the 2225 patch broke my Animation??

[chip]

i've been experimenting with an original character model and skeleton done in MayaPLE and exported to UEd with the unEditor plug-in. i originally was using UT2K3 patch level 2199. the export to a .ukx file was successful.

by placing an xPawn actor in my map, then setting its Display>Mesh spec to my custom Skeletal Mesh and assigning a temporary skin, i was able to see the model in-game, though the movements were a bit screwy because i have only one animation Sequence as yet, and it doesn't match well with what the xBot controller tries to do with the xPawn. nonetheless it was a successful first experiment.

however, i just installed the 2225 patch and now my custom skeletal mesh/animation doesn't work right in-game. in the Editor all looks as expected, but when played, the placed xPawn uses the default Jugg male skeletal mesh and animations.

i even tried setting the Display>Mesh spec to one of the other Epic .ukx packages, and that was ignored also. even a new Skins texture is ignored.

any ideas as to why the new patch ignores these Display specs for the placed xPawn? i checked the log numerous times and there are no entries that would explain the problem. i assume my custom .ukx package IS being loaded, because it's listed as being unloaded in the "game quit" log lines.

t i a for any insights.

 

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excuse me, but why the move? this question has nothing to do with modeling and everything to do with Editor functionality.

 

[chip]

appropriate forum residency aside, something seems very odd with 2225.

first, i went back to MayaPLE and re-exported the model/animation into build 2225. then, i subclassed xPawn and changed only the default props for Display>Mesh and Display>Skins, referencing the new .ukx package and an Epic texture as a temp skin.

i then placed my xPawn subclass in my map and played it. same result: the new subclass uses the xPawn class' default Mesh (JuggMaleA), even though my subclass default prop was changed.

any idea what gives here? 2199 did not do this.

 

[chip]

a visit to the 2225 changelog and some minor detective work has uncovered the culprit but as yet no modus operandi:

in User.ini you can add a section & line:

[xGame.xPawn]
PlacedCharacterName="aname"

where "aname" is from a limited list -- "Gorge", "Sapphire", etc. this specifies the default character, but also seems to override any customization of properties of placed xPawns.

without this section, the PlacedCharacterName defaults to "Gorge", which uses the JuggMaleA SkeletalMesh.

i plugged "Sapphire" into the User.ini line and my custom xPawn subclass became HumanFemaleB in-game.

somewhere in the 2225 code the name string in this User.ini section must be used to set up the default character specs, and that affects an xPawn (and a subclass, it seems) placed directly in a map as well.

 

[Radiosity]

Those defaults are for online play. If someone is using a skin that you don't have, you normally end up seeing gorgeous Gorge; Epic added that code so that you can choose who you want to see from a list of 8 or so characters (Gorge, Roc, Sapphire, Torch, and a few others).

Don't know what's causing your problem though I'm afraid. I've placed xPawns in a level before with no problems.....but then, the custom xPawns I've placed in a level (for testing out AI scripting) have all had upl files specifying what SPECIES they belong to and all the other info for the character.

So try creating a upl file for the character, then place it as an xPawn and see if it works.

 

[chip]

thanks for the upl tip, ChainsawM -- it got my model back in the game as the player's character (via choosing it in the Player setup menu), but didn't affect the placed xPawns. seems there's some new code in xPawn for build 2225, that allows the default character choice you describe, but also affects the way placed xPawns are displayed. it may require overriding that code in a custom xPawn subclass, since only the specs for character names listed in that section of xPawn code seem to be useable for placed xPawns. i'm still working on this aspect.

 

[Radiosity]

Strange..... I've been running version 2225 since it was released and haven't seen any problems. And I use xPawns quite a lot for various reasons (scripting them to do stuff etc).

 

[Hunter]

have u tried exporting, importing it again since u patched?

 

[chip]

have u tried exporting, importing it again since u patched?

yup. first thing i thought of. same results.

i must be missing something in the placed xPawn specs that may solve the prob. i'll just have to dig a bit deeper, i guess.