How do you make a weapon with Maya or Milkshape? This should be clearer than the other one I posted.
Weapon Modeling With Maya/Milkshape
- Thread starter akiuspaladin
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RegularX: i'll try a test on the MS3D 1.7b psa/psk exporter tonight, see if it works with a custom skeleton & animation. so far i haven't found anything on the Chumbalum site that says (or even hints) one way or the other.
i d/l'ed the latest MS3D beta (1.7.3b) and can say it's not yet ready for primetime. you can export custom meshes, skeleton & animation as .psa/.psk files that can then be imported into the UEd Animations browser.
HOWEVER, there's something screwy about the bones orientation in the combined model that messes up the mesh alignment, and makes the imports unuseable. they animate OK, but everything's out of position compared to the original model.
such is life in Betaville.
i'll drop Mete (MS3D's writer/developer) a line about this ASAP and see if he has fixes in the works. if the bugs can be stomped, this promises to be a very useful feature for weapons development, maybe even characters if you don't mind using only FK.
**edit**
OK, i rebuilt the skeleton with an additional bone and new animation and now the exports work fine in UEd. go figure. time to dig deeper.
HOWEVER, there's something screwy about the bones orientation in the combined model that messes up the mesh alignment, and makes the imports unuseable. they animate OK, but everything's out of position compared to the original model.
such is life in Betaville.
i'll drop Mete (MS3D's writer/developer) a line about this ASAP and see if he has fixes in the works. if the bugs can be stomped, this promises to be a very useful feature for weapons development, maybe even characters if you don't mind using only FK.
**edit**
OK, i rebuilt the skeleton with an additional bone and new animation and now the exports work fine in UEd. go figure. time to dig deeper.
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Thanks chip - I've been working up to trying this myself, but still learning how to model in general.
FK?
Anywho - this could be great news. Since MS offers such powerful import and export options, it means the modders might have a lot more flexibility with tools.
FK?
Anywho - this could be great news. Since MS offers such powerful import and export options, it means the modders might have a lot more flexibility with tools.
FK = forward kinematics, which describes how the skeleton works, with rotations at joints being passed down the skeletal hierarchy (e.g., shoulder to arm to hand).
the complementary term is IK, inverse kinematics, where motion is transferred up the hierarchy -- move a hand bone and the arms & shoulder respond accordingly.
both methods are used for animating models, but having IK capability makes some motions a lot easier to set up & keyframe, 'specially those of humanoid limbs.
further news on MS3D 1.7.3: i took a closer look at my "successful" import and found that in UEd, the bones of the model are rather radically displaced from the meshes -- the motion looks OK, but it's still a bug, methinks.
the complementary term is IK, inverse kinematics, where motion is transferred up the hierarchy -- move a hand bone and the arms & shoulder respond accordingly.
both methods are used for animating models, but having IK capability makes some motions a lot easier to set up & keyframe, 'specially those of humanoid limbs.
further news on MS3D 1.7.3: i took a closer look at my "successful" import and found that in UEd, the bones of the model are rather radically displaced from the meshes -- the motion looks OK, but it's still a bug, methinks.
Yeah, if AttachtoBone won't work correctly, the models can be somewhat useless ingame for anything but the basics. Could probably be used for some weapon models, but player models might be kinda hard.
Although I noticed on Milkshape's site that they have the UT2003 skeletons in MSD form. So maybe player models could work if you stuck to those.
And ak - here's at least a modelling tute for weapons in MS: http://www.trfmod.com/milkshapetut/ ...
Anyway, it sounds like we are still at a "maybe"? Or perhaps a probably. I'm going to finish up a simple weapon model tonight and try and animate it and maybe get it in game functionally.
Although I noticed on Milkshape's site that they have the UT2003 skeletons in MSD form. So maybe player models could work if you stuck to those.
And ak - here's at least a modelling tute for weapons in MS: http://www.trfmod.com/milkshapetut/ ...
Anyway, it sounds like we are still at a "maybe"? Or perhaps a probably. I'm going to finish up a simple weapon model tonight and try and animate it and maybe get it in game functionally.
i think it's a "probably," RegularX, just some rough spots on the road outta Betaville 
.
re: character models with MS3D 1.7, there's a small tute by Mete at
http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/ms3d/tutorials/ut2003/
i haven't tried this yet, but it may have some info useful for your weapon project, if only as background for your process.
. re: character models with MS3D 1.7, there's a small tute by Mete at
http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/ms3d/tutorials/ut2003/
i haven't tried this yet, but it may have some info useful for your weapon project, if only as background for your process.
That could be very helpful, chip, thanks. I'm still in "static" mode for now, and have some backup plans if Ms turns sour. Will report more when I get more time to play with this stuff.