Imported psk, bones unattached problem.....

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mrcamper99

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Sep 24, 2003
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I have followed several tutorials for generating/importing rigged models over the last couple of weeks and they all import as de-boned bouncing little characters. WTF?

-I have rigged characters for animations for years. I started w/ the MaleMercA UT2k3 rigged mesh.

-I am using MAX 5.1/CS 4.1/Actorx 2.11

-Even when I generate a PSK of an unmodified MaleMercA and Import it into UT2k3, it does the same thing.

-Is this a MAX5.1/CS4.1/Actorx2.11 thing? I have read several old posts, both here and at the Atari forum that MAYA people were having these problems, but saw no solutions.

Am I FUBAR'ed?
 

Radiosity

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Both aren't needed at all chip ;) Just the .psk. Import that into an existing package (bot.ukx for example), copy the mesh props of one of the meshes and paste it onto your model to get correct scale, then LinkUpAnim and Mesh to link the animations to your new model. Simple :) Then just rename your model to place it in a new package and save.

Oh and BTW, I'm using the same setup as you mrcamper and have had no problems at all. Walk us through exactly what you're doing to export and import your character and we can see if there's something you're missing.
 

chip

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ChainsawMonkey said:
Both aren't needed at all chip ;) Just the .psk. Import that into an existing package (bot.ukx for example), copy the mesh props of one of the meshes and paste it onto your model to get correct scale, then LinkUpAnim and Mesh to link the animations to your new model. Simple :) Then just rename your model to place it in a new package and save.
in this case, aren't you just using the animation data (probably originally imported as .psa) for the existing model instead of an imported .psa file, but to the same effect? mrcamper didn't mention the source for his animation data, but was pretty specific about the .psk source, so i thought it might be relevant.
 

Radiosity

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Yep, that's it exactly. mrcamper mentioned about trying to export one of the original character rigs (MercMale), which was more what I was referring to - sorry, should've made that clearer :) But if mrcamper has attached his own mesh to one of the existing rigs (which it sounds like he has) then my previous post still holds true since he'll need to attach his model to the correct animation set in Ued for it to work.

The only time you need a seperate psk is for your own custom animations.
 

mrcamper99

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Sep 24, 2003
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ChainsawMonkey said:
Both aren't needed at all chip ;) Just the .psk. Import that into an existing package ..............

Oh and BTW, I'm using the same setup as you mrcamper and have had no problems at all. Walk us through exactly what you're doing to export and import your character and we can see if there's something you're missing.

Well first off, its good to hear you are using the same software, I was afraid I blew $4k for naught.

To Chip, I am just trying to get a rig working in the Ued browser right now, not worried about textures and in game animations at this point.

Here is my process:
So here are the steps I used to implement the character intro unreal:

-Modeled character (Just a guy in a suit) in 3DS MAX 5.1 (9500+ polys)

-Rigged it with the MercMaleA.max rig from Unreal2k3 w/ Character Studio 4.1, tweaked the envelopes. All vertices properly linked, all moving with the appropriate link.

-Exported to a psk file with Actorx ver. 2.11


Now that I have given the particulars of the character I am trying to import into Unreal, here are the problems:

-I select MercMaleA as my model type

-imported PSK into Unreal 2k3 animation browser version 3.0 Ued w/ latest patch (build 2225)

-I then copy mesh properties from the MaleMercA

-I then paste mesh properties to Mymesh (mesh sizes properly)

-I then go and do a linkup anim and mesh

-I then choose one of the animated sequences and the character wiggles, as bip01 is linked but none of the other bones are linked.

The mesh is the right size, however the bones don't link up to the mesh and there is no animation. It just bobbles up and down or just wiggles as a whole.

At one of the other boards, a quite knowledgable modeler (3D artist from EA) mentioned he had the same problem in Maya and had to Hex edit the bones name to match the original UT2k3 rig. I have checked that and my bones names match the MercMaleA rig. He figures it is some kind of syntax problem, but has no idea where I am losing it.

Also, I exported and imported the MercMaleA rig exactly the same procedure I am using from the tutorials and I get the same bad results.

So, if you have any suggestions, I am all ears! Thanks, Chip and ChainsawMonkey, your my only hope.
 
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Radiosity

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Hmm....ok a couple of quick questions for starters.

How are you setting up the Vertex Link Assignments? See the first image attachment - those are the settings I use and I know they work fine.

What settings are you using for ActorX? The second pic shows the settings I use, which also work fine.

And the third pic is a very quick rig I just put together using the settings I've just posted and the Xan model from UT :) As you can see, he's rigged and working fine (albeit a bit ropey as I spent literally about a minute assigning random vertices to bones :lol: ).

If your settings match these or at least are mostly the same then obviously there's some other problem......it's best to be sure though :)

Oh, and you got a link to the tutorial(s) you've been following? I have seen one or two that had some quite important info missing which would result in a model not working properly.
 

mrcamper99

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Sep 24, 2003
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Whoa, looks quite different than what I am using. What version of Actorx are you using. The Version number under the Actorx logo on mine is 2.11 (I downloaded as the version to use for MAX 5 off of the UDN site)

In any case it does not look like yours. It does not even have a check box for "All Physique Meshes" It has a box which I checked "all textured geometry", but that is the only one I checked. It also coicides with what the tutorial said to have checked.

I am at work right now and will have to get you screenies later. I'll get you the link to the tutorial later as well.
 
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Radiosity

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I'm probably using a slightly older version of ActorX then. Not that old though, a few months maybe (although a few months is a long time in computers).

//runs off to check.....

.....comes back :)

Yep, I'm using 1.97 - which is the version for Max5, albeit an older version. I don't see any need to upgrade at the moment as it works fine. If you can grab this version then you might want to give it a try, it's tried and tested and I can definitely confirm that it works perfectly. If you can't find it let me know and I'll upload it here as an attachment :)
 

mrcamper99

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Sep 24, 2003
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ChainsawMonkey said:
I'm probably using a slightly older version of ActorX then. Not that old though, a few months maybe (although a few months is a long time in computers).

//runs off to check.....

.....comes back :)

Yep, I'm using 1.97 - which is the version for Max5, albeit an older version. I don't see any need to upgrade at the moment as it works fine. If you can grab this version then you might want to give it a try, it's tried and tested and I can definitely confirm that it works perfectly. If you can't find it let me know and I'll upload it here as an attachment :)

Yes, I am going to need a link or source for a copy of the 1.97 ActorX as it does not seem to be available anywhere else.

Thx
 

mrcamper99

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Sep 24, 2003
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ChainsawMonkey said:
It's annoying when places don't keep older versions of programs/ utils etc available. Ah well......

Here it is:



Thanks, got it, I'll try it tonight !!!
 

mrcamper99

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Sep 24, 2003
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Yea,

Thanks, ChainsawMonkey.
I had some success. I installed the Ver. 197 ActorX. Grabbed the MercMaleA mesh and rig, like I did before, created the psk file imported it into UT2k3 and Presto, unlike before, It Worked Perfectly!!!

Then, took my model, recreated the psk with the new version of ActorX and I get the first error message: (Alec.max is my mesh file)

"Node without matching vertices encountered for mesh [ALEC}"

I then click OK, and I get the second error message:
"Warning: No valid skin triangles digested (is the 'all textured geometry' box chcked) - there may be invalid mesh linkups or texture mapping."

So obviously I have a problem with my mesh, skin and/or rig to go and try to fix, but at least I know it will import and work!

If you have the patience for any other suggestions ..... I will appreciate it!
 

Radiosity

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Glad it works :) For your other problems, check your mesh for any stray vertices that aren't connected to anything and delete any you find, that first error normally comes up when that happens. You said you hadn't skinned the model yet? That would explain the second error to some degree as well.

I've had both those errors on occasion but can't really remember exactly what causes them, but if you do what I've just said and see if you've got stray verts etc, then I'll try and recreate the errors to hopefully remember what actually causes them (haven't had them in quite a while now :) ).
 

mrcamper99

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Sep 24, 2003
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ChainsawMonkey said:
Glad it works :) For your other problems, check your mesh for any stray vertices that aren't connected to anything and delete any you find, that first error normally comes up when that happens. You said you hadn't skinned the model yet? That would explain the second error to some degree as well.

I've had both those errors on occasion but can't really remember exactly what causes them, but if you do what I've just said and see if you've got stray verts etc, then I'll try and recreate the errors to hopefully remember what actually causes them (haven't had them in quite a while now :) ).


With all of the messing around with the mesh while trying to get this to work I probably corrupted something. So, I am going back and re-rig and re-physique the mesh from scratch and see where that leads me. :) ... a nice busy weekend. ha
 

achaffe

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Jun 9, 2004
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hi,

I have just started with the physique modifier in 3ds max 5 and have tried to export my biped model using actor x. when I do this I am getting an error message: Unmatched Node ID for skin vertices. Any ideas as to what the problem is and how to attempt to fix it?

Many thanks.