Modeling Inquiry

Rexy

The Kwisatz Haderach
aa
Dec 22, 2008
1,798
2,533
If you have any experience with exporting/compiling animated sequences, either in 3ds max or XSI please contact me via steam: 76561197984171607 or in the TF2maps chat room. I'll be there for the rest of the night I assume (next few hours).

I've been able to export and compile basic animated sequences before in 3ds max (simple moving objects, rotating objects), but recently the whole thing is giving me the run-around, and I'd like to pick your brain about your process. Any help you can give me would be great.

There's gotta be something I'm missing, the models are rigged and weightmapped properly, animated and exported...I believe even my .qc is correct--but without real training in 3ds max, I'm afraid I'm missing something. The animated models simply don't move.

Any help is appreciated.
 

gamemaster1996

L13: Stunning Member
Sep 30, 2009
1,064
134
Ye i dont know wbout modeling that well so what would you guys say is the easiest tool to model with?
 

Rexy

The Kwisatz Haderach
aa
Dec 22, 2008
1,798
2,533
Be sure to delete the model and only export the bones and keyframes for the animation sequence in 3dsMax.
Took me awhile to find that info on some random site somewhere, but it worked.

Still haven't figured out how to animate the collision mesh, or if that's possible. Anyone?

I actually found some random forums while googling for this problem AND stumbled across your post in a thread with a guy who had the same problems (might have been interlopers now that I think about it). And I attempted this exact same trick. Still no dice. But I think I'm going to start over from the basics and see where that takes me.
 

Rexy

The Kwisatz Haderach
aa
Dec 22, 2008
1,798
2,533
Sorry for dp-ing, but I was able to get a very simple animated box model...

Here's the process (which is exactly the same as yesterday, I can't figure what when wrong yesterday):

1. Build box in LW,
2. Surface box in LW, UV map,
3. Weightmap box in LW
4. Export as .obj and import in 3ds max
5. Rig box with 1 bone
6. Animate box to spin
7. Export as .smd and animated .smd
8. Make materials for box
9. Compile
10. Success...

Took me 20 minutes, start to finish.

Strangely enough...I could not get this to go yesterday and I spent about 5 hours trying to do this in 3ds max and then in other softwares...even blender looked promising, but gl importing .obj into it and having them look the same...blegh. Anyway...thanks for replies, I'm going to attempt this now in an actual model.
 

Rexy

The Kwisatz Haderach
aa
Dec 22, 2008
1,798
2,533
And now a triple post:


My findings have resulted in the following:

1. Animated sequences exported from 3DS max don't need bones...strange
2. Something about the process will only allow 1 animated sequence...wtf?!

Is there something I don't know about models? Can I really have only 1 sequence per model?

If so, how on earth did Valve's team make the item_teamflag intelligence model have more than one sequence? They have a rotating one while the model is dropped, and a still one when it's on someone's back. I am so confused.

If anyone has some insight on the limits of animated sequences with source models, please please contact me.


EDIT:

The solution: make sure your idle sequences comes very LAST in your .qc. Otherwise your other $sequence's will just not work. I edited the VDC page on $sequence to include these discoveries.
 
Last edited:

Sgt Frag

L14: Epic Member
May 20, 2008
1,443
710
Sorry, not on steam or at home...

Doesn't suprise me you can do a simple anim with no bones, I think it's the keyframes that really matter. Bones just make it easier for anything slightly complex.

I have had no issues with multiple anims.
I just key frame them out, then in the qc file there's a command for seperate anims

wingin' this, I'm sure it's not exactly correct:

anim: walk "10"
run "20"

Anyway, my point is that you can call a range of frames in the qc. Not sure if you tried that. And all the anims are only in one exported file.
I'll post it exactly if you haven't figured it out by then. I'll have to look in a qc at home.

--edit-- did you export the model with the keyframes? or delete it?
I'm still not an expert with this stuff so it's good to know all details.
Possibly later we can get a better tut together than what can be found right now.

I also found file sizes to be smaller if you get rid of extra frames (in Max you start default with 100 frames, if you only use 30 change the timeline to 30)
 
Last edited:

Rexy

The Kwisatz Haderach
aa
Dec 22, 2008
1,798
2,533
Sorry, not on steam or at home...

Doesn't suprise me you can do a simple anim with no bones, I think it's the keyframes that really matter. Bones just make it easier for anything slightly complex.

I have had no issues with multiple anims.
I just key frame them out, then in the qc file there's a command for seperate anims

wingin' this, I'm sure it's not exactly correct:

anim: walk "10"
run "20"

Anyway, my point is that you can call a range of frames in the qc. Not sure if you tried that. And all the anims are only in one exported file.
I'll post it exactly if you haven't figured it out by then. I'll have to look in a qc at home.

--edit-- did you export the model with the keyframes? or delete it?
I'm still not an expert with this stuff so it's good to know all details.
Possibly later we can get a better tut together than what can be found right now.

I also found file sizes to be smaller if you get rid of extra frames (in Max you start default with 100 frames, if you only use 30 change the timeline to 30)

I never did have to delete the model when exporting...I had done that previously when making a physics explosion, but put simply:

1. Simple animations without a rig don't need bones when exported from 3ds max (wunderboy's tools)
2. The $sequence lines in the .QC are such that ORDER MATTERS. The mandatory "idle" $sequence in every model must come at bottom of the list of $sequence lines in the .QC.

As far as your animated collision mesh, I have no clue--I haven't even experimented that far into things. I'll certainly get back to you on these things if I ever do.
 

Rexy

The Kwisatz Haderach
aa
Dec 22, 2008
1,798
2,533
intelwip6.jpg

intelwip7.jpg

intelwip8.jpg
 

Dr. ROCKZO

L8: Fancy Shmancy Member
Jul 25, 2009
580
159
Medics were harmed in the Making of those Screenshots. So you've gotten it going then, what is it? A Tube?
 

Acumen

Annoyer
aa
Jun 11, 2009
704
628
hey, there i just remembered this thread, since i'm working on an animated model myself right now.
so i tried to follow Rexy's instructions but kinda fail :D
so here's what i did. had my model. animated simple spinning animation via keyframes in max and exported the entire model with all the parts as idle_blabla.smd
compiling got me no errors but in the model viewer i can see no moving parts. the animation slider runs through but nothing spins in the viewer. i also removed the $staticprop part in the qc-file.
is there anything i have to watch out for, that wasn't explained in the quick walkthrough by Rexy ?
 

Rexy

The Kwisatz Haderach
aa
Dec 22, 2008
1,798
2,533
Acumen, if you use the wunderboy exporter, you have to export a static mesh and an animated sequence...they pretty much have to be identical files, only one is the reference mesh, and the other is the animated sequence. If you change anything at all it could upset the model. Just remember when you're exporting an animated model, export both reference and sequence right after each other.

Also, post your .QC here so I can take a look if anything is the problem there.
 

Acumen

Annoyer
aa
Jun 11, 2009
704
628
ok, i could solve the problem with the animation export. i had to export the animated model as reference model and not my normal uvmapped one. so now i have the animation in model viewer and in hammer but not ingame. first i used prop_static but it was invisible ingame. now i tried prop_dynamic, so the model is visible ingame, but doesn't rotate :/
AND the physics model is rotated 90° and i don't know why. worked like a charm with the unanimated one but now the physics model is messed up, too.

edit: okey, i got the animation working after i put "idle" in the prop dynamic's "Default Animation" field. but i don't know if that's the golden way, these things work in the mapping world, i guess not :/
but still the physics box, kills me. it just keeps being rotated 90°. it's exactly the same as before the animation, where it worked just fine...
strange thing is, when i try to rotate the model in 3dsmax and then export the "wrong" physbox it's still rotated in the model viewer.

$modelname "custom\anemometer_b.mdl"
$body "Body" "ref_anemometer_b.smd"

$scale 1.0

$mostlyopaque

$surfaceprop "metal"

$cdmaterials "custom\"

$sequence idle "idle_anemometer_b.SMD" loop fps 10.00

$collisionmodel "phys_anemometer_b.smd"
{
//Mass in kilograms
$mass 10
$concave
}
 
Last edited:

gamemaster1996

L13: Stunning Member
Sep 30, 2009
1,064
134
Wow looks pretty cool

one thing i can say which'll go mad soon is how long do you reckon it'll take for people to become obsessed with custom help and ammo packs?
 

Acumen

Annoyer
aa
Jun 11, 2009
704
628
ok, seems like the "Reset X-Form" and random wabbling around pushing and pulling stuff made it work. now i got my working animation and physbox ingame. good lord, i hate learning new stuff :D
thanks Rexy, been a very helpful thread !

the upper part rotates :D weeeeehuu !!

anemometer_ingame.jpg
 
Last edited: