Maya to Doom3 .md5mesh. Alterations to mesh after binding?

[ThePwnicorn]

Hey guys, I've been working with getting maya files exported as md5's for the doom 3 engine for about a month now. The journey has been (putting it lightly) a waking nightmare from of my most harrowed dreams.

 

In short, I've managed to export using the exportModels command in doom itself with Maya 8.5. While I can get this all working (with animation thankfully), I can't seem to figure out how to go back and reasonably edit the mesh (or even add to it) without causing crashes, bugs, and all manner of problems.

 

To test this, I had made a simple cube which I bound to a skeleton and exported fine. I then went back and added a second cube to the maya scene as a test. Originally it only exported the original cube. I went back and detached the skeleton, did another smooth bind. After exporting to md5 this time around the new cube appeared, but it was not where it was placed in my Maya file. I also noticed that the md5 modelviewer listed an "origin" bone in the scene that wasn't included in my maya file. Eventually I tried deleting the bones altogether and creating new ones and rebinding to the same result. The last attempt at making changes was applying a simple extrude onto one side of the cube and binding it to the joints as well. It wouldn't allow any paint weights until I rebound the entire geometry to the joints AGAIN. This time the model exported to md5, but causes a crash now to modelviewer.

 

I have been following some guidelines listed on these forums posted by GoliathVT:

 

" "skinCluster not found in scene" usually means that the exportmodels command is working properly, but your model/animation has a compatibility problem with Doom3.

 

First, make sure there is an "origin" bone in the skeletal hierarchy and that it's the parent of all other bones. The origin should rest on the ground and should not influence your mesh at all... it's just there so D3 knows where the "ground" is in relation to your model.

 

Second, before binding your bones to your mesh, make sure you've gone through the steps to:

 

1) Polygons -> Triangulate

2) Modify -> Freeze Transformations

3) Delete by Type -> History

 

Then select your origin bone (Maya will automatically select the rest of the hierarchy below the origin bone) and then your mesh and perform a smooth bind."

 

This has been helpful for getting my models to export, but I'm not sure where they tie in once modifications need to be made to the model. Is it possible to tweak models after they have been bound? After they have been exported to md5?

 

With all the love I possess,

 

-ThePwnicorn

[Springheel]

I've exported md5anim files from Maya, but I use Lightwave for exporting md5mesh files, so I can't give you any specific help. There is a tutorial on our wiki on this subject that might offer something.