Jump to content
The Dark Mod Forums

Destined's Animations


Destined

Recommended Posts

Hi guys,

 

I recently started to dabble in animations with blender. I used the rig provided by Sotha (proguard_animations_14.08.01.blend), as the one provided by Arcturus in the OP here: http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/14970-blender-rig-for-standard-male-npc/?hl=%2Bblender+%2Banimation was missing the feet bones (and consequently made it very difficult to turn the feet). However, I am not able to export the animation as a .md5anim file. Most likely I have the wrong version of blender for the script I am using. I will look into that later.

 

Anyway, I started off with a mantling animation at hip height. It will most likely not see any use, because I have noticed, that it only works for one specific height. Maybe it would be possible to determine the height of the object to be mantled and use variables for the z-axis, but this is also something for later. First off, I wanted to ask, what you think of the animation as it is right now. Any critique is welcome. Similar to writing longer texts, you start to miss obvious mistakes, simply because your have looked it over and over again... So, here is a link to the blender file of the animation, as I have no idea how to make a video and it enables you to view the animation from all angles:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zx0bfvck5rmusmb/proguard_mantle_hipheight.blend?dl=0

 

Also, I wanted to ask, if there are any animations, that are sorely missed in TDM right now and that I could try my hands on. Apart from mantling I thought about a ladder climbing animation, because it would be nice to give AI more options where to move. However, this will have the same variable height problem as the mantling. Do you have any other suggestions? Maybe something easy for a newbie in animating?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

(...) as the one provided by Arcturus in the OP here: http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/14970-blender-rig-for-standard-male-npc/?hl=%2Bblender+%2Banimation was missing the feet bones

It's not missing anything. What are you talking about? Also, where are all the faces? There are only vertices in the blend file you gave.

post-2001-0-26065000-1473143706_thumb.png

  • Like 1

It's only a model...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, maybe they are just hidden and I don't know how to unhide them... This is what I see, when I open the blender file provided by you

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ahu929rkd5wu0rf/Blender.png?dl=0

 

I did not know, that I have to create the faces myself and thought they would be transfered from the model in game :( As I said, I just started to dabble in animations and played around a bit in blender. Apparently there is a lot more to it, than simply creating the movement...

 

Edit: The forum does not want to display the image, so you will have to download it to see it. Sorry for the inconvenince.

Edited by Destined
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're using ver 2.60. I downloaded that version, and indeed, I get this error:

 

post-2001-0-75623600-1473157356_thumb.png

 

When I did last changes in 2014 I saved the file in version 2.7. As for feet, I explained how to use the rig in my thread. There are animated gifs (you have to open the to see animation).

post-2001-0-50575200-1375492986_thumb.gif

 

  • Like 1

It's only a model...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, I downloaded version 2.70 (Win 64bit). I can see the faces now :) However, the bones I meant are still missing. These are visible in the gif

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ukf7qpdihklbi7c/post-2001-0-50575200-1375492986.gif?dl=0

but not in blender:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ahu929rkd5wu0rf/Blender.png?dl=0

I found, that I can use other parts to get the movement I want, but I am still not sure, if they are just hidden...

 

Anyway, I will now try to copy the keyframes I have to the newer version, hoping that I don't have to redo all the work...

 

Edit: I managed to copy the keyframes, but a couple of them appear to use other coordinates. I won't have to redo all the work, but still some corrections will be in order. I will post the next version as soon as I got it.

Edited by Destined
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well done for taking the plunge Destined, animations with their long lists of bones and restraints can look rather intimidating for those who haven't worked with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was couple of years ago, but those feet bones are probably hidden. This is just a control rig for a proper game skeleton. The latter is on another layer and it's the one that you actually export.

You can import animation ("action") from one blend file to another. Just go: file > append > your blend file > Action.

Also, you should be able to work with Blender 2.77a (current version), it's just that apparently there was some large change from series 2.6 to 2.7 that caused a problem. The same way they announced that backwards compatibility may brake with version 2.8, which will have some huge changes, including PBR viewport, and so on. EDIT: hm, I guess in this example that would be a forwards compatibility?

  • Like 1

It's only a model...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks! The "append" did not work, sadly; maybe due to version problems. Apparently, these are quite common for Blender... But copy/paste worked, as long as I selected all channels before copying the keyframes. Still, it is a bit borked, but that is still better than doing it all over again. Maybe I will try version 2.77a. It largely depends, if there are scripts for md5 import/export available. It is always easier to modify existing stuff and if I have an animation that I can use as a base for one I want to do, all the better ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By the way, there's a checkbox in Blender that let's you save in a "legacy" mesh format.

 

post-2001-0-53046100-1473267152_thumb.png

 

In ver 2.7 ngons were introduced, that's why they made the new mesh format. I saved the proguard file with this option and updated the link in this thread. So one can work with Blender 2.6 if needed.

  • Like 1

It's only a model...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good to know! But I have Blender 2.7 up and running. Also have an ase importer, if I want to include any models from TDM (I am still thinking about making a ladder climbing animation and with that I can get the dimensions right). Anyway, thank you very much for all the effort you put into helping me! It is very much appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I have a new problem: I have exported a mantling animation and managed to get it into the game. However, the animation is wrong in two points:

1. When the guard puts up the foot, it is higher than in blender and looks really weird because of it. I will try to lower the height in blender, but don't know, why it changes the height anyway.

2. When the animation starts, the AI turns 90° clockwise, before playing the animation. Are there any settings in blender that might cause this? I have simply used the walking animation as a basis and apparently there this does not happen...

 

Edit: Another question: As this animation obviously moves the AI: How can I tell TDM to keep the AI where it is at the end? Right now, as soon as the animation is finished, the AI goes back to frame 1.

Edited by Destined
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have tried to export another animation to see if the 90° turn happens there, too and it does. The feet are also set a little too high, so maybe there is a problem with the export? I will try to determine, how low the feet should be. This should be not that difficult, but the turn is strange.

 

Edit: The AI is in general moving too high along the z-axis. The second animation I made was for the AI to climb an 8-step ladder, but when I insert a ladder, the AI climbs way higher with this animation.

Edited by Destined
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recent Status Updates

    • Ansome

      Finally got my PC back from the shop after my SSD got corrupted a week ago and damaged my motherboard. Scary stuff, but thank goodness it happened right after two months of FM development instead of wiping all my work before I could release it. New SSD, repaired Motherboard and BIOS, and we're ready to start working on my second FM with some added version control in the cloud just to be safe!
      · 1 reply
    • Petike the Taffer  »  DeTeEff

      I've updated the articles for your FMs and your author category at the wiki. Your newer nickname (DeTeEff) now comes first, and the one in parentheses is your older nickname (Fieldmedic). Just to avoid confusing people who played your FMs years ago and remember your older nickname. I've added a wiki article for your latest FM, Who Watches the Watcher?, as part of my current updating efforts. Unless I overlooked something, you have five different FMs so far.
      · 0 replies
    • Petike the Taffer

      I've finally managed to log in to The Dark Mod Wiki. I'm back in the saddle and before the holidays start in full, I'll be adding a few new FM articles and doing other updates. Written in Stone is already done.
      · 4 replies
    • nbohr1more

      TDM 15th Anniversary Contest is now active! Please declare your participation: https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/22413-the-dark-mod-15th-anniversary-contest-entry-thread/
       
      · 0 replies
    • JackFarmer

      @TheUnbeholden
      You cannot receive PMs. Could you please be so kind and check your mailbox if it is full (or maybe you switched off the function)?
      · 1 reply
×
×
  • Create New...