Vehicle DTS export confusion
by Playware · in Torque Game Engine · 05/10/2006 (9:32 pm) · 9 replies
Hi
Following the instruction from
http://www.garagegames.com/docs/tge/general/ch08s03.php
However, when we attempt to create vehicle, the starter.raing crashes.
We have all the proper nodes (hub0,1..., spring0,1..., etc...) as well as the wheels.
We also have a collision mesh which encapsulate these components.
When we did a comparison with the buggy from stock, we found something puzzling
The picture below is from Buggy.max which comes from TGE stock.
We do not see any keyframes in the sequence trackview.
In order the get our vehicle to work, the artist merge our vehicle and wheel meshes into the stock buggy and replace the appropriate meshes.
The confusion here is, why aren't there any keys in the sequence as suggested from the documentation in the stock buggy and they work perfectly fine?
What are the possiblities that might have cause out vehicle to crush?
We have followed exactly the way it is describe in the documentation and other forum threads.
-Correct naming for nodes
-Using the suggested frames for animating(spring0 : uses keyframe 1,2 which follows the hub0 animation,etc)
Following the instruction from
http://www.garagegames.com/docs/tge/general/ch08s03.php
Quote:Our animators do not have a problem getting animation exported in dts and dsq for player class to work in-game.
Sequence Helpers are used to define the beginning and end of an animated sequence. You can set these parameters by adding keyframes to the Sequence Begin/End track
However, when we attempt to create vehicle, the starter.raing crashes.
We have all the proper nodes (hub0,1..., spring0,1..., etc...) as well as the wheels.
We also have a collision mesh which encapsulate these components.
When we did a comparison with the buggy from stock, we found something puzzling
The picture below is from Buggy.max which comes from TGE stock.
We do not see any keyframes in the sequence trackview.In order the get our vehicle to work, the artist merge our vehicle and wheel meshes into the stock buggy and replace the appropriate meshes.
The confusion here is, why aren't there any keys in the sequence as suggested from the documentation in the stock buggy and they work perfectly fine?
What are the possiblities that might have cause out vehicle to crush?
We have followed exactly the way it is describe in the documentation and other forum threads.
-Correct naming for nodes
-Using the suggested frames for animating(spring0 : uses keyframe 1,2 which follows the hub0 animation,etc)
About the author
#2
05/10/2006 (10:23 pm)
Pressing A key will let you add the keys for the start/end of the animation. but looking at the picture above there is only a sort of graph and there is no key frame added. If you open up buggy.max that comes with the torque engine, you will see what i mean.
#3
It's a simple question.
There is no keyframe in the sequence Begin/End of spring0,spring1,spring2,spring3 in the trackview from the buggy.max file. How did the buggy from stock achieve that?
Why is it that we add keyframes to the spring to match the hub animation cause crush in-game while using springs from the buggy without keyframe work?
05/12/2006 (11:36 pm)
Can anyone clear our confusion or is the question confusing?It's a simple question.
There is no keyframe in the sequence Begin/End of spring0,spring1,spring2,spring3 in the trackview from the buggy.max file. How did the buggy from stock achieve that?
Why is it that we add keyframes to the spring to match the hub animation cause crush in-game while using springs from the buggy without keyframe work?
#4
05/13/2006 (9:59 am)
If you look at the keys in dope sheet mode, can you see them there? are the keys visible above the scrub bar? 
#5
I always use the dope sheet rather than the curve editor for the sequence helpers though. It's much easier to see what's going on there.
05/13/2006 (10:08 am)
You're looking at the sequence helpers transformation, the seqence keys are located on a separate track. Expand the "Object (Sequence II)" and highlight "Sequence Begin/End".I always use the dope sheet rather than the curve editor for the sequence helpers though. It's much easier to see what's going on there.
#6
05/14/2006 (6:59 pm)
Thanks guys. :) The advise on the dope sheet really shed some light. Basically, how you can see the curve was that you have to right click on 'Sequence Begin/End in the track view - curve editor and select 'Assign controller'. From there select On/Off and go to track view - dope sheet and insert ur frames. When you look back at the track view - curve editor, you will see a curve very much like the picture above. 
#7
Also, the functionality between the dope shee and the curve editor are essentially the same, the only real difference is the visual data that is delivered to you. The Dope Sheet is best used to adjust the timing (ie. keyframes place in time) while the Curve Editor is best used when you need to tweak your animation data (curves) to smooth or tweak out the animation data more.
Lastly, as Magnus said, the issue was that you were not viewing the "sequence begin/end" track and that is why you did not see any keyframes to adjust. You need to keep in mind that when you have only the node selected, these tools will show you all the keyframe data that is going on (which can be quite a lot if you have a lot of transforms, modifiers and materials animating over time), if you want to adjust keyframe values you must select the individual track.
05/15/2006 (8:55 am)
FYI, the "sequence begin/end" track is by default an on/off controller so you don't need to reassign any controllers as you have mentioned above.Also, the functionality between the dope shee and the curve editor are essentially the same, the only real difference is the visual data that is delivered to you. The Dope Sheet is best used to adjust the timing (ie. keyframes place in time) while the Curve Editor is best used when you need to tweak your animation data (curves) to smooth or tweak out the animation data more.
Lastly, as Magnus said, the issue was that you were not viewing the "sequence begin/end" track and that is why you did not see any keyframes to adjust. You need to keep in mind that when you have only the node selected, these tools will show you all the keyframe data that is going on (which can be quite a lot if you have a lot of transforms, modifiers and materials animating over time), if you want to adjust keyframe values you must select the individual track.
#8
SECOND, we mentioned very clearly we have no problem making animation for character. We encounter this problem until we realise there is no On/Off controller which is the only difference between our car and the buggy.
Third and last when we add a sequence helper in our project, it is by default in our case NOT
using on/off controller
However, we are grateful for the advise on using Dope Sheet. That was really a great way of playing around with the sequence helper.
05/15/2006 (8:22 pm)
Can you people take a look properly again at the screenshot. Even though the Transform is expanded, it doesn't mean I am selecting it. Look, it is NOT selected. the curved editor you see belongs to Sequence Begin/End.SECOND, we mentioned very clearly we have no problem making animation for character. We encounter this problem until we realise there is no On/Off controller which is the only difference between our car and the buggy.
Third and last when we add a sequence helper in our project, it is by default in our case NOT
using on/off controller
However, we are grateful for the advise on using Dope Sheet. That was really a great way of playing around with the sequence helper.
#9
1. As I mentioned before, whenever you select the node in the curve editor, it will show you all the keyframe data (represented as curves) for all of the tracks that are animated on the node. You cannot edit this data because the application doesn't know what the heck you are trying to adjust (and won't let you so you don't screw up something by accident), its just showing you a representation of what is going on. If you want to adjust the data you must go into an invidual track.
2. The "Sequence On/Off" controller is found as a track inside of any Sequence Helper object. You cannot see it in your screenshot (since you cut it off) but when you expand the Sequence II track you will see there are three sub-tracks: Sequence Begin/End, Blend Reference and Triggers.
3. Looks like its a Boolean controller in the Max 6 thru 8 builds, in Max 4 and 5 its an on/off controller. No real difference though, the data will operate the same when exported.
05/16/2006 (8:59 am)
@Haider1. As I mentioned before, whenever you select the node in the curve editor, it will show you all the keyframe data (represented as curves) for all of the tracks that are animated on the node. You cannot edit this data because the application doesn't know what the heck you are trying to adjust (and won't let you so you don't screw up something by accident), its just showing you a representation of what is going on. If you want to adjust the data you must go into an invidual track.
2. The "Sequence On/Off" controller is found as a track inside of any Sequence Helper object. You cannot see it in your screenshot (since you cut it off) but when you expand the Sequence II track you will see there are three sub-tracks: Sequence Begin/End, Blend Reference and Triggers.
3. Looks like its a Boolean controller in the Max 6 thru 8 builds, in Max 4 and 5 its an on/off controller. No real difference though, the data will operate the same when exported.
Torque 3D Owner iHugMedia