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View Full Version : (skeletal characters)maya to directx help

arcanius23
03-08-2005, 08:44 AM
I'm trying to create objects for a game me and my friend are trying to create.
I use maya as a content creation tool.
The game we are trying to create is an isometric rpg. The problem is we need armoring so we choose skeletal character so to better change meshes on certain part of the characters.
Microsoft has provided an exporter for maya, so no problem with that.

The problem is when I exported the mesh and skeleton w/ animation in 2 separate .x file and try to merge them in Microsoft Provided Mviewer, It crash.

So is there a rule for exporting a mesh and an animated skeleton separately in directx format? What needs to be included in each, what's not?

I'm using maya5 and exporter from Directx Sdk Feb 2005 release.

I'm new to directx and not that advanced in maya, so I guess a baby or talk to me like a 3yrs old answer would be appreciated.
rakmaya
03-11-2005, 02:39 PM
There are times when the DX crashes. If the animation is not in sync such as one with more heirarchial elements than the other. If mixing from two different .X files, both should have the same root heirarchy for many things to work. It is NOT necessary. But if you ask a programmer who have followed through some of the examples, you can easily guess how the MViewer is coded which inturn crashes in certain occassions.

There are other reasons for this as well. Let me ask you this. What game engine are you using? Import the files back into other packages that support .X files and see if they work correctly in 3D packages itself
arcanius23
03-17-2005, 09:20 AM
Thanx dude, actually my pal is creating his own engine, but we've decided to use one of two game package; either Irrlicht or Torque, so to create the game earlier and better learn from it before trying to create our own engine.

I tried it in Irrlicht in the mesh viewer demo with it. The animated geometry when imported in one whole .x file has not yield any problems same as the result of mviewer with microsoft sdk. Unfortunately, I can't test it in separate .x files.

But could it be possible if I just create a skeleton animate it and export it, then later in the engine attach individual(one for head, body/armor, legs,arms,etc) textured mesh in it, but has only one character skeleton?
rakmaya
03-18-2005, 01:17 AM
Oh, I see what the problem is.If your geometry is not attached to the bones (hence no single animation with the .X), it won't export the Blend Weights / Skeleton structure (some times both). So if you have animation in different file, you can't attach it because the geometry is not animatable.

Export the geomerty with at least one animation. Then you can add additional ones as many as you like. This defenitly works (unless there are other problems).

If you are using 3D Studio Max, use the Panda Exporter instead of the default one that came with the package. Panda Export tool allows you to see things a little more clearly.
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