Battlezone Forums

Okay, forgive me if im wrong, but vertex animation does not work with the pandemic exporter and 3DS max am I correct?

Vertex animation is done in 3DS max, by using the 'skin' modifier to map an objects vertices to another object, and move that object to move the vertices am I correct? This technique is known as bone animation right?

So, BZ2 doesn't support that? Or it does and we just can't export it properly or what?

Your task: Find details on the API of functions usable in MAXscript, Namely, how to get bone weights from skin modifiers and vertex #s of all objects in a scene.

Give me that, and I will give you a method of export that involves clicking a button and copying the resulting text into the bottom of an XSI.

A lot of .psk (actorX) models i've imported already ahve properly applied skin modifiers and bones etc, If i export those to XSI, then do whatever it is you plan to do in mind, would those work?

I could dissect one of these models somehow if i know exactly what im looking for

I need no model data. I need to know what words to write to get the skin weights and vertex #s in the code.

"Okay, forgive me if im wrong, but vertex animation does not work with the pandemic exporter and 3DS max am I correct?"
I don't know I haven't actually tried it. Other say it does not.
Maybe you can export skin anims to another ascii format and transfer the data to an xsi...

What I can tell you, is that there is nothing unusual, in function or naming in the geometry part of an xsi. The only part that the exporter presumably has problems with would be the envelopes.
Xsi "Bones" are just pivot points, any xsi object could be a bone, the envelopes just link it to the vertex

Perhaps the exporter just needs some attention? Dummy must still have the source for it, or perhaps the source is readily available?

I assume the objects & bones would all have TCb controllers applied, then animated through regular means, then bam, exported. Im going to try exporting some simple vertex anims from max... see what results I get in BZ2.

Dummy does, but all he does is repackage it for the newer versions of Max.

As far as vertex animation goes, nothing in the exporter attaches vertexes to envelopes, which is what makes BZ2 vertex animations work. If you want them to work without a true exporter or something like N1 wants to do, then you're going to have to go in and attach the vertexes manually in the XSI file.

Hmm. Not liking the idea of attaching a couple thousand verts together...

So really the exporter is the issue... bummer. Unfixable unless we get source really. Anyone have dummies contact details? Wouldnt be able to fix it myself but someone might. MaxScript is pretty powerful too from what little i know about it

You can contact Dummy via his site, but the easiest thing would probably be to figure out how Vertex weights can be worked into MAX script, so N1 can make his little tool.

Max script would for for all versions. Plug-in would take logs of coding and recompiling for different versions.

Someone has put asked that recently in an Autodesk discussion forum for Max Script, if it gets any hits, I'll let you know.