Collada crash when importing animated models with empty controllers
by Andy Schatz · in Torque 3D Professional · 06/16/2009 (4:29 pm) · 6 replies
I'm trying to import a model that has a rig whose parents are spline controllers with no geometry. This asserts in ColladaAppMesh::getPrimitives because there is no mesh to associate with the data.
It's my understanding that this method of animating is very standard, yet the torque behavior suggests we are doing something wrong with how we are setting up the rig. Can anyone enlighten me on the subject?
It's my understanding that this method of animating is very standard, yet the torque behavior suggests we are doing something wrong with how we are setting up the rig. Can anyone enlighten me on the subject?
#2
06/17/2009 (11:31 am)
Thanks Manoel- We're looking into that right now.
#3
Currently, using the Collada exporter on the same animation crashes Torque, from what we can tell is due to those same control splines.
We haven't figured out a way to bake keyframes using Maya's baking options that includes transformations from controller objects like parent splines.
If it is the splines that crash Torque, then the Maya2DTS exporter goes through some baking process we don't know about, and doesn't export those splines. If so, then Collada can only be used for assets without animation. But since the Maya2DTS exporter kicks out a DTS and its DSQs, then Collada isn't used at all.
06/18/2009 (10:29 am)
The traditional Maya2DTS exporter was able to export our Maya animations with indirect control splines, into DTS and DSQ files that Torque was able to successfully import.Currently, using the Collada exporter on the same animation crashes Torque, from what we can tell is due to those same control splines.
We haven't figured out a way to bake keyframes using Maya's baking options that includes transformations from controller objects like parent splines.
If it is the splines that crash Torque, then the Maya2DTS exporter goes through some baking process we don't know about, and doesn't export those splines. If so, then Collada can only be used for assets without animation. But since the Maya2DTS exporter kicks out a DTS and its DSQs, then Collada isn't used at all.
#4
But in our studio we always preferred to keep "export" versions of all animations with the animation baked and all extraneous nodes deleted. Select all joints (using the "select all by type" option), bake the animation onto them and you can happily delete all controllers. I just exported an animation like that.
But yeah, the collada loader shouldn't crash with extraneous nodes: it should ignore them instead.
06/18/2009 (11:32 am)
The Maya2DTS by default ignored all non-essential nodes. That included nodes outside the joint hierarchy, and unskinned joints in the hierarchy. You needed to setup a dtsScene.cfg file even to export mount nodes.But in our studio we always preferred to keep "export" versions of all animations with the animation baked and all extraneous nodes deleted. Select all joints (using the "select all by type" option), bake the animation onto them and you can happily delete all controllers. I just exported an animation like that.
But yeah, the collada loader shouldn't crash with extraneous nodes: it should ignore them instead.
#5
Is there any chance you could send me one of the Collada models that was crashing? I'll try to update the Collada loader to support indirect controllers in time for the next T3D beta release.
07/02/2009 (7:45 pm)
Hi Andy,Is there any chance you could send me one of the Collada models that was crashing? I'll try to update the Collada loader to support indirect controllers in time for the next T3D beta release.
#6
07/13/2009 (10:19 am)
Hi Chris, sorry for the late response on this, I don't have them available anymore, but if it happens again I will surely pass it along. 
Associate Manoel Neto
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