How To Set Player Footstep In 3D Max

#1 I am having the exact same problem in TGEA 1.8.1. Character is working perfectly, all audio is working perfectly, but I don't hear any foot step sounds.

#2 If you havn't changed anything, and your just replacing the Orc then your problem is in your export. Because you didn't say anything about it, im assuming your problem is that you didn't add the footstep triggers. If you have the DTS Pro exporter utility, there is actually a "trigger" drop down menu that lets you add a trigger. State 1 and 2 are your footsteps, set them to the frames that your feet contact the ground in your animations. Do this is in all the animations that your feet move...

If you don't have that exporter, you have to go into the properties of the sequence and add this---

triggerFrame0 = 32
triggerState0 = 2
numTriggers = 2
triggerFrame1 = 44
triggerState1 = 1

Set the triggerFrame = (whatever frame your feet contact the ground)

Now when that frame of your animation plays you should have the footstep sound play... This should fix your problem, and I hope this helps. If you still have problems, feel free to ask...

#3 Ok, I have been using the old school exporter for my animations. I have to add a DTS helper Sequence object to the scene, give it the right name, and setup which frames to start/end using the curve editor.

Do I need to keep those helpers when I setup sequences with the Pro exporter? I did notice the ones I created are not showing up in the Pro exporter.

When I remove the ones I created manually and setup new ones with the Pro exporter, none of the new sequences are exporting with the character, however, I now can use that Trigger Manager (which is completely pointless if the animation sequences aren't working...)

#4 That exporter is usually much easier to use. Your problem might be that you need to add this to your .cfg file--

-Param::CollapseTransforms

But you don't have to use that exporter, if you're comfortable with another one, you can just add the trigger info to the properties of the sequence. Just go into your schematic view, right click your sequence node, then go to properties.

I've just found that exporter (once you learn it) is much easier to use. It does a lot of the work for you.

If the sequence is in the list of sequences in the sequence manager, the utility will attempt to export the animation. If something went wrong when exporting, it will say something in the dump file. Maybe try restarting max, sometimes it keeps old information in memory and it messes up exports.

#5 I definitely have the collapse transforms off, otherwise I wouldn't be getting any animations at all. As it were, the animations are working great. The Sequence Triggers are not exporting though...

Here is a screenshot of my curve editor in Max showing the 'back' sequence is selected and I am indeed setting up the 'triggers' in the curve editor. Everthing looks perfect with the sequence trigger setup...

-1, 1 for Right Foot
-2,2 for Left Foot


When I open the DTS in ShowTool and look at the sequence, I can see that the 'sequence triggers' field is empty!

When I use the 'Pro' exporter, the sequence triggers DO export, but the sequences themselves won't!

#6 post your schematic view for me real quick if your still there... The triggers export within the sequence, so the triggers can't export without the sequence exporting, maybe we are having a miss communication...

I don't know why your other exporter isn't exporting the triggers... It should be...

#7 The sequences are definitely exporting. In Show Tool Pro, I can see my list of animations and can play them just fine. When I click on the 'Sequence Info' button on the left side of Show Tool, I can see the detailed info about each sequence and there is a box that shows the sequence triggers, but there aren't any...

When I use the DTS Exporter Pro and setup my sequences with that, the sequences aren't exporting at all...

Here's a link to the screenshot of my schematic view. I rearranged it a little to try and get it all to fit in one shot. ;)

nicolaidutka.archongames.com/storage/Misc/Schematic.jpg

#8 Your scheme is great, so no problems there. Give this a try, export a DSQ of ONE of your animations that has a trigger. And export your character with no animation as a DTS. Test it out in showtool...

If something goes wrong with exporting the DSQ, you will know it becuase it will give you an error in the dump... If it does give you an error let me know what it is...

#9 My exporter automatically exported all the animations as a single DSQ. I went ahead and loaded up the character in Show Tool, loaded in the DSQ, and voila, I see the triggers....

So, here's my CFG:

+Dump::NodeCollection
+Dump::ShapeConstruction
+Dump::NodeCulling
+Dump::NodeStates
+Dump::NodeStateDetails
+Dump::ObjectStates
+Dump::ObjectStateDetails
+Dump::ObjectOffsets
+Dump::SequenceDetails
+Dump::ShapeHierarchy
+Error::AllowEmptySubtrees
-Error::AllowCrossedDetails
+Error::AllowUnusedMeshes
+Error::AllowOldSequences
-Error::RequireViconNode
+Param::EnableTwoSidedMaterials
-Param::CollapseTransforms
+Param::SequenceExport
+Sequence::defaultCyclic
-Sequence::defaultBlend
-Sequence::defaultFirstLastFrameSame
+Sequence::defaultUseFrameRate
-Sequence::defaultIgnoreGroundTransform
-Sequence::defaultUseGroundFrameRate
-Sequence::defaultEnableMorphAnimation
-Sequence::defaultEnableVisAnimation
+Sequence::defaultEnableTransformAnimation
-Sequence::defaultForceMorphAnimation
-Sequence::defaultForceVisAnimation
-Sequence::defaultForceTransformAnimation
-Sequence::defaultOverrideDuration
=Params::AnimationDelta 0.000100
=Params::MaxFrameRate 30.000000
=Sequence::defaultFrameRate 15.000000
=Sequence::defaultGroundFrameRate 15.000000
=Params::SkinWeightThreshhold 0.001000
=Sequence::defaultDuration 1.000000
=SequenceObject::defaultNumFrames 2
=SequenceObject::defaultNumGroundFrames 2
=SequenceObject::defaultDefaultSequencePriority 0
=Params::weightsPerVertex 10
=Params::T2AutoDetail 0
=Test::test xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
=Params::baseTexturePath .

#10 Cool, so your triggers are working now? As a side note, torque likes each animation to have it's own DSQ. So for future reference you will probably have to export each animation individually to a DSQ when you get to bringing your character in game...

#11 It's working to a degree...

I have to use the old exporter, export 'whole shape' including animations. Then I export just the animations as a DSQ. I bring in the DTS in ShowTool, then add the DSQ. This creates 2 sets of animations, but the triggers DO show up for the second set.

If I export the DTS WITHOUT animations, then export just the animations as DSQ, and add them together in ShowTool, I get only 1 set of animations, but the damn triggers are GONE!

I'd REALLY like to use JUST the new DTS exporter pro, but the damn thing refuses to include my sequences in the export. :(

#12 Well, I lost it.. I don't know how I get that to even export in the first place, but the steps I listed in the last post are not working. I cannot get DTS Exporter Pro to export even 1 single animation... The DTS keeps coming out with no sequences at all, even though I used the sequence manager to create some... This doesn't make any sense to me at all..

#13 Ok, I managed to finally reproduce what I did.

Using the old exporter, I make sure 'collapse transforms' is NOT checked, and then click "Whole Shape". This exports a DTS.

I then immediately click "Sequences". This exports the DSQ.

I then load up Show Tool Pro, load in the DTS, then load in the DSQ. I end up with 2 lists of the same animations... but the 2nd set DOES have the sequence triggers.


If I export the 'whole shape' with 'export sequences' NOT checked, then export the sequences as DSQ and load them both into Show Tool, the triggers are gone again.


So now my question is, can I have both the animations in the DTS AND the DSQ? It seems to be the only way to get my sequence triggers to work...

#14 Ok here's something interesting....

I tried again, this time exporting "Whole Shape" WITHOUT the sequences.

I then exported the DSQ.

I then loaded the DTS into Show Tool Pro and added the DSQ. I have 1 set of animations with NO triggers.

I then loaded the DSQ AGAIN creating a second set of animations. The 2nd set DOES have the triggers.

Can someone explain that one to me? What do I do?

#15 I took a shot at it, threw this into the game using the methods described in my previous 2 posts. Both of them gave me an animated character, neither one gave me footstep sounds...

#16 Nicolai,
i've set the triggers once and they worked just fine.
I am using max R7.

#17 GAH! Figures... I'm using Max 2009 and it just won't work... I am certain I have it all setup correctly...

#18 Oddly, if I set a key on the trigger track of one of my sequences to 0, I get an error during the export, so the exporter is definitely seeing the trigger track, but if I fix it to -1,1,-2,or 2, I get no errors, but also have no triggers...

Anyone that has the sequence triggers working, any chance you could post your .cfg? I am wondering if maybe my exporter's .cfg is ignoring the sequence triggers, but I don't know what to look for...

#19 Yet another screen shot for you, this one shows the sequence I have been trying to add a footstep trigger to. As you can see by the image, Show Tool is telling me the triggers are reporting an "Err" which I am guessing means 'error'.

The only thing I can think of is the tangents, but I've tried 'step', 'linear', and 'auto' and got no different results...

nicolaidutka.archongames.com/storage/Misc/ShowTool.jpg

#20 I tried using my old copy of 3D Max 7 and get the same results... 'Err'