Lightwave Rigging For Torque
by Andy Hawkins · 04/04/2006 (11:09 am) · 32 comments
This resource shows you how to rigg a character in Lightwave and export to work in Torque. This goes some of the way to support Lightwave users in place of the Kork model which is not available in Lightwave format.
It also illustrates a pipeline for working from Lightwave to Torque for artists (and soon programmers / scripters).
I hope this helps people out. Let me know if you want the zip in a different format for Linux and Mac users. I suspect that PDF is cross-platform.
Grab the files here.
Lightwave to Torque Tut
NEW!
I've added some videos on unwrapping and weight mapping to suit Torque anims.
These were suggest by a GG member who I will announce if they want. Recommend using XVid codec and Media Player Classic to watch - sound is noisy so you may need head phones.
Unwrapping
Shows how to unwrap using endomorphs - better control over unwrap process.
Unwrapping. 90 meg ~21mins
Skelegon creation, weight mapping, bones, animation and export to Torque
Shows how to add skelegons, weight map, then rigg and animate quickly for Torque.
Skelegons Pt 1. 13 meg ~3.5 mins
Skelegons Pt 2. 33 meg ~9 mins
Skelegons Pt 3. 27 meg ~7 mins
Codecs and Video Players.
It's in XVid format... here's the download page -
XVid Downloads Page
Use Media Player Classic or VLC (Window Media Player doesn't work so well)
Media Player Classic at SourceForge
Video Lan(VLC)
It also illustrates a pipeline for working from Lightwave to Torque for artists (and soon programmers / scripters).
I hope this helps people out. Let me know if you want the zip in a different format for Linux and Mac users. I suspect that PDF is cross-platform.
Grab the files here.
Lightwave to Torque Tut
NEW!
I've added some videos on unwrapping and weight mapping to suit Torque anims.
These were suggest by a GG member who I will announce if they want. Recommend using XVid codec and Media Player Classic to watch - sound is noisy so you may need head phones.
Unwrapping
Shows how to unwrap using endomorphs - better control over unwrap process.
Unwrapping. 90 meg ~21mins
Skelegon creation, weight mapping, bones, animation and export to Torque
Shows how to add skelegons, weight map, then rigg and animate quickly for Torque.
Skelegons Pt 1. 13 meg ~3.5 mins
Skelegons Pt 2. 33 meg ~9 mins
Skelegons Pt 3. 27 meg ~7 mins
Codecs and Video Players.
It's in XVid format... here's the download page -
XVid Downloads Page
Use Media Player Classic or VLC (Window Media Player doesn't work so well)
Media Player Classic at SourceForge
Video Lan(VLC)
#22
If so, while it can be done as a .dts, it is far less efficient, due to the collision volumes primarily, but it can be done.
.dif format is really what "should" be use for structures the player can enter.
That is all very general. purpose built art content may not necessarily fall into apply to those rules.
04/11/2006 (2:02 pm)
Alan, are you talking about building that a player would walk around in?If so, while it can be done as a .dts, it is far less efficient, due to the collision volumes primarily, but it can be done.
.dif format is really what "should" be use for structures the player can enter.
That is all very general. purpose built art content may not necessarily fall into apply to those rules.
#23
04/11/2006 (3:25 pm)
@alan using DTS for buildings is quite feasable. It's not the "norm" but it's what i do. I don't seen a difference in how things perform. Infact i see DTS as superior in the fact it supports animation, UV textures, and alot more. You just need to be creative when designing. Planning how your collsion meshes will work and what not. But there's no rigging needed for exporting shapes from lightwave.
#24
04/11/2006 (3:37 pm)
@Ramen - how do you go about collisions then? Do you use the Greenbriar plugin? That company has some great new Torque tools now.
#25
04/11/2006 (3:39 pm)
i'ver never used that plugin. Well you have a few options with the collision. you don't need a convex mesh. you can you any type of mesh and collisions with player objects and what not occur. While i notice no FPS drop while playing using that type of mesh, it adds to the load time. But i just create some convex meshes in multiple layers and have the DTS exporter put it all together for me.
#26
04/11/2006 (3:55 pm)
Can you post a screen snap to show the complexity of your buildings constructed in lightwave?
#27
LightWave Dave helped me out with an update to the LW2dts exporter. He made it possible to use more than 8 collision volumes.
I am working on a LOT of structures right now, and am exploring the design side of this a lot more.
For example, I could make a barn with a complex interior, but then I would add blocks of hay, barrels, crates, etc. to reduce the areas the player would assume were areas they could go. Basically, fill up the space in the barn with decoration to simplify the playable space, then build my collision around that.
The result is a visually detailed environment, with playable space limited to a simple shape, like a square.
I made note of the "should use .dif for buildings" because that is the suggested method with TGE, however, there are a lot of exceptions to that rule. The general idea is that .dts is less efficient because a unit pathing around it checks every face every frame (read that some where)
Also, there is less efficient culling of non visible polygons..or perhaps no culling of non visible polygons, not sure about that one.
If you are making a game that is going to have a lot of units pathing around, then a lot of complex .dts shapes with complex collision are probably going to have a nasty impact.
Otherwise, I think you can get away with a lot of work with .dts format, just be smart about planning so that you can make the collision volumes as simple as possible.
04/11/2006 (5:01 pm)
I did everything in my last content pack as a .dts, Thats where I learned to juggle collision volumes and plan a building design around the simplest collision possible.LightWave Dave helped me out with an update to the LW2dts exporter. He made it possible to use more than 8 collision volumes.
I am working on a LOT of structures right now, and am exploring the design side of this a lot more.
For example, I could make a barn with a complex interior, but then I would add blocks of hay, barrels, crates, etc. to reduce the areas the player would assume were areas they could go. Basically, fill up the space in the barn with decoration to simplify the playable space, then build my collision around that.
The result is a visually detailed environment, with playable space limited to a simple shape, like a square.
I made note of the "should use .dif for buildings" because that is the suggested method with TGE, however, there are a lot of exceptions to that rule. The general idea is that .dts is less efficient because a unit pathing around it checks every face every frame (read that some where)
Also, there is less efficient culling of non visible polygons..or perhaps no culling of non visible polygons, not sure about that one.
If you are making a game that is going to have a lot of units pathing around, then a lot of complex .dts shapes with complex collision are probably going to have a nasty impact.
Otherwise, I think you can get away with a lot of work with .dts format, just be smart about planning so that you can make the collision volumes as simple as possible.
#28
The buildings do not have interiors the player can walk around in. While that would be great I don't have the skill to add them and the artist doesn't have an interest in doing it.
04/12/2006 (8:39 am)
@ Todd & RamenThe buildings do not have interiors the player can walk around in. While that would be great I don't have the skill to add them and the artist doesn't have an interest in doing it.
#29
What is it exactly that you need help with?
04/12/2006 (9:09 am)
Well if they don't have interiors, then it is extremely simple to get them in torque. What is it exactly that you need help with?
#30
If you can break up your object into multiple layers and then have the exporter put the pieces together it sometimes fixes this issue.
04/14/2006 (4:33 pm)
Thought of another one. Either the exporter, or torque cannot handel very high poly objects. seems like it depends but somewhere over 10k it starts to destory the polygons. But it seems to depend. this one thing i'm working on now exported fine at 39,000. But there is a fix.If you can break up your object into multiple layers and then have the exporter put the pieces together it sometimes fixes this issue.
#31
Whats the codex?
11/12/2007 (8:35 am)
Wow, not sure whats going on, but all i get from thies videos is beeping, and a black screen.Whats the codex?
#32
XVid Downloads Page
and don't play it in Windows Media player coz Windows sux... use Media Player Classic or VLC
Media Player Classic at SourceForge
Video Lan (VLC)
11/12/2007 (1:27 pm)
It's in XVid format... here's the download page - XVid Downloads Page
and don't play it in Windows Media player coz Windows sux... use Media Player Classic or VLC
Media Player Classic at SourceForge
Video Lan (VLC)
Torque Owner Alan H