PDA

View Full Version : Animation Utilities: Version 1.1



KnightErrant
06-19-2007, 04:47
I've posted a release of the animation utilities here:

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=105527

The release includes a User's Guide and Tutorial for putting
non-standard skeleton units in game. An updated meshconverter
(version 1_0_4) is included for getting meshes with extra bones back
in-game.

As noted in the other forum, I'll be out of town until June 30. Sorry to
post and run, please leave any bug reports in this thread or the other
and I'll look at them as soon as I get back.~:)

Caliban
06-20-2007, 07:30
Another quality KE release, gw! :2thumbsup:

alpaca
06-20-2007, 17:44
Very good :yes:

KnightErrant
07-01-2007, 06:20
@Caliban and Alpaca,

Many thanks guys, Don't know if we are done with animations.
Flying units maybe, if not, I'm ready for settlements if Alpaca
can point me to the right place.:whip:

Great to be back, summer-time, summer-time, yeah, yeah, summer-time....:gathering:

(Got a cool reference for Python, reading now, classes and GUIs coming soon.):book:

Oh yeah, I know how to have fun.

KE

Bwian
07-01-2007, 09:13
Going to go and have a go at putting some tails on the skaven!

KnightErrant
07-02-2007, 06:42
Excellent, can't wait to see.:2thumbsup:

alpaca
07-03-2007, 15:27
@Caliban and Alpaca,

Many thanks guys, Don't know if we are done with animations.
Flying units maybe, if not, I'm ready for settlements if Alpaca
can point me to the right place.:whip:

Great to be back, summer-time, summer-time, yeah, yeah, summer-time....:gathering:

(Got a cool reference for Python, reading now, classes and GUIs coming soon.):book:

Oh yeah, I know how to have fun.

KE
Well I can write down what I remember of the stuff Caliban told me about them when I have a bit of time (not atm), but it'd of course be much better if we got first-hand info on them so I'll write him an email asking whether he can post a bit of info about it and maybe an example 3dsmax file or two.

KnightErrant
07-03-2007, 20:13
@alpaca
I'd be most appreciative. Had a quick look in the
.world file for ne_village. Looks like a .mesh file with
some odd data blocks at the top. After that it looks like tri groups
with some granny strings in between, then vertices, and then some texture
paths. If Caliban could provide clues like sample .xml files as he did
with the .mesh format it would certainly help sort things out.

alpaca
07-04-2007, 15:10
@alpaca
I'd be most appreciative. Had a quick look in the
.world file for ne_village. Looks like a .mesh file with
some odd data blocks at the top. After that it looks like tri groups
with some granny strings in between, then vertices, and then some texture
paths. If Caliban could provide clues like sample .xml files as he did
with the .mesh format it would certainly help sort things out.
Well from what I remember:

The first step is to create so-called blocks. These are parts of buildings and directly modeled (and I guess in mesh format). These blocks are then merged to create buildings (for the tech-tree or ambient buildings) or whole cities (for the walls and fixed buildings) in 3dsmax and exported to the world files.

However, I don't know what the worldpackage exactly consists of, or how the animations are done. The different files in the directories give us some hints:

1. The terrain is probably independent from the actual buildings
2. So is vegetation
3. Animations are somehow store in the animinstances file. The small size of this suggests it's only transition info
4. Pathfinding is also exported to a distinct file
5. Collision information is probably a representation of the actual world file with lower details.

How Caliban described it to me, I believe it could be that the relative positions are stored in these files and not absolute ones. This means you have a lot of blocks (like the towers which are only the highest part of the actual building), give the engine the alignment info and granny puts the pieces together. This would fit with the idea that terrain 3d info is in another file, and buildings are automatically snapped to the ground. It could be that this is determined on "compile-time" though

It's not much, I know :sweatdrop:

Oh, it also seems these files aren't described in any text file, so for the more generic ones like tech tree buildings or ambient buildings there seems to be some slot-in mechanism (the game seems to scan the whole folders). Some of this info seems to be in the worldpkgdesc, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

KnightErrant
07-05-2007, 15:02
Thanks for the info. I've put together a quick and dirty
reader that does about 10% of the smallest .world file
(the village). Here's the first complete structure I've been
able to pull out:

https://img65.imageshack.us/img65/9636/settlementexamplewf9.th.jpg (https://img65.imageshack.us/my.php?image=settlementexamplewf9.jpg)

This isn't .ms3d format because I haven't found any uv coordinates yet;
this is just tris and verts exported as .obj.

It does seem that the .world files are like you described, a series of structures
built with modeling software and then glued together into a .world file.

alpaca
07-05-2007, 16:54
Thanks for the info. I've put together a quick and dirty
reader that does about 10% of the smallest .world file
(the village). Here's the first complete structure I've been
able to pull out:

https://img65.imageshack.us/img65/9636/settlementexamplewf9.th.jpg (https://img65.imageshack.us/my.php?image=settlementexamplewf9.jpg)

This isn't .ms3d format because I haven't found any uv coordinates yet;
this is just tris and verts exported as .obj.

It does seem that the .world files are like you described, a series of structures
built with modeling software and then glued together into a .world file.
That's already some good success :2thumbsup:
I also remembered Caliban told me that in the dev version, the blocks that are used to piece together the worlds are in the blockset directory, but we only have some .debugdata files there. They may be of some use to you anyways.

I asked Caliban for example files, maybe we're lucky and he can give us one or two :yes:

ksbis2
04-16-2008, 22:42
I ve just started to examine the ways of unit modding and catched a big error.

Of course, as my first step I wanted to look on vanilla models and animation. So I did all the steps:
1) I've got Caliban's animation files, extracted
2) I've unpacked the models of course
3) searched the forum for exact tutorial and was happy to find animation tools
4) then I've got the tools from this link on version 1.1
5) before using it I've istalled Python 2.5.2 with all options avaivable
6) then I've tried to repeat the steps form the tutorial example in Animerge section that use files "fs_horse_jump.cas" and "barded_horse_lod0.ms3d"

and from this moment I've found some problems (note please that the above files is also only example becouse after the error occured the first time I've tried all other files - just to make it sure)

7) first, I failed to launch meshconverterv1_0_4.py to convert this parcticular horse.mech in .ms3d. I have not any skills in programming at all (only some brief in arts) so my logical conclusion was to download any other separated version of the converter and indeed it was right decision - I was able to produce .ms3d with meshconverterv1_0_3.py and after this I was even managed to do this with version 1.0.4 through copy-pasting it from animation utilites archive to the archive of version 1.0.3 (wich has all this additional files in it).

8) second problem was happend when I launched animationutilities.py and then choose Animerge with the new "barded_horse_lod0.ms3d" and "fs_horse_jump.cas" - it does not work. I always end up with the result on screenshot coming below (I can't post it in this message course it was my first here)

So I just cannot produce the mount_barded_horse_lod0_animby_fs_horse_jump.ms3d" file!

At first I thought it was a version conflict in Python, so I've reistalled it with 2.5.1 with no changes. Then I've running out of ideas to overcome this.

Please do not ignore this problem even though this thread was not active this long - I just want to see animated unit to finaly start my modding experience.

Or maybe someone knows the other way to do the same thing - I want to open the original files with it's animations to learn how it works. The animation is important becouse I have some plans to do but just do not sure I could mod this way - so much to learn yet...

ksbis2
04-16-2008, 22:48
Here the screenshot

[img=https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/1952/errorfq7.jpg] (https://imageshack.us)
[img=https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/1952/errorfq7.6a793ba498.jpg] (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=522&i=errorfq7.jpg)

ksbis2
04-16-2008, 22:56
crap! it seems the links above does nothing - repost the screenshot again, and please SORRY FOR THE CLUTTER :-( https://img217.imageshack.us/my.php?image=errorrz3.jpg

KnightErrant
04-22-2008, 04:26
Hi ksbis2,

I'm going to get back to you. I'm trying to answer another post right now.
Sorry for my lack of diligence. I don't think its a Python problem, 2.5 should
be fine for my stuff. Probably you just found an animation where my stuff
fails. (The current problem I'm trying to answer.):sorry:

We try to answer all questions...we're just not as quick about it as we
should be.

Regards,

KE

_mas_
04-22-2008, 15:21
Knight Errant,

Meanwhile thank you for your work on Mtw2 animation file...

Following your guide I had this trouble:https://img183.imageshack.us/img183/2878/screendh8.gif
....with an infantry mesh/ms3d + infantry animation cas all works.
Oh i have python 2.5.2 and Mtw2 1.1.
PS:Only now I see that I have an old meshconverter version, I Try with the 1.03.
Thank for your support:balloon2:

KnightErrant
04-26-2008, 04:57
Hi _mas_,

Sorry, this spring I seem to have no time. From the DOS box
screen shot those are horse bones. What unit file and animation
file are you trying to merge? Might be the cas file can't sync up
to the .ms3d file if the skeletons are different. Just a guess.

Regards,

KE