations care less about scale/size, but its still good practice to ensure it all lines up.
#3
Thanx for the help, that actually explains a lot! This could very well be the cause of my problem!
I actually intend on animating my own DSQ files for the rigs I am making now, but because this is my first attempt at a skinned character.... I thought I would simply test the rig on the standard Kork animations.
Right so my next step is to match my rig to the same size as Kork, if that fixes my problem at least I know I have a functional rig & skinned DTS.... with that knowledge I can move forward to my own animations!
Thanks again! I will let you know of my results!
~C
a 3d artists journal
01/08/2009 (10:44 pm)
Hey LoganThanx for the help, that actually explains a lot! This could very well be the cause of my problem!
I actually intend on animating my own DSQ files for the rigs I am making now, but because this is my first attempt at a skinned character.... I thought I would simply test the rig on the standard Kork animations.
Right so my next step is to match my rig to the same size as Kork, if that fixes my problem at least I know I have a functional rig & skinned DTS.... with that knowledge I can move forward to my own animations!
Thanks again! I will let you know of my results!
~C
a 3d artists journal
#4
The jump vertically when attaching the .dsq file is a lot smaller but it still seems to happen!
Any suggestions... or should I just assume my rig is fine, and move on to making my own animation files?!
~C
a 3d artists journal
01/09/2009 (12:15 am)
Okay I made my model 2.3m tall somewhere nicely in between the ForgeSoldier & the ElfSorceress.The jump vertically when attaching the .dsq file is a lot smaller but it still seems to happen!
Any suggestions... or should I just assume my rig is fine, and move on to making my own animation files?!
~C
a 3d artists journal
#5
Thanks for the help Logan! Oh & nice work on Lore, just been playing it a bit!!! ;)
~C
a 3d artists journal
01/09/2009 (1:30 am)
Right nailed it! :) Its the height of the hip, or in other words the 'Bip01'.... the standard Torque Animations all have a hip height of 1.3m... you have to match your rigs 'Bip01' to that height!Thanks for the help Logan! Oh & nice work on Lore, just been playing it a bit!!! ;)
~C
a 3d artists journal
#6
I gave up on trying to share a lot of DSQ here (unless the models are using the exact same rig), instead I have a collection of BIP files that do all my Torque animations and I just apply and export them on a model by model basis. It just ended up being a lot easier to minimize the time I had to spend fixing things (though the time I spent recreating all the Torque animations took quite a while). Its a workflow I am currently recommending at any rate.
BTW thanks for your comments on Lore, it was a lot of fun to make. Hope that you enjoy it.
01/09/2009 (9:41 am)
I am glad to see that you figured out the issue and got it all resolved. I gave up on trying to share a lot of DSQ here (unless the models are using the exact same rig), instead I have a collection of BIP files that do all my Torque animations and I just apply and export them on a model by model basis. It just ended up being a lot easier to minimize the time I had to spend fixing things (though the time I spent recreating all the Torque animations took quite a while). Its a workflow I am currently recommending at any rate.
BTW thanks for your comments on Lore, it was a lot of fun to make. Hope that you enjoy it.
Torque Owner Byder
There is clearly a piece of data somewhere in the history that is causing this glitch. Next thing to try is to recreate the rig entirely! :)
Will let you know the results!
~C
a 3d artists journal