11 replies to this topic

[Hard_Sander]

I've just started to try to make a model (bbr, first time), but I am a little confused on one thing.

I took the simple gondor soldier, and removed the sword and that thing at his side (forgot name) and added the tower guard spear. Now I should do the binding. But now my question: since the unit has a new weapon, and I want to take the rohan spearmen anims, which bones must be binded? I don't really undertand the connection between bones and animations (if there is any, which I think there is?) Should I take the standard gondor soldier bones and bind them? And then add this model to the game and in the new units object code, define other anims, or ... take the tower guard bones and delete the ones I can't use? Or add whole new ones?

I got some experience in modeling (cinema 4d), but I don't get this? I've looked at a few tutorials, but perhaps I'm somehow missing the point. Could someone post a simple clarification?

Edited by Hard_Sander, 09 January 2007 - 09:05 PM.

[zimoo]

Hide the main mesh, spear and shield. Delete everything else, then import the rohan spearmen skeleton.

[Lauri]

simply because you don't bind the bones you bind the model

[Hard_Sander]

So if I want to use certain anims, I have to use the _skl from the unit that uses them?

[zimoo]

Each model can only be binded to one skeleton. If you "mix & match" with anims then you will need to export the anims to the skeleton your model uses, but let's not get ahead of ourselves

In general though, you should just export it to the skeleton with the most suitable anims, which would be the _skl

Edited by zimoo, 10 January 2007 - 12:48 PM.

[Hard_Sander]

Ok, thanks, I think I get it now.

Now my w3d Viewer is crashing when I select my mesh ... Something about Internal error. It doesn't go easy sometimes.

[Lauri]

don't select the mesh the hierarchy is your friend

[Hard_Sander]

Yeah, it is!

Lol, I think I have to rebind a few, I confused left and right ...

[zimoo]

Heh yeah I used to do that too.

About the mesh-select option, I think it only works in the newer W3D Viewer.

[Hard_Sander]

I've just binded them all (correctly I hope), but if I now open it in the W3D viewer, and play an anim, it doesn't really work. The only bones affected are the Bounding Box and Forged Blades bones. I exported with the settings mentioned in Nicks tutorial. Is the binding I did wrong or something else?

[Lauri]

retry, and retry, and retry.... remember, if you screw\mix up some left's an rights, or if anything looks wierd, then you don't have to rebind it all

alså, you don't bind the B-box... and that needs a Hide if it shows in w3d viewer

[Fingulfin]

Ok, you people are driving me crazy. Even Zimoo, who normally spells things correctly, is spelling one word wrong. It is not "Binded" it is "Bound"! Sheesh...[/rant]

Ok, now for a bit of info on how animations work: Animations are pretty much just the bones moving. To animate you move the bones around. Thats it! When the engine calls upon an animation, it moves the bones on the model in the same pattern as they were moved in the animation file. The bones, which are bound to the vertices in the mesh drag the vertices with them, which in turn is what you see. The code is what judges what animation w3d the game should call upon when a certain action is occurring. In other words, it will grab whatever w3d you told it to use when attacking whenever a unit fires his weapon. Hope this makes sense!