Anyone get Adam Pack to work with truebones BVHs?

#1 I hope you realize that this scenario is much larger than you're giving credit. In other words, we need details to help.

Perhaps you can explain your steps in detail.
I dislike the sound of you opening bvh directly to the biped anyways...but maybe something else is causing an issue.

Personally, I convert all bvh to bip, then reset max, load my rig & then apply the bip to the the biped. Here is why:


If you don't need lame things like this explained, then please include details next time.

#2 First off - I'm very new to 3d Studio Max (I've been using Cheetah 3D), so please forgive my newbishness :)

That said, here are the steps I took:

+ Load the AdamPack.max file into 3d Studio Max. It has a single biped and five meshes (different LODs), all mapped to the biped. The biped structure is:

Pelvis
- Spine
-- Spine1
--- Spine2
---- Neck
----- Head
----- Clavicle
------ UpperArm
------- Forearm
-------- Hand
--------- Finger0
---------- Finger01
- Thigh
-- Calf
--- Foot
---- Toe0

With "L " and "R " prefixed in front of their respective bone names.

+ Select the biped and load BVH marker file provided by the Truebones guy to this forum at some point. Here is the marker file contents:

Hips
LeftHip lThigh
LeftKnee lShin
LeftAnkle lFoot
LeftToe lToe
RightHip rThigh
RightKnee rShin
RightAnkle rFoot
RightToe rtoe
Chest abdomen
Chest2 chest
Chest3 neckDummy
LeftCollar lCollar
LeftShoulder lShldr
LeftElbow lForeArm
LeftWrist lHand
RightCollar rCollar
RightShoulder rShldr
RightElbow rForeArm
RightWrist rHand
Neck neck
Head head

As you can see, the bone names don't really match up (unless I'm looking at the wrong names in max), and if I try and change them, I get errors about the bone not being found.

+ Lastly, I apply the BVH file with default settings.

The biped animation looks fine, except for the Spine bone, which doesn't get assigned any motion. However, after clicking randomly between it and the rest of the biped for a little while, it magically adhered to the rest of the spine... no idea why.

Unfortunately, when I show the mesh, it's severely distorted - basically most of the triangles are being pulled to the center of the screen, where the Spine bone is at first (but even when I magically adhere said bone to the rest of the skeleton, the mesh still pulls to where it used to be).

Here's a screenshot of what it looks like:
You can see the tan triangles dragging - that's the skin...

Is there a quick way to convert the bvh to bip? I could certainly try that. I am very confused why the mnm marker file should work, though, when the bone names are so different.

#3 ...bvh files are not the greatest to utilize. I have never used the mnm-marker nor any truebones animations, sorry. I have used several dozen bvh files...hmm, maybe more really. I have not been able to get about 1% of the bvh files working this way...some are just broken, or max is just looney on them...I could care as I just remake them or request a replacement.
As I said, I:
- convert my bvh to bip
- then I reset max
- load the bip to a biped for testing (If it clears my inspections, I move forward)Reason: max can be unruly. Save your files at each step, I suggest incremental saves in the options panel.

Here is a more detailed process:
- create a biped and then select one of the bones
- go to the motion panel and select the "motion capture" subset
- open your bvh using the "load motion capture" button and apply it to the biped (initial settings should be ok)
- preview the animation (your biped might move 3 miles away, so press z to focus to it[as long as it is still selected])
- if the animation plays properly, then go back to your motion panel and under the "biped" subset select "save as"
- save your .bip file to you desktop so you can find it fast
- now go to the max toolbar and select file > reset (and be sure to reset!) ..this clears any lame issues from getting in the way(< gotta love being scientifically specific!)
- Create a biped and then apply your new bip file through the motion panel under the biped subset, "load file"
- verify!
- continue on your merry way of game development...
- eat cereal
- sleep

- Repeat steps if needed.

If this works for you, there is a batch converter under the motion capture subset of the motion panel.

Please note: this is not an end-all issues fix, you still must be able to deal with the tiny issues that may creep up in the process. Then again, I never really experience any..but perhaps that is because I am accustomed to it.

Cheers

#4 Brilliant! That did the trick. I will definitely have to investigate the batch conversion.

Thank you *very much* for your insights! It is greatly appreciated :)

#5 Care to share some info on what you're up to Mike ?

#6 I'm working on a mercenary/sniper-ish game for the iPhone right now, along with several other game ideas that I'll hopefully be able to tackle at some point. I'm a web developer by trade, but I'm getting mighty sick of b2b programming these days :-)

The iPhone is really an incredible platform... it can be painfully limiting in some ways, but with a little creativity you can throw some pretty awesome stuff into the mix. And it sure feels like a lot of people are getting nice wads of cash from it, so I thought I'd throw my hat into the ring as well!

#7 I am having the same issues with BVH conversion. I tried the solution posted above with no results. I start with a new Biped. Load motion capture and click on the BVH file I want. Then I get a message about bones being named incorrectly. Just like Mike from above. It also says I am missing certain bones, probably because of the naming issue. I've even tried a program I found called BVHacker which lets me rename the bones and resave the file, but that doesn't work either. Any ideas?
Thanks. I am new here, and have a medium level of experience with Max.

#8
Have you made any progress on this problem?

We have organized our motion library into category's for your convenience.

Visit the T.O.M.B. The Online Motions Box. and peruse the catacombs to find the motions and animations you need fast!

Visit, register and download our new demo.

www.truebones.com

Thanks and Cheers:cool:

Joe McPeek from Truebones.com