Create Character Movement Animations

Its always best to ensure that the root node of the model is centered to the world coordinates (X=0 Y=0 in 3dsMax and X=0 Z=0 in Maya) for the first frame of most animations. This makes the task of synchronising animation blends simpler.

 

When an action tagged as IsMovement blends into another IsMovement tagged action the BigWorld engine will synchronise the point at which the two animations blend.

Example 1. In the image below demonstrates a 30 frame walk animation (Blue) transitioning into a 30 frame run animation (Red). The walk animation just happens to complete its entire cycle before the run animation is blended in. Such an example would have perfect blending providing the position of the feet match during both walk and run cycles.

Example 2. This transition occurs as the walk animations is half way through its cycle (frame 15). The BigWorld engine cleverly blends in the new run animation at half way through its cycle (frame 16) to maintain perfect blending.

Example 3. Even when the run animation is half the number of frames as the walk animation, the BigWorld engine maintains perfect blending by finding the half way point of the run animation (15/2 = ~8) and uses this point to blend.

 

The conclusion to all the above examples is that the animator only needs to follow one simple rule when creating an animations.

Ensure that each animation is a single cycle of movement, and all animation cycles that need to blend with one another should start and end at the same pose.

So if frame 1 of the walk animation starts with left foot forward, then frame 1 of the run animation should also start with left foot forward.

How to position the first frame of Idle, Walk, Jog, Run to ensure a nice blending between actions.

When creating Turn_left and Turn_right animations it is best to get the initial pose from the first frame of the idle animation and duplicate it. That first frame of the Idle animation should be the first frame of the turn animation.

The last frame of the turn animation should also be the same frame as the first frame of the Idle animation with the root node turned 90 degrees. There should be no forward or backward translation of the models root node.

Model position:
Its always best to ensure that the root node of the model is centered to the world coordinates in X=0 Y=0 in 3dsMax and X=0 Z=0 in Maya.

1 Select the File→Export menu item.

2 In the dialog box that appears, select the Animation Exporter (*.ANIMATION) entry in the Save As Type drop-down list box – this will select BigWorld's proprietary 3ds Max plug-in.

3 Enter the name of the animation in the File Name field.

4 Click the Save button – this will open the Animation Exporter dialog box.

The following check boxes are available:

Allow Scale: determines whether mesh scale animations should be exported along with the animation. If you do not scale a mesh in your animation, then do NOT select this option.

Export morph animation: determines whether 3ds Max morph target and Maya blend shape animations should be exported. See the Morph Target and Blend Shape section for further information.

Export node animation: determines whether skeletal node animations should be exported.

Use reference hierarchy: determines whether another hierarchy should be used to animate the character – see below for explanation.

For a character animation such as a walk cycle:

Make sure that only the Export Node Animation check box is selected.

Click OK.

There will now be a walk.animation file located in the resource structure to which you exported the animation.

1 Select the File→Export All menu item.

2 In the File Type Specific Options group box's Export Type group box, select the Animation option button, then click the Export All button.

3 Specify the location in which to save your *.animation file, then click the Save button.

A supermodel is a model made up of several separate model files that are all rigged to the same skeleton. A good example of this is the Female Warrior character in the Fantasy Demo. Each piece of the warrior's armour is rigged to the same skeleton that the warrior's base mesh is rigged to. The BigWorld engine simply loads both models and deforms them with the same skeleton. The image below shows the large number of separate models that can go together to make the final supermodel.

 

For character customisation purposes supermodel pieces are best used if the piece to be attached is meant to deform with the characters animation. If the piece being attached is static or animates in an unrelated/unsynchronised manner to the characters animation then a Hard Point attachment should probably be used.

 

When creating a Super Model in your 3d application simply skin multiple objects into the same skeleton and export each one individually.

Parts of a supermodel can be viewed together in Model Editor by using File - Add Model or Ctrl + drag from Asset Browser. Note this is only for preview purposes.

Although Hard Points usually have static objects attached to them, it can sometimes be desirable to attach fully animating objects to the player model via Hard Points.

 

Items attached via Hard Points can have their actions automated "revved" via the parent models action matcher. Put simply, you can attach a model via a Hard Point and have its actions driven by the parent models action matcher.

 

The types of animating models best attached via Hard Points are those who's animations do not have to be synchronised with the base models animations.

For example, a pinwheel stuck in the players hat would be very suitable for an action matcher driven Hard Point attached item. Clothing, A cape, or ponytail need to be synchronised with the base models animations and would be best done using supermodel.

 

Several changes have to be made to the python code in order to enable action matcher driven attached objects. If you want to use this feature ensure that a programmer has made these changes.

1. Add an action matcher motor to the attached model (e.g. the staff), and set its useEntityModel property to True.
2. Set $p.model.moveAttachments to True

To see this work in Fantasy Demo (the FD scripts currently aren't setting this
up automatically), take out the staff and enter these commands into the Python:

am = BigWorld.ActionMatcher( $p )
am.useEntityModel = True
$p.model.right_hand.addMotor( am )
$p.model.moveAttachments = True
$B.debugAQ( $p.model.right_hand )

You should then see the actions being triggered on the staff as you move the character around.

 

Note: That if you need to scale the playback speed of a movement animation then the animation of the HardPoint attached item will also require translation in its animation. Please see the staff.model animation staff_item_locomotion_world_transform.animation as an example.

The staff.model used by the player character in FantasyDemo has its actions driven by the player model.

To view the actions on the staff model type the following into the python console (~tilde +P)

$B.debugAQ($p.model.right_hand)

 

Note that the staff model actions react to the players movement.

 

 

 

When creating a supermodel it is common to want two separate meshes to share a common boundary. When meshes are cut into separate pieces they each get their own new vertex normal which unfortunately does not match the vertex normal of the neighbouring mesh. The result is a lighting seam which can be seen in the image below along with the two newly made vertex normals

Lighting seam resulting from split mesh

Fortunately these normals can be consolidated using the Edit Normals modifier in 3dsMax or the Vertex Normal Edit tool (Lock Normals) in Maya

Vertex normals being consolidated using the Edit Normals Modifier

For 3dsMax:

Note: Editing a models vertex normals only works when the model is skinned.

1. Select both assets you wish to consolidate vertex normals

2. Give them a shared Edit Normals modifier

3. Select by Normals

4. Average the Selected normals

5. Make modifier unique

6. Ensure that each part of the model is exported separately using export selected and the model is exported with Normal mapped selected

 

For Maya:

1. Lock Normals neighbouring normals using the Normals > Vertex Normal Edit Tool

2. Ensure that each part of the model is exported separately using export selected and the model is exported with Normal mapped selected

 

Using the Reference Hierarchy feature to remove unwanted controllers

Animating HP using a reference hierarchy